This chapter has a bit from Jinx's point of view. It's a new POV for me, so I hope I didn't mess her up too badly. :) Recently I've been plagued by writer's block for this story, so it'll probably take a while for the rest of the story to be posted. Don't worry, I will finish it. I could never be so evil that I would delete a story; I'm totally against that. I've just been having a brainburst for some other things, so don't worry if it takes a while.
"Raven!" Angela shrieked as her daughter limped down the stairs towards her. Although she was no longer wearing bloodstained pajamas, some extent of Raven's injuries could still be seen; she still walked with a limp, the cuts on her face were still visible, and her left wrist had been wrapped by Mrs. Rodriguez.
Raven dropped the pajamas she had been holding, walked as fast as her leg would allow her and flung herself into her mother's arms. Mother and daughter stood in an embrace for a long time, both with silent tears dripping down their cheeks.
"What happened?" Angela asked as soon as the two broke apart. Raven mouthed wordlessly, and looked around to where Mrs. Rodriguez, recently joined by the mister, was standing.
"She came limping up to Esteban this morning," Mrs. Rodriguez took the nonverbal hint Raven had given her. "I took care of her wounds and have pictures of them in the camera because she said her father did this to her."
"Talmon?" Angela's eyes snapped back on Raven. "Talmon did this to you?"
Raven nodded, and Angela began crying once more.
"This is all my fault," she sobbed. "I thought you were safe from him. I never thought he would touch you. I should have realized the risk I was taking when he hit me. Oh, why did I ignore it?" She clutched her daughter's shoulders and began crying into them.
"There, there, Angela," Mrs. Rodriguez handed her a tissue and patted her back softly. "This isn't your fault."
"Yes it is," Angela blew her nose loudly. "I should have left him when he first hit me, but I stayed. I thought I could shake it out of him. I thought he would change, and now look what he's done!" She hugged her daughter again. "Oh, Raven, I'm so sorry!"
Raven opened and closed her mouth, feeling much like a fish out of water. How she wanted to speak words of comfort to her mother, to let her know that she would be all right! If only she could let her know that this was not her fault!
- - - -
Jinx awoke at 11:15, feeling rather groggy yet well rested. She straightened up, yawning, and gasped.
"Raven?" she asked, noticing that Raven was not only not in her sleeping bag, but there was not trace of her anywhere. The only thing left from her overnight stay was her small stuffed elephant, Mr. Trunkie.
"Raven?" she asked again, this time stirring both Kori and Bea from their sleep. "Have either of you seen Raven?"
"I just woke up," Kori said sleepily. Bea shook her head through a yawn.
"Raven's missing!" Jinx exclaimed, quickly picking up Mr. Trunkie and holding him close to her chest. She began pacing.
"Where could she have gone?" Kori wondered aloud.
"Maybe she went home," Bea shrugged. "She lives right across the street, right?"
"Yes!" Jinx paused her pacing for a moment. "Raven was supposed to be home by nine in the morning. Maybe she left then and didn't want to wake us up!" Jinx tried to feel satisfied with this solution, but the gnawing feeling of dread was creeping up on her. Raven wouldn't have forgotten Mr. Trunkie unless she had been in a real hurry.
Trying to push these thoughts out of her head, Jinx grabbed the phone that was next to her alarm clock and dialed Raven's number.
"Hello?" Jinx recognized this voice as Raven's father.
"Hi, Sir, I'm Jen, Raven's friend," Jinx paused, waiting for some kind of reaction. Getting none, she continued, "I was just wondering, is she home right now?"
"Nah," Raven's dad said gruffly.
"Well, do you know where she is?" Jinx asked, a knot forming in her stomach painfully.
"Yeah, I know where she is," Raven's father said. Jinx began to relax. "But I ain't telling you."
"Well, is she all right?" Jinx asked hesitantly, clutching Mr. Trunkie tighter.
"You better hope she's not," Raven's father let out a maniacal laugh. "You'd better hope she's the opposite of okay." With a last laugh, he hung up.
"Oh my gosh," Jinx hung up the phone, feeling tears come to her eyes.
"What is it, Jinx?" Kori came over and put an arm around her.
"I just spoke to Raven's dad," Jinx felt the tears overflow her eyes and begin streaming down her face. "You don't know this, and I was told not to tell anyone, but oh well. Raven's dad wanted her to be home by nine this morning, and he gets really mad if she doesn't do what he tells her to. So when I asked him about her and if she was okay, he said," Jinx sniffed loudly, "that I'd better hope she's not okay."
Kori tightened her grip on Jinx's shoulders.
"Don't worry Jinx," Bea tried to sound reassuring. "We'll find her."
"Yeah, someone's bound to have seen her," Kori reasoned. "Why don't you call the neighbors while Bea and I keep an eye on Raven's house, just in case she is there and is just grounded or something."
"Okay," Jinx wiped her eyes. The three girls headed down to the kitchen, and Jinx started rummaging through the drawer that held the telephone books, looking for the neighborhood one. She quickly found it, and began to dial.
'Please let Raven be okay,' Jinx thought desperately as the phone began to ring. 'She's my best friend. I don't know what I'd do if she's not all right.'
- - - -
The telephone in the kitchen of the Rodriguez house rang. Mrs. Rodriguez hurried into the kitchen to answer it.
"Hello?" she said at first. "Oh yes!" She paused. "Yes, she's quite all right." Another pause. "You'd like to speak to her? Well, let me get her for you." She placed the phone down on the counter and came into the living room, where Raven and Angela were both sitting on the couch, both frozen in shock.
"Raven?" she said kindly. Raven looked up. "Your friend Jen is on the phone. Would you like to speak to her?"
Raven's eyes welled up with tears again, and she nodded. She looked at Angela for help, pointing at her mouth.
"I'll get this one for you, shall I?" Angela asked. Raven nodded, and followed her mother into the kitchen. Angela picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Angela said. "Yes, this is she." She paused. "Now, Jen, this is going to be very hard for you to understand, but you need to listen. Raven's father b-beat her." Angela's voice shook as she spoke, but she remained calm. "I know, sweetie. But you must listen to me. Raven is so overwhelmed by the shock that she can't speak." She paused. "Oh, Jen, please don't cry." She paused, then turned to Raven, putting a hand over the receiver. "She wants to know if she can come over and see you."
Raven nodded. Angela uncovered the receiver and began speaking again.
"Jen? Yes, she would like to see you." She paused again, and turned back to Raven. "Apparently some friends are still at her house. Kori and Bea. She wants to know if you'd like to see them too." Raven shook her head.
"She would just like to see you, Jen. Maybe you could have them call their parents and wait with them until they leave?" She paused. "All right. Great."
Raven hastily took a pencil and a piece of paper into her hands and wrote, 'Tell Jinx not to go crazy.' This she pushed towards her mother.
"Oh, and Jen," Angela saw the note, and began speaking once more. "Raven says 'Don't go crazy.'" She paused. "All right. Good bye." She hung up the phone.
Raven hugged Angela again, and the two walked back into the living room.