Ocean Eyes

#7 - Jenna

"Promise me you will?" Jenna asked, hitching her babysitting bag up onto her shoulders. "Of course," I reply immediately. "I'll make your dinner and it'll be ready and waiting for you when you get home from babysitting." Jenna smiled. "Thanks, babe. I should be home around six, okay?" "Okay," I said. Jenna walked to the door of her camper, and hesitated at the doorknob. "Bye, Emmy. I love you." "Bye, Jenna-bunny. I love you too." With that, she set off to do her job, babysitting the next door neighbor's kids while they went out to eat.

I settled down on the sofa, and turned on the television. It was only four thirty. I didn't have to start making dinner for Jenna and I until five thirty, so I had an hour to spare. Jenna wanted a home-cooked meal that night. We had been ordering pizza and Chinese food for three days straight, and she was tired of getting takeout. We were having an all-week sleepover at her camper because her parents and my dad had gone to a truck show together. Mom and Wyatt, my big brother, stayed behind in our camper, but I managed to weasel my way into the sleepover at Jenna's place. So far, it had been amazingly good.

The channel was set on a Dancing With The Stars rerun, and I was feeling tired, so I didn't bother changing it. A new couple ran onstage, and a slow love song began to play. I closed my eyes and imagined Jenna and I slowly dancing, our heartbeats intermingling, to the tune of it...

***

I woke up at five fifty. There were only ten more minutes until Jenna was supposed to come home.

Shit.

I suddenly remembered that I had promised to make her dinner, and a good home-cooked meal at that.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I hurriedly ran to the kitchen and started looking through the refrigerator, trying to find something that qualified as home-cooked but didn't take long to prepare.

After looking through the refrigerator for a few minutes, I settled on chicken soup, despite the fact that it was soup out of a can and I hate chicken soup. I pulled open the tab and had just slid the soup into the microwave when I heard a sharp rapping at the door of the camper.

She was home early.

I went to the door and unlocked it, letting Jenna in, despite my heart squeezing fearfully as I did so.

"Hey, baby," she said, dropping her bag and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Hey," I said weakly. I knew that something was about to happen, and it was going to be hell for me.

"So, where's the food?" Jenna asked, and I cringed inwardly, my heart pounding with fear already. "It's - it's in the microwave," I stuttered nervously. She looked at me, and her eyes hardened. Instinctively, I took a step back.

Jenna must have noticed, because she set her jaw in a straight line and closed her eyes for a minute, taking a deep breath. Then, she turned and looked through the glass door of the microwave. I flinched, waiting for the outburst.

She turned on her heel to face me, and asked, with withheld rage evident in her voice, "Is that canned chicken soup?" "Um...yes?" I squeaked, trembling as her now-cold eyes met mine. She shook her head, and clenched her hands into fists. She took a step towards me.

Jenna's voice started out low, with the sign of growing anger in it. "You fucking idiot," she said to me. "How hard is it to make a simple dinner for the two of us that's home-cooked?"

"I - I'm sorry," I mumbled. She took another step. "Are you so fucking stupid that you can't fulfill a simple request? You're such a fucking bitch. You can't even do one thing right!"

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I pushed against them fiercely. I couldn't cry. I wouldn't. Not in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I - I fell asleep - I'm sorry - please -"

Jenna cut me off with a sharp slap to my left cheek. "Stop making excuses again! You're fucking worthless, Emma! Don't you understand that? You are worthless. You aren't good for anything, you stupid whore!"

The words hit me harder than the slap. I couldn't help it; a tear rolled down my cheek. I stumbled backwards, but she grabbed my shoulder tightly and pulled me back towards her.

"I'm not fucking finished!" Jenna practically screamed in my ear. My insides quaked as she swung.

The pop of the punch echoed through the camper. I put a hand to my face. The cheek that she had hit was already starting to swell. Another tear dripped from my eye.

"You are so fucking useless," Jenna shouted at me. I whimpered at her words.

Well, she's right.

Jenna swung again, this time hitting my ribs. Groaning in pain, I dropped to my knees, holding my side. She slapped me again, on the right cheek this time. I held my face tenderly. She grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Before I knew what was happening, Jenna threw me into the wall of her camper. I hit the side of it hard, and fell to the ground.

By now, I wasn't even stopping the tears from coming. Jenna looked at me on the floor, before running her hands through her hair, and darting out of the camper.

Slowly and painfully, my entire body wracked with pain, I picked myself up and walked to the bedroom. I stretched out on the bed and finally let the tears flow unchecked.