14. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Rory
M y breaths are choppy, and my chest is rising and falling at a rapid pace as I hurriedly walk down the hallway towards the staff room, hoping that no one is in there because I know I'm about to have a meltdown and I don't want anyone else to witness me in this state.
I reach the door just as a tear drips from the corner of my eyes. I push it open, throwing myself inside the room and slamming the door shut behind me.
My panicked eyes dart around the empty room as my body slides down the length of the door and when I'm positive no one else is in here, I let myself fall apart while I sit on the cold, tiled floor.
Tears pour down my face and my ragged breathing echoes through the room as sobs escape me.
I curl my hands into fists, digging my nails into the palm of my hands as I think about the way Jaylen and Sophia stared at me.
The pity in Sophia's eyes once she seemed to realise what was going on shattered the remainder of the armour I protect myself with, cracking open my chest and allowing my feelings to slowly push their way out of me .
The blazing anger in Jaylen's eyes had my hands trembling as the voice in my head screamed at me that he could see the slight bruising that still covered my neck.
I lean my head down to rest atop of my knees and I dig my nails deeper into my palms, causing a sting of pain to shoot through my body, and then I begin to count, simultaneously taking deep breaths with each number I say in my head in an attempt to calm myself down.
Five – the countless years I'd spent with Danny.
Four – the number of times I tried to leave.
Three – the amount of days I've been free of him.
Two – the total of bones he'd broken.
One – the number of people I hate with a deep, burning passion.
I loosen my hands, pulling my nails away from my skin and focus on the bite of pain I feel, distracting myself from all of the thoughts that are trying to flood through my mind.
Wiping my tears away, I take a few more breaths before lifting my head from my knees and blinking rapidly until my bleary vision clears a little.
You don't owe them an answer.
Sort yourself out, paint a smile on your face, and pretend that everything is okay.
They don't need to know anything.
I squeeze my eyes shut, giving myself a few more moments to calm my erratic heartbeat and then I stand up, still pressing my back against the door to support my weak legs.
"You've got this," I whisper, trying to give myself a measly pep talk.
I straighten my shoulders and finally push away from the door, heading towards the toilets so that I can look at myself in the mirror .
When I see the streaks my tears have left, I cringe and bite the inside of my cheek and shake my head as I continue to look at the state of myself.
Turning the tap on, I cup my hands underneath the stream of water and duck down, using my hands to rub away the remainder of my make-up.
When I hear the door to the staff room open behind me, I freeze for a moment, my muscles locking up.
Just breathe.
I wipe the water from my eyes and then grab some tissue to dry the rest of my face.
Turning back around to look at myself in the mirror, I can now see the very obvious greenish tinge to my cheek due to the lack of make-up.
I gently press my fingers against the bruise, noting that the dull shooting pain doesn't even make me flinch.
I frown at myself, horrified that I've become so used to being in pain that it doesn't affect me at all now.
Fluffing up my hair, I use it to cover the left side of my face before I walk out of the bathroom, intent on going to my locker to get the small make-up bag I have in there so that I can cover this mess up again before going about my day.
I only manage to move a few steps out of the bathroom before I see Sophia standing by the door that I was sat against just moments ago, staring at me with the same pitiful look she gave me earlier.
My nails bite back into my skin, and I keep my head down as I force myself to walk towards my locker .
"I'll be back out in a few moments so that I can finish wrapping Jaylen's bandages," I tell her, pulling open my locker and hiding my face behind the metal door.
"Honestly, I'd be surprised if he isn't trying to force himself to move so that he can do it without any help right now," she replies quietly as her footsteps sound across the room.
I stay silent as I grab the make-up bag and then turn away from her, closing my locker and walking back towards the bathroom.
"I want to apologise!" Sophia blurts, stopping me in my tracks. "I need to apologise on Jaylen's behalf, because obviously he can't, but I know him well enough to know that he's currently lying in his hospital room right now beating himself up because he's upset you."
I sigh and push myself to move forward.
"Well, you can go back and tell him that he hasn't upset me," I tell her. "I'm fine, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Girl, come on," she says, hurrying behind me and pushing her way into the bathroom with me. "It's obvious you're not okay."
Our eyes connect through the mirror in front of me and she raises her brows, cocking her head to the side.
When I don't say anything, she sighs and moves to stand beside me.
"Are you in some sort of trouble?"
I busy myself with pulling my make-up from my bag and shake my head before I start applying it.
"Do you need any help?" she asks, her eyes flitting down to the bruise I'm currently covering back up.
I shake my head again as I clamp my teeth together and continue applying make-up to my face, hoping that she'll leave me alone and stop prodding me for answers .
"You wouldn't tell me anyway if you needed help, would you?"
I huff and turn to face her.
"I'm okay and I don't need any help. Thank you for being concerned, but really, there's no reason for you to be. What happened was an accident. You said yourself, it's dangerous for us women out there when we're alone," I tell her, hoping that she'll accept that as an answer and leave.
She analyses me for a minute before she nods.
"So, it was just an accident that happened here in London then?"
I gulp and nod, turning back to the mirror.
"Okay," she sighs, shaking her head slightly. "I'll go back to Jaylen and tell him you're okay."
As she walks away, I breathe a sigh of relief.
There's no doubt in my mind that she doesn't completely believe me, but now that I'm no longer going to constantly have bruises marring my skin, it should be easy to stick to that story and convince her that I was telling the truth.