Chapter Five: D-Day
Jess entered the house to just about as welcoming of a greeting as she had received yesterday. "I got a call from your school. They said you started a fight, and then you skipped school."
"I didn't start it-"
"Bull! You're always causing problems," Vicky snapped.
"Why don't you listen before you pass judgment-" Vicky's hand cracked across Jess's face, sending her crashing to the floor. Damn, another bruise.
"You're just mad because I'm not giving you opportunity to lie again. That's all you ever do, Jess." Richard entered the room, and Jess stiffened from her position on the floor. Jess tried to stand up and Richard grabbed her wrist, using it to slam her back down on the floor. Jess rolled out of his reach and stood again, her fists raised.
"I won't let you hit me again!" She snapped. Richard grabbed her fists and, before she could react, had slammed her into the wall again.
"Richard, stop." Vicky pleaded, looking fearful. He looked at his wife and released Jess. Go to your room young lady." She obliged. Once she was in her room, she plucked her headphones over her ears, and let the steady rhythm carry her away.
Jess woke up the next morning with the headphones over her ears. She realized she had slept through her alarm clock, but Vicky came in around seven to wake her up. She asked if she was ok, and Jess informed her she was fine. She told Jess that the social worker was making arrangements to have her moved to another foster home.
Big surprise.
She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back
Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace
Jess got dressed with the earphones still over her ears, to drown out any sounds from downstairs. She made sure to cover her new bruises with her baggy jeans and sweatshirt. She applied some makeup to her eye, which didn't completely hide the bruise.
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask
Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
She bolted downstairs and, ignoring her foster mother, grabbed a muffin before bolting out the door. Vicky tried to ask about the makeup, but Jess brushed her off. She knew she didn't have to hide from her friends anymore, but still, she took the long way to school.
Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights
A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot
She slunk into school just as the tardy bell rang. Jess sighed as a thought crossed her mind. Why go to school at all? She turned around and rocketed right out the door again. A quick trip back to get Sunny, and she was sitting in her cave, reading a book by flashlight with tear drops sprinkling the pages.
Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above
But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel
Will fidgeted uneasily in her desk chair when the late bell rang, and Mrs. Rudolph called role, pausing when she came to Jess's name. She looked questioningly at Will, who shrugged. Jess hadn't called her last night, like she promised, to tell her if she was allowed to go to the party. Now she wasn't in class. Will thought about the bruises on Jess's back, and wondered, could he have hurt her bad enough to keep her from coming to school? Will tried not to worry, but the memory of how Jess had winced every time she had moved…she stared out the window and tried to think of anything but the lightning guardian, and the possibility that she was in the hospital…or worse. She had once seen on TV about how an abusive father had killed his daughter. Jess is fine, Will admonished herself, she skips class all the time. Why am I so worried? She soon found herself falling asleep as she stared out the window, until a movement caught the corner of her eye. A young boy with brown hair, brown eyes, and a handsome build, was standing behind the tree, trying to get her attention.
Caleb!
"Mrs. Rudolf! I need to use the restroom, and Taranee needs to go with me, because, I don't know if you've noticed but, teenage girls like to do these things in pairs." Mrs. Rudolf started to object, but then she looked out the window and saw Caleb. Mrs. Rudolf, who was also from Metamoor, was a part of the rebellion and she knew of Caleb as well. Will grabbed Taranee's hand and bolted out the door.
"Will what are you-"
"Caleb's outside," she hissed in her ear and Taranee fell silent. Caleb smiled as they came closer to him. "What's up?"
"How soon can you girls leave for Metamoor?"
"As soon as class lets out, why?"
"I need your help." He said.
"What's going on?"
"Phobos is still searching for me and my men. Do you girls think you can help them get to the Infinite City? He has them cornered in the canyons, and they can't escape."
"Of course, Caleb. Oh, one more problem. We need to find Jess. She didn't show up for class today."
"I'll find her. You warn the girls." Will nodded.
"She likes to hang out in the caves around the beach. Try there." Caleb nodded and darted off. Will and Taranee bolted back in the school, just as the bell was ringing, to find the other girls.
Caleb picked his way across the rocks of the Heatherfield beach, trying to get to the caves before he had to meet the girls. He had stopped at a pay phone and tried to call Jess's cell phone, just like Will had taught him, but, either he had done it wrong, or Jess wasn't answering. As soon as he reached the sand, he saw foot prints, a set of small of feminine looking ones, and a small dog's. He smiled and followed them into a cave, wishing Blunk was with him to help track the pair. He saw a light.
"Jess?" he whispered into the darkness. He heard Sunny's unmistakable yap and heard a rock smack the wall next to him. Either Jess hadn't recognized his voice, or she wanted to be left alone. "Jess it's me, it's Caleb. Cease fire!" he added as another rock nearly hit his shoulder.
"Caleb?" she said. He didn't like the sound of her voice. She sounded scared.
"Are you ok?" He heard her shuffling down the rocks and felt Sunny's cold nose touch his ankle as she sniffed him up and down. Jess slipped in the water and he grabbed her arm to steady her. He picked up the flashlight and, without a word, she followed him out of the cave. Caleb blinked in the sudden sunlight that was jabbing a vicious finger in his eyes. He saw Jess squint as well, and turned to say something to her when he saw the bruises on her face and arms, her cheeks stained with tears. "Jess what happened?" He reached his hand out to her and she smacked it away.
"None of your business!"
"Who hit you?"
"No one."
"Bull! Jess, who did this?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Will sent me to find you. We're heading to Meridian to rescue some of the rebels. Oh my God, Jess!" Jess was pulling her sweatshirt on, and Caleb saw the bruised flesh on her shoulders that her tank top displayed.. He grabbed the sweatshirt, as well as the tank top, and yanked them up to see more bruises and a few bleeding scratches on her back. Jess smacked his hand again and called him a jerk. "In Meridian, If someone hit a young lady, he gets sent to prison."
"Well this isn't Meridian, Caleb. Here, no one cares if you get hurt."
"Do your parents know?" She dropped her gaze.
"Who do you think did it?" she muttered.
"Jess!"
"Mind your business, Caleb." They walked a few minutes in silence before Caleb turned to her once more.
"Those look pretty painful."
"What do you care?" she snapped. Caleb sighed. He had long since gotten used to Jess's stubbornness, but she still could exasperate him to tears. "I've gotten used to being hit, ok. I've been smacked around since I was three. They're not my parents anyway. I'm a ward of the state. I have no family."
"They shouldn't be allowed to hit you like that."
"Well, write a letter to Congress, and see if you can find someone who cares." She bolted ahead as they reached the school, and she saw the girls sitting under the tree. Will started to make a comment about the bruises, but Jess cut her off. "We should go."