Chapter Four

Disclaimer/Author's Note: See Chapter One, and if you haven't and you're reading this far ahead then there's something wrong with you for skipping ahead. Sorry it took me so long to update and I am very sincere about that. I was grounded for the longest time, but now I'm not so expect lots of Chappies! Hugs and Kisses!

Megan-who-is-lazy-and-doesn't-want-to-login- That's my job to make you feel bad, remember?

True Skagness- I'm glad it's the best Birthday Chapter ever. I wouldn't want it to be anything else! And uh, I don't love Spinner. Remember, no incest that's YOUR job!

Bleezie- Wanna know the truth? I got scared writing it, 'cause I was home alone and then "True Skagness" called and made fun of me for answering the phone scared. I'm glad you liked it though!

Cassie- I DO love Eyeball's laugh! And you are the judge of whether they got beat up pretty bad or not. And I updated! YAY!

Emily- I'm trying!

StormShadow21- I'm glad you like all those things. Damn the Chordettes though for getting them in trouble. And I agree about that stupid kid. I'd hit him to, but I'm over my monthly mental abuse minutes.

Squirrel Bob- No, YOU suck my friend. I still love you though.

I don't recall falling asleep. I just remember finishing the story, making sure the kids were down, and waiting.

I dreamed of my dad when I finally fell into that peaceful state.

I'd just come home from school and because my mom was out for the rest of the day, I figured my dad and I would pal around.

Drew wasn't home quite yet, the high school let out earlier which I was glad for. When I got in the house I sensed something was wrong. For one thing the radio was on, not unusual, but there was no one dancing or singing. "Daddy?" I called. No response. I set my backpack on the floor and tiptoed up the stairs. Maybe he was working and if he was it was the perfect opportunity to sneak up on him. At the end of the hall was my parents' bedroom and the door was open a crack. I tried to get a good look and...

"Jov. Hey Jov, wake up. You're mumbling." Chris said shaking me awake.

"Huh? What'd I say?" I asked sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Just something about your pop. Try not to be so loud dad's sleeping. Don't worry; he'll be gone soon. Fuckin' rummy."

Now that my eyes had adjusted to the little light that was able to trickle in I could get a real good look at him.

His eye was bruising pretty badly but it hadn't started swelling quite yet. His bottom lip was swollen and sporting a tiny cut. I let my gaze drop, feeling ashamed to have been staring.

"Let's get you cleaned up for school." I whispered getting off the mattress, careful not to wake anybody up.

I grabbed a white blouse and a plain, pink skirt from my suitcase and walked with Chris to the bathroom.

The thing about living in this hellhole was that it was always cold in the morning, there was no hot water, and if you wanted to use the toilet you had to use the outhouse. Now out of all these things the no hot water I could deal with because we never used it anyway. The cold wasn't bad, especially because the days always grew so hot. It was the toilet I had been jazzed about.

"I'm sorry." I said grabbing a washrag off of the counter. Over the two boring days, in which I'd done nothing, I had cleaned the house as much as possible because it looked like no one else was ever going to.

"Yeah." Chris said and by the way he spoke I knew he was thinking on it, so I dropped it.

I ran the rag through the water and held it to his lip. He flinched but I didn't let go.

"Hold it there while you get dressed and get ready. Wake Rich up too."

"He doesn't go to school." Chris told me. I shrugged my shoulders and sat on the sink.

"I know, but I do. And you and I both know if we don't clean him up a little then no one's going to. Besides, if he doesn't then he's gonna look worse than shit. Before you do though I'm going to get ready for school, so shoo!"

As quickly and quietly as I could I showered, got dressed, and was making an attempt to restrain my hair although it wasn't going the way I wanted it to at all. A loud knock made me jump about a foot in the air.

"Jovie, you in there?" Eyeball called. Apparently my Uncle was gone because Rich wasn't exactly being quiet. I gave a small yell of frustration at my hair and threw the door open.

"Yes?" I asked smiling sweetly.

"Uh... are you okay?" He asked. I glanced at the brush in my hand and tossed it on the floor.

"Yeah. Wow, you're a sight for sore eyes."

Taking one look at him made me want to hug him, and with Chris standing next to him my heart melted.

Because he only had a dried bloody nose, Eyeball was easy to fix. I grabbed another rag and cleaned his face, although he was angry about it. His pride would never allow him to be taken care of like this.

"Alright, you're free to go. C'mon over here Chris." I said, taking the cloth from him and rinsing it again. The swelling on his lip had gone down quite a bit, but his eye had just started. I handed the rag back to him and he automatically put it on his eye.

"Oh," Eyeball said sticking his head back in. "Ace is coming by with Billy, Jezebel, and Fuzzy to take them to school. Said he'd give you a ride too."

I was busy playing nurse and waved him away, the idea not quite sinking in yet. When it did, you'd think I could've woken the dead.

"I refuse Eyeball. No way." I stubbornly held my ground.

"You can't walk." Eyeball replied flatly. I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch, knowing that this argument was more about who was going to win rather than cousinly concern.

"Fine I'll." I muttered, crossing my arms.

He grabbed the beer on the table and took a swig. I rolled my eyes again, utterly disgusted. A horn honked outside.

"Make sure the kids get to school. If they don't I swear I'll kill you." I ordered, not sounding very convincing.

"Whatever."

I opened the front door and crossly walked outside, my hair swishing like a tail. (I had finally managed to get it in a ponytail.) I threw my stuff in the back, ready to hop in and completely ignore Ace, but the back was full.

"Hi Jov!" Jezebel exclaimed with a big grin. I managed a small smile back and climbed in the front beside Ace.

"I'm so excited about school starting. I mean, I've waited so long just to be able to see everyone all day everyday. I can't believe you dropped out Ace. You and Eyeball set a bad example for those kids you know. Especially because..." Jezebel rambled on and no one in the car listened. Ace turned up the radio.

"Hey Bell, let it go." Billy said staring out into the street. Jezebel blushed and kept quiet.

"Goddamn. Claire got caught coming in late last night." Ace said to no one in particular, although everyone was hanging on every word.

"Yeah, so what the hell'd she tell her ol' man?" Fuzzy asked. I drummed my finger on my lap, feeling out of place.

"Nothing. Just said she felt like talking a little walk and that she hadn't been gone that long." Jezebel spoke up suddenly. They turned to stare at her. "What? That's what she told me when I called her this morning. I had to ask if she wanted a ride too."

"Good Bell." Billy said shaking his head and looking away.

"Ooh, I love this song!" I exclaimed, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the car. I reached to turn up Rockin' Robin and got a curious glance from Ace.

"You know Claire?" Ace asked. I nodded slowly, hoping to god he didn't catch me blushing.

"Or at least I use to." I added as an afterthought.

We pulled up to the school, Castle Rock High, and Ace let us out. I took my backpack from Fuzzy, who had decided to go through it at the last minute. Not that there was anything interesting in there, but he hadn't asked.

"Nice try buddy." I said zipping it back up.

"I just wanted to see if there was anything in there." He said with a cheesy grin. I raised an eyebrow at him and walked away. No words could describe how weird I thought he was.

"Come on Jov, I'll take you to meet the girls before first period." Bell said grabbing my hand and pulling me along before I got to get one last look at Ace.