Finding Jess

Chapter 26 - Truth And Torture

As I woke up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and woozily sat straight up in my bed looking around at my shadowy, unilluminated room. What time was it? I asked myself in my head. I patted around on my night-stand squinting my eyes searching with only my hand for my phone. As I touched it the icy slick screen startled me, but after realising it wasn't a hand I unlocked it and checked the time. It was really late or just pretty early.

For a minute I sat there baffled trying to remember what disturbed my slumber. Then I heard it again. A sharp tapping sound on my window. A sudden intense feeling of fear came across me and during my apprehension, I slid to the back and scurried underneath my covers curling up in a ball of fright. It went on, paused, then continued as if hesitant.

"Jess." A whisper called out as the tapping stopped. Damn! Now the person at my window is a ghost! A ghost that knows my name! Hell no! I'm getting out of here.

As I swiftly lept from my bed halfway from the door I heard it once more, this time with more sympathy and meaning. "Jess."

I scrunched up my eyes and slowly tip-toed to the window in fear, shaking with each step. This is why the stupid people in those horror movies never make it. I thought as I slowly opened up my eyes as I stood right in front of the window.

In front of me on my roof, on the other side of the frosty foggy window sat none other than Luke. He was turned around hugging his knees, yeah it was cold out, but I'm sure that wasn't the reason for him doing so. 

"Luke?" I asked even though I clearly knew it was him. As I slid up the window he sniffled once or twice and turned around revealing his bloody red cheeks and puffy puppy dog sad eyes filled with misery. Something looked different about him though, I couldn't really put my finger on it. "Did you get a lip-ring?" I asked not mentioning his glumness.

"Yeah, like it." He said in a dead monotone voice, expressionless.

"I mean it's something new, but yeah. I guess it's cool." I said unsure of what to say. It was cool though.

He forced a smile onto his pale face reflecting nothingness and just turned around again into the same position as before, this time looking up at the stars - or what there were of them.

I climbed through the window nearly falling out and sat down on the his right-hand side inching my way closer to him. "You didn't just wake me up and nearly give me a heart-attack scaring the bhejeebies out of me to sit on my roof and ignore me, so spill it."

He said nothing in response, but just turned to face me showing me his left cheek. "Your jaw. What the hell? Who did this?" I said staring at a nasty purplish-blue bruise on his jaw. Someone got him real good. It looked as if there was a slit too, like a tear in his flesh."

"Kimmy." He said slowly, sniffling, holding up hid jaw.

"Kimmy did this this?!" I said wide eyed.

"No, let me finish." He said heavy-jawed. You could see saying words with an "o" hurt to say. "Kimmy, she's always wanted to be a dancer. She's amazing, no doubt about it. She's classically trained in all forms of dance, just my parents... they don't support the idea. They never have. She was signed up for it as a hobby you know. Side activity. My mother and father always made her put her academics first  even though they knew dancing was her passion. 'It's not a real career,' they said. 'You can't create a future out of that crap,' they said. They were always so negative, always yelling at her and pushing her down. Telling her she's never going to be good enough, but somehow through all of that she still managed to hold onto a little piece of hope apart from what they snatched from her." He sniffled.

"Luke, that's terrible. I can't believe she never told me. I could've helped." I said sorrowfully.

"She would never. She has too much pride. But that's not the end. Kimmy never let go of her dream. She  secretly practised day after day in her room. Until... until she finally thought she was ready, that was yesterday of course. Straight after school, she took the bus to town to audition for this fancy dance school. She... she made it in, she got a scholarship."