Bully

Chapter 34: Thoughts

**ABRIELLE'S POV**

After six weeks, the cast on my leg was finally taken off to my relief. Now I just had the knee brace to work with. My therapist wanted me to try walking with just the knee brace and not depend on the crutches. Rehabilitation and physical therapy was quite painful! I hated feeling so...helpless but there was nothing I could do. Jake had bought me a book about coping mechanisms and gently told me I should try and learn better ones. They didn't want me to do what I had done before.

Without the other students tormenting me, I didn't feel the need to cut myself. I tried taking the high road whenever people got me to me in our online discussions. Sometimes I cried in my bunk about what they said, though. I read through the book several times. There was good information in there but I wasn't sure I could really change the way I coped with things. I'd been doing this for years. Years! It had been ingrained in me that I deserved the pain and humiliation.

The longer I was away from campus and my family, the freer I began to feel, however. There was no fear of being shoved down, kicked, hit, having food thrown on me, being made fun of for what I chose to wear or eat, being called all sorts of names. I still didn't think I deserved how nice the band and crew were to me. All the negative things that had been told to me for years always popped up in my head whenever I started trying to be social and I would retreat back into myself.

Something Eric told me in Wisconsin hit me several times. "I wish you saw you the way we see you."  What exactly was he getting at? I mean, he did tell me "The artist, the creative mind, the woman who as soon as she enters a room all eyes are on her". What did that mean? I'm nothing but some dumb college kid! They always told me they liked my projects and stuff but weren't they just being nice to me out of obligation because I was their student? It was confusing and always made my head hurt when I thought about it.

Each city we hit, Bill took me to the local hospital so I could have my rehabilitation appointments. He stayed with me and was always so encouraging. Even when I started crying because I felt I wasn't doing good enough or because of the pain. The therapists and Bill always told me that I was making good progress and it was going to take a lot of time to get my knee back in the shape it was before the accident. Accident! Ha! I was thrown in front of a moving truck. That was no accident! Maybe I'm a little bitter about that whole scenario. That was the worst that had ever happened to me and I couldn't help but wonder what they told my brothers when they made it back to campus.

Did my parents think I was dead? Did they care if I had died or not? Did the other students celebrate my death? It wouldn't surprise me if they did. Or maybe they were sad that their favorite toy to pick on was no longer available. Who knows. All I know is that I didn't want to ever go back. Not home, not to the campus. I wasn't sure what was going to happen once I graduated. Would Eric still allow me to live with him? How would that go? Would I stay home while he was out on the road or would he prefer me to go with them? What did I want? His house was so gorgeous!

One day after a particularly grueling rehabilitation appointment, I was crying so hard from the pain I was almost hyperventilating. Bill helped me onto the bus and to the bunk area. I laid down and snuggled with the pillow pet that Eric had put on my bunk a while back. It always smelled of him and I really liked the smell. Bill brought me a pain pill and a bottle of water. I tried to thank him but couldn't really speak. I took the pill and gulped down some water. These pills always knocked me on my butt and before long, I'd fallen asleep.

**BILL'S POV**

One day after a particularly grueling rehabilitation appointment, poor Abrielle was crying so hard from the pain the girl was almost hyperventilating. The drive back to the venue was silent except for her crying. I helped her onto the bus and to the bunk area. She laid down and snuggled with the pillow pet that Eric had put on her bunk a while back. I brought her a pain pill knowing she desperately needed it and a bottle of water. She tried to thank me but couldn't really speak because she was still crying so hard. She took the pill and gulped down some water. These pills always knocked her on her butt and before long, she'd fallen asleep.

I sat in the front lounge on my laptop going over some things for the band when they boarded the bus with Jake. Eric and Zach always asked how her appointments went. After explaining about today's appointment, everyone seemed concerned. I assured the group I'd given her some pain medicine and she was laying down to rest. Eric seemed much more anxious then and Zach kept glancing to the bunk area.

"Has anyone thought about what's going to happen to her after she graduates?" Jake suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Brent furrowed his brows.

"Well. Is she going to remain living with Eric? Will she continue to come out on the road with us or will she want to stay home? Will she even want to go back to campus to participate in her graduation ceremony? What will she do for work?" Jake started.

"Ok, we get it." Zach sighed.

"She's welcome to stay with me as long as she likes." Eric was quick to state.

"I say she's welcome to travel with us as long as she likes. We're the closet things to friends she's got. We actually care for her. We look out for her." Barry added in.

"I agree with Barry on this one. I hope she'd like to come out with us all the time." Brent exclaimed, "I mean, she could freelance as a graphic artist or media specialist, couldn't she?"

"She should. If she wanted to, of course." Jake replied, "Think she'd want to go back for her graduation?"

"That's a difficult question to answer. I mean, all those kids were tormenting her on campus. I couldn't see her wanting to go back. But on the other hand, it is her graduation from college and a milestone so maybe she would just for that?" Zach shrugged.

"Well, we'll have to see what she has to say about it. I wouldn't pressure her to go back if she really didn't want to. They can mail her certificate out to her if she didn't want to attend the ceremony." I stated.

"What do you think she'd like for dinner? Since she's had such a hard day." Barry questioned.

"She seems to like your fiesta lime chicken quite a lot." Eric stated.

"Oooh! We haven't had that in a long while!" Zach smiled.

Barry laughed, "Ok, fiesta lime chicken it is. Maybe some corn on the cob to go with it?"

"Sounds perfect." I smiled at the dreadlocked man.

Jake looked at his watch, "Time to get to your next set of interviews, guys."

"Will you go get a small bag of chicken breasts and a bag of corn on the cob for me, Bill? I have everything else here I need for dinner." Barry asked me.

"Sure." I smiled at the drummer.

I left shortly after the group did to head to the store for Barry. I also picked up a small chocolate cake for dessert. I arrived back at the bus and set my bags on the counter to thaw out for Barry. She was trying to hobble to the bathroom as I set the bags down. Her therapists wanted her to walk without crutches which was still difficult for her. She finally made it to the restroom and shut the door. I sat back down where I'd been earlier and set my laptop on my lap.

She hobbled back to her bunk after she left the bathroom. Things were going great. The next few venues confirmed they would be ready for us. Interviewers had confirmed their interviews with the band for the next several dates. Catering had been confirmed. My company was going great. I suddenly received an email from Abrielle's school. They were emailing to make sure Abrielle was on track with her projects and that we didn't want any more students.

I assured them she was doing the best she could after the attack and that we certainly didn't want any more students from their school. I was as polite as I could be but they needed to understand we were done with their student body. Especially seeing how they treated poor Abrielle. It infuriated me to know end knowing that those two boys had been torturing her under our noses and we never suspected anything. It shamed me at the same time that we never picked up on it.

During the downtime between their last interview and the VIP session, the band boarded the bus to relax. Barry got on making dinner for everyone. Zach and Eric were both concerned that she was still in her bunk sleeping. I explained that she'd gotten up to use the restroom and reiterated just how much pain she was in after the rehabilitation session today. Eric frowned at me before glancing towards the bunks. If I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn he was falling for our young student. Zach asked if I was sure she was alright and I told him I was.

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