Made to Submit

15. Undereducated

I wake with a start. My abdominal muscles clench in pain. Not now. Of all the times for it to come, it chose now. I jump up and run to the bathroom. I open the door just as the blood starts slowly trickling down onto my thighs. I head into the shower and take off my panties.

I reach out to the cabinets, hoping that against all odds that there is at least one pad in there. But there isn't. I can't go back to bed like this. The sheets will get stained, and I don't want to have to clean them. I'll just have to stay here. I can't risk the carpet getting covered in blood either.

There isn't a clock in sight, so I don't know the time. It might be 11pm, it might be 4am. I might as well get comfortable. I pull two towels off the rack and lay them against the ground, with a slight space in between. It's better to sleep on a towel than the cold, hard tile. I use another towel and fold it into a makeshift pillow. I lay down with my ass on the tile, and with the rest of my body on the towel. The cramps ease slightly and, somehow, I fall asleep.

...
I once again wake up, but this time to shouting. It's Hale's voice, but who is he yelling to?

"She's gone Sam. I just punished her a couple days ago for disappearing. She obviously didn't learn her lesson. This time, she'll receive one she'll never forget! I don't care if her ass is still sore." His voice moves closer and I close my eyes. If for some reason he walks in here, I don't want him to yell at me. Hopefully, he leaves so I can wash up, create a makeshift pad and get away. Then I'll buy myself some real pads.

"Hale, calm down a bit. She couldn't have gone far. You have cameras outside the house too. Go check the feed and see what direction she left. I'm quickly going to go to the bathroom and then I'll help you with the search."

The door opens and I relax my body. I need to look asleep. Sam heads to the toilet and starts to pee. I tense a little at the sound, but relax quickly. Sleeping people aren't exactly tense. I don't think he has seen me yet. He flushes the toilet and washes his hands. He goes to wipe his hands when I assume he realizes the towel is missing. He turns to the shower to dry his hands on that towel, that is no longer there. It's in that moment that I think he sees me.

"Hale! You said you checked the house. Get your ass up here! She's in the shower!"

I can hear Hale running up the steps. "What do you mean she is in the shower? The water isn't running." I hear the door open and Hale walks in.

"Woah. Why is there so much blood? Do you know where she is hurt?" His voice gets louder, which I think means that he has crouched down next to me. His arms wrap around my waist and pick me up a bit. It takes everything I have to stay limp.

"I think it's her period, Hale. It must've come last night." Sam opens the cabinets and I think he is looking for a pad. "And since she couldn't find any pads, she decided to spend the night here to keep everything else blood free. But today is the 21st. Her cycle usually starts the 25th- it early. I wonder why. It might be stress, but I don't really know."

Sam seems to know a lot about periods. And about my period in general. Why?

"You wake her up and let her wash the blood off of herself. I'll go buy some pads." Sam tells Hale and walks out the door.

"Jade. Wake up." Hale shakes me a little. I let out a little moan of pain; the cramps are back. I double over and start taking deep breathes. I'm going to need an Advil, or some other painkiller. I slowly open my eyes and let my body twist, trying to relieve the pain.

"Here, let me help you Jade." He holds his hand out to help me up, but I move away. While moving away, I cross through the puddle of my blood, coating my thighs even more.