Happy Anniversary.

25. Vices.

Tuesday morning, like promised the night before, Mrs. Hoover had the library doors unlocked before the moon left the sky. It was strange arriving at the school and being the only car in the student parking lot, like I was the only person attending this school. The hallways echoed when I walked through them, and the buzz of the harsh yellow lights in the ceiling gave the place an eerie glow. I couldn't hear another soul in the building, and even though the school was slightly warmer than the outside air, my spine was burdened with sharp prickles and goosebumps broke out under my jacket. I wasted no time in getting a notebook, pen, and my first period materials from my locker and rushing to the library, hoping there would be more life there than here.

Mrs. Hoover looked to be hard at work when I reached the doors of her room, so I kept my head down and walked past her to an empty table. To appear busy, I opened my textbook and notebook and doodled so I wouldn't be bothered. We didn't speak for a solid twenty minutes, but eventually I looked up to see the elderly woman pulling out the chair across from me, her face just as worried as it was last night. "Good morning, Jackson." She said sweetly.

I smiled at her politely. "Hello, Mrs. Hoover. How was your evening?"

"Oh, it was splendid. My husband surprised me and took me to dinner and we watched a movie. What about yours?"

I felt heat rush to my face. "It was fine. I was up late working, but it could have been worse." Lies. The new marks on my thigh would attest to that. My parents didn't lay a hand on me last night, surprisingly; instead, they just yelled at me until I couldn't hold the tears back. I couldn't understand how I had gotten through nearly eighteen years of living in a happy family, only for it to change in the blink of an eye. This must have been a long time coming, it had to be. The kind of rage and hatred they expressed didn't just come out of nowhere.

She nodded absently, reaching out and gently placing her hands on mine. "Jack, I ran into one of your teachers this morning, Mr. Suede?" My heart stuttered. "I was telling him about you coming in early to finish your work, and he told me you haven't turned in anything in a couple of weeks. I checked your file, and it seems that all of them are." She squeezed my hands, her eyes full of sympathy. "I've worked with teens for almost fifty years. I've seen these signs before. So, I'll ask you, and I hope you can answer me honestly. Is everything going okay at home?"

My eyes burned as something in my throat grew to the size of a watermelon. I wanted to tell her, I did. I wanted to get out of that house and keep Joe and May safe. However, I knew I couldn't. Not now. There was no one who could take us three in around here, and I wouldn't stand for us to get split up. I would be a legal adult soon, safe from the foster care system, but neither of my siblings would be for years. I knew what happened to kids in foster care, and was positive it wouldn't be any better than our current home situation. At least right now we were still together.

I opened my mouth, ready to lie my ass off, when my phone started ringing. The caller ID told me it was Alex. Alex never called me; only text. "I-I have to take this. Excuse me." I mumbled to Mrs. Hoover, jumping up and walking away from the table. "Hello?" I whispered. I didn't think she could hear me from this distance, but I had to make sure.

"Are you okay?" Alex's voice whispered in a minorly desperate tone.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

He yawned before answering me. "I don't know. I just woke up and felt like I should call you. I miss you."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my smile from breaking my face. "I miss you too, baby. But I'm fine and you should probably get ready fro school before your parents walk in and wonder who you're talking to."

He groaned. "But I want to keep talking to you. Can't we just skip today and you can come visit me and we can go somewhere quiet and warm and cuddle all day?"