A/N: Just a heads up, the first part of this chapter goes back to before the girls went to school on Monday morning. Also, thanks for all the reviews guys! I love each and every one of them! And FlairNBoss; I LOVE the long reviews. The longer, the better! :)
Stephanie had walked into the room and announced that all four girls were going to school today and were expected to be up and ready in an hour. Becky looked over at her older sister, worried when she made no effort to move from her spot in the corner.
"What's wrong with Charlotte?" asked Sasha, carefully nearing her sister. Becky sighed, kneeling down next to her sister.
"Come on, Charlotte. You gotta get ready, sis," whispered Becky, gently stroking Charlotte's hair. Charlotte whimpered in response, closing her eyes.
"Come on, honey. I know it hurts. I know. I know you're sad. I know it's been a very bad weekend. But school is safe. Nobody can hurt you at school," whispered Becky, leaning down closer to her sister.
She wasn't used to Charlotte needing the reassurance. She wasn't used to Charlotte needing the help. She was the strong one. She was the one who carried the four of them. This wasn't like her sister at all, and Becky worried that this weekend was it. That her parents had finally broken the spirit of the only one of them who had seemed so strong in the face of so much abuse.
Charlotte shook her head, whimpering as she tried to sit up. Becky helped her up, easing her into her arms. "Come on, let's get you into a shower, okay?" whispered Becky, Charlotte shaking her head, tears streaming down her face.
"No. Hurts too much. I don't wanna go," she muttered, her fingers tracing over the burn marks on her torso, the welts that covered her body.
"Charlotte, we've all been hurt this weekend. Everybody is hurting. Sasha is still shivering from all the ice baths. Bayley can't even sit without screaming. And my…." Becky's voice drifted off as she stared down at her swollen stomach, at the marks that covered her own body. "Everyone of us is hurt. But you have to go to school or you're going to beaten again. You want dad to burn you again? You want mom to whip you more?" asked Becky, Charlotte breaking down once more.
"I couldn't protect you and Sasha and Bayley. I don't deserve to go to school!" she cried, Becky closing her eyes as she held her crying sister.
"You didn't have to. We're all in this together, okay? We're all still alive. But if you don't get up and get ready, nobody is going to be here to protect you, Charlotte. Please, please get up and get ready for school. I won't be able to handle it if you get punished more today," whispered Becky, cradling her broken sister in her arms.
Charlotte whimpered again, leaning heavily on her sister as Becky helped her to her feet, Charlotte nearly collapsing at the pain she was in.
"Come on, it's okay. I'm right here. I got you, okay? I'm gonna help you. Just let me help you," whispered Becky, helping her sister into the bathroom.
Sasha sat quietly on the swings as her class played at recess, the young child carefully pushing her legs back and forth, but not really moving. She hadn't wanted to leave Bayley crying in her classroom this morning. She knew how upset her sister had been. Sasha had tried to take care of her this weekend. At night, when their mom and dad left them for the night, Sasha would untie Bayley and let her lay down with her. She gave her kisses and whispered how much she loved her. On the inside though, Sasha just wanted to die. She hated watching her sister's get punished. She hated that she had gotten punished just for sleeping in class, something her teacher had told her to do. Her body shook and shivered as she thought about the ice showers, how her mother would whip her before she put her in them, and then watch as she screamed when the ice cold water hit her skin, cutting into the welts like knives. Sasha unconsciously rubbed at the marks on her stomach; her mother's spot of choice when it came to hitting her this weekend. A part of her had spent all that time in the shower just wishing they were real knives stabbing her. At least then she would never have to feel pain again.
Charlotte had become pretty much a zombie who refused to move from the corner. And their dad had kept making Becky drink those stupid bottles, making her stomach hurt all the time and making it bigger and bigger. That wasn't normal. She wondered what was really inside those bottles. She wondered if there was something wrong with Becky's stomach now. Becky had tried to be strong, mostly because Charlotte wasn't, but Sasha had noticed the way she was still clutching at her stomach, barely able to walk upright without being in pain.
"Hey Sasha, is something wrong?"
The young girl snapped out of her thoughts, glancing up at Miss. Wilson.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she said, offering up her best fake smile. Her teacher was not convinced.
"Sasha, I'm really worried about you. I wish you would talk to me," said her teacher, kneeling down in front of the young girl. Sasha ducked her head. She didn't need anybody worrying about her. Her sister's did enough of that, anyway.
"I don't know what you want me to talk about," said Sasha, watching as her teacher tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears, offering her a warm smile.
"Whatever it is that's on your mind, sweetheart. You know, Mr. Alexander called and told me that Bayley was pretty upset this morning. That must have been hard on you," said Miss. Wilson, Sasha shrugging it off.
"She just doesn't like to be away from my sister's or I," said Sasha, her teacher nodding.
"You know, I have an idea. There is another teacher outside who said she could watch the class. Why don't you and I go inside to the classroom and just talk, just the two of us," said Miss. Wilson, Sasha eyeing her wearily. She couldn't tell her teacher the truth. So why wouldn't she just leave her alone?
"Okay," said Sasha, figuring if she said no, it would look even more suspicious.
Bayley sat quietly in the counselor's office, her knees drawn up to her chest as she listened to her teacher and the counselor speak in a whispered tone. Mr. Alexander knelt down next to Bayley, offering her a smile.
"Mrs. Smith is just gonna talk to you, okay, Bayley?" said Mr. Alexander, the young girl nodding slowly, watching as her teacher left. Mrs. Smith stood up, walking over and shutting the door before sitting down in front of Bayley.
"Hey there, honey. What's going on, today?" she asked nicely, Bayley shrugging in response.
"Your teacher said you seemed pretty sad this morning. You look like you've been crying," stated the counselor, Bayley again refusing to say anything.
"Bayley, anything you tell me, stays in this room. Do you know what that means?" asked the counselor, Bayley shaking her head.
"It means that whatever you tell me, I won't tell anybody else," said the counselor, trying to keep the young girl's gaze.
"Nobody?" asked Bayley, looking slightly interested in the conversation for the first. "Not even my mom or dad?"
"Not even them," stated Mrs. Smith, frowning when her phone began to ring, refusing to break this moment with Bayley.
"Just ignore it. Keep talking to me, Bayley. What's going on? Why are you upset?" asked Mrs. Smith, groaning when the phone started to ring again.
"Okay, sweet girl, just one moment, okay?" said Mrs. Smith, Bayley nodding as the counselor got up to answer the phone.
"Hello, this is Mrs. Smith," she said into the phone, frowning as the person on the other end spoke, glancing over at Bayley.
"Sasha? Sasha McMahon?" she questioned, sighing as the person on the other end continued to talk.
"What the hell happened to these two girls this weekend?" she muttered, shaking her head as the person on the other end continued to talk.
"I have her sister in my office right now. Bring Sasha down. Okay, thanks."
And with that, Mrs. Smith hung up the phone, returning her attention back to Bayley.
Something had happened inside that home this weekend. And Mrs. Smith was starting to get the impression that whatever happened was not going to be easy to hear.
A/N: Man, I'm really dragging this out for you all…. Haha. Keep reviewing and all will be revealed in time!