Everyone had gone to bed, and Jenny was left alone with her thoughts. And her tears. Everything that could have gone wrong with her night did. She was devastated. After going home from the hospital, she and her family had a talk at home. She apologized for everything, and they forgave her. She realized that she wasn't completely alone; she had the one person who cared the most about her holding her hand the whole time. Her dad told her that he was disappointed, but that he still loved her, and then he went to bed. Dan came over and gave her a hug. He said that everything would be alright, but the look on his face said otherwise. Lily frowned and told her she was sorry for the way things turned out. Everyone left and went to bed; except one. Eric stayed with her. He sat by her for a long time, then took her hand and walked to her room. She sat down on her bed, not saying a word. He sat down beside her and wiped a tear from her face. She didn't smile like he thought she would. She only sat there with a blank stare on her face. Maybe she was in shock, maybe she didn't want to think about it. Whatever it was, he could tell he wasn't getting through to her. He stood up and took a brush from her nightstand. He began gently brushing her hair as he whispered soft words of encouragement into her ear. He was confused when she cried even harder as he did these things. "Maybe it's the clothes," he thought.
He kissed her forehead and stood up, this time going into her dresser drawer in search of a t-shirt and looked back at her when he found some, but she had closed her eyes and seemed to be in her own world. He walked over to her but didn't sit down this time. "Jenny, Jen? Here, let's get you out of those clothes and put on something more comfortable," he said, tugging slightly on her arm.
She said nothing but stood up and walked to her bathroom. She took the clothes from Eric and went into the bathroom. She was in there for a long time, and Eric began to worry. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He slowly opened the door, but rushed in when he saw her. "Jenny!" he cried, grabbing her wrists to pull her to her feet.
She was lying on the floor of the bathroom. There was blood on the floor. She was sobbing and holding a razor in her left hand. She was shaking."I-I couldn't do it." she stuttered.
He looked at the floor and saw that the blood hadn't come from and cuts from the razor. She hadn't cut herself yet. "Oh, Jenny!" he said with a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness you're okay."
He pulled her into a tight hug before loosening his grip to see where the blood had come from. He looked to her dress that was now lying on the floor, ripped to shreds. There wasn't much blood; much less than he had thought at first. "Jen, wh-where did that blood come from?" he asked, not able to figure it out.
"I-It was from earlier. I-I thought I got it all off, but it kept coming and-" she was crying too much to continue.
It was then that he realized where the blood was from. "Do we need to take you to a doctor? I mean, is that normal? Are you okay?" he asked, speaking quickly and running a hand through his hair.
"I'm fine, I think. I just need to, I don't know. I feel gross and dirty and terrible. It was all my fault, Eric! I've ruined everything!" she exclaims.
"Don't say that, Jen. I'm still here," he says softly.
"Well, at least, there's still one person who doesn't hate me," she says with a sarcastic laugh.
"Oh, how could I hate you? I mean, you can be really mean, but the people who don't love you don't matter, Jenny. That's the thing about love; it's only real love if you love through the ups and downs too. No matter how much you want to hate that person, you love them because they mean everything to you, and you just can't let them go. When you love someone, you stick by them, even if they are being completely crazy." he said, walking back to the bed with Jenny in tow.
She looked him in the eye then, and saw this glimmer, a sparkle perhaps, and that was the moment things started to change for our dear Jenny Humphrey.
She climbed into bed and he pulled the covers over her. He had washed her face, and it was now make up free. He thought she had never looked more beautiful, but she disagreed. She thought she was ugly now. And more so on the inside. But he told her that he loved her anyways and that he always would. She smiled for the first time that night, and he smiled back. "Will you be okay tonight? Do you want me to stay?" he asked, pushing the hair away from her face.
"I'll be okay. Go get some sleep." she replied, smiling slightly.
He untangled himself from the blankets, and from her arms, and walked towards the door. Just before he left, he turned around and looked at her one more time. "I'm right next door if you need me," he said.
She nodded and turned around, not able to watch as he there she was; alone with her biggest demon; alone with herself. So she cried a bit more, quietly as to not wake the rest of the house, but not quietly enough.
