Of Bullies and Nerds

The Paper, the Partner, and the Parent

        The rest of the week went by relatively normal and Brody continued to amaze me on how he really wasn't a bad person at all. Andrew helped me with getting back to normal. He guided me through the big math problems I couldn't figure out due to being out of commission for six years. Needless to say the week went by slowly.
        Finally the weekend arrived and Brody was coming to work on our bible project. I may be able to speak ok with him but I still can't talk with dad. He doesn't know that our walls are so thin and that I can hear him argue with Cindy whether to send me to mental rehab or to boarding school.
        Just then the doorbell rang and interrupted my thoughts. I checked the time and gasped a little. He was a good hour early. I wasn't even dressed from my pajamas. I rushed out of bed and tossed on a blue blue and white dress with a braided belt. Tossing on a beanie I ran down the stairs and almost crashed into my dad.
        "About time you graced us with your presence." He muttered. Dad opened the door to find Brody.                                          "Who are you?" Brody looked at me and I suddenly had an interest in my shoes, or the fact that I didn't have shoes on.
        "Uh, I'm Brody, Jennifer and I have to work on a bible assignment."
        "Well good luck with that since she never talks." He mumbled and let Brody in. Without a speaking a word I motioned for him to follow me up to my bedroom. Once we got up there Brody cleared his throat.
        "So why didn't you talk to him?" He asked. I froze, how was I going to tell him that I only talk to him without sounding weird. I settled for a shrug an turned away to my backpack.
        "Ok so do you know the story of Ruth?" I questioned him. This time he shrugged and walked to my chair.
        "Sorta, I mean I've heard it before but never actually read it for myself." He replied. I nodded and grabbed my bible from the shelf.
        "Well we have plenty of time to learn it." I said with a smile. He seemed to like it and smiled back.
We had been finishing up chapter two when the doorbell rang twice. I automatically knew who it was. Cindy would always ring it twice and knock once. Not less than five minutes later I heard a grown of frustration come from someone who was not in the room.
        "Why won't she just speak?" I heard my father yell.
        "Rick, she's been through so much, give her some time." Cindy replied.
        "She'll have plenty of time in mental rehab."
        "You cannot send your daughter there she needs to be home with you. She'll get better, eventually." Cindy said in a gentle voice. I heard dad scoff and he probably rolled his eyes.

        "Yeah eventually when?"

        "Leave it in the Lords hands. God knows best and he will help you with all of your struggles. That one verse says for the righteous my go through troubles but the Lord delivers them from it all." That's what I loved about Cindy, she always knew when to say which verse. I looked up from my bible to see Brody looking at me with a little concern

        "That's normal to hear every argument from my dad and Cindy." I said shrugging and trying to pass it off as nothing. It was something though, they were arguing about me. Again I had caused so much pain.
        "Yeah people fight but it's not normal to hear people want to throw their daughters to mental rehab. What happened?" I sniffed and felt something wet slid down my check. I hadn't realized I've been crying until now. Wiping my tears I looked up and sighed. I gave him a sad smile and got up wiping off some cookie crumbs from earlier. I sniffled again and looked at him. By now his eyes were full of concern and wonder.
        I guess he deserves to know. I inhaled deeply and started talking.
        "I-I was in an accident and my mom died. After hearing that news I kind of went into a state of shock. I stopped talking completely and did nothing. T-then I my father continued to talk about mental rehabilitation." By now tears were streaming down my rosy cheeks and I couldn't stop them from coming.
        "How did you get into the accident?" I laughed. Brody clearly did not realize I didn't want to talk.
        "Car accident" was all I said. He nodded and came over and hugged me. That small guest yew surprised me and I flinched.
        "If you don't respect your daughter then fine!" Cindy yelled. I heard footsteps coming up and we parted quickly. The door creaked open and Cindy walked in with a timid smile.
        "So sorry you had hear that." I weakly smiled and nodded. "What do want for dinner, your father and I wanted to make something since we have company." I shrugged and looked down. "You know, you have to speak at some point. Your dad is this close to sending you away. With that she started toward the door.
        "Spaghetti, please." I said quietly. I honestly didn't trust my voice after crying so much. Cindy turned around and smiled warmly.
        The rest of the day went by smoothly enough and before I knew it it was Monday. Just like the previous week, Andrew and his dad picked me up and took us to school. I typically didn't talk to anyone except for Brody, which I found extremely strange.
        "Morning, Jen." Andrew said with his trademark smile. I nodded with a small smile and climbed in the back seat.
        Once we got to school Brody walked up and smiled.
        "What do you want Cane?" Andrew asked with a warning tone.
        "Uh-uh, I just wanted to um give Jen this." Brody stuttered handing me a piece of paper. "It's paragraph fourth paragraph. Oh and thank Cindy for the spaghetti. I've never had it like that." I laughed and remembered how it was a shock when the spaghetti was white. I could see from the corner of my eye that Andrew was shocked. I barely laughed anymore and he never thought it would be for Brody.
        "Well Cindy enjoyed the company. I'll see you in second." I said. We parted ways and started walking.
        "Since when did you start talking to Cane?" Andrew said the name like it was a disease.
        "His name is Brody, and we had an assignment."
        "How come you don't talk to me?" He asked with a twinge of hurt in his voice. I turned around and looked him in the eye.
        "I honestly don't know why." With that I headed to the classes.
        The next couple of weeks went by like normal except Andrew and Brody only seemed to get more hostile with each other. One time I caught them in a shove fight and they earned weekend detention. Let's just say they got the silent treatment for the rest of the day.
Tonight my back was killing me and I don't know why. Like seriously I can't even reposition myself to make it more comfortable.
        "Dad!" I yelled. I heard footsteps clamber upstairs and the door opened.
        "What?" He asked. He honestly looked a little mad since it was the middle of the night.
        "I-I can't move my legs. My back hurts so much."
        "Ok the doctor warned me about this, I'm going to call the therapist."
        About thirty more minutes later a knock on the door rang through my room.
        "C-come in," I said weakly. A woman around her mid twenties came in with a small smile.
        "Hi there Ms. Nealson, I'm Hannah Varn, I'm here to relieve you of your back pain. Due to your accident you'll experience this throughout the rest of your life. This pain won't come that often but when I does, I'll give you therapeutic massages to loosen the stress. It will hurt but you will be fine." She started really slowly and soft but it still hurt like fire. Eventually I fell asleep to my back loosening up and Hannah leaving.