Found (Book 2)

Chapter 30

Jessie's POV

I still have no reason to get out of bed so I don't plan on it. My sisters' concerts are coming up soon and so they leave at 9 am for rehearsal. They asked me to come with but I didn't respond. Mom and Dad went with them and Alex and Mike went out somewhere. Mom is letting Christian prove he's responsible of taking care of his younger brothers, something he's been begging to do for ages. Responsibility is fun and exciting as a kid but not so much anymore.

I listen to them playing and I think they're running around the house. I find a faint smile on my face, I'm so glad they're growing up in a good home with an amazing family. They got lucky.

"STOP IT!" I hear Christian yell and wonder what's going on. I don't even know if they know I'm home so I'm going to see how he deals with things.

"NICCCCCK!" I hear Joey yell and then suddenly he's crying. I hear him and I also hear Nick and Christian panicking.

"What do we do??" I hear Christian ask frantically.

"I don't know, you're the one in charge!" Nick responds also sounding stressed. I don't know what happened to Joey but I can't just lay here. I get up and run down the hallway.

"What happened?" I ask my brothers who look up at the sound of my voice.

"Joey and I were arguing and then he fell down the stairs," Nick says looking upset. Christian nods, agreeing with the story and looks very relieved that there's someone older than him here to help.

I kneel down beside Joey who's sitting on the floor crying and see that he has a bruised knee and a bleeding cut on his forehead from hitting the edge of the stair. I help him up and ask Christian to get a few bandaids and Nick to get a washcloth and some ice. They come back with the stuff and I hug Joey, comforting him.

I wet the washcloth and wash his forehead, Joey tries to be strong even though I can tell it hurts. After cleaning it I tell Christian to put the bandaids on Joey's forehead, after all he's in charge of them. Nick gives Joey the ice and I tell him to put it on his knee. He seems to be feeling a little better now.

"Can I go sit on the couch and watch TV?" he asks and I look at Christian to make the decision. He smiles a little and tells Joey that he can. Nick goes with Joey to the couch.

"I'm glad you were here, I didn't really know what to do. Thanks Jessie," Christian tells me and gives me a grateful smile. I ruffle his hair.

"You did good and now you know what to do," I say, "How do you like responsibility?" He considers his answer for a few moments.

"I like it but at the same time it is a little scary," Christian responds and I agree completely with him. He's so right about that. Chris goes and watches TV with his brothers and I go upstairs and realize how gross I look. I take a hot shower, letting the water wash over me and hopefully take my feelings with it. For a while there I was distracted and it felt so good. I'm sick of feeling like crap.

I hear a knock on the bathroom door and groan, quickly putting my shorts and hoodie on, it's only kinda warm out. I open the door and watch as the person's eyes practically pop out.

"You're up," Amy exclaims and I nod. I still haven't talked to anyone but my little brothers nor have I eaten in a two days. I don't even notice a rumble in my stomach anymore. I go back to Christina's bed that I've kinda taken over for the past day. She's in the room and looks up at me with wide eyes.

"I'm glad you're up Jess, are you feeling any better?" Christina asks with a soft tone. I shrug my shoulders and sit on her bed, going on my phone. I figure out what I want to tweet.

JessieCimorelli: Betrayal = pain

I get a lot of retweets probably by people who understand. I also get a lot of concerned tweets but I don't explain what happened. It's too personal and besides I would never share what almost happened to Lauren.

I get a DM from someone who tells me their boyfriend cheated on them with their friend and I can feel the pain in their words. It's a similar story to mine. I tell her not to isolate herself and to try to do things that make her feel better. I remind her that I love her and that she's special. She thanks me and I feel a little better. Maybe using my feelings to help others is what I should do to help myself.

"I'm going to the beach, will you come with?" Kath asks, poking her head in the door. I decide that I might as well, the fresh air will do me good for a change. I am quite sick of looking at the same 4 walls constantly.

It's too cold to swim so I only take a bag with a towel to sit on and my phone. We walk downstairs and Dani approaches us.

"Can I go to the beach with you guys?" she asks but Kath refuses. I now assume she plans on talking to me. Dani frowns but leaves to the kitchen. We head out to Kath's new car that she bought and she drives us to the beach. We lay out towels on the sand and I put my sunglasses on.

"I think it's time to talk about what happened," Kath says and I slowly nod. I don't want to say it and know for sure it's real but I also can't stay like this forever.