I'm Not A Girl, I Swear [Discontinued]

XXII

Nick woke up, feeling achy all over. He got up, looking in the mirror in the middle of getting dressed to see how bad his bruises were.

They were bad. It looked like he was hit with a freight train. He felt like it, too.

In a split second decision, he grabbed his phone and took a picture of what he looked like, front and back. He didn't quite know why. Evidence?

He finished getting dressed and headed downstairs, his mother silently taking him back to Dalton.

As soon as he could escape the car he did, not able to get into Dalton soon enough. He ran into Jeff almost immediately.

"Nick! You're back! How'd it go?" he asked worriedly.

Nick glanced around. "Can I talk to you? Alone?" he asked lowly.

Jeff nodded followed Nick to his dorm, where he dropped off his bag.

"Okay, so, um," he took in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes. "She was really mad. Like, really mad. She yelled at me a bunch and sent my brother and sister to their room when they came to see what was wrong. Then, um," he took another breath, shaking.

"Nick, she didn't...?" Jeff's voice was impossibly soft and alarmed.

He nodded, still not opening his eyes. He didn't want to see the look on Jeff's face. "She hurt me. She kicked me."

Nick felt himself pulled into a hug so gentle it was like a spiderweb was hugging him. He hugged back, opening his eyes and beginning to cry. "She just... I don't know, I guess that deep down she'd be fine with it. With all this. I'm her child, after all. But this," he let out a sob, "this is what I should have expected."

Jeff didn't understand what he was saying but didn't ask. "Nick, I promise, we're going to get you away from her, alright? You're not going to have to see her ever again."

"Thank you. For- for being here for me. I don't know where I'd be without you."