"Cody! Cody, get up!" My father kicked my side hard.
My head quickly lifted from the mattress, clutching my ribs. I turned over and opened my eyes to see my father standing over me.
"You didn't wake me up this morning!"
"I'm sorry, sir."
"You better be!" He kicked again.
"Sir, what time is it?"
"Eleven."
I quickly pushed myself off the mattress, rushing toward the door, late for school.
My father pushed me against the wall.
I flinched, hitting my side where he'd kicked me.
He pulled my shirt, throwing me against the door, causing me to twist my ankle in the process.
My back hit the knob. I winced.
He gripped my shirt, pushing me harder against the door. His face was inches from mine.
I could smell the alcohol on his breath.
He wound his arm back, getting ready to punch.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight.
He laughed, putting his arm down. "Cody, you have to stand up for yourself." He backed away. "C'mon. Take a swing at me."
I stared at him, not moving.
He pulled my shirt collar, pushing me onto the floor.
I looked up at him.
"Get up."
I pushed myself up.
"C'mon on, Cody. Man up."
"I don't wanna hit you, sir."
He smiled, patting my cheek. "Good choice. Now get to school."
"Yes, sir." I hurried past him, trying not to show how hard it was to walk on my ankle.
_______________________________________________________________________
"Hey, Jackson. Where were you this morning?" Nathan asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"I woke up late."
"Still feeling sick?" Melissa said.
"No. I'm fine."
"I'm glad you're felling better." She snuggled close to me.
I slowly put my arm around her, trying to hide my pain when she touched my side.
"You okay?" Daley said, noticing this.
"Yeah. I'm fine." I bit my lip.
"You don't look fine," said Taylor.
Melissa studied me, then pulled away from me.
I winced at the sudden weight change on my side.
Melissa pulled up the side of my shirt.
"Ewww! What is that thing?!" Taylor exclaimed.
"It's nothing."
Eric poked my side.
Without having time to stop myself, I slammed my fist onto the table, causing him to slowly move away.
"Jackson, what happened?!" Melissa asked, concerned.
"Nothing."
"So you expect us to believe you got two huge bruises from doing nothing?" Daley said.
I held my breath, slowly pushing my shirt back down. "Yeah."
"Please tell me the truth, Jackson." Melissa said.
I looked at her. "I…I fell."
"You fell?!"
"Um, yeah." I hoped she believed it.
"I'm so sorry, Jackson." She pulled me into a hug.
I squeezed my eyes shut, biting my lip, trying to keep myself from screaming out.
When I couldn't take it anymore, I said, "Mel…"
She looked at me, then quickly pulled away. "Sorry. I forgot."
I relaxed a bit.
The bell rang for the next class.
We stood up, going our separate ways.
Melissa went with me down the hall.
I walked slowly, trying not to let her know I'd twisted my ankle.
"C'mon, Jackson. We gotta get to class." She pulled me down the empty hallway. "We're gonna be late, Jackson. Hurry up!"
"Mel, wait."
She didn't slow down. "What?"
"Mel…my ankle…"
She stopped. "What is it, Jackson? We're gonna be late."
Through clenched teeth, I said, "My ankle…"
She rested onto her knees, checking my foot.
It was swollen, black and blue.
"Oh my gosh!"
"Just go ahead so you won't be late."
"Jackson, you need to go to the nurse."
"No, Mel. I'll be okay."
"C'mon, Jackson."
"It's fine, Mel. I'm-"
She pulled my arm, swinging me around, then pulled me toward the nurse's office, slowly this time.
I protested the whole way there.
