Breaking the Silence

Four

A small vibration against my sheets made me spring into a sitting position. I rubbed my eyes and quickly turned the buzzing off of the iPod, definitely not ready to start my day. I woke up at the same time every morning, school or not. It gave me enough time to have peace before Jack gets out of bed, especially if I had a particularly rough night beforehand.

I sighed as I blinked the dreariness away. It was my first day of school in this new place. To say I was dreading it was an understatement; new people equaled the same old stares and questions. But at least school was my haven away from him for seven hours.

Kicking the quilt off and sliding out of bed, I ambled my way across the room with several groans before scanning my closet for something decent to wear. Even though it was the end of September, Fall hadn't quite shown itself yet, but I forced myself to wear long sleeves and pants anyway. If I didn't, everyone could see how damaged I was. Sure, maybe Child Protective Services would get called, but in a tiny town like this, the chances of them actually doing anything were slim. Besides, I was so close to eighteen it barely mattered at this point. Not that turning eighteen would abruptly change my life around or anything. . .unfortunately.

Reaching to the closet shelves, I snatched out an old hoodie and the pair of overused jeans. For shoes, I decided on black boots that were on their way to falling apart. Still, they were easily the nicest pair of shoes I had.

I grabbed my bathroom supplies from my suitcase before opening my bedroom door slowly. Effectively making no sound, I darted like a ninja across the hall to the bathroom.

As I gazed into the mirror, I ran a brush through my waist-length hair. It was tangled and somewhat scraggly; an emphasis on my pitiful health. After I managed to wrestle the tangles out to where the brush ran smooth, I pinned half of the strands back with a plain, simple clip.

Then I got started on makeup. I noticed a black circle around my left eye as well as a fading red mark on my cheek and got to work covering it all up. When I was satisfied, I put on mascara to tie it together.

While Jack is the reason I need to cover up on the first place, he is also the reason I own the supplies necessary, buying me the bare minimum I would need. At first he refused, but when he realized makeup would be the only way to hide me without suspicions, he got me cheap concealer, blush, one color of eye shadow, and a few brushes.

Back when I was confident and stood up a little to Jack — even if it was just in writing — I convinced him to get me mascara as well by claiming I couldn't wear all this other makeup without mascara. I was surprised that even worked, but I would take what I could get at this point! My entire makeup supply was in heavy need to be replaced, but I doubt I could get that to happen any time soon.

Pulling myself back to my task, I checked myself over in the mirror. Content with how my face looked, I headed to the kitchen and pulled out a frying pan, two eggs, and two pieces of toast.

When I finished making the double egg sandwich, I placed it neatly on a plate and filled a glass up with orange juice. I set them on the wooden table along with a fork just as I heard Jack's bedroom door open. Dashing to the front door, ready to leave, I remembered I'd left my backpack in my room. Crap!

I pressed myself up against the wall as his footsteps got closer. I held my breath and watched as he walked right past me and sat down at the table. Relieved, I released the breath quietly before darting to my room and scooping my bag up and over my shoulder.

Creeping back out, I waited until Jack looked down to his meal before making a break for the front door, successfully getting out unnoticed. I relaxed and walked along the side of the road, ignoring the strange looks from the people that drove past me.