Chapter 19: Dried Blood

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Jade POV

March 20th, 2009

10:07 AM

Ev's face turns ghost white as her eyes travel to my mutilated forearm. J sighs deeply and looks down at his feet. Tom turns to see what I was showing them. His hand covers his mouth as he stares. The room is silent as tears stream down my face. 

I zip up my bags and storm past them as I walk out the door, blood dripping from my arm. I hear Tom shouting at J and Ev as I walk down the stairs. I take a seat on the bottom step and wait for Tom. He slams the door behind him and stomps down the stairs. I stand up and quietly load all of my bags into the car, glad to be going back to the house. Tom leads me to my side and once again, opens the door for me to get in.

***

10:52 AM

The ride back to the house was silent. I watch as Tom's knuckles turn white as he grips the steering wheel tightly. I can tell he's angry, but I know that his anger isn't because of me. We pull up to the house and Tom helps me carry my things up to his room. He sets my bags on the bed as I stand nervously in the doorway. He looks over to me. "Come here please..." He asks lowly. I cautiously walk towards him.

 Tom takes my arm into his hands and gently runs his fingers along the ridges. He swiftly pulls me into a hug, resting his head on the curve of my neck. He holds me tightly, caressing the back of my head. Tom starts to cry softly as he holds me tighter, his body trembling lightly. "I knew you weren't safe there...I can't believe they made you do this to yourself." he says between sniffles. I didn't think he'd cry over this.

I nod and gently run my fingers up and down his spine as I hug him back. He lifts his head off of my shoulder and gently holds my cheek in his hand. I watch as a few more tears slide down his face, making my eyes well up. He slowly leans forward and softly kisses my forehead. "No more of this, okay?" He says while looking me in the eyes. I nod as I lift his bandana up and return his forehead kiss. He takes me by the hand, leading me to the bathroom. He sits me up on the counter, just like the day before and wets a hand towel, gently dabbing the dried blood off of my wrist. He plants small kisses on each cut once the blood has disappeared, making me giggle to myself.

I hear a small knock on the door. Tom steps away to open it, finding Bill standing in the doorway. Bill waves at me with a smile. "Hey girl, how's it going?" I wave back. "It's going, I guess. We moved all my stuff here." Bill gasps and rushes past Tom, grabbing my arm to inspect.

 "What did you do?" he asks with wide eyes. Tom pats him on the shoulder. "Not the best time man." he says. Bill nods and changes the subject. "You should come to the race tonight! It'll get your mind off things." He says excitedly. I hesitate. "Uhh, I don't think I wanna stand in a big crowd for an hour." I respond. Bill and Tom look at each other, confusion on their faces. "What do you mean crowd? You'll be in the car with me." Tom explains, smiling. "Maybe you'll win this time." Bill jokes. Tom smacks the back of his head. I think for a moment. "Okay, I guess that would be okay." I say shyly. Tom smiles with excitement. 

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