6. Mina
Chapter six
J asper sits me in a chair in the same study room from yesterday. He kneels down in front of me, as I place my elbows on my knees and hang my head in my hands, covering my face from him. I’m embarrassed that I had to leave class. My face is warm and I fight to control my emotions as my eyes start to tear up. My breathing becomes labored and I fight to try and calm myself, not wanting another panic attack.
“Angel, can you look at me?” I give my head a little shake as the tears start to escape. We stay there in silence for a minute as I try to take control of my breathing and tears.
When I hear the door open, my body tenses up.
“It’s just me, Sweetheart.” I hear the identical yet softer voice of my sweet twin and relax a fraction. I hear some movement before a water bottle pops up in my eyesight, between my knees. I tentatively reach out and take it.
“Good girl, take a drink for us. It’ll help you feel better.” I glance up and Jasper smiles, placing one hand on my knee and giving it a soft squeeze. I would expect that action to feel invasive, but instead, it’s comforting, confusing me, as I haven’t felt that since my dad was around.
Max squats down in front of me and places his hand on my other knee. I take a deep breath, waiting for my body to react negatively to being surrounded by these two large guys, but instead, my fear starts to dissipate. They don’t say anything, they just watch me with concern as Max’s thumb starts to softly stroke back and forth over the side of my knee.
“Mina?” My eyes move from Max’s hand to Jasper’s face. Did he ask me something? “Take a drink,” he says again, pointing to the bottle of water I’m holding.
I stare at the bottle, not remembering where it came from. Max reaches up and takes the top off before giving me a small smile and nodding to the bottle. I lick my lips before bringing it to my mouth and taking a few hesitant sips. It’s hard drinking with two identical pairs of eyes staring at me so intently. It does feel good though, and even better, it helps to stop the tears somehow. Or perhaps that’s more to do with my focus moving to the two handsome twins in front of me.
Once I take a few more sips, they smile warmly at me, but I can see the worry in their eyes. Are they worried about me directly or worried about me making a scene and embarrassing them? I have no idea how to read anyone other than my family.
Max sits back on his butt on the floor and braces his hands around his knees. “Do you need to buy lunch today?” he asks with an adorable tilt to his head. I shake my head. No money, no lunch. “Alright, well, why don’t you get your lunch out and I’ll go get lunch for me and Jasper?”
Dammit! I bite my lip and look at my hands nervously as I play with the water bottle. Are they going to be mad when they realize I don’t have a lunch? I didn’t lie, but I have no way to explain that I’m not buying one nor did I bring one. Would this be an issue for them? Would they realize how strange I am and finally leave me alone? I hope not. I’m finally starting to relax around them, just the tiniest bit .
“Angel?” I start to fidget, feeling uncomfortable without being able to answer.
“I’ll help you,” Max says, jumping up and grabbing my bag, placing it on the table and opening it up. He must think I don’t understand what they’re asking. Because my mother told the school I’m an idiot.
I let him rummage through my bag. He’s going to realize I have no lunch pretty quick anyway and there’s nothing in there to hide. “I can’t find it.” Max’s eyes shift to meet mine, and I see the look of confusion on his face. “You didn’t bring a lunch? Then why did you say you didn’t need to buy one? Are you not hungry?” I gave my head a quick shake, not really sure which I was saying no to.
I see them exchanging a weird look with one another, like they are having some sort of silent conversation. They were twins, so for all I know, they are.
“Alright!” Max stands with a smile. “I’ll go grab the grub, back in a bit!” He gives me a wink and leaves the room.
Jasper stands up, looking like he’s considering something for a minute before he asks, “can I show you something, out there in the library?” He holds out his hand to me, and every instinct in me is telling me to take it. I slowly stand and take his hand, placing the water bottle on the table as he pulls me to the door.
He leads me to the bookshelves, stopping in the science section. “See this book here?” He points to one, and I peer up to read the title. “That’s the one we were using in class today.” He must have seen how interested I was in class. Images of my mother’s possible reaction to finding out I didn’t play along with her instructions have me squeezing his hand tighter in fear .
What is his angle? Is it possible he was reporting back to my mother? Anything was possible, but she didn’t seem to know about anything that happened yesterday. And I think I could trust him, just a little bit. I don’t want to get caught with the book, so I glance around and when I see nobody else around us, I reach for the book, pulling it out and holding it to my chest. Jasper stares at me like he’s trying to figure something out.
“Can I… Would you let me hold that for you?” I don’t know why he’s offering, but it seems less risky in case someone in here is reporting back to my mother. I nod quickly as I bite my lip and hand it to him. He gives me a huge smile as his shoulders drop with what looks like relief. I wasn’t sure why letting him carry the book would make him feel that way. Maybe he didn’t trust me not to drop it and damage it?
“Shall we go back?” he asks, motioning towards my study room. I hesitate for a moment, eyeing the shelf. Taking a small leap of faith, I nervously point to the one called Biology. He looks a little surprised but grabs it and asks, “any others?” I shake my head. I was probably only here for my lunch period, anyway.
When we get back to the study room, I sit at the table and he places both books in front of me. I pull out my coloring books out of habit. Although… It doesn’t seem like I need to hide my ability to read from Jasper. Taking a deep breath, I push the coloring books aside and pull the chemistry book towards me, flipping it open and skimming through it until I find the part we stopped at in class and start reading.
Absorbed in the content, I flip through page after page until the door opens, startling me. I jump, instinctively grabbing the coloring book and pulling it on top of the textbook to hide it. I look up and see Jasper watching me with confusion as Max enters with a tray full of food, followed by Mr. Hargrove and a man I’ve never met before .
His strawberry blond hair sits messily around his ears and his blue eyes seem to study me as he moves to one of the free seats around the table. He has the shadow of a beard growing in and I can’t help but notice how his arms and upper body seem to stretch his button up flannel shirt to the max. There was no way this man was a student.
“I picked up food and company!” Max announces as he places the tray down.
“Is it really a good idea for us all to be here together?” Jasper asks, glancing at all the men with a look of worry.
“Nobody can see us, it’s fine,” Mr. Hargrove says in his soothing British voice. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Why would they not want to be seen together? Was it because teachers aren’t supposed to eat lunch with students?
As they all take seats around the table, My eyes move to the new man. I don’t know him or if he’s safe for me to be around. I bite my lip with worry. Why is he here? Why is the guidance counselor here? This has my mother written all over it. She probably has all these people watching me. Or else, I’ve done something wrong.
My eyes move to Jasper as I go over what he knows about me. He knows I can read, well, he knows I was looking at the textbook, he doesn’t know that I can actually understand it. Maybe he doesn’t really have anything to tell her yet, I just need to be more careful.
I watch the new, tall, broad man as he leans back in his chair, aiming a mischievous grin at me.
“Hello there, Sugar, I’m Tucker,” he says confidently, but a cough from Mr. Hargrove makes him falter.
“Uh, well, I guess it’s Mr. Stone, or Tucker Stone. My students call me Stone. But you can call me whatever you like.” His words tumble out awkwardly, and I can’t hide my confusion. Not only could I physically not speak, but I had no idea which of those names I was supposed to call him.
“Or well… You know… Umm…” His voice trails off, and I blink in surprise. Is he… flustered? I’ve never seen someone who looks so sure of himself stumble like that.
Jasper and Max burst out laughing, and even Mr. Hargrove’s face cracks into a smile.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Mr. Hargrove says quietly while placing portions of food in front of each of us. I glance at him, confused by his comment. He just shrugs and gives me a small, reassuring smile. I wasn’t sure what he meant or what was so funny.
“Max bought too much, so you’ll have to help us eat some of it, or it will go to waste,” he explains, placing some fries on my plate.
I hesitate, unsure if it’s really okay to join them. But as they sit and start eating without hesitation, my stomach rumbles from not eating in days. I cautiously reach out and pick up a fry. I know what these are, but I’ve never tried them before. Curiosity gets the best of me and I take a small bite, the salty, crispy flavor surprising me. My eyes widen, and I shove the rest of it into my mouth.
The next fry disappears just as quickly, and soon I’m eating faster and faster, my hunger taking over. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten anything, especially something this delicious. When I finish the fries, I pick up the burger and nibble a tiny piece, testing it. When the juicy flavor hits my tongue, I quickly devour the rest in huge bites, unable to stop myself.
When I finally come up for air, I notice the room has gone silent. My heart sinks as I realize all four of them are staring at me. My face burns with embarrassment, and I freeze .
Tucker’s grin breaks the tension. “Enjoyed that, did ya, Sugar? No harm in that,” he says, taking a huge bite of his own burger as if to show me everything’s fine.
The others follow his lead, resuming their meal, and I relax—until a sudden wave of nausea hits me. I leap up, clutching my mouth, my eyes darting around the room in desperation.
Jasper moves fast, shoving a garbage can in front of me just in time as I grab it and bend over, retching my lunch into it.
“That’s it, Angel, just let it out,” Jasper says gently. I realize he’s holding my hair back as I kneel on the floor, gripping the sides of the garbage can as my stomach clenches and turns in pain. The sudden movement also causes fresh pain through my arm.
As I struggle to breathe, someone gently starts rubbing my back and I peek over my shoulder to see Max’s worried eyes.
“I guess she ate too fast?” Jasper asks.
I glance up to see Mr. Hargrove and Tucker exchange worried glances, and catch a flicker of understanding in their eyes. I feel exposed, vulnerable, like they know something I don’t.
Max hands me a water bottle as I stand up, my stomach still churning. I take it gratefully, chugging the cool liquid. Jasper offers me a napkin, and I use it to wipe my mouth, embarrassed beyond belief.
“We need to get you something lighter to eat first. I’m going to go grab you some soup,” Jasper says, turning to leave. I quickly grab his arm and shake my head, placing my other hand on my stomach.
“Your stomach hurts, so you don’t want to eat anything right now?” he correctly guesses. I nod, letting go of his arm as I sink back into my seat .
“Alright, just sit there and relax, okay? We still have thirty minutes left before third period. What class does she have?” Jasper asks, turning to Mr. Hargrove.
“Art,” he answers quickly. Does he memorize all his students’ timetables? Or just the new ones?
“Hmm. Neither of us are in that class. Angel?” Jasper says, and I glance up at him. “Do you think you’ll be okay in that class by yourself, or would you rather stay here?”
I bite my lip, thinking it over. I still feel sick, but beyond that I still feel extremely weary of being in a classroom full of students. The only reason I had made it through them so far was because of the twins. Even then, I didn’t make it through science without needing to run. Looking at Jasper, I point to the ground.
“Okay, that’s fine. You have gym fourth period,” Mr. Hargrove tells me, before glancing at Tucker, who claps his hands together, startling me, then rubs them with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“Perfect! Then it’s my turn!” I stare at him, wide-eyed. His turn for what? “Ah, don’t worry, Sugar, I’m your gym teacher! I’ll take it easy on you,” he says with a wink. I glance around at the others, searching for an explanation.
Tucker laughs. “Really, though, it’ll be okay. You give me the old double tap if you need help, okay? If you aren’t standing by me, just double tap something so I can see, like your head,” he says, smiling at me.
My eyes dart to the twins. How does he know about the double tap?
“Mina?” Tucker calls my name, pulling my attention back to him. “You don’t have to go, you can stay here. But if you want, you could go to gym class and just watch for today. You’d be sitting on your own, away from the others. Then maybe tomorrow you can join in, if you want, that is?”
I think about it for a minute. If I sit away from the other kids, I might be okay. As much as I’d like to stay in here all day, I have a feeling they will start to push me more if I don’t at least make an attempt to go to some of my classes. Besides, didn’t my mother tell Mr. Hargrove that I was here for socialization? I give him a small nod, hoping he’ll know what I’m agreeing to.
“Alright, you can sit on the bleachers during class. We’re outside today. Can y’all show her where to go? I’ll be setting up stuff for class,” Tucker, or Stone as he says students call him, tells me in his southern drawl. His voice is so interesting and sexy. Great, now I also have a crush on my teacher, too. I bet all the girls do with the way he looks and speaks. First it was Mr. Hargrove, then the twins, and now this guy. I know it’s inappropriate to have feelings for my teachers, but it’s not like I’m actually seventeen, like other seniors. Although I can’t help but wonder what age my mother told them I was. Did she lie to get me into high school? Would they let a twenty-one year old attend? I had a feeling they wouldn’t, so they must think I’m only seventeen.
The guys start talking about a baseball team as they finish eating and I glance down at my books. I really want to finish the chemistry book, but there is no way I can read in front of all four of them. Although I had a feeling I could trust them, I barely knew them and didn’t think it was worth it. So I pull the coloring book in front of me and start mindlessly coloring it, wondering if, now that I was at school, and away from my mother throughout the day, if I could come up with a plan to get away from her for good .
Movement has me looking up, as they all get to their feet. I’m surprised when they tell me that the next period starts in only five minutes.
“We all have to get going now, I’ll be back to take you to your next class, okay?” Mr. Hargrove asks, and I nod in response. As they leave, I expect to feel relief at being alone. It’s familiar and comfortable. But I don’t. It makes me even more anxious. That’s a new feeling. I never wanted to be around people before, then again, seeing the people I knew always meant pain and torment.
I grab the chemistry book to distract myself from dark thoughts and before long, I’ve finished and moved onto biology, and when I finish that one, I quietly grab a different chemistry book. About ten minutes before the end of class, I return all the books and pack my stuff up, waiting for Mr. Hargrove. Apparently, he doesn’t have any appointments last period, so he’s free to take me out to the field without being late for anything.
He steps in a minute later, smiling when he sees me. “Hi Love, are you doing okay?” I nod. There’s that nickname again, it must be a common way British men address women. “Did you read anything good?” I bite my lip and nod as I feel the blush rise in my cheeks. I’m not really sure why I’m blushing. Something about his attention on me causes it.
“Alright, let’s get you to gym class.” He motions for me to follow him, and we walk down the hall, side by side. Third period isn’t quite over yet, so the halls are still empty, and I’m grateful. As we step outside, I feel the breeze. It’s not as cold as it was this morning, but still a bit too cold for my thin blouse. “Where’s your jacket?” I shake my head. He frowns but doesn’t say anything else, instead he shows me to the bleachers that sit beside a large football field. “You can sit anywhere here.” He motions to the bleachers and I nod as I move toward them .
“When class is over, wait here, and either Tuck or one of the twins will come get you, okay?” he asks. I shake my head. This is the last class, and I know I’ve got to get home as fast as possible, I can’t wait around for one of them to show up.
He frowns at me, obviously confused why I won’t wait, so I tap my wrist, where a watch would be. “Time?” I nod and he continues. “Oh, you have to go home after class?” I nod. “Well, not to worry. One of us can drive you home, so you’ll still get home quickly.” He smiles at me as if he solved the problem. “See you later.” He quickly turns and leaves before I can figure out how to communicate with him that his plan won’t work.
I still can’t wait around. They can’t drive me home, if my mother saw someone dropping me off, it would be really bad. I’ll have to make a hasty exit as soon as class is over and try to avoid them so they don’t force a ride on me, as I don’t think I’ll be able to say no to any of them.
I sit at the edge of the bleachers, about halfway up, where I think I won’t be noticed by the other students. I see Tucker setting up some things on the field. He looks up like he’s searching the bleachers for something. Or someone. When he sees me, I can see a smile on his face and he waves his hand. I lift mine slightly to return his greeting. He goes back to what he’s doing, and soon he’s joined by a bunch of students. I watch as they toss around different-shaped balls and run up and down the field, doing things in pairs or small groups. Even though they’re not doing much, I know I won’t be able to do any of it easily. I’ve had such little exercise in my life, I probably have no muscle or stamina. Being locked in a basement will do that to you. I sigh and wonder if my life will ever get any easier .
I notice students heading inside and realize class is almost over. I see Tucker is talking to a couple of students with his back to me and take the opportunity to make my way down the bleachers. I decide going around the school will be easier and faster, plus I’ll avoid bumping into anyone.
With about five minutes to spare, I jog up my driveway. I might not get exercise anywhere else, but my jogs home from school are definitely going to help with my stamina, if nothing else. I pant heavily as I take my shoes off and head through the kitchen, smiling when I notice a bowl of macaroni and cheese on the counter. I look around, not sure if it’s for me or not and wait for another minute, unsure what to do. I really need to eat, especially since I threw up everything I ate at lunch.
“Mina, are you home?” I hear her before I see her. She gives me the evil eye as she comes into the kitchen, as if trying to find fault with me. When her eyes narrow, I know I’ve done something wrong. “You stupid girl, you took your braids out!” she growls. Terror grips me when I realize I forgot to put them back in my hair before I came home. Stupid!
“I’m feeling generous today. You can still have dinner, but you get one lashing. Where do you want it, your back?” She says it so casually you’d think she’s asking me what I want for dinner. I don’t want it on my back, I won’t be able to reach it to clean it, and with having to wear a backpack everyday it would be painful and hard to heal. I don’t have much choice. I point to my stomach.
“Alright, take your school clothes off. Gotta keep them clean,” she chuckles darkly. I know the drill. I pull them off and stuff them in my backpack for an easy getaway after. I stand with my back against the wall, placing my arms over my face, keeping them well away from my stomach. I made the mistake of leaving them at my sides once, and the belt marked them as well .
Squeezing my eyes shut tight, knowing it’s best not to see it coming, I hear her footsteps and the tinkling of the belt buckle. As soon as I start to wonder if she’s actually going to do it, I feel the sting across my stomach. It takes all I have not to bend over in pain, knowing that action will probably get another lashing on my back.
“Go,” she says calmly, then I hear her cross the kitchen and drop the belt back in the drawer she keeps it in.
I let out a breath as I drop my arms and quickly grab the bowl and my backpack and start heading for the basement door. Her voice halts my steps. “Oh, and if you make that mistake again, I’ll have Jeff show up in the middle of the night to give you your punishment.” She gives me a sadistic grin, then walks towards me. I quickly head down the steps, hearing the door slam and lock behind me.
I place my bag and dinner on my bed before looking at my new wound. It’s an angry-looking welt, about ten inches, angled across my torso between my stomach and chest. There is a thin slice through it, but it’s barely bleeding, thankfully. I grab a gauze bandage and wrap it around my torso, wishing I had some sort of antiseptic cream to put on it first.
I decide to check the wound on my arm. But as I unwrap it, the pain increases tremendously. The worst part is how hot it feels. When I finally have a good look at it, I see a small amount of pus leaking from it. Gross. I sigh. I need money, a way to get to the drugstore, and time to get there. I have none of those things. What a disaster. I wrap it back up and eat my dinner slowly, afraid it will make me throw up again, it’s not difficult since it tastes horrible.
Eventually, I lay down and finally fall asleep, trying to devise a plan to get medication and coming up with nothing. I have to hope that if I stay on my mother’s good side, she will get me antibiotics, eventually.