James awoke to someone shaking his shoulder and he sat upright immediately, finding Lily standing over him. Her face was clear and free of bruising. "How...?" he voiced aloud.
"Hurry, you need to get dressed," Lily said, crossing the room to his dresser. She picked out a nice long-sleeve shirt for him that would cover his wounds and tossed it to him. "Jane is stopping in to visit today."
James flew to his feet, immediately shrugging the shirt over his head to cover his exposed chest and his bandage on his arm. "The social worker?"
She nodded, searching for some jeans for James and pulled out a pair at random and threw it to him.
"She called just a half hour ago to give us short-notice warning, but if we are fast enough, maybe I can you get to school and she won't have to question you about what has been going on." She slammed the drawers to the dresser shut.
Quickly, James shoved his legs into his jeans and zipped himself up just in time to catch the socks that Lily launched at him. "How long till she's here?"
Suddenly the doorbell rang ominously throughout the house and the two froze, looking at each other. "She's here!" Lily cried.
She went to James and shoved a bottle into his hand. "This is my make-up; apply it to any spot on your skin that may be red or bruised. I'll answer the door. Go!" She made her way to the door.
"Wait!" James hissed. "What about Nathen?"
"He's already at work," she said quickly. Then she slipped out of the room.
James turned, shoved his socks on, and bounded to the bathroom and wrenched open the bottle. He began applying the fluid liquid to the bruises on his arms and around his wounds. His heart pounded.
From downstairs, James heard the front door open and the muffled exchange of the two women. He scraped the rest of makeup down his bruises before capping off the make-up and shoving it into a random drawer.
"James!" Lily called up the stairs. "We have a visitor!" Her voice sounded strong but James knew that she must be overwhelmed by fear.
He tugged his sleeves down over his wounds, calling back, "Coming!" He took one last glance at himself in the mirror, inspecting for anything out of place.
He cursed silently as he raked his fingers through his hair. He hadn't enough time for a shower and his eyes looked extremely tired from staying up so late with Jordan. Then soon after, James shot down the stairs, caking on his best smile.
"Hello, James," the petite woman greeted at the bottom stairs. Lily stood beside her, worrying her lips with her teeth.
"Hey, Mrs. Parker," James greeted enthusiastically, feeling the blood rush through his veins.
"Am I interrupting your morning routine at all?"
James shook his head. "No, I was just going to grab a bowl of cereal and then head out to the bus." He looked pointedly over at Lily. "And Lily, you were just going to work, weren't you?"
She looked at her adopted son with wide eyes but then looked over to Jane with a gentle smile. "Sorry, I've got to get to work early this morning."
She nodded. "That's alright. That gives me time to talk to James in private before he heads out to school."
When she turned away, Lily pressed a finger to her lips. James immediately understood; she was telling him to not say a word about their problems. Well, it wasn't like James was going to tell Jane anything about that anyway.
"Come on," James said, gesturing to Jane. "Let's get out of Lily's hair." Then he turned and led the way into the kitchen. Behind him, he could hear Lily grabbing her keys and exiting the house much earlier than she had to.
YOU ARE READING
Behind Closed Hearts
Fanfiction""I don't hurt myself. I don't. I don't." He inhaled sharply. Through his mind flashed images of Nathen at his worst, towering over him with that look in his eyes. James flinched into his arms, gasping. "I wish he would just leave me alone," he said...
