Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down…
this chapter will contain a character some of you might know and love, someone you might have seen earlier in my stories... :)
Enjoy,
Macy PoV
I watched my friend's face as Jay sobbed in his arms, what I saw was expected, but it was still not something I liked to see. Poor Nick…
He was hurt, he was concerned, he pained himself over the girl with the ripped up black clothes. Something was going on with her and Nick knew what. Being the selfless person he is, he was trying to help her and failing.
I was glad for Jay, an outsider and someone who just generally had no-one, to have found someone as Nick, for he was a good listener and he actually cared, but now I was concerned for both of them. Hoping the mess Jay was obviously in, though I had no idea what, wouldn't drag both of them down.
He had his arms tightly around her, her head resting against his shoulder as she ruined the Stella-original. His curls were in his face, not nearly as neat as this morning. His chocolate brown eyes understanding.
What was going on here?
"You see it too, don't you?" Kevin asked, his arms folded and an uncharacteristic frown on his face, watching his little brother and the red-head with concern.
"Yeah, something is not right with that girl." I answered him. My arms equally crossed as we stood there, side by side.
They had now sat down. Nick's arms still around Jay, somehow trying to hold her together, he seemed afraid she would break somehow, if he released her. Having full view, I now saw the bruised beneath Jay's eyes, as I did the injuries.
My eyes narrowed as she stood up; somehow managing to shrink without Nick so close to her and she seemed embarrassed. Wrong word. Afraid, having broken down like this.
She said something, to cover up for her tears.
He said something back, his eyes concerned, a question of importance. I cursed the fact the atrium was sound-proof.
She answered, explained something, her arms folding around her stomach. Another tear ran over her cheek. She turned around and I noticed she was limping.
They stared at each other for a few seconds, Nick's eyes demanding, Jay's eyes without a doubt resisting that intense stare.
They talked, or rather, Jay explained and Nick listened. Her shoulders went from tense to hanging, her whole body-language changing. Her defences coming down.
Suddenly, Nick softly grabbed one of her arms and firmly pulled her onto his lap. A gentle embrace, without words. I stared at it and couldn't help but smile at this display of affection, which held pure trust.
The bell rang and they both seemed surprised at the sound. Jay jumped off Nick's lap, wincing as the normal movement hurt her somehow.
They stared at each other for another second, Nick holding his guitar and bag, Jay herself, something indescribable going on between them. Eventually, they reached their hands out and let their fingertips contact, before they both walked away simultaneously in different directions.
"Why won't he tell us?" Kevin, beside me, wondered.
I turned to my older, curly haired friend, whose expression made me want to coo him. "Because he's Nick and selfless, he doesn't want to bother us, even though it's obviously eating him up on the inside and I think Jay doesn't want him to. He is gentleman enough to respect her secret."
"Ah." Kevin said, staring at the empty atrium. "I think we have some search-work to do."
"I couldn't agree more." I said, smiling at him, sharing an equally mischievous grin. "But first, we should be off to class."
He jumped at that and the ring of the second bell and we both ran to chemistry, witch we thankfully had together.
Science could wait, our friend and brother was way more important now.
{Later that day}
Kevin and I had decided to go to my house and make some plans. Plans on how to make Nick spill the beans and also because I was home-alone, both of my parents out of town, and we liked hanging out with each other. Especially when Joe and Stella had one of their 'Shopping Spree tantrums'.
"Oh, before I forget it, I have to pick my little sister up later." I told Kevin, who nodded and dumped his bag in the usual place.
"When?" He asked, accepting the coke I gave him and sitting down on the kitchen-table.
"Around six, six thirty. She's too young to go alone and I just don't want her wondering around after dark. I don't particularly like doing that myself." I told him, walking over to sit next to him.
"I could come with." He offered. "Just for your sanity, not that you have much left."
I punched him on the shoulder, him wincing but smiling playfully and said: "Stop that and yes, I'd like that a lot."
We smiled at each other and then Kevin brought up the topic wondering through both our cloud-shaped-bunny loving minds.
"What to do with Nick?"
I sighed. "I don't know, but he seems distracted and down this week, ever since he met Jay."
"I know." Said Kevin, sipping his coke and running his leftover hand through his hair. "He won't talk to us about it, not even when Joe keeps bugging him. He does write songs a lot and from what I've heard of them, they're not his usual love songs."
"We have to help him; he's our friend and your brother with that." I said.
"I know and that means we have to find out the secret he's protecting too, not that I like that, but I think it's unavoidable."
I nodded, understanding him hating to dig into his brothers' privacy, even though it was probably the best for said brother.
Somehow, we ended up in my bedroom, on the thousands of pillows I had there, talking about what we could do (witch turned out to be not that much) and just generally worrying.
Eventually, we talked about other things and even laughed, like normally. That was nice.
'What time did you have to pick up your little sis again?" Kevin asked. Lounging against my bed, one hand on his knee and his cup of hot-chocolate (something we both loved) in his other.
I looked up from my own cup, witch rested on the pillow on my lap and answered: "Around six. How so?"
"Well, its five past six, we'd better go."
We decided to take Kevin's car and I gave him directions towards our destination.
"Turn right, here." I said. "Misty's house is right over there."
We turned into Hollow's end. A kind of shabby street, I volunteered here sometimes.
Kevin parked and we both got out. Walking up to the house my mom had given me directions to.
Something nudged my mind, but I couldn't quite catch what I noticed about this place. The light-bulb didn't flash.
We walked to the door and Kevin rang the bell. We heard some happy yelling coming from inside, the barking of a dog and something falling over.
When the door was opened, we came face to face with a middle-aged woman, around my height and a little on the large size.
"Hello." She said, a friendly smile on her face. Though she seemed rather tired. "'re you Amelia's parents?"
"No, no." I assured her, as Kevin coughed loudly. ""I'm her sister."
"Oh, 'kay." She answered, turning around again and yelling: "Misty! Amelia's sister's here!"
From upstairs, we heard some running and the next thing I knew, a small, black-haired girl had thrown herself into my arms.
"Hey Amelia!" I laughed into my sisters' curls.
"Hi Mace!" She giggled and then, over my shoulder, waved at Kevin. "Hi Kevie!"
"Hello Amelia." Kevin answered with a flashing smile. He knew my seven-year old sister very well.
I turned back, seeing dirty-brown curls behind the legs of the mother. I guessed it was Misty.
"Hi there, are you Misty?" I asked her friendly. Feeling Kevin nudge me, so I gave Amelia to him and crouched down.
The girl appeared from behind her mothers' feet. "Hi." She said slightly, nothing like moments ago when she had came down the stairs yelling.
"I'm Macy, Amelia's sister. I heard you were a nice girl, but Amelia has been fibbing."
The little girl blushed shyly.
"I think you are very nice." I told her, smiling as she returned again, a bright smile on her face, I noticed she was missing her two front-teeth. Amelia giggling behind me.
"Sank you Masie." She said, then looking to Amelia, the two kids sharing a smile and then she looked at Kevin.
She looked again.
And then: "You looks like she curly boy!"
Me and Kevin shared a confused look, Amelia climbing up Kevin's shoulders as I shrugged.
"What do you mean Misty?" I asked her.
"He lookss like the boy thats wass here a few dayss ago! The boy wis the black curlss and brown eyess at Djaiss' house. He had nise closes."
"That sounds like… Nick?" Kevin mumbled.
"Whose house, Misty? Where was Nick?" I asked again.
"The yellings house. He hears the sscreams too! Djaiss house." She answered and I could practically feel Kevin pale behind me.
"You mean, Jay?" I asked. Not paying attention to the mom, who was now shifting uncomfortably. When Misty nodded vigorously she shoved her daughter back.
"That's enough. Shouldn't ya be going?" She asked. "We saw a boy looking like yer boyfriend ere multiple times at that weird house across. I tell you, misery business over there. Shabby people going in, we hear screams, more then in normal houses. Hard girl to manage I guess."
I wasn't sure what concerned me more, the way this woman spoke about beating to raise a child or the fact that it was Jay, Nick's friend, we were talking about.
"Do you know what happens there?" I dared ask, receiving a glare.
"How should I know? I just know i's nothing good for a girl that age; I know there isn't much money in this neighbourhood, but stuff like that? I would never do that to any of my kids, I tell ya. Then again, the girl isn't even his kid. She just came ere, like a lot of those girls that come there, though she has managed longer then any of em." The woman answered me almost angrily.
"Okay, well, yeah, we should be going." I said, my mind racing and not accepting what I just heard.
What kind of misery business was the woman talking about? What did that man, obviously not Jay's father, do to her?
I wanted to know, but my brain temporarily shut down as I thought about the possibilities and the possibility that Nick was getting dragged into this.
Of one thing I was sure; Jay's injuries weren't accidental.
I walked back to the car with Kevin, him fastening Amelia, who was a little quieter now, catching our mood.
I seated next to Kevin, who drove quite tensely. The darkness now complete.
As I looked out the car-window. I swear I saw two pair of green eyes shining in the night's dark.
Oh Nick…
Kevin's PoV
After I had dropped of Macy and Amelia, I drove home in silence. Not that I could've talked to anyone, but still.
I knew Macy was still highly confused, but I had figured out some possibilities.
Firstly, I was sure Jay was being abused. Her injuries, tough behaviour (Nick, of all people, had once told me that could be a reaction) breakdown this morning and what the woman had just told us being enough to figure that out, I was sure Macy had too.
And from the way Nick acted and her tears on her shirt, I presumed he knew what was happening.
One of my theories, and the most plausible. Was that Jay was a victim to not only abuse from someone that wasn't even her relative, but also to trafficking.
That made my second theory the worst.
If she was a trafficking victim, witch I was almost sure of, because of the woman mentioning the 'other girls'.
Jay could be a victim to rape and…
God, I couldn't even think that.
No wonder Nick was in such a bad shape, his hands were tied if Jay didn't want help.
I parked the car in front of the fire-house and barged in. Ignoring my parents', Joe's and Frankie's surprised faces.
I was glad they were together; I had to speak with Nick, alone.
I half-ran up the stairs and saw Nick sitting behind his desk. I walked over to him, making him look up and his eyes widen at my face.
"Is Jay being abused?" I asked, crouching down next to him. "Has she been raped?"
His eyes said enough as they stared at me. Nick's mouth slightly open.
"Did he do anything to you?" I asked, the question that was of the most importance to me. "Did he see you, did he hurt you?"
"No! No…" He whispered. "He doesn't even know I exist."
I breathed out relieved, I don't know what I would've done if anything had happened to my little brother.
"How did you find out Kev?" He asked.
"I went with Macy to pick up Amelia at Hollow's end."
He nodded.
"Nick." I said, looking into my brother's brown eyes. "Talk to me, please?"
"Since when have you gotten so serious Kevin?" He asked, jokingly, the humour not really reaching his eyes.
"Since my little brother got into a big load of mess and I found out about a young, innocent girl being abused and possibly raped." I answered.
Then, the whole story finally came out.
He told me about following Jay and finding out what happened to her, not all the facts, but enough. That Jay was trying to keep him out. That he wanted to help, but she didn't let him. How he had talked with her, being sort of friends with her. How he felt about the whole thing. About the mysterious healings, lack of obvious evidence, except for this morning, when he had brought her to school. How much he hated himself for not doing anything, how much he hated the beast that was doing this to her.
"I don't know what exactly he does, but it breaks her, every day again, it seems." Nick said. "I don't know what to do Kev! I don't know a bloody thing!"
"Calm down man!" I told him sternly. "It's not your fault! Okay?"
He nodded. Getting a grip on himself again.
"I don't know what he does, I just know he's hurting her, I didn't hear much, but enough to know about the beatings and the rape, but I suspect there's more then that." He said.
Yeah, as if it wasn't enough already.
"She has some sort of healing herself, I don't know what. But you can still see the scars. Some were not just from hits. They were knife-marks. And this morning, there were rope-marks around her wrists."
Nick looked broken. I can't say I blame him.
"Listen to me, Nick." I told him. Putting my hand on his knee, looking up into his eyes, as I sat crouched down in front of him. "No matter what mess, we will always be there for you. We'll find a way to help her, because there's no way in hell…"
"We'll let this happen." He completed my sentence. "I know, I tried."
"And now you have help."
"Help with what?" Joe's voice suddenly interrupted.
Nick's head turned up with a snap and I turned around, seeing our brother standing there, with one foot still on the stairs. He looked concerned and I heard Nick sigh, because he would have to tell his part of the story again.
Then, we three brothers (and Macy) will find out what is going in at Hollow's end.
Yes indeed, it is Amelia, our lovely Misa-sibling from Dancing on Water!!
Until next update, do not forget to leave a message, I have officially become an addict to them.
Whatever keeps me off the streets, huh?
cum-chidilee chum-chidilee chum-ta-di-lee…