I woke up to my alarm at five thirty and I groaned before turning it off and heading towards my bathroom. I would be showering after working out with Quinn, so I just pulled my hair back into a pony tail. I changed into a pair of pants and then swapped my Dalton Academy shirt for a McKinley Cheerios shirt.
I zipped up my Cheerios uniform and grabbed my duffle bag along with my book bag and started downstairs. I ate a banana and a few strawberries before going back upstairs to brush my teeth, grab Jeff's letter and my cell phone.
I'll be at your house soon. - Ellie.
Kay. See you then. - Q
I pulled on my Converse, something I rarely got to do since I joined the Cheerios and then went back downstairs to grab my things to leave. It was still dark out as I drove the familiar route to Quinn's house and soon she was piling her things in my trunk and we were on our way to McKinley.
"Is this the letter," she asked when she saw the envelope sitting in the cup holder next to my cell phone.
"Oh, um, yeah," I mumbled, barely taking my eyes off the road.
"Are you guys going to talk on Friday?"
"Yeah. We're going to go to The Lima Bean and just talk, I guess. I'm not really sure."
"That's good. You deserve something good after last year." I knew she was referring to herself as well, but I held my tongue and didn't voice my opinions. I knew from experience that it wouldn't do any good. The school came into view and our conversation quickly turned to what we were going to do this morning. "I say we just run a bit. We'll have practice today and Coach won't be easy on us after not having practice yesterday." I quickly agreed and slipped out of my car, pulling one of Nick's old hoodies onto my body and slipping my keys into the pocket, zipping it to ensure that I wouldn't lose my keys. We ran five laps before calling it quits and retrieving our duffle bags and book bags from my car so we could shower and change into our Cheerios uniform.
"Good morning, ladies," Coach Sylvester said as we started to enter the locker room.
"Morning, Coach Sylvester," we both said before we entered the room and made our way to the showers. We both showered quickly once we realized we didn't have much time until school was due to start. We donned our Cheerios uniforms and pulled our hair into the required ponytail. Reluctantly, I pushed my Converse into my duffle bag and pulled on the white sneakers that we were required to wear.
We pushed our duffle bags into the lockers we were given and smiled at each other before leaving the locker room. Mitchell and Sam joined us shortly after and I smiled at Sam and Quinn before glaring at Mitchell.
"Go away, Mitchell. She has a man," Quinn said as she placed a hand on my shoulder.
"She does? Since when," Sam asked as Quinn laced her fingers with his.
"She doesn't yet. But if I know them well enough, it won't be long. I'll see you later, Ellie." I murmured a bye before starting off towards my classroom. Once in there and in my seat, with my books and binder in front of me, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out and smiled a little at seeing Jeff's name.
Have a good day. Oh, and good luck during practice. - Jeff
You too. And thanks. - Ellie
I stuffed my phone back into my bag as my English teacher walked in and started to collect our essays and then he began droning about something related to the subject. I copied the notes, but my mind was really on the letter that was stuffed in my binder.
The day passed in mostly a blur. I handed in my assignments and I copied the notes, but my mind wasn't really on my classes. I joined the rest of the Cheerios in the locker room, where Coach Sylvester yelled at us for a bit before we were instructed to stretch and be on the field in twenty minutes. I grumbled a bit and put on some deodorant before helping Quinn start the stretches. I was second in command. If Quinn ever got sick or anything ever happened to her or she wasn't at school, I was in charge, so I helped. Basically it meant that I was hoisted as high as Quinn in lifts and I was right below her in the pyramid.
The practice went by as smooth as it could have. Coach had yelled at Santana a few times for slacking on the bottom of the pyramid. We showered and then Quinn and I left, letting Coach Sylvester and Becky deal with the rest of the squad.
"Ladies, game tomorrow. Be here at five thirty, no exceptions," Coach Sylvester said through her megaphone just as I opened the locker room door.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Quinn said as she started off towards the choir room.
"You sure you don't need a ride home," I asked stopping and turning to look at my friend.
"No. Sam's going to drive me home." I nodded and waved to her. She waved back before turning to leave. I exited the building and smiled when I saw my brother and Jeff leaning against Nick's car.
"Hey, sexy," Mitchell said as he slung an arm over my shoulder. I could see Jeff starting to walk over before Nick placed a hand on his shoulder. I slung Mitchell's arm off and turned to glare at him. "What's wrong, baby? You know you want me." I groaned and started to walk towards Nick and Jeff when Mitchell pulled me back.
"Dude, hands off my sister," Nick said as he came up and pushed the guy away. Obviously, Jeff hadn't been as quick to act as Nick had been only moments before.
"You okay," Jeff asked as he pulled me into his chest. I nodded a little and hugged him for a moment, before pushing him towards the now fighting boys.
"Make Nick stop," I said as I adjusted the bag on my shoulder. He nodded and handed me his phone and blazer before starting towards the fight. By now a few more of the football players had shown up and Puck was quick to pull Mitchell off my brother.
"Dude, chill out," Puck screamed as he shoved him towards the field. Most of the boys followed Mitchell, who was openingly cursing.
"You sure you're okay," Jeff asked again after he made sure Nick was alright and had made his way back to me. I nodded though I wouldn't look him in the eye and I was picking at a loose thread on his blazer. He placed a hand under my chin and finally forced me to look at him. Tears were flowing down my face and I sniffled a little at him seeing me like this. "Hey, Nick. I'm going to drive Ellie home. I'll see you there." Nick nodded from where he still sat next to a few Glee members. Rachel held an ice pack to his face and Quinn was wiping at the blood that flowed from his nose.
Jeff took my bags from me and placed them in the trunk before taking his cell phone from me and shoving it in his pants pocket. His blazer was then taken from my arms and instead of going back on his body or in the trunk, was placed on my own body. It was warm from where he had worn it and then from me clutching it only moments before. He helped me in the car and then after getting the keys from my book bag, got into the drivers seat.
"You better not get any snot on that," he said as he started the car and the left the parking lot. I giggled a little before searching for my favorite McFly CD. I skipped through most of it before That Girl finally came on and then I smiled. Jeff started singing along to it, making me smile even more. Once the song was over, I turned the volume down and let the music softly play. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Later," I murmured as I turned my head to look at him. He nodded slightly as he made his way through Lima. I dozed off slightly, the day finally taking its toll on me. Soon, I was being pulled out of my car and I was in Jeff's arms. "I could've walked." He chuckled, but didn't let me down. "Mom won't be home, she had to work late tonight.
"Okay. I got to put you down. You sure you're okay," he asked again. I nodded, but even when he put me down I ended up leaning against him. He dug through his pockets until he found a set of keys and sifted through them for a moment before finding the one to my house. He smiled down at me and led me through my house towards the living room.
I sank into the couch and once he realized I had no intention of moving, he left to get my things from the trunk. He returned moments later and set them by the stairs before joining me on the couch. I shifted towards him and soon I was in his embrace, my fingers messing with his tie and the buttons on his shirt as he rubbed circles on my back.
"He reminded me of Andy," I finally said as I fingered his striped tie. "Um, right before Andy cheated on me, he basically did the same thing, only um, he wanted more and I didn't want to…" Jeff's fingers had stilled on my back, but I couldn't face looking at him. I was too ashamed.
"What happened," he asked in a small voice, probably scared to really know the truth.
"He slapped me a few times and the night he cheated on me, he punched me in my stomach." He growled a little and his fingers dug into my back for a moment before he regained control and started rubbing my back again.
"I knew there was a reason I didn't like him." I giggled a little and nuzzled a little closer to him. The door opened and then slammed again before Nick came into view. "You okay?"
"Um, yeah. You guys?" I guess Jeff nodded because soon Nick was retreating towards the stairs.
"I'm going to go change. I can only stand being in this thing for so long." He chuckled, but nodded and took his blazer nonetheless. I bypassed my room and headed towards Nick's, knocking slightly before walking in. He was rubbing something on his face and I sighed when I saw the signs of a bruise around his eye.
"Hey, Elle. Don't worry about me. Alright," he said as he wiped his fingers off and then pulled me into a hug. "Have you told Jeff anything? He's probably freaking out right now."
"Uh, yeah. I told him a few things about what happened right before Andy cheated on me. We're suppose to go for coffee tomorrow night after the game. I figured I'd mention a few other things then."
"Are you going to tell him everything from last year?"
"I have to at some point. Why not near the beginning before anything possibly might happen. I'd rather him know up front, rather than months for now." I leaned back against his dresser, unknowingly ghosting a hand over my stomach.
"Just try not to think about it, alright? You're amazing and beautiful and Jeff isn't going to go anywhere." I nodded and swiped at a few tears before hugging him again and leaving his room.
I changed into a pair of Cheerios work out pants and the Dalton Academy shirt I had slept in the night before and then scrubbed away the days makeup and tears. I went back downstairs and found Jeff and my brother in similar outfits of track pants and Dalton shirts, arguing over what movie to watch. I grabbed the remote from Jeff and pulled Ferris Bueller's Day Off out of its case and let it slide into the DVD player.
"Did she just take over the TV," Jeff asked Nick as I sat down between the two boys.
"Yeah. This is her go to cheer up movie," Nick said as I pressed the few buttons to get the movie starting. Jeff nodded and sat back, letting his arm rest on the back of the couch, an open invitation for me to crawl back into his embrace. I shifted over a few inches, just so we were sitting side by side. With that few inches, I could feel Nick's gaze on the two of us.
By the middle of the movie, Nick had decided that he had homework to do and Jeff and I had shifted so that I was between his legs, his arms wrapped around me. That's what my mom came home to. To Nick upstairs blasting his music and Jeff and I on the couch watching my favorite movie.
"Well, alright then. I take it you guys have a three day weekend, Jeff," my mom asked, looking between the two of us.
"Yes, ma'am," he said after taking his gaze off the TV.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you two, so if you want order pizza or something. Ellie, is everything alright? You haven't watched this movie in awhile…"
"Yeah," I mumbled into Jeff's chest. "Just a really bad ending to a good day." She nodded and finally left us to finish the movie. Once it was over, I pulled away from the blonde boy, murmuring a small sorry as I did so.
"Nothing to be sorry about." He pushed my bangs out of my face and I smiled at him as his fingers grazed against my skin for just a moment too long.
"Um, that talk we're suppose to have tomorrow… You think we could do part of it tonight?"
"You sure?"
"Yeah. You need to know some things."
"Alright. Let's go for a drive. We can go sit by the park or something." I nodded and went to tell my mom as he slipped his shoes back on. I grabbed my cell phone from my book bag and slipped into a pair of flip flops and Jeff's hoodie before leaving the house. We slipped into Nick's car and drove for awhile until we got to the park. A few kids were still playing on the playground and a few teenagers were riding bikes or practicing tricks on a skateboard, but it was as peaceful as it could get.
"I think I should start with last year," I started and I watched as he turned from watching the skateboarders to actually looking at me. "You know about Andy and what happened before he cheated. But I've held in what happened afterwards. After the night with you and Nick picking up the pieces and I basically put on a happy mask. I cut for awhile, maybe a few weeks, until Nick came home unexpectedly and caught me. Seeing him cry like that made me quit. I can't handle seeing him like that. And I still have a few scars from that, ones that I made sure my uniform could hide, but still remind me of the damage I did to myself."
Jeff wiped the tears from my eyes and calmed me down enough where I could continue. "What else," he murmured. His fingers were rubbing small circles on my hand and I wondered when he had grabbed for my hand.
"Everything stopped for awhile. I stuck by Quinn during her pregnancy even though Coach Sylvester had kicked her off the squad and Christmas passed. And then I stopped eating. Nick was gone so he wasn't as observant towards everything I did. It was kind of like the cutting. I had just wanted to feel something, anything. And I never realized what it was doing to me. Never realized what I was doing to me." A sob finally broke through and I had never been more grateful for Nick's bench seats in his car because as soon as that sob reached his ears I was in his arms.
"Who knows? Like who ended up finding out," he asked me in a small voice and he rubbed my back.
"Quinn and Nick. Quinn noticed when I started passing out at school and then Nick came home and caught me passed out in the kitchen. I woke up when the paramedics got there. I've never seen him look so scared." I was openly crying now, having not told that much to anyone besides Nick, Quinn, my mom, and a counselor. "My mom rushed to the hospital and found me hooked up to IVs trying to get my hydrated and for awhile she just stood in the corner and cried. I talked to a counselor for months and when it was deemed that I was okay I started back into the routine of Cheerios."
"God, I knew Nick kept holding something back during those months. He was so stressed and looked so worried. Please promise me that you won't slip back into that, just please." I finally looked up at him and noticed the tears that were falling down his face. There weren't many and if you asked him, he would probably deny it, but they were there.
"I won't. I promise." I dived back into his chest and I clawed at his shirt for a few moments before finally giving up and trailing my hands to his back. His fingers ran through my hair and his other hand was poised on my back. His phone rang and he cleared his throat a little before pulling it out and answering the text message. I sat back up and just watched him text while I could.
This chapter is super heavy. Again, I have no idea where this came from. I think this idea has been in my head since I watched the Glee Project on Sunday and saw Marissa's word.
Personally I kind of know what Marissa went through. I went a couple of weeks without eating and passed out in my room for awhile. I talked to some people and I was fine. I was bullied a little for having a bit of a stomach and I wanted to change it. It doesn't solve anything. It does make things worse. People started looking at me differently and I had people watching me at school to made sure I was actually eating, and then making sure I didn't head towards any bathrooms to do something else.
Anyways, on a happy note, I have a subscriber, which I doubted I would have on this story seeing as how Jeff isn't a prominent character on Glee. So that's awesome. Subscribe and review. I love hearing what people think.