Silently suffering

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Chapter 2:

Jenny awoke to the sound of the front door being opened. Jenny gasped in terror; 'Uncle James! How long have I been asleep?' Jenny thought franticly collecting her bags and checking her phone. "Nearly half two!" she exclaimed a little too loudly. Two texts from Sambuca:

R u coming bk latr 4 lunch? U want me 2 buy u something?

Where r u? Lessons r about 2 start! What excuse shall I make 4 u?

What was she going to say when she got back to school? 'Calm down Jenny!' she told herself as she stood up. 'People skive all the time and luckily you're missing PE which you wouldn't be up to anyway!' She rubbed her head and collected up her things. All she had to do was sneak down out the door and think up an excuse to tell school. "How hard could it be?"

Jenny got her coat and bags and slowly opened the door, peeking around the edge. No James. She hadn't heard him come upstairs, so she went to the edge of the top step, knelt down and peeked around the corner. He wasn't there, and was probably in the living room. Jenny crept down the stairs and went to the door. Her hand was on the handle when she stopped. She could hear him. It sounded like he was... was...crying! He never cried.

She listened hesitantly and for once her curiosity got the better of her. She turned around and began to slowly tip-toe towards the living room. She poked an eye round the corner. He was sitting in the arm chair, facing away from her with a picture of her mum, his sister in his hands. She could see in the mirror above the mantelpiece that there were tears streaming down his face. This seemed so out of character, he was always so angry but now, he almost seemed vulnerable. It shocked her so much that she just couldn't bring herself to look away. She stood there in the doorway, still staring at him thinking; she didn't really know him at all. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that he was staring right back at her until her jumped around in surprise, breaking her trance.

For a while they both just stood there staring at each other in shock, but when his expression started to change to angry she began to back up, running for the door. As she swung open the door she could feel his firm grip on the back of her shirt, dragging her inside as he slammed the door.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!" He screamed as he through her against the banisters sticking his nose in her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Jenny said scared.

"How long have you been here? How long have you been idly nosing around my house?" he yelled, spitting in her face.

"I just came to pick up some stuff for Louise." She muttered trying not to look at him.

"A likely story." James snarled as he flung her onto the floor, kicking her hard on her legs and stomping on her arms.

"What am I supposed to say when they ring me up?" He complained as he punched her ribs as she coughed.

"They don't even know who you are!" she managed to croak as he continually stomped on her legs.

"They'd better not!" He cried. James lent his full weight on her rib cage so she couldn't breathe and stood on her legs.

"I have to go." She whispered fragilely as he stood up making her gasp for air, and putting all his weight on two spots on her shins as she screamed in pain.

"Dam right." He said as she pulled herself up with no help from him. He pushed her towards the door and she stumbled, slowly picking up her baggage and walking out the door.

The journey to school was long and tiring. Each step forceful as her legs felt like she would fall to the ground any minute, which she did quite a few times making it even harder to get up. As she entered the school gates she decided she would say "I felt ill and had to go home to get some books anyway but accidently fell asleep." It did sound pretty pathetic but it was mostly true, just she missed out the detail of being beaten up.

She ambled her way back to her locker at quarter to three. Jenny put her coat in her locker and headed off to the sports field, not that she would have to join in now! She looked outside and saw her class playing tennis. She walked out the doors towards them as a few people looked over, including Sam who mouthed 'What happened?' Jenny decided she would walk (slowly) straight to the teacher to save time and embarrassment. When the teacher saw her coming she looked back, a bit disgusted by Jenny's behaviour.

"Where have you been? Mr Mead was looking for you. You'd better go and find him because you're going to have some explaining to do."

"Sorry sir." Jenny replied obediently.

After catching Louise in a free period and going over her story and telling her more than enough times that she was fine, she went to find Mr Mead who turned out to be sitting in his empty classroom.

"Mr Mead?" she said exhaustedly, breaking his trance as he turned signing for her to come in.

"Jenny, where have you been? Sambuca was quite vague so would you like to enlighten me on why you have nearly missed this entire lesson?" He asked sounding a little frustrated. Jenny sighed and leant on a counter, her legs about to collapse from walking around so much.

"I didn't feel to good and had to go home to get some books anyway so I decided to relax for a bit but fell asleep." She said believably, trying to conceal how much weight she was putting on the counter.

"Well I'm sure I don't need to remind you that it is against the rules to leave the premises during school time. And I need to go over some details from the school database which have errors anyway so can you stay behind after class?"

"Ok, sorry sir."

In the last lesson of the day; Chemistry with Mead, Jenny sat beside Sam at the back of the classroom waiting for the ongoing amount of questions about her 'disappearance' as people were starting to call it to end.

"So skiving huh? To do what?"

"Yeah spill the beans, what have you been up to?" Finn and Josh quizzed her as she kept telling everyone;

"I went home to get some books but didn't feel well so decided to relax but fell asleep instead."

"Yeah right! Who's the lucky guy?" Sam said jokily but Jenny could tell she was really quite concerned.

"There isn't one, and that's the truth."

"If you say so but you should skip more often, it makes you a lot more relaxed." Josh commented noticing her lack in interest in the convocation. 'I'm not relaxed, just my whole body is killing me and I feel like I could pass out right this moment.' She thought complainingly.

"Josh Stevenson, is there anything you would like to share with the class?" Mr Mead interrupted our convocation as Jenny tried to look like she actually had been copying the notes on the board. A cheeky smile spread across Josh's face as if to tell the whole class humiliating her further. He turned to look at Jenny, his mouth half open.

"Well I was saying..." He stopped when he saw her shaking her head with a painful look hiding behind my eyes. He then looked down and respectfully wiped the grin from his face and looked up to Mr Mead.

"No, sorry." He replied then looked back to Jenny when Mr Mead began teaching again.

"Thank you." Jenny whispered to him.

Throughout the rest of the lesson Josh and Finn whispered the occasional comment to each other which seemed to make the other burst into laughter and Mr Mead give them a warning look in front of Jenny and Sam. Jenny, at the back was in her own world completely zoned out. When Sam accidentally kicked her Jenny breathed in tight covering her mouth to stop any noise from coming out. Her other hand flew down to her leg and she groaned in pain.

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't know that...how did you hurt your leg." She said noticing how much pain she was in.

"I just...it doesn't matter." Jenny said as she slowly rested her leg on floor again.

"But it looks like..." Sam was interrupted by Jenny.

"Just leave it."

"Ok, sorry." She said surprised at Jenny's behaviour.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just I'm really tired and fed up. Sorry for snapping."

"It's Ok, I get it." Sam smiled at Jenny and they got on with the lesson.

As the lesson eventually drew to a close Jenny began to get up and file out along with the crowd.

"Er, Jenny can you stay behind please." Mr Mead reminded as Jenny slowly went up to the front of his desk, leaning on the front heavily.

"Are you OK?" he asked as everyone left and he shut the door. He had obviously notices Jenny's sluggish behaviour.

"Yeah, I'm just really tired." She said standing up slowly making sure sure she didn't fall back, looking even more stupid than she already did.

"Ok, well there was a couple of details on the database that have come up with errors so could you give me your landline phone number?" He said grabbing a pen and paper ready to write down the number that no longer existed.

"We changed the phones at our flat and I don't know the number." She leaning her weight on the desk behind her.

"Ok, can you give me your address instead?" he asked.

"Um, No" she said realizing how stupid she sounded and looking at the floor in humiliation.

"What? You don't know where you live?" he asked shocked.

"Can't you ask Louise?"She said not really answering his question, feeling her cheeks go red.

"I guess so but I figured since I had to see you anyway...which reminds me what happened today?" He questioned.

"I told you!" she stated still looking at the floor.

"Right so, let me get this straight, you went home because you had to get some books but you didn't feel too good so relaxed for a few minutes but accidentally fell asleep?" He said. Jenny nodded.

"You expect me to believe that?" He said sounding a little surprised.

"It's the truth." She said looking up at him.

"Really?" He asked still not believing the story.

"I already had a headache in music and I just felt a bit ill when I got home." She said.

"Are you Ok now?" he asked sounding slightly concerned.

"Yes. Can I go now?" She asked, not knowing if her legs would last the trip home. She turned to go.

"No, there's something you're not telling me." He said grabbing her arm firmly to stop her from going. As he did so she gasped in pain, tears coming to her eyes. His expression turned to confused and he rolled up her shirt sleeve to reveal heavy blue bruises all up her forearm.

"What Happened?" He asked his voice full with shock. Jenny pulled her arm from his grasp and rolled her sleeve back up reluctantly.

"I trapped it in a door." She lied and turned to go as Mr Mead stared back at her. He could tell there was something wrong. Not just with her, with her story. 'She walked home to get some books but felt ill so decided to rest but fell asleep.' He went over her story in her head. 'Fell asleep? No, she practically slept through his whole lesson. Felt ill? No that was also believable.' He thought and thought, and then it finally came to him. 'Walked home? She lived on the outskirts of Rochdale, she usually took the bus to school. How could walk there?' He opened the door and sprinted only to find her just exiting the building.

"Jenny, wait." He said slowing his pace. She slowly spun around as Mr Mead caught his breath.

"You walked home?" He asked a bit confused by her story.

"Yes, that's what I said isn't it?" She said, unsuccessfully trying to keep her frustration hidden from her voice.

"But you live on the outskirts of town, with your step dad; Martin. You walked there?"He asked surprised.

"No...no; I didn't go there." She replied hesitantly suddenly feeling panicked and slightly sick.

"Where did you go?" He asked more confused than ever.

"I went...I went..."Jenny searched every atom of her brain but there was nothing. 'Where, where could I go?' She thought hard.

"Well?" he asked.

Nothing. Nothing had come to her, because there was no answer. There was nothing she could say. After a long silence Jenny muttered to him. "I have to go." And with that she turned and ran.

She ran for the comfort of a warm bed. She ran though the pain that was screeching in her legs, making her feel like she would pass out. She ran through the pain of her mother leaving. She ran from the pain of being alone. And most of all, she ran from the problem that she knew would eventually confront her causing a lot more pain in the process than anyone else would ever know.