bruises // heathers

fifteen // pick up the pieces

It was 5:54 and Giselle stood by the door of the apartment, waiting for her father to get home. She had helped her mother to her room and put her in bed but hours have passed. Giselle entertained herself all day long while her mother laid down and cried in bed. She had eaten cereal for lunch and was going to wake her mother up once she talked to her father about the morning. Jason walked inside his apartment and jumped a little because he wasn't expecting to see Giselle standing there.

"Hey kiddo," He smiled at Giselle. "Where's your mother?"

"She's sleeping right now. She's still upset about this morning." Giselle explained, JD nodded in understanding.

"Listen, I didn't mean for you to see what happened. I didn't even mean to do it, I just got really mad and couldn't control myself." JD tried to get Giselle to understand.

"You have to control yourself." Giselle said. "You have to never hit my mom ever again." Her voice was low and even, she did not sound afraid even though her heart beat furiously in her chest.

"I wouldn't." JD replied. "I love her, I love her so much. I hate what I did to her."

"Next time you get mad, just walk away please? Just stop fighting. Just go somewhere else to calm down." Giselle looked up at her father, their blue eyes meeting. "For mom, and if not for her then for me." JD nodded in agreement.

"You remind me of myself when I was a kid." He told Giselle, who looked shocked. "My parents used to fight a lot and I tried to make things better. I was the peace maker. You're the same way."

"I don't like when people fight." Giselle admitted.

"I don't want you to turn out like me. I became who I am because they fought so much it drove my mom to kill herself. My father was an abusive fuck. I promised myself I'd never be like him." JD opened up a little bit before Veronica stumbled out of their room at the sound of conversation. "Morning, darling." JD smiled, teasing Veronica a little bit.

"Is it already past six?" Veronica asked and Giselle nodded. "You were supposed to wake me up before he came home."

"I changed the plans." Giselle shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I needed to talk to dad without you eavesdropping." Veronica began to respond but found herself much too tired to do anything but go to JD's arms and be held up by him.

"I'm exhausted." She mumbled, burying her face into his trench coat and breathing in his scent, it calmed her immensely.

"Me too." JD replied, putting his one arm about Veronica's back to hold her but not close out Elle.

"Me three." Giselle said, putting herself back into the conversation.

"Here," Veronica said, extending her arm out to Elle, who walked up and wrapped her arms around her parents.

Veronica's arm fell on Elle and JD's free one draped her arm on their daughter. The three stood there and hugged for a long while. Elle heard Heather scoffing at the scene, thinking now that Elle is weak too, for going back into the embrace of her mother and father.

"I expected better of you, Gisellie." Heather sighed and sent shivers down the little girl's bony spine. Elle stared down at the ground, at her pink socks, with tears in her eyes. When her parents finally let her go, they saw that tears were streaming.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Veronica asked her blonde daughter, making her lift her head up.

"Heather thinks I'm weak," Elle cried. "She thinks you're weak for going back to dad and I'm weak because I went back to both of you."

"Your mother is not weak, she is in love. And you're a child, you don't need to hate your parents." JD told Elle, holding her slight shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "If anyone is weak it's me. I hit her. That's my fault. It isn't your mom's fault for forgiving me." Elle nodded in understanding as he let go of her shoulders and stood up normally.

"So easily manipulated, Elle. Just like your mother." Heather said, appearing next to JD and taunting the child.

"Shut up, Heather!" Elle yelled but Heather just laughed.

"Giselle, don't you get it? I'll never shut up. You're stuck with me." Heather chucked before we face became serious. "The only way to get rid of me is to kill yourself." She told Elle.

Veronica and JD were trying desperately to get the attention of their little girl, who was in a trance and only responding to Heather. Giselle pushed past her parents, walked into the kitchen and opened the kitchen drawer to get a knife but before she could, JD picked her up as she began to reach into drawer.

"What the hell is she doing!?" Veronica asked in a panicked voice, standing beside JD. JD just kept holding Giselle bride-style even though she was trashing about in his arms and whining. But he kept his arms around her tight and held her close to his chest while she swung small fists at him.

"I think that bitch tried to get her to kill herself again." JD told Veronica, who let out a cry of disbelief. "I swear to God I wish she was alive right now so I could kill her again for doing this shit." He muttered.

"Let me go!" Elle screamed. She was out of her trance now. "Put me down!"

"Not until I know you're safe." JD replied, his grip tightening on his daughter who only threw her head back and let loose a terrifying shriek that made Veronica cover her ears but only frustrated JD. He wanted her to stop it. But instead of yelling over her, like he badly wanted to, he only began to kind of rock her back and forth as if she was a lot younger than she was. This made Elle quiet and Veronica let go of her ears once realizing it wasn't loud.

"Stop it!" Elle shouted at him.

"Stop acting like a toddler and I'll stop treating you like one." He responded, his voice clear as day and steady. He wasn't yelling at her. He was talking.

"I want to go in my room!" Elle insisted loudly. JD and Veronica walked into her room.

And while JD continued to hold his daughter, Veronica took out all the sharp things from her bedroom. Once it was all put somewhere that Elle couldn't reach, JD put her down. The second her feet touched the floor she ran at JD and began to attack him with her small fists. He let her do it, she couldn't hurt him. Not physically at least. Once she finished assaulting her father, she ran to her mother and cried into the hem of her pajama shirt. Veronica looked at JD and he looked at her. They communicated silently that she needs real help.