Song in the Woods

Little Bird on the Window

I listened to the rain gently hit my bedroom window. I was anxious. I heard laughter from down the hallway and the sound of someone running. I sat up and grabbed my glasses from the stand next to my bed and shoved them on my face.

"Ashlynn! Your boss is here!" I heard my mother yell. I quickly got up and put on my shoes. I ran out of my room with my bag in one hand and a jacket in the other. I darted out the door and walked to her car.

"Hey how are you today?" Melanie asked me as I slid in. I closed the door and shrugged. She pulled out of the drive and started down the road. She looked over to me.

"Hey, look at me." She said. I turned my head but didn't look her in the eyes. I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

"Where did that bruise come from?" She asked me. I turned away and watched out the window.

After a moment, I responded.

"I don't know." I bit my bottom lip and ran my thumb across the thin fabric of my jacket.

"I don't believe you." She said, "Did she do it?"

I knew exactly what she was talking about. The truth was, my mother did smack me yesterday, but there was no way I could tell her that.

"No." I responded. I heard her sigh.

"Ashlynn, it's okay. You can tell me. I'm not going to be mad." She said. I felt my anxiety growing more and felt my hands shaking.

"It's fine. It was probably just my mother's cat or something." I said. My voice cracked. She probably knew I was hiding something.

"Ash, I still don't believe you." She said softly. I looked over at her and she looked at me. I quickly turned my head away from her. I had no clue what to say back to her.

"Can I at least see before you leave?" She asked me as we pulled in.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I want you to wipe off your makeup before you leave." She said. I felt panicked but nodded my head in agreement.

~~~

I looked out the window of the drive thru and watched the birds peck at something on the ground. One of them looked up and me and I smiled. It hopped closer and flew up to the window and landed on the edge. I took a step closer and put my finger on the window and the little bird pecked at the window.

I giggled and looked at it closer. It had large eyes for such a small bird. I heard Mel walk up behind me and I jumped a little.

"That little bird must really like you." She said. I laughed a little.

"Yeah. It's a cute little bird" I said. I watched it fly back to the other birds and I sighed.

"You clocked out?" Mel asked me as the over night crew walked in. I nodded my head yes. I felt a rush of panic as I remembered she wanted to see my face. I really hoped she forgot.

I followed her to the back with my hands shaking. We grabbed our stuff and she clocked out.

"Let's go to the bathroom." She said. I felt my heart pounding in my chest and I felt like I was going to cry or pass out. I really couldn't tell which. We passed the travel center and the subway and walked into the bathroom.

She pulled out a makeup wipe and handed it to me. My hands shook as I took it and looked in the mirror. I looked back at her and felt a tear slip down my face.

"Here let me do it." She said. She took the wipe from me and started to carefully wipe my makeup off. She uncovered the bruises I worked hard to cover all the time.

"Is there anymore?" She asked me. I just nodded my head yes and turned away. I felt more tears run down my face as she gently hugged me. She held on to me for a few minutes and then looked me in the eyes.

"You can't stay there." She told me.

"I don't have much a choice." I cried. I wiped the tears off my face.

"If anything happens, I want you to call me. I don't care what time it is or how little it seems to be." Mel told me. I nodded my head and she gave me a quick hug.

"Let's get going before your mother wonders what is taking so long." She said. I followed her out of the bathroom and into the parking lot.

"Where else do you have bruises?" She asked me.

"I don't know. Everywhere I guess." I said quietly.

" I'm going to get you help. Okay? You know I hate seeing you like this." Mel said as we got into her car.

"I don't think that is a good idea." I said. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove me home.

"Hey, I love you. Be careful." She said.

"I love you too." I responded. I really didn't want to leave but I knew I had too. I slid on my jacket and headed to my house. I looked back once and Mel was watching me. I turned away quickly and walked through my front door.