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.
YOU ARE READING
Song in the Woods
Teen FictionAll Ashlyn knew her while life was pagan ways. Abused and scared, Melanie helped her through some of the toughest times in her life. 7/9/20 ranked 451 in #musicislife