In Love With A Warbler

Chapter 16 : A visit home

Chapter 16

Later...

Alex POV

Jeff got up, and came over to me. He looked extremely nervous.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

"I j-just f-feel scared," Jeff said, quietly, looking at the floor.

"Well come here."

I held up the covers for Jeff, and he slid in next to me. He laid down with his head in my lap. I pulled the covers over him some more, and put my arm around him.

Nick came out of the bathroom, finished with his shower.

"How are things going?" Nick asked, gesturing to the blonde in my lap.

"He's just a little scared," I said, starting to rub his back a little.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"I don't know."

I was doing homework with my free hand. Nick climbed up to his bed, and worked on some of his homework.

Finally, it was about time for bed. And I realized Jeff was already asleep on my lap.

I shut off the lamp, and tried to move Jeff onto the pillow instead of my lap. I think he woke up a little, but he curled up next to me, and went back to sleep immediately. I laid down, and went to sleep too.

A few days later...

Jeff POV

I hadn't really told Alex or Nick much else about me or my past. I just wasn't comfortable.

And I was having nightmares every night. It was awful and really embarrassing. I'd end up waking Nick and Alex up.

And they kept making me eat and drink a ton. Nick still had to walk me to the bathroom to protect me. I was still terrified. But I trusted Nick to keep me safe.

And Alex had moved her bed right next to the bunk beds. Nick could literally jump from her bed up to his. The reason she did it was because I told her it would make me less scared. I'm surrounded on all sides, so there's less of a chance for something to sneak up on me. Plus I had Alex to protect me. And she could be scary sometimes.

The guy who'd knocked my books out of my hands and pushed me to the floor did that again yesterday. Alex yelled at him a lot, and kicked him between his legs. She ended up getting sent to the office to talk to her uncle. She didn't get in any real trouble. She just got yelled at. But I'd be scared to mess with her. I'm glad she protects me.

Today was Friday, and we'd just finished with school for today. I was extremely terrified because my dad said he was picking me up today so we could have a talk about my grades.

I'm beyond petrified.

Alex, Nick, and I walked up to our dorm room together. And my dad was waiting outside our door. I jumped behind Nick.

"Come on, Jeffrey. We're going to visit home," dad said.

"Jeff, do you want to go with him or not?" Alex asked me.

"I h-have t-to! H-he's my d-dad!"

"Jeff-"

Dad walked over, grabbed my arm, and started dragging me away. Alex and Nick just stood there, looking like they didn't know what to do.

Dad dragged me down the stairs, and I almost fell a few times. He put me in his car, and then started driving. I shrunk down in my seat.

"We're going to have a very serious talk about grades this weekend, Jeffrey. I'm paying for you to go to this school. I expect A's and B's, and nothing less. Is that so much to ask for?"

"S-sorry."

"What have I told you about stuttering!?"

Alex POV

"He's probably going to get hurt. We should've done something!" I said, pacing the room.

"What could we do, Alex? Jeff is right. That's his dad, and he has control over Jeff. There's nothing we can do."

"I hope he'll be ok..."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's survived 14 years, hasn't he?"

Later...

Jeff POV

"Please let me out! I'll be good!" I cried.

"Not until I hear an hour of silence! Your time is starting over!" Dad shouted.

I whimpered a little, and tried to stop my crying. Dad had locked me in a closet. I was sitting on top of a bunch of old shoes, and there were a ton of jackets above me. It was extremely uncomfortable.

I pushed all the shoes to the side. I laid down, and looked through the crack under the door. I can't really see anything.

I really wish I was back at Dalton. I could be studying or doing homework right now to try to fix my grades. Or I could be cuddling with Alex. She would make sure I felt safe.

And I definitely don't feel safe now.

I tried the doorknob again, but it was still locked. I heard loud footsteps coming closer, and I shrunk down towards the back of the closet.

The door flew open.

"Stop trying to escape, you worthless little brat!"

"I-I'm s-sorry!"

"If you want out so bad, then fine. We'll do things your way."

He grabbed my arm, and yanked me out. He pulled me into the kitchen and turned on the stove. I started squirming around, trying to break free.

"Stop it, Jeffrey."

"No, no, no! Please not that!" I screamed.

I was trying so hard to get out of his grip. My heart was racing, and I felt like I had crazy energy, but dad wouldn't let me go.

He started pulling me closer to the stove.

"N-no! D-dad, p-please!"

I started screaming, which only made dad tighten his grip on me. His nails were digging into the cuts on my arms. The more I struggled, the more it would hurt my arms.

"Alright. Looks like we're ready," dad said, pulling me even closer to the stove.

I shoved all my weight against him, trying to break free. Burns are the worst. They hurt the most, and the marks don't go away for a while.

"Jeffrey, you need to cooperate."

"P-please d-don't!" I screamed.

He pulled up my sleeve, revealing my cuts. He turned my arm over so the cuts were face down, and he tried to put my arm down on the stove.

"No, please! I'll be good! I promise!" I screamed.

I pushed myself away from the stove, and let myself fall on the ground. Dad dropped me, and as soon as he'd let go. I took off running. I ran up to my room, which was probably stupid because I know he'll find me, but I just needed to get away.

Sure enough, dad came running after me, and he dragged me back downstairs. He was holding onto me around the waist. He held onto my arm tight, and slammed it onto the stove. I screamed, and squirmed around, finally managing to break out from his arms.

I fell on the ground, screaming in pain. My wrist was stinging, and it was actually bleeding a little bit from my dad digging his nails into it so much.

"Go to your room! Now!"

Dad kicked my stomach, and I got up and bolted. I wasn't going to wait around for him to hurt me more.

I ran up to my bedroom, and shut the door quietly. I curled up on the mattress on the floor. I never had a real bed. And now it has no sheets on it.

I cried for hours, trying to be quiet so I wouldn't get in even more trouble. But my wrist hurt so bad. I'm so scared to be here. And I just want to go back to Dalton with Alex and Nick.