Bianca was at her desk studying when her head felt like is was going to explode.
"Ahh," she said, gripping it hard and squeezing her eyes shut.
Two people kissing. Crying. Running. Tripping. Stumbling. Tarmac. Heart pounding. Ears ringing.
"Beeeeeeee!"
Impact. Slamming into metal. Rising up. Flying. Falling. Landing. Twisting. Rolling. Crashing. Then, nothing.
Bianca cried out louder as the pain intensified and then disappeared slowly.
"Honey?" Dottie asked, coming into her room. "Are you all right?" Bianca twisted in her chair to look at her mother.
"Yea," she nodded slowly. "Everything's fine."
"You shouted..." Dottie trailed off, unsure.
"Just frustrated with this homework," Bianca told her.
"Okay," Dottie said, knowing her daughter was not being honest. She didn't push. Bianca breathed out slowly when her mother left. What had happened to her? What had she experienced? It felt like a memory, but she couldn't be sure. She looked out her window to see Wes standing at his, looking at her concerned. Had he seen her freak out? How embarrassing. She looked away, hoping he would too. Eventually, he vanished from the window.
Wesley
He knew Bianca had experienced something over there. He could see the pain and confusion written on her face. He wondered if she had a memory. He wondered if he had been in it. She had caught him watching, and he felt bad for spying. Watching her from his window was the closest he could get to her. He really wished he had paid more attention to his feelings before this whole thing happened, and maybe somewhere in there she would remember him better than she did right now.
Madison
She stood outside the door for a moment before knocking. She looked around her nervously first, seeing if anyone noticed her standing there. It didn't seem that anyone cared. Once she knocked, there was no going back. It turned out she didn't have to.
"Oh!" the woman gasped, seeing Madison right there as she pulled the door open. "My goodness! You gave me a fright!"
"I'm sorry," Madison apologized.
"Madison, right?" the woman asked.
"Yes."
"Come in, come in. I was just coming out to look for you," the woman smiled. Madison followed her inside and picked a chair that was the furthest away. The woman sat down, picked up a clipboard, talked about the limits of confidentiality and other things Madison barely registered, and then crossed her legs while giving Madison a smile.
"I don't know why I'm here," Madison admitted.
"That's a normal response for most people who come to therapy," the woman nodded. Claire was her name. Madison remembered her saying that amongst her speech.
"I don't have a mental problem," Madison said haughtily.
"I don't reckon you do," Claire agreed softly. Madison stared at her. If she didn't have a mental problem, then why was she here?
"Isn't that a prerequisite? For therapy? You have to have a mental problem?" Madison asked. To her surprise, the therapist burst into laughter.
"Oh my! Goodness no! You most certainly do not need to have a mental problem to see a therapist," Claire chortled once she was done.
"Oh," Madison said, feeling uncertain now.
"Why don't you start by telling me what's on your mind?" Claire suggested. Madison pondered this. What was on her mind? She briefly thought this would be good for her real life documentary, but then she tossed that idea away quickly. This stuff was personal.
"My Dad's an alcoholic," Madison blurted out. Really? That was the first thing she came up with? It surprised her.
"I see," Claire nodded.
"He gets really drunk. Then he attacks my Mom. She doesn't even have to do or say anything. She just looks at him 'the wrong way' and she's 'asking for it,'" Madison went on. "When he's finished with her, sometimes he has some energy left for me." Her voice dropped to a whisper now. She closed her eyes, and his fist was right there like it always was.
"He hurts you," Claire confirmed.
"Yes," Madison confessed. "He hurts me. Sometimes I'm just punched. Sometimes I'm thrown down the stairs. Sometimes he just screams profanities in my face, telling me I'm ugly, a bitch, a whore. Sometimes he threatens to kill me..." She stopped here. This was getting too hard.
"It's okay, Madison," Claire said softly. Madison met her eyes. They were very warm and welcoming.
"I provoked him," she whispered.
"No, you didn't. You were in no way responsible for your father's actions," Claire told her. Madison let this sink in. It wasn't her fault. She didn't make him hit her. She didn't do anything to deserve his wrath. She was innocent in this. Why did she think she was? Oh, right. He made her believe she asked for it because he told her she did.
"Why would he hurt me?" Madison asked. "Why? Wasn't beating on Mom enough?"
"Unfortunately, I can't read your father's mind," Claire sighed. "Alcoholics can feel things from guilt to sadness to rage, sometimes at themselves for being trapped in an addiction and sometimes at others because they feel they're not helping them when in fact they probably are. It's hard to understand really. Alcohol affects the way someone thinks, so your father maybe isn't thinking about the consequences of his actions once he's been drinking. Sometimes people who have built up anger within themselves and drink their anger comes out because they no longer have control of it. Is your father generally irritable when he's sober?"
"Most of the time, yea," Madison agreed.
"He could be struggling with his own demons. It's hard to say. Anyway, I'm not here to focus on your father and what his issues are. From what I understand he's now in prison. So, I am here to focus on you, Madison."
"Okay," Madison nodded. She liked Claire. This surprised her. She had expected to leave here chalking this woman up to be another mistake she had made. They talked for the rest of the hour about school and her friends. Madison avoided talking about Wes. She briefly mentioned the accident and how now Bianca was like a clean slate, and Madison didn't know what to do around her. Once the hour was up, Claire asked her to set some goals for herself. Madison nodded and immediately set one in her mind: Apologize to Wes. She knew she had been acting irrational and crazy trying to get him back. It was clear he didn't want to be with her, and she had made things worse by trying to force him into it with her drama. Even though his words had cut her like a knife, he was right. She was embellishing the drama. It was time to stop.
"I'll see you next week," Claire smiled.
"Thank you," Madison said, getting up. She meant it too. This woman had listened to her for a whole hour and didn't make her feel belittled or judged or crazy. It had been nice. Really nice. She left feeling lighter for the first time in a long time.
Jess & Casey
They caught up to Toby before Bianca got there. They squeezed him in on each side of them.
"You told her yet?" Casey asked, snapping her gum.
"I'm telling her today," Toby said. "Lay off."
"We will when it actually happens," Jess told him. She crossed her arms tightly in front of her.
"I wish you guys would let me prove that I'm not that stupid guy who pulled that shit," Toby said.
"We can't because Bianca is not meant to be with you, and you know it," Casey scoffed.
"Who's she supposed to be with then? Wes? The man whore?" Toby snorted.
"He's more than that," Jess clarified.
"Then how come not give me that chance?" Toby confronted.
"Because Wes would never lie about dating someone when they wake up from a coma," Casey said quietly. Toby hung his head. They had him there.
"I'm telling her, I promise," he said.
"Good," Jess nodded. They stopped walking and watched him carry on with his usual lope and his head down low.
Mike & Dottie
He came back from walking Pepper when Dottie approached him at the door.
"Hey," he smiled. "You gotta stop the greeting at the door thing. I'll start expecting it."
"Maybe I want you to," Dottie said. She was going for it. She was baring her feelings.
"Yea?" Mike asked, his grin widening.
"I have been thinking lately..."
"Me too," he said eagerly.
"About us?" Dottie asked, surprised.
"Yes. Dot, I have felt a lot happier in the past couple of weeks I've been here. Happier than I was living alone. I firmly believe it's because of you," he finished. Dottie stood there playing with the hem of her shirt.
"I've been happier too," she said quietly.
"I guess the question is, where do we go from here?" Mike asked. "Do you want to try again?"
"I...I don't know. Yes?" Dottie laughed nervously. "I feel like a hypocrite after writing that book..."
"Don't. The stages still count. They happened. It doesn't mean you can't try dating the person who made you go through them years later," Mike said. "Or maybe it does. I don't know. I'm treading new water here." He chuckled anxiously.
"You read my book?" she asked, surprised.
"Well...yea," he answered shyly.
"Wow."
"I know."
"You seem like a different person," Dottie noted.
"So do you. It's great. Maybe we needed the time and space to figure out that we were supposed to be together after all," Mike commented.
"Maybe," Dottie agreed.
"Sooo now what?" he asked.
"Take me on a date," Dottie smiled. "Tonight."
"All right," Mike nodded. "I will do that." Dottie gave him another bright smile and grabbed her purse.
"I'm late for work," she said when she saw him watching.
"Okay. I'll be here," he responded. She waved and was gone. Pepper sat on the floor and looked up at him with a curious expression.
"Wow," Mike breathed. "That really just happened right?" Pepper barked in confirmation. "I gotta get ready for this date." He grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. He needed a suit.
Bianca
"You look tired," Wes said as he sat down across the aisle from her in class. She looked up at him briefly.
"Nightmares," she answered simply. It was true. She had very vivid dreams that terrified her all night. She couldn't make sense of any of them in the morning, though.
"I'm sorry," Wes empathized.
"It's okay," Bianca laughed nervously. She looked at her phone. Toby hadn't texted her yet, nor had he greeted her at school. It was like he was avoiding her. She frowned to herself. Then class started, and she had to put her focus onto the teacher.
Wesley
He noticed Toby had been avoiding Bianca all day, and he could see it was crushing her. What was the idiot doing? He went in search of him, and he found him in the music room lost in his guitar playing. Wes watched for a moment, catching Toby's attention.
"What?" Toby asked, feeling scared suddenly. He looked around, and no one was left as witnesses.
"You know what," Wes replied.
"I know, I know. You and Jess and Casey made that very clear," Toby said. "I have to break a girl's heart today, and I'm trying to get my nerve up to do it, okay?"
"You should have never pretended," Wes said. "Then you wouldn't have to be hurting her."
"Like you wouldn't have taken the opportunity," Toby snapped. "Admit it!"
"I'm not a liar," Wes growled. Toby walked closer to him.
"You are no better than me," Toby hissed, jabbing his chest with his finger. Something inside Wes snapped then, and he had Toby in a headlock before he knew what he was doing.
"Aahh!" Toby was shouting. He banged his fists into Wes' knees, making Wes grunt in pain. Toby managed to release himself from the headlock and took a swing at Wes' head. Wes ducked, but barely just. The blow clipped his ear, making it ring. Wes grabbed Toby by the shirt collar and rammed him into a wall hard before releasing him. Toby gasped for air.
"You feel like a man now?" he wheezed. "Now that you've beaten me up?"
"Shut up," Wes snapped.
"She'll never look at you. She believes she's a DUFF, like you told her she was. She's never gonna get another boyfriend once I'm gone," Toby said while laughing. Wes lost control of his fist. It rammed into Toby's cheekbone, and Toby hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"MISTER Rush!" a voice called. Wes turned to see the music teacher storming towards him, furious.
"He started it," Wes said as Toby struggled to get up.
"I don't care! Violence is NOT accepted in this school! Go to the principal's office. NOW!" the teacher shouted. Wes bowed his head and made his way to the office. Toby followed behind him, sulking.
"Thanks a lot," he muttered. "I was supposed to break up with Bianca before Casey ruined my life."
"Well, you should have thought about that before you egged me on then punched me," Wes scoffed. He sat down on their chair while the admin woman let Buchanan know they were there. By the time it was Wes' turn, he was exhausted. Toby looked just as tired too. Buchanan had a very stern expression on his face when Wes sat down.
"You wanna tell me what happened, Mr. Rush?"
"He said some mean things about a friend of mine, and I lost my temper. In my defense, he did hit me first," Wes explained.
"I don't care. You shouldn't have hit back. I'm afraid I have to suspend you for the rest of the week."
"Okay, fine," Wes sighed. "Can I go now?" Buchanan surveyed him quietly for a moment.
"I know this whole thing has been difficult for you," he said quietly. "I understand your anger. I would be devastated if the woman I loved forgot me."
"How did you...?"
"Toby told me," Buchanan cut him off. "And I heard about it from others too. Mr. Rush, my advice to you is to work you way into her circle of friends carefully and go from there. These things take time. I know, too, for a fact that beating on said woman's boyfriend is not going to score you any brownie points."
"I'll take that under advisement," Wes nodded.
"Go home. Sleep it off. Spend the next few days evaluating your choices. Also, I want you and Mr. Tucker to apologize to each other before you come back."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes."
"Fine." Wes stood up, assuming he was dismissed. Buchanan stood in his way for a moment before reaching out and patting Wes' shoulder.
"Take care," he said. Wes left without a word. He went to his locker and grabbed his bag and homework. He had three whole days ahead of him to figure out his "choices."
"Wes?"
"Not now, Madison," Wes groaned.
"No, listen. It's important," Madison said, grabbing his arm. He stopped and looked at her.
"What?"
"I want to say I'm sorry. I've been acting out of control lately, and that's because I don't have control of much right now. I'm sorry I yelled at you, harassed you, and chased you around this school trying to get us back together. I'm stopping. Right now," she finished.
"I...wow okay," Wes said. "Thank you, Madison."
"Take care, Wesley," Madison said softly as she turned and left. Wes stared after her. What had happened to the ice queen?
Bianca
She was heading for her car when it struck her again. The pain felled her like a tree, and she was on the pavement beside her car, hands reaching for the handle to pull herself back up. She groaned from the pain.
B! Come on! Let me explain!
No!
BEEEEEE!
Impact. Smashing. Pain. Flying. Falling. Rolling...
"B!" a voice called. In an instant, someone had her in their arms, cradling her. She could barely see for the pain. She did know she was crying.
"It's all right," the voice kept saying as they rocked her. "It's all right."
"It hurts so much," she sobbed. Her vision was slowly coming back.
"We should get you to a hospital then," the guy said. It was a guy, she could see that now. His face was coming in clearer.
"Wes?" she asked, finally seeing him.
"Yea. B, you need to see a doctor," he urged.
"N-no, no. I'm fine. Just a headache," she tried.
"A headache? B! You fell down from the pain! That's not a normal headache," Wes told her.
"It's fine. I want to go home," she said.
"I'm driving," he said. She didn't argue. She didn't actually feel well enough to drive anyway. The trip was silent. Bianca did notice his knuckles were cracked, as though he had punched something. Or someone. She shuddered at this thought.
"Here we are," Wes said, pulling into her driveway. He stopped the car and handed her the keys. "You okay to go in?"
"Yea," she nodded. She grabbed her bag and got out. Wes got out as well. He looked over the roof of her car at her.
"You should tell your mom," he called, making her turn around. "About the headaches."
"Bye, Wes," Bianca said, turning to go inside. She didn't want her mom to know. It would mean the hospital again, and that's where she had been unconscious. What if they probed into her head and she went back into a coma? She couldn't do it, wouldn't do it. Once in her lifetime was enough. She'd put up with the pain.
Okay my lovely readers, please let me know what you thought so I know there's still interest in this story! Godric's Girl Forever, I know it took me long enough, but there's your fight scene ;)
