Previous Chapter:
"Christine must be up in our dormitory," Lily stated as she made her way over to the couches and took a seat.
"I'll go check on her," Emilie stated as she made her way over to the stairs.
"Do you want me to come with you," Lily asked, as she started to get up from the couch.
Emilie just shook her head, before climbing up the stairs and entering the "5th year Girls" dorm. She looked around the room and found Christine on her bed, curled up in a ball, with tears running steadily down her cheek. Emilie walked over to her friend, took a seat on her bed, and gave her a hug, as the girl began to cry into her shoulder.
Here is CHAPTER FOUR! I got it out much sooner than I expected!! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!! THANKS! And thank you so much for the people who have already left me a review, I really do appreciate it!
Thanks,
RAB
T R A P P E D
C H A P T E R F O U R : S O L I T U D E
Christine shifted slightly in her red and golden bed as the curtains surrounding her were pulled harshly back.
"Time to wake up!" Lily exclaimed, excitedly as she walked away to finish getting ready.
"I hate morning people," Christine muttered into her pillow, before climbing out of bed. She grabbed her brush and began to pull it through her wavy, dirty blonde hair as she looked over at the clock on her bedside table. "It's only 6:45!" she said as she looked over at Lily.
Lily rolled her eyes, before responding, "yes and today is the first day of classes, we need to get ready early so that we can go down and get our schedules."
"No we don't. Not this early," complained Emilie, from her bed, her body still under the covers, as she pulled her pillow overtop her head. "I think Lily is just trying to impress someone…" she hinted at, stilling lying in bed.
Alice came out of the bathroom, before asking, "Is Lily Marie Evans finally ready to admit that she has a HUGE crush on a certain James Edward Potter?" She ran over and jumped on top of Lily's bed as she looked up at her friend, expectantly.
Emilie turned to Alice, slightly amused, "how do you know everybody's middle name?"
Alice laughed evilly. "I have my ways."
Lily rolled her eyes and responded, "I do not have a crush on Potter for your information!" She went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
"SOMEONE IS IN DENIAL!" yelled Alice, as Emilie groaned and then exited her bed.
"This is going to be a long day," muttered Emilie, before she began getting ready for the day ahead.
Christine repeated her friend's groan and twenty minutes later, the girls found themselves heading down the stairs into the common room.
Upon entering the common room, the girls were surprised to find (and most of them not all that thrilled about it) that the Marauders and Frank Longbottom were sitting casually around the fire.
"Evans!" called James as he saw her walking down the girls' dormitory steps, dressed in her school uniform, with her bag swung on her shoulder. "How wonderful to see you this fine Monday morning!"
"Yes, I must say, I'm rather surprised you are not at breakfast already, pigging away as usual. Or perhaps that you are even up already, Potter," Lily responded coldly as she headed towards the portrait. She looked back to find the boys following and she inwardly groaned, before swinging open the portrait and stepping through.
Emilie, seeing her friends distress, attempted to save her, by starting up a conversation with James about Quidditch. "When are tryouts going to be, James?" she asked, as they made their way down the hall.
Seeing that Lily was doing her best to ignore him, he decided to go ahead and pursue a conversation with Emilie Thomas. "This Friday," he stated. "We need one more chaser to work with you and me, we are good on beaters, Sirius is keeper, and then we need a new seeker," he said, as he counted the players off on his fingers.
Meanwhile, Frank and Alice were talking behind James and Emilie, Lily observed, and then realized that they were in fact holding hands. Lily smiled at the thought at how cute it was.
"Seen that one coming," stated a voice, as Lily turned to see who it was.
"Yes, I know, but it is still rater cute, Remus," she said, as she gave him a smile and then turned the corner. "I think we all knew it was going to come soon; well, perhaps all of us, but them."
Remus nodded, before asking her, "ready for classes to start?"
Christine walked silently behind her friends, absentmindedly rubbing her bruise on her wrist through her black robe, as her thoughts wandered to the man who gave it to her.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked her, from her right. She looked up to find a certain boy with dark hair and piercing brown eyes staring up at her. For an instant she was startled by the height difference, but she shook her head and ignored it.
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused, as she shifted her gaze from his face and went back to watching the ground below her feet, afraid for the answer he might give her.
"Why are you rubbing your wrist? Is it okay?" he asked her gently, as he nodded towards it. He reached out to touch it, to see if anything was wrong, but she gave out a small yelp, and moved out of his reach. He looked into her eyes and saw the fear behind them as he struggled to figure out why she had jumped so much away from him.
"Its fine," she said, simply, before speeding up away from him and entering the Great Hall, right behind Alice and Frank, who still were holding each other's hands.
She took a seat at the Gryffindor table, attempting to get as far away from Sirius Black as she could. She didn't want the questions, the odd stares, pitying looks. She did not want another person to see her with these bruises, to know that she could do nothing to protect herself from the one boy who was hurting her so bad. She wanted all of the pain, the hiding from her friends and brother, to stop. She wanted to escape, but she couldn't; she was trapped. She felt so alone, so lost in her solitude, but she felt so helpless, so confused, so hurt.
Andrew had been such a great boyfriend at the start. He had been so polite, so sweet, so caring. He would give her little kisses when she saw him in the hall, between classes. He would leave her little notes and send her flowers via owl post. He would spend hours telling her how beautiful she was, how special, and how he would be so lost without her.
But then, slowly, it would all stop. The flowers stopped coming, except one every now in again, to tease her, almost to threaten her. He no longer sends her, her favorite red roses, but now he sent her an occasional black rose, as if to say, 'you are mine, try and escape from me.' He stopped sending her romantic notes and started to send ones demanding she met him at one place or another. He stopped telling her how beautiful she was, how much he cared about her. His sweet, little kisses turned rough and dangerous, scaring her, as she reluctantly gave in.
He hurt her, often. He forced her to do things she had no wish to do. He forced her to sleep with him, too many times. He raped her.
Yet nobody noticed a thing. No one saw how violent he was towards her, or how mean and forceful he was. Everybody thought they were a perfect couple and he, a perfect gentleman. No one could imagine how she silently cried at night, hoping, begging to someone get out of this. How she wanted to tell someone and escape her solitude and secrets. But she couldn't. No she couldn't, or he would hurt her even more.
"Chrissy, are you okay?" a voice asked her, from behind. She flinched, knowing who it was, but forced a smile, as she realized that Lily and Emilie were both watching her.
She turned her head around to face him. "I'm fine Andrew, just tired," she replied, as she stood up from the bench, without eating a thing, and allowed him to kiss her on the mouth, forcing herself to show everyone another perfect smile.
"Christine," Emilie called, from across the bench, "are you going without eating?" she gestured towards Christine's empty plate.
Christine shook her, muttering a "I'm not hungry," before she and Andrew swiftly left the hall.
Emilie turned to Lily. "She's still not eating," she said, in a worried voice.
Sirius' head perked up, when he realized who they were talking about, as he listened carefully in on Emilie and Lily's conversation. Remus, Peter, and James were talking animatedly about quidditch and Alice and Frank were doing a little less talking, from their seats, beside Lily.
"Did she say anything to you last night, when you went up to check on her?" Lily asked, as she put a bit of toast in her mouth, before washing it down with pumpkin juice.
"She was crying when I got there, I assume about who ever was giving her the bruises. She kept muttering about a 'him,' asking 'him' to 'stop hurting her,' to 'stay away from her.' But I have no clue who she was talking about. I tried to get it out of her, but she wouldn't say and I didn't want to press her," Emilie responded in a cautious voice. She ate a grape as she looked up at Lily, unsure.
"She never eats, always covered in bruises, fear always in her eyes; what are we suppose to do if she won't tell us anything?" Lily asked, taking another sip of her juice. "It is like she doesn't even think we notice all of this is happening."
"I've talked to Amos," Emilie started. "He said he has noticed it to. He saw a few bruises over the summer, but he thinks they are all old and from when we were at school last year. He doesn't have a clue, who has been trying to hurt her, but you know him, he's extremely upset."
"Of course he is. He is just as concerned about her as we are. I guess all we can do is wait though, until she is ready to tell us what is going on," Lily said as she looked down at her plate.
"Either that, or watch her more carefully," Emilie said as Lily picked up her head. "You know, we can pretty much always have someone watching her. Between you, me, Alice, her brother, and Andrew, one of us can always be with her to either see who is hurting her or to get the guy to stop."
Lily nodded. "That might work, at least for now."
Sirius looked horrified as he watched them finish their converstation. "Who has been hurting the poor girl?" he said quietly to himself, as he looked over at where Christine had been sitting on ten minutes before.
When they met up with Christine in their first class, Double Potions with the Slytherins, Emilie and Lily noticed another bruise beginning to form on Christine's neck.
Thanks for reading! AND please let me know what you think! I really hope you guys like it. Next chapter will have some more Christine/Andrew action going on. I should have chapter five out by the weekend and at the very least by Monday, so watch out for it!
Thanks,
RAB
REVIEW!! PLEASE... don't make me beg!