Rating: T (for mild violence)
The house was as empty as it had been when they left it. Jamie thundered up the stairs and burst into Sophie's bedroom, but there was no one there.
"She's not here?" Mrs. Bennett asked, her voice dripping with worry. "Where could she be?"
Jamie was in the process of booting up his sister's computer. Mrs. Bennett paced as Jamie went through Sophie's history, but most of it had been cleared. He perched on the edge of the bed and was ruminating when there came the sound of the front door being opened. Mrs. Bennett was out of the room and down the stairs in a flash, and Jamie heaved an audible sigh of relief as he heard his sister's name being exclaimed and the familiar mumbles of protest as Mrs. Bennett wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Where have you been?" Jamie asked, before his mother could. It was a direct question, and came out rather harsh. Sophie stared him down.
"I don't answer to you," she snapped, brushing past him and hurrying up the stairs. She paused and turned momentarily, halfway up. "By the way, whatever plans you have for tonight, just note that I won't be a part of them."
"You're going out?" Jamie called, before climbing up after her and grabbing hold of her wrist. Sophie tried to free herself from her brother's grip, looking annoyed. "Do you know how worried you made mom? Running off like that? Getting Bunny to lie to us? What's going on with you?" Jamie half-shouted.
Sophie yanked herself free and glared at Jamie. "You shouldn't poke your nose where it doesn't belong," she spat, before turning and heading upstairs.
Jamie remained where he was, but he countered, "If you don't apologise to mom and tell us where you've been, you're grounded. Right?" He turned to Mrs. Bennett, seeking her approval. Mrs. Bennett was torn, not really wishing to take sides. She was just glad Sophie was back.
"Now, Jamie..."
"Seriously, mom? You're going to let her get away with this?"
"No, I..."
"Fine, I'm sorry." Sophie intervened with an apology. Her voice softened. "I'm sorry I got you all worried, mom. But I'm fine, okay? I just ran off to get some time on my own, and I'm going out tonight. I'm old enough, you said so yourself once." She shot a dirty look at Jamie. "But pray, keep the lousy brother out of my business."
"Hey!"
"Drop it, Jamie," Mrs. Bennett said, shortly, as Sophie stomped upstairs.
#
Sophie lay sprawled out on the carpeted floor, the warm liquid oozing continuously from her nose, her breathing ragged. Every part of her body ached horribly, and she could barely lift herself up. But it seemed she didn't need it as she felt hands grabbing her by her shoulders and waist and throwing her onto something soft and springy. A bed. As her mind processed that thought, a fist got acquainted with her face. The punch wasn't the first, and it was quickly followed by many more. Having given up trying to beg them to stop and partially zoning out a while back, Sophie subconsciously tried to use her arms to block the incoming assaults.
"Take that! Now, how does that feel?" Another one. And another, though she managed to avoid that one. Her head throbbed and felt like it was about to split in half, her vision was blurry; everything around her seemed fuzzy. The girls' sadistic laughter and triumphant shouts seemed distant.
"Fight back, Sophie! Come on, don't be such a wimp!" yelled one of them in her ear, before someone pummeled her stomach, and a feeling of nausea washed over her. Her efforts to struggled out of their vice-like grip had proved futile. She was grabbed, hoisted and flung onto the floor near the bathroom, an area that wasn't carpeted. As part of her face struck the tiles, flashes of light momentarily erupted in her field of vision.
"I guess it's hereditary, huh?" mocked one of the girls. "Single mother, fantasist brother... anyone want to bet what her father does?" There was glorious laughter. "No wonder she's such a wuss!"
Not her family. At the mention of them being the subject of the girls' mockery, Sophie found enough strength to push herself up and attempt to strike them. The nearest girl growled menacingly before delivering a kick to her midsection that sent her back onto the floor and she groaned in pain as her head struck the wall. She should have known it was pointless; there were five of them and only one of her.
"Please... j-just let me go," she implored in a small voice, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head. Another vicious slap across her bruised face before Anna's voice cut through the fracas.
"Okay. Stop." That was all it took. The other girls stepped back almost instantly, all but one. The one nearest to Sophie who had done most of the beating turned to face her friend defiantly.
"Oh, come on, Anna, just a few more!" she pleaded.
"No, that's enough," Anna said, walking towards Sophie, moving into the girl's blurry field of vision. Sophie did her best to glare at her, all the while wanting to strike her in the face as she had had been treated. But she would probably be signing her own death warrant. Anna had called the girls off, she could easily get them back into action. And that was the last thing Sophie wanted. She felt weak, and silently chided herself as she lay there, feeling as though she was on the brink of death. Her face felt wet with sweat and there was the smell of blood. She didn't dare look at the other parts of her body.
"Time to take her out," Anna spoke, after what seemed like an eternity, during which she had merely stared at the blonde girl lying on the floor, looking oh-so-pitiful. "Did you get it all on video?" she barked at one of the girls as they moved forwards to lift Sophie to her feet and carry her out of the room.
"Yes, Anna. Here it is." Sophie didn't see the exchange being made, as she was forced down the stairs, into the dark and deserted kitchen and out the back door.
"Have fun on your own, loser," spat one of the girls in Sophie's ear, giving her a hard push, causing her to stumble a little. They shut the door, and Sophie heard distant laughter.
She fingered the dress, the piece of garment that had been her mother's, that was still her mother's. It had been ripped in some places, but still decent enough to be worn. Oh, how could she have been so clueless? Her feet were bare and cold. She would just have to do without shoes, and walk out of the neighbourhood and onto the main street, where she could find help, or just head home. As she was pondering while dealing with the severe pounding in her head, the back door opened and her stuff was thrown out at her feet. With difficulty, due to her bruises, Sophie picked them up and walked round to the front of the house. She tried to move as fast as she could, wanting to put as much distance as she could between herself and the house. Tears began to streak down her face, mingling with other liquids on it and she sobbed silently.
"Sophie? Oh gosh..."
Looking up at the sound of her name, Sophie had never been more relieved to see her brother. She fell into his arms, shaking, as he tried to comfort her. She was grateful as he refrained from asking any questions. She didn't care how he got there, what he had been doing there, she was just glad he was there. It seemed almost like a miracle.
"I have to get you to the hospital," he said. "Come on, the car's over there."
#
She would be so mad if she found out, but Jamie wasn't taking any risks. She wanted to go out. She seemed excited to go out. That was a first, for Sophie. She had never been all that good at making friends, partly thanks to him. Perhaps she made new friends after the blizzard, when everyone had been so curious about what had gone on in the school. Jamie didn't know.
Mrs. Bennett went out to dinner with some friends she phoned up at the last minute while Jamie went over to Claude and Caleb's place. The twins were back for spring break, just like he was, and it took a little persuading to get them to borrow him their car. And with the vehicle, Jamie shadowed Sophie as she leapt from one public transportation to the other.
Jamie parked the car a short distance away from the house, surveying it with a look of dislike. How much had Sophie changed? She never approved of such parties. Jamie sat on a bench nearby, not sure what he was going to do. He glanced up at the stars, and wondered where Jack was. The winter spirit was probably off having some fun of his own, most likely masterminding a plot to present a frozen Easter again. Jamie smiled at the thought, before there was some movement on the ground beside him and a familiar face of a Guardian appeared.
"Where's the ankle-biter?"
Jamie jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the house, the smile gone and the look of disapproval back on his face. "She's in there. But don't worry, I'll be here. If she doesn't come out of there in like 45 minutes, I'm crashing the party and searching for her. So, you should head back to your Warren and finish up the last preparations for Easter." Jamie turned to look over his shoulder at the house, before turning back to the six-foot Guardian. "Make it memorable," he smiled.
"So long as that hellion stays out of my way!" Bunnymund said, sounding serious, but a small smile crept onto his face, before he disappeared down another one of his tunnels, to chuckles from Jamie.
First off, happy new year! Hopefully 2014 will be a much better year than 2013 was; or maybe, for some of you, that would be asking too much. ;-P
Sorry for the late update, and thanks for reading! Also, sorry if you found the messed-up chronology a little confusing.