In Fate's Hands
Chapter 7: Who Would Have Thought?
Question 5: What is 200 degrees in radians?
Degrees to radians, so that means I have to multiply, right? Yeah, multiply 200 by something, but I can’t remember what it is. Elizabeth is looking really good today. I wonder what she thinks about me. I never thought I would ever be friends with someone like her, but I am. Maybe I even want to be more. There’s just something about her…Anyway, back to the problem.
Elizabeth and Jesse had spent every day that week together in the Tutor Center. It was the end of the week and she made him a review sheet that he was trying to do. While he was doing it, she noticed as his eyes started to wonder from his paper over to her and back again. He liked to gaze at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, but she saw him out of the corner of her eye and smiled to herself. There was something about him that she really liked, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was the cute little way his eyebrows crinkled together when he was frustrated, or the way he looked at her with all that emotion in his eyes, or the way he got excited every time she told him that he had gotten a question right. Whatever it was made her stomach flutter.
Once Jesse was done answering the questions, she took the paper and looked at his answers.
“Great job! You got every question right except #5,” she said as she studied the paper. “You have improved so much over this past week.”
“That’s because I have one awesome tutor.”
“Nah, it was all you. You worked really hard and it paid off.”
“Yeah, now I just have to worry about passing the real math test next week.”
“We’ll review this stuff again on Monday before the test, but I really think you are ready.”
“I owe you so much. If you hadn’t taught me this stuff, I don’t think I’d be passing that class right now.”
“You don’t owe me anything. You’ve helped me out in more ways than you know. I mean, I actually have friends now.”
“You would have made them anyway. How are things with your mom going?”
“Great, except that she leaves again on Sunday, and that really scares me.” She found herself looking at anything and everything else in the room to avoid Jesse’s eyes.
“I still think you should tell her what’s going on.”
“I can’t. I don’t think she would believe me, and, if she did, it would crush her, not to mention the fact that I would be putting her in danger. I can’t lose another parent like I lost my dad; I just can’t do it. I’ll have to figure out some other way to get out of there.”
“If you don’t get out of that house soon, I swear I’m going to come over there and get you out myself.”
“Jesse, you don’t have to do that.”
“No, I’m dead serious. If you don’t get out of there soon, I’m coming over and getting you out whether you like it or not.”
“Who am I, Rapunzel?” Elizabeth asked, laughing.
“If I have to climb to get up into your room, then I guess so, but it might take a few years for you to grow your hair out that long.”
“You know what’s funny? This whole thing with us is kind of weird. Just a little over a week ago, we were either ignoring each other or you were picking on me, but now…”
“Now we’re friends,” he finished for her.
“Exactly. I guess I just never really thought that I could ever be friends with someone like you, but you really seem to have changed lately.”
“To be quite honest, most of that is because of you.”
“How can it be because of me? I was never the person that told you that you needed to change.”
“Maybe not, but I could see it in your eyes. It took me awhile to get you to trust me after the way I treated you. Once you said all those things to me when I first asked you to tutor me, somewhere inside me, I could tell that I had been making a big mistake. I wanted to change, to be better for you and I can’t even explain why I felt that way, but I did. To the outside world, I’m this rich, popular jock who gets whatever he wants; the fact that I’m human doesn’t even cross their minds, but, in here, none of that matters. I’m just me. For some reason I feel more comfortable talking to you than I do with most of my other friends and we’ve really only been friends for like a week. Two weeks ago, the thought never even crossed my mind that I could feel like this about you.”
“Feel like what?”
“Like I want to be more than friends.”
The room became so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Before Elizabeth could fully register what he just said to her, the bell rang and it was time to leave.
About 3 hours later, Elizabeth got home just as her mother was about to do some laundry.
“Hi, Honey! How was your day at school?” her mom asked while throwing clothes into the washing machine in the laundry room.
Elizabeth threw her bag down by the stairs and walked through the kitchen into the laundry room to talk to her mom. “It was a very good day,” she said; her whole face was glowing.
Her mother turned to face her. “Look at you!” she said. “You can’t stop smiling. You really must have had a good day. Tell me all about it.”
“Anthony isn’t home, is he?”
“No, he’s out playing poker with some of his friends.”
“Good. Well, there’s this guy that I’ve been tutoring for the past week. He used to be this big jerk to me, but lately he’s changed. I never thought I’d feel like this for someone like him, but I do. Today, he told me he wanted to be more than friends with me, but I never got a chance to say anything back because the bell rang. It makes me feel really relieved that he feels the same way about me as I do about him, though.”
“If you really like this guy, then you should go out with him.”
“I don’t know if I will be able to though.” No way on earth would Anthony ever allow that to happen.
“Why not, Honey?”
“Because I have a lot of school work right now and I can’t really fall behind. I want to continue getting straight A’s and a boyfriend could come in the way of that.” In reality, there was nothing in the world she wanted more than someone to love and have someone love her back, but it wasn’t possible at the moment.
“I’m happy that you are so focused on your work, but you should let yourself have a little fun once in awhile.”
“I know, Mom, and I will, but, right now, I’m going to get started on that schoolwork I’ve been telling you about. The pile of work I have is like a small mountain.”
“That much, huh? Good luck. While you’re up in your room, throw down anything you want me to wash.”
“Actually, I do need you to wash a pair of jeans, so I will toss those down.”
“Ok.”
Elizabeth grabbed her bag and ran upstairs. A few minutes later, a pair of jeans came flying down the stairs from the second floor and Mrs. Rodriguez went to grab them. As she walked back to the laundry room with the jeans in her hand, she checked the pockets to see if there was anything in them because she didn’t want to wash anything by accident. She felt a piece of paper in one of the pockets, took it out, and opened it up. It was the letter Elizabeth had written to her mother while she was in the hospital.
Dear Mom,
I know that I can never let you read this letter, but I just had to get my feelings out. This is me, Mom, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There’s a lot of ugly in here, but it’s about time you knew the truth.
For one thing, you have terrible taste in men. I’m writing this letter to you while lying in a hospital bed because Anthony put me here. After two years, you haven’t even noticed how I have changed, how I had to cover everything up for him. Don’t you ever wonder why I wear all those baggy clothes all year round? Well, here’s your answer: he beats me, Mom. He beats me until I have nothing left. Just yesterday, he threw me up against a wall and gave me a concussion all because a boy came knocking on the door looking for me. I live a lonely and secluded life; he does not let me associate with anyone outside of school. The only makeup I’m allowed to wear is concealer so that I can hide all the bruises that he puts on my face; the rest are hidden under my clothes. I have no friends, no one else to turn to and I’m sick of it, all of it. You want to know the kind of man you married? He told me if I told anyone what he does to me, then he would come after you and kill you right in front of my eyes.
Please, Mom, please just come home for good. He doesn’t hurt me when you’re home; it’s the only time out of the month where I’m ever safe. I’m so scared, Mom. If he has the strength to put me in the hospital, then he definitely has the strength to kill you and me if I push him too much. I just don’t see any way out of this without anyone getting hurt. I love you and I don’t want anything to happen to you, but, when I need you, you’re never here. I feel so alone. Why don’t you ever stick around? My life would be so much easier if I could be with you for more than one week per month. Aren’t I more important to you than your job? I’m your daughter, yet you don’t even know half of the things that go on in my life. I need you so much, Mom, more than you know.
Love,
Elizabeth
Degrees to radians, so that means I have to multiply, right? Yeah, multiply 200 by something, but I can’t remember what it is. Elizabeth is looking really good today. I wonder what she thinks about me. I never thought I would ever be friends with someone like her, but I am. Maybe I even want to be more. There’s just something about her…Anyway, back to the problem.
Elizabeth and Jesse had spent every day that week together in the Tutor Center. It was the end of the week and she made him a review sheet that he was trying to do. While he was doing it, she noticed as his eyes started to wonder from his paper over to her and back again. He liked to gaze at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, but she saw him out of the corner of her eye and smiled to herself. There was something about him that she really liked, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was the cute little way his eyebrows crinkled together when he was frustrated, or the way he looked at her with all that emotion in his eyes, or the way he got excited every time she told him that he had gotten a question right. Whatever it was made her stomach flutter.
Once Jesse was done answering the questions, she took the paper and looked at his answers.
“Great job! You got every question right except #5,” she said as she studied the paper. “You have improved so much over this past week.”
“That’s because I have one awesome tutor.”
“Nah, it was all you. You worked really hard and it paid off.”
“Yeah, now I just have to worry about passing the real math test next week.”
“We’ll review this stuff again on Monday before the test, but I really think you are ready.”
“I owe you so much. If you hadn’t taught me this stuff, I don’t think I’d be passing that class right now.”
“You don’t owe me anything. You’ve helped me out in more ways than you know. I mean, I actually have friends now.”
“You would have made them anyway. How are things with your mom going?”
“Great, except that she leaves again on Sunday, and that really scares me.” She found herself looking at anything and everything else in the room to avoid Jesse’s eyes.
“I still think you should tell her what’s going on.”
“I can’t. I don’t think she would believe me, and, if she did, it would crush her, not to mention the fact that I would be putting her in danger. I can’t lose another parent like I lost my dad; I just can’t do it. I’ll have to figure out some other way to get out of there.”
“If you don’t get out of that house soon, I swear I’m going to come over there and get you out myself.”
“Jesse, you don’t have to do that.”
“No, I’m dead serious. If you don’t get out of there soon, I’m coming over and getting you out whether you like it or not.”
“Who am I, Rapunzel?” Elizabeth asked, laughing.
“If I have to climb to get up into your room, then I guess so, but it might take a few years for you to grow your hair out that long.”
“You know what’s funny? This whole thing with us is kind of weird. Just a little over a week ago, we were either ignoring each other or you were picking on me, but now…”
“Now we’re friends,” he finished for her.
“Exactly. I guess I just never really thought that I could ever be friends with someone like you, but you really seem to have changed lately.”
“To be quite honest, most of that is because of you.”
“How can it be because of me? I was never the person that told you that you needed to change.”
“Maybe not, but I could see it in your eyes. It took me awhile to get you to trust me after the way I treated you. Once you said all those things to me when I first asked you to tutor me, somewhere inside me, I could tell that I had been making a big mistake. I wanted to change, to be better for you and I can’t even explain why I felt that way, but I did. To the outside world, I’m this rich, popular jock who gets whatever he wants; the fact that I’m human doesn’t even cross their minds, but, in here, none of that matters. I’m just me. For some reason I feel more comfortable talking to you than I do with most of my other friends and we’ve really only been friends for like a week. Two weeks ago, the thought never even crossed my mind that I could feel like this about you.”
“Feel like what?”
“Like I want to be more than friends.”
The room became so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Before Elizabeth could fully register what he just said to her, the bell rang and it was time to leave.
About 3 hours later, Elizabeth got home just as her mother was about to do some laundry.
“Hi, Honey! How was your day at school?” her mom asked while throwing clothes into the washing machine in the laundry room.
Elizabeth threw her bag down by the stairs and walked through the kitchen into the laundry room to talk to her mom. “It was a very good day,” she said; her whole face was glowing.
Her mother turned to face her. “Look at you!” she said. “You can’t stop smiling. You really must have had a good day. Tell me all about it.”
“Anthony isn’t home, is he?”
“No, he’s out playing poker with some of his friends.”
“Good. Well, there’s this guy that I’ve been tutoring for the past week. He used to be this big jerk to me, but lately he’s changed. I never thought I’d feel like this for someone like him, but I do. Today, he told me he wanted to be more than friends with me, but I never got a chance to say anything back because the bell rang. It makes me feel really relieved that he feels the same way about me as I do about him, though.”
“If you really like this guy, then you should go out with him.”
“I don’t know if I will be able to though.” No way on earth would Anthony ever allow that to happen.
“Why not, Honey?”
“Because I have a lot of school work right now and I can’t really fall behind. I want to continue getting straight A’s and a boyfriend could come in the way of that.” In reality, there was nothing in the world she wanted more than someone to love and have someone love her back, but it wasn’t possible at the moment.
“I’m happy that you are so focused on your work, but you should let yourself have a little fun once in awhile.”
“I know, Mom, and I will, but, right now, I’m going to get started on that schoolwork I’ve been telling you about. The pile of work I have is like a small mountain.”
“That much, huh? Good luck. While you’re up in your room, throw down anything you want me to wash.”
“Actually, I do need you to wash a pair of jeans, so I will toss those down.”
“Ok.”
Elizabeth grabbed her bag and ran upstairs. A few minutes later, a pair of jeans came flying down the stairs from the second floor and Mrs. Rodriguez went to grab them. As she walked back to the laundry room with the jeans in her hand, she checked the pockets to see if there was anything in them because she didn’t want to wash anything by accident. She felt a piece of paper in one of the pockets, took it out, and opened it up. It was the letter Elizabeth had written to her mother while she was in the hospital.
Dear Mom,
I know that I can never let you read this letter, but I just had to get my feelings out. This is me, Mom, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There’s a lot of ugly in here, but it’s about time you knew the truth.
For one thing, you have terrible taste in men. I’m writing this letter to you while lying in a hospital bed because Anthony put me here. After two years, you haven’t even noticed how I have changed, how I had to cover everything up for him. Don’t you ever wonder why I wear all those baggy clothes all year round? Well, here’s your answer: he beats me, Mom. He beats me until I have nothing left. Just yesterday, he threw me up against a wall and gave me a concussion all because a boy came knocking on the door looking for me. I live a lonely and secluded life; he does not let me associate with anyone outside of school. The only makeup I’m allowed to wear is concealer so that I can hide all the bruises that he puts on my face; the rest are hidden under my clothes. I have no friends, no one else to turn to and I’m sick of it, all of it. You want to know the kind of man you married? He told me if I told anyone what he does to me, then he would come after you and kill you right in front of my eyes.
Please, Mom, please just come home for good. He doesn’t hurt me when you’re home; it’s the only time out of the month where I’m ever safe. I’m so scared, Mom. If he has the strength to put me in the hospital, then he definitely has the strength to kill you and me if I push him too much. I just don’t see any way out of this without anyone getting hurt. I love you and I don’t want anything to happen to you, but, when I need you, you’re never here. I feel so alone. Why don’t you ever stick around? My life would be so much easier if I could be with you for more than one week per month. Aren’t I more important to you than your job? I’m your daughter, yet you don’t even know half of the things that go on in my life. I need you so much, Mom, more than you know.
Love,
Elizabeth