I'm telling you now, this is a trigger warning for domestic violence and abuse. If this kind of subject bothers you, please take caution while reading this. As of right now, the rating of this story is T but I do plan on going to M in future chapters...

Rose's eyes flew open as the alarm clock on her bedside table burst into life. She quickly shot her hand out, hoping to shut off the noise before it woke up Jimmy and pissed him off. She rolled over to look at him as soon as the sound stopped, and was relieved to see that he wasn't laying next to her in bed. She stood up and made her way to the bathroom, wincing as her movements caused a sharp pain in her side. Jimmy wasn't in the bathroom either, and Rose was glad to know that he'd already left for the morning.

Last night had been another bad one. It had been her fault, of course. She'd forgotten to pick up some food before coming home, and when Jimmy got there to find that there was nothing there for dinner, he hadn't taken it very well. The pain in Rose's side was all the proof that was needed of that.

As Rose heard girls making their way past her room, she was glad to know that Jimmy had already left. Every time he stayed the night with her, she was afraid that he wouldn't leave early enough and would get caught sneaking out of the girls dorm rooms. That was the last thing Rose needed to deal with right now. No telling how angry that little scenario would make him...

She let out a pained groan as she stretched her limbs, wishing that just for once she could wake up without any aches or pains. Maybe one day it would happen, one day when Jimmy realized how big of a wanker he could be and decided to stop. Until then, Rose would just endure. It was what she'd always done and what she'd always do.

No matter how foolish it was...

A curse escaped her lips as she fought with the mascara wand in her hand. She was still so tired, and getting mascara everywhere but her eyelashes seemed to be winning today. She fought with it for several minutes, using tissues to wipe away the smudges that had gotten where they weren't suppose to be. When she was finally satisfied, she put the wand away, just staring at herself in the mirror. She did that quite a lot, really. It was strange to see the girl staring back at her looking so tired and weak all the time. She could remember when she use to be glowing, but that seemed so far away now...

She knew it was because of Jimmy, but she couldn't really blame him. He'd had a tougher upbringing than she had. It wasn't his fault that he didn't understand how to love someone like he should. Rose knew he was doing the best he could, and one day he would learn to love her just like she'd always dreamed of. She just had to be patient til then...

Rose was thankful that it was chilly outside when she stepped out of the dorm building. She had had to wear a hoodie that day, the long sleeves covering a bruise that was shining on her right forearm. Jimmy had held her just a little too tightly last night, and his fingers had dug into her skin, leaving the trace of his fingers behind. The worst was when it was warm outside and she had to wear long sleeves. Everyone thought she was odd, and Rose wouldn't doubt that a few people were a bit suspicious with what was going on. She always ignored them though, content to keep to herself rather than deal with everyone's accusations.

Rose smiled as she walked into her first class of the day. It was her favorite, really. Not that she really cared for History much, but she loved the teacher that taught it. His name was Mr. Smith, and Rose had had a good feeling about him ever since he walked into their classroom a month ago.

"Morning, Miss Tyler." He greeted, giving her a wink as she grinned at him.

"Good morning." She replied. She stepped over to his desk, letting her eyes skim across the pages that were scattered there. "Hope you're not gonna bore us to death today." Her tongue poked through her teeth as she teased him, and Rose couldn't help but realize that was the first time she'd truly smiled in a while.

"Me? Boring? Nah." Mr. Smith grinned as he hopped over to the opposite corner of his desk, picking up a video tape for her to see. "Actually, you lot get to watch a film today. 'The Gods of Ancient Rome'."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at his excited expression. "So just a bit borin' then."

Mr. Smith frowned. "Miss Tyler, you break my heart." He teased. "Now, go on. Off to your seat."

Rose rolled her eyes as she did what he said.

The film had only been playing for a few minutes when Rose felt her eyes start fighting to close. She really hadn't gotten much rest last night, Jimmy keeping her awake for most of it. She struggled to keep herself awake, even taking out a pencil and notebook to scribble on. She drew things she saw in the film, giving them her own twist as she tried to concentrate. Sooner or later, however, she lost the fight and was soon snoring lightly at her desk.

"Didn't think I'd really bore you to death."

Rose jumped at the voice and quickly jerked her head up. Mr. Smith frowned when he realized he had frightened her. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "Didn't realize I'd scare you that bad."

Rose shook her head as she tried to get her heart to stop pounding. "No, you're alright." She said quickly. "I just shouldn't have fallen asleep in your class."

"Yeah, it really wasn't the smartest thing to do." Mr. Smith teased before looking down at Rose's notebook. "Did you draw these?" He asked, picking it up and studying the statues that covered the page. Rose blushed, not use to anyone looking at her work.

"Yeah. I was just tryin' to keep myself awake." She gently took the notebook away from him and shoved it into her bag.

"Well they look brilliant." He assured her, smiling as he met her eyes.

"Thanks." Rose said shyly, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder. The rest of the class had emptied out already, and Rose knew she needed to follow if she didn't want to be late for her next one. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

Mr. Smith nodded as Rose started to walk away, but he stopped her before she reached the door. "Rose, hold on."

She turned around, an uneasy feeling coming over her as she waited to see what he had to say. "Yeah?"

"You... you seem to be a bit more tired lately." Mr. Smith said, walking over to her. "Is everything going alright?"

Rose forced herself to nod. "Yeah. Just stayin' up a bit later than I probably should be." She gave a tight smile, hoping it looked at least somewhat real. Mr. Smith studied her silently, not quite convinced.

"You'd tell me, right? If something was wrong..."

"Of course." Rose interrupted, blushing as she realized she'd answered too quickly. "Everythin' s fine. Promise."

The silence around them was almost deafening as Rose itched to run out of the classroom. She didn't want this kind of attention. She just wanted to leave. Finally, Mr. Smith nodded, still looking at her warily.

"Alright." He said, motioning towards the doorway. "Don't want you to be late for class, but please, don't be afraid to tell me if somethings bothering you, alright?"

Rose nodded. "I'll remember that." She forced the kindest smile she could muster before turning to leave the classroom, letting out a deep breath once she was a decent distance away.