Even Heroes Have Scars

[26] Uncomfortable Tension

Demi's P.O.V.

I had an amazing day hanging out with Ansley on set. Her reaction to the stage was so freaking cute. I got a lot done today but I hated when I had to say bye to Ansley. The entire day, I was so happy because she was around and it was very rare that I would be that happy unless I was performing. She was the reason I was happy.

Even though it's almost impossible to create such a friendship in less than a week, somehow we did. I didn't think that I could ever become friends with anybody the way I did with her. She was in recovery and I made sure she didn't feel like she was because she didn't want to be. Every moment I spent without her, my heart ached for her, my skin burned for her touch, my eyes stung to meet hers, my arms sored to feel her hug. I didn't know what this meant. "You like her, it's obvious," rang through my head, and perhaps it was possible.

I'd never admit that, though. As far as anyone knew, only Wilmer made me happy.

Ansley's P.O.V.

After I walked into my house, expecting to see dirty dishes in the sink from Jacob's lunch and dinner, there was nothing. I stumbled into the bathroom because I hadn't gone since that morning and, as I was standing there, washing my hands, I spotted something shiny on the floor. I knelt down with a piece of toilet paper in my hand and dabbed the spot. The piece of toilet paper, when I turned it to look at it, had a drop of red blood on it. I wasn't on my period so there was no way in hell it was from me. Plus, this was the hall bathroom, not my bathroom. Impossible, I shook my head at the thought.

I knocked on Jacob's door lightly, and pushed it open. He was laying on his bed with a large sweatshirt on and his laptop in his lap.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just research. Hurry. You have to go to work," his eyes didn't leave the computer screen.

"Make yourself dinner," I instructed. "No objections."

He shut his laptop and stood up. I left to my room and got myself ready, making sure I put makeup on my arm, then went to work. Little did I know, the worst was yet to come.

Jacob's P.O.V.

I had been doing research on Demi on my laptop when I jumped at the sound of Ansley opening the front door, which nearly made me shit my pants. About twenty minutes before she walked in, the voices made me do something nobody knew about. It bled more than usual, though, but I didn't care. I bandaged it and put on a large sweatshirt to cover it up.

Ansley told me to eat dinner, so I stood up and walked into the kitchen to make it seem like I was obeying her. When she walked out to go to work, I made sure to have the refrigerator open and to give her a smile and a wave to play it off better. Then, I went back to my room. I wouldn't eat. I couldn't.

I had been beaten up every day except Friday. Friday was verbally, and I'd wished he'd just slap me in the face to get it the hell over with, because those words hurt.

"Fat, gross, disgusting, mistake, freak, asshole, dickhead, girl, ugly, fucktard, retard, useless, worthless."

Their voices rang through my head, and for every word was another cut, but it pushed the numbing sensation aside. I knew everything they spat out at me was true, and that nobody would lie about something like that if they barely knew me, but it still hurt because, even if I knew they thought that about me, I hadn't expected them to say it to my face.

I entered the bathroom to brush my teeth before getting into bed and stopped myself short when, in the trashcan, there lay a small piece of toilet paper with a drop of blood on it. Fuck. My heart began to pound as my head pulsed, my breaths speeding up until I had to grab the threshold in the doorway to steady myself. Oh my god.