The Aftermath

A Month Later

It's been a month, Josh and I have gotten really close and lately we have been texting all day. So much in fact I was the very first person to tell him Happy birthday when the day came. January 8th just two weeks ago. He tells me a lot about Sophia, and he's even told me about the day I was born. He said he made a promise to her before she passed away, and even though it was hard for me to hear him talk about it, I know it had to be even harder for him to relive. It was in that moment that I felt my walls start to fall, and I knew I could trust him. Everything around me has been the same as it has been, but the last few weeks, talking to him has become my peace. I have fallen into a routine to try to avoid the abuse or limit the amount of chances it will happen. I cook and clean, basically a maid, but it keeps the bruises away. Dylan helps too, even though he doesn't talk to anyone, we still look out for each other. The beatings haven't stopped completely, the weekends are the absolutely worse; it's hard to clean since we make sure everything is spotless Monday through Friday. We also cant cook 24/7 either, but none the less I have gotten use to the role I play here. The bad does come with some good too, besides just the educational opportunities. We do go out sometimes, we laugh, and enjoy time outside of the house in public. The only time something can or will ever go wrong is behind the closed doors of this house; that I now call my home.

It's now Sunday Dylan and I have just finished cooking dinner. Dylan made the steak while I made a side salad and the homemade mashed potatoes. Everything smelt so good and looked even better; we even fixed our parents' their plates and brought it up to them. Dylan and I decided, instead of cleaning, we would eat first. Simply because we had only ate breakfast and after cooking we were completely famished but we should've known that wasn't a good idea...

Later that night..

Stacey came into my room yelling and screaming, and I woke up to hearing the end of her rant, "You are not special, you're worthless. It's not hard to understand that you're supposed to cook and then clean." I didn't even have the chance to speak, let alone breath, before she started hitting me with some kind of wire. I yelped out in pain and I knew that I would have marks all over my body by the time she was finished. When she finally was the majority of my skin was red and puffy, It didn't matter which way I tried to lay each way hurt, I saw Cody leaving Dylan's room. I really hated that this was my life now, but I swear I hated it more for Dylan than anything. His parents were never in the picture he so he has been with Cody and Stacey, since he was seven.

Dylan waits about ten minutes, after Cody and Stacey leave our rooms, before coming into my room. He looks me over and I could tell by the look on his face that he was trying to see if I was okay. I told him I was okay so it would comfort him; I didn't want to make him feel worse. There was nothing he could do to help my pain. It was enough for me to just have him there with me. He sat with me for about thirty minutes before heading back to his room; that had become apart of my routine too. Anytime we would get beat, he would come in my room and stay for a short period of time. He never stayed more than thirty minutes though because we didn't want to risk getting in more trouble. It did help the both of us though, being there for each other, and I eventually end up falling back asleep shortly after he leaves.

Josh Pov

Monday morning

It's Monday morning; I wake up with Lena on my mind, just as I have for the last couple of days. I'm really starting to hate myself for it, she is half my age so I feel like a fucking perv. She is my student and I could end up beyond bars if anything were to happen between us. Not only that, but her mother trusted me with her, and here I am wishing Lena woke up in my arms. I have noticed we have gotten closer ever since my birthday and it does make me happy, but I also feel at a lost on how to help her. Her grades have started dropping, and at first, I thought it was just an adjustment to being a junior, but two other teachers have come to me with concerns. Lena holds a C average which is unusual for her because she has always been an A student. Since I'm her homeroom teacher they had to bring it to my attention, so I could make arrangements to get her some help with her grades the best way that I see fit. I pick tutor for 300 Alex.

~TEXT CONVERSATION~

~Good morning beautiful young lady, hope all is well. Today, we have to talk officially at school, but I wanted to give you the heads up that you're going to need a tutor. There's been a couple of teachers that have come to me with some concerns.~ Good morning text have become apart of our norm, but the compliment isn't. I hope I don't scare her off.

-Good morning handsome old man, and okay I saw that coming. I'm okay with it, I appreciate it. I do have only one request though, I'm not a fan of  people so I think it would benefit me more if you were the one to tutor me. But we can discuss it more at school though, I'll see you soon.

~Woman, are you crazy? I am not old and you are not funny~ was my response. I don't mind tutoring Lena, it means we get to spend more time together .God help me, I am a sick bastard.

At school

I need to get a life outside of this school; I'll be thirty in three years and life is pathetic. I have no social life and forget about any relationship and sex, these damn kids get more action than me. I'm not a bad looking guy, not to sound cocky, but I'm very much attractive. I'm 5'11 so I'm not short or extremely tall, I have hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair, I'm built and tattoos cover my body. In my early twenties, I was a partier and liked to go out a lot. I would go to bars and clubs to pick up women, which didn't always result in a one night stand. There were some different occasions where it would result in a short-term relationship. Eventually they would burn out before things could get to serious. I was never a player in any way, shape, form, or fashion, but I just haven't found anyone that I'm willing to completely fall in love with wholeheartedly. It wasn't for the lack of trying, but being twenty-seven with no luck, it's time to try something different, a different approach and until I could figure out what that approach was, I had to put some ice on it.

The first part of the school day went by in a blur; I felt like the only thing I saw today were boys' with their tongues half way down some girl's throat. I did take notice when I saw Lena though; she seemed small today and looked like she wanted to disappear. She was wearing sweat pants with an oversized hoodie. She's not really a happy-go-lucky cheerful type of person which is understandable; she did just lose the only people she called parents. I know that's hard to deal with at any age, but usually she smiles and interacts a little with some of the kids. Today was different because she looked like she wanted to disappear. I was hoping that in history class she would be more like her usual self, but no such luck. I still needed to talk to her about tutoring so I took a mental note so I wouldn't forget. At the end of the day, during my homeroom, I decide I want to talk to her as friends because she'll be more likely to tell me what's going on versus me going to her in teacher mode. I know for a fact that she's not going to tell me anything if I do that. It's probably not anything serious, I'm just worried and want to know. I feel very protective over her for a couple of reasons, and I know her well enough now to know she doesn't talk to teachers about her personal life. Even if she's just having bad cramps because of her menstrual cycle, I just want to know.