Hold a Smile (Demi Lovato) COMPLETE

Forty-One:Back to School Again

Demi's POV

Avery slept with me that night. She was so scared of being alone. The nights before, she didn't want anything to do with me, but now that we have to start school again, she's become so attached.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. I felt Avery jump slightly at the sudden beeping. She gets startled so easily.

She was still very quiet getting ready for school and in the car. We were earlier than everyone else, so she had time to try to get comfortable.

"Demi?" Avery asked while I was putting everything away.

"Yes?" I responded.

"Everyone's going to see my face." I looked up at her, and saw that she was trying to hide her face with her hair. "They're going to see the cuts and bruises."

"They're mostly gone, sweetie. It's been weeks since it happened, you just don't remember because you were asleep for a long time." I walked over to her and knelt down so I was her height. I pushed her hair behind her ears and smiled. "Don't ever hide that beautiful face."

"Are they going to ask where I've been?" She asked.

"Probably," I said with a nod.

"What do I tell them? I'm too embarrassed of the truth."

"Don't be embarrassed, it wasn't your fault. It was mine," I said, adding a sigh to the last part. "But it won't happen again, I swear. Now if you don't want to tell them, just say you had to take a break and leave it at that."

By this time, kids started coming in.

"Ms. Lovato!" One of the girls said as she ran up to me.

"Hi," I greeted everyone with a smile as kids surrounded me.

"Where did you go?" A boy asked.

"I just had to take a little break to take care of some things," I responded.

I got the class to settle down so we could start on the lesson. I kept glancing over at Avery, and she seemed to be having some difficulty concentrating. I figured I could go over everything again at home, where she was probably more comfortable.

At recess, she was too scared to leave my side, even though we weren't going outside. It was too cold.

The day went by rather quickly, which I was thankful for. I love my job and all, but I've been so worried about Avery.

I had to gather up a lot of papers to take home. I had a lot of grading to do. I had to grade all of the work that was given while I was gone. There was just a lot to catch up on, and I had to get Avery caught up, as well.

She held my hand tightly as we walked through the parking lot to get to the car. She was quiet the whole way home. "How do you think it went today?" I asked her.

She just shrugged. "Nobody talked to me, not even Jasmine," she said sadly. It made me sad knowing she didn't really have any friends.

Once we got home, I immediately started grading papers. "Come here, Avery, let's try to get caught up together." She came to the table and sat next to me. I would explain her work, give her the work, then go back to my own until she was ready for the next lesson.