What Do You Want From Me?

‘Make sure you call me right before you go to bed.’

She’d read the text over and over again, for reasons unknown, even to her. Jessica wished more than anything that she could have just stayed at Jimmy’s house for the night, and even possibly, forever. She was wanted there, treated right, and never put down for idiotic reasons her own parents found important.

Her eyes darted to the dashboard, seeing the time now read 9:04. She swallowed the lump in her throat and took deep breaths, doing her very best to stay calm and collected. Maybe they wouldn’t even notice, maybe they were already in bed, maybe they won’t make a big deal out of a little one hour late arrival…maybe they’ll change altogether and never treat her bad ever again. Jessica’s mind raced to every maybe possible, each one sounding more and more farfetched than the one before it. All she could do was hope, pray that things would turn out all right.

Her house came into view, the lights from a very alive living room making the knot in Jessica’s stomach thicker and thicker by the passing seconds. No matter how many of those silly scenarios she came up with, she knew something bad was going to happen. After seeing her father’s car parked out in front of the house, it was almost guaranteed. She pulled her own car into the driveway, said a quick prayer, and exited the vehicle. Her steps approaching the house were small, taking as much time possible to reach her destination.

She held the keys in her hand tighter, feeling the sharp edges begin to indent into her skin, as she stepped onto the porch and opened the outside door. It creaked loudly, and Jessica cringed, knowing if there was even an ounce of hope of not being discovered, it just went out the window. She inserted the key and turned the gold knob slowly to the left, opening the oak portal and stepping inside. Immediately, her ears were met with the familiar sound of Ryan Seacrest’s voice. American Idol, of course; her parents had been diehard fans since the very first season. Jessica made a feeble attempt to sneak past the living room and get up the stairs, but even the most reticent of treads couldn’t escape the wrath of Marlene Flaherty.

“You’re late,” The middle-aged woman popped out of the living room doorway, making Jessica jump a little.

“I l-lost track of time, Mom, I’m sorry,” Jessica replied, voice shaking some.

“I’m aware, but that’s no excuse, young lady.” Marlene crossed her arms over her chest, head shaking back and forth in disappointment.

“I know it’s not, but that’s what happened. We were hanging out, and time just seemed to have flown by. I’m sorry.”

“I heard you the first time, Jessica Marie. Normally, I might be obliged to let you off the hook.” Liar. “But I gave you strict instructions to be home by eight, and not a minute later. It seems like lately you’re just doing things to make me mad at you, and I can’t have that in my house.”

Jessica took a deep breath and looked away from her mother’s gaze. This was going south faster than she originally thought. “So, what do you want from me?”

Marlene looked away from her daughter and back into the living room, nodding almost faintly, and Jessica’s stomach dropped even further. Hard footsteps followed, and suddenly Jessica was met face to face with the man she loathed more than anything else in the world.

“What we want is for you to start showing us a little bit more respect,” Jeffrey Flaherty spoke, his abysmal voice almost succeeding in making Jessica grimace.

“Respect? I show you guys more respect than anyone of my friends or superiors.” Jessica found herself doing her best to plea a defense, unusually enough.

“Hah! That’s rich,” Jeffrey proclaimed. “If I had a dollar for every disrespectful remark you’ve ever give your mother or me, I’d be a billionaire instead of just a millionaire.”

Jessica scoffed at her father’s arrogance. “I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. It’s pointless. If you want to ground me, fine, do it. I have nothing else to lose to you guys anymore.”

At that, Jessica began to walk away from the adults in front of her. She almost made it past, when a strong grip pulled her back, and she was abruptly met with the floor below. Jessica gasped, as the wind was knocked out of her, and cried out when a familiar back hand struck callously against her cheek. She immediately brought her own hand to where her face stung and pulsated painfully, eyes blurring with tears.

“You see what happens?!” Jeffrey hollered boisterously. “You see what happens when you act smart? You’re nothing, child, nothing.”

Jessica cried softly, warm tears heating up the already enflamed skin. “I hate you,” She whispered in vain. She knew she’d be made to suffer again, but it didn’t matter to her at that moment.

“What was that?” Jeffrey asked, bending down closer to her.

“I said, I hate you!” Jessica clarified.

Jeffrey raised his hand and brought it back down to strike the girl once again, this time harder. Jessica whimpered a little this time, knowing her lip was now busted and leaking the crimson fluid from within. She looked up at her mother, who still stood in the same place, arms crossed, observing the scene with mild interest. Jeffery stood again, gazing down at his bruised daughter, before walking away and back into the living room. Marlene quickly followed. Jessica breathed heavily, attempting to control her tears, and slowly brought herself back up to her feet. She walked quickly passed the living room, not wanting them to see her breakdown, and ran up the stairs to her room.

It was after she closed her door that she let the tears flow freely and unabashedly. Her breathing took on more of a hyperventilating tone as she tried to overcome the emotions that were taking over her completely. After throwing down her bag, Jessica collapsed on her bed and cried into the fluffy, white pillow where she would normally cradle her head comfortably for a good night sleep. She let out a scream into the cushion and pounded her fists violently against the mattress. She did this for another two or so minutes before her breathing regulated to steady breath’s, and her clenched fists relaxed. She turned her head away from the pillow and sighed, before flipping onto her back and staring up at the ceiling.

“I have to get out of here,” Jessica whispered to herself. “I can’t fucking take this anymore.”

More tears escaped her emerald irises, and she quickly wiped them away and sat up again. Her purse, which had been tossed on the end of the bed, was picked up and dug through without mercy as she searched out her cell phone. Pulling it out, she saw the screen flashing with five missed calls and fourteen new text messages. She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, taking a deep breath as the other line began to ring.

“Hello,” Jimmy’s voice sounded directly after the first ring.

“Hey,” Jessica said back, trying her best to mask what she was truly feeling.

“Hey, is everything okay? I’ve been texting and calling.”

“I know. I just got in,” She lied, closing her eyes tightly. She’d always hated lying to Jimmy.

Jimmy was silent for a few moments, before a heavy sigh sounded and he finally said: “You’re lying to me, aren’t you?”

Jessica shook her head. “No.”

“You are. Jessie, what happened? What did he do to you?” Jimmy’s voice was now gentle and caring, a tone he rarely used and saved for occasions such as these.

“Nothing,” Jessica choked out, feeling herself beginning to cry again.

“Jessica Marie, you’d better tell me, right now. What the hell did he do? If you think I’m going to let you lie to me and then the next time I see you, your covered in bruises and I’m just going to deal with it, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Jimmy, please,” She cried out now. “It was just an argument.”

“Just an argument, and you’re crying like that? Come on. I wasn’t born yesterday. Did he hit you?”

Jessica sighed and wiped away her tears. “Yes, okay? Yes.”

“What the fuck. Tell me everything that happened.”

“Jimmy, I’m really tired. I just want to go to sleep. You asked me to call you, so I did. But right now, I just want to go to bed. If you keep me up any longer, I might start to get ideas and end up killing myself or something.”

Jimmy gasped. “Don’t say that…”

“I’m trying my hardest here, Jim. But…I don’t even know what to do anymore. I could never kill myself, okay? So don’t worry about that. I just want to leave. I hate it here. I fucking hate them so much.” Jessica’s hand formed back into a fist and she fought the urge to punch a hole in the wall.

“Sweetie, I know. Please, calm down. You’re freaking me and Johnny both out. He’s sitting next to me asking me what’s going on and he looks like he’s about to start crying. Just breathe, Jess. You’re almost eighteen and then you won’t have to deal with that ever again. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” Jessica said, sighing deeply. “Tell Johnny I’m fine. Listen, I’m just really tired. I want to go to bed. Text me tomorrow or something.”

“Okay,” Jimmy replied quietly. “I love you, kid.”

Jessica smiled at the warm gesture, but it quickly fell as she felt the sharp pain from her busted lip. “I love you, too. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Jessica ended the call and placed her phone on the side table. She kicked off her shoes, lifted up the covers on her bed, and crawled under them. She didn’t feel the need to change into her pajamas, as her body was already sore from the excursion it faced no more than ten minutes ago, and she also didn’t feel like leaving the comfortable embrace her bed was giving her. She’d just get a shower tomorrow morning and wash herself clean of Jeffrey Flaherty’s filthy clutches. That’s all she could do at this point, as sleep was already overtaking her worn body, and the unexpected dreams of a certain tattooed classmate overwhelmed her abused mentality.



Jessica made an impromptu visit to the bathroom before lunch the next day at school. She placed her purse on the edge of the sink in front of her and quickly dug through it for some blush, eye liner, eye shadow, and lip gloss. She’d been doing her best since that morning to cover up the bumps and bruises inflicted by Jeffrey, but it seemed like every time she stopped in the bathroom, the makeup was worn off and they were easier than ever to see.

She blushed up her cheeks some more, outlined her eyes in the liner and shadow, and dabbed her lips with the gloss. It was the most makeup she’s worn in a while, but it somehow made her feel a tiny bit better about how her face looked. She even wore a dark tank top that day, hoping to match some of the colors on her face while showing skin she rarely showed in an effort to get people not to notice her true appearance. She truly wasn’t sure if her façade was working, but since none of the other students or teachers had any questions, she could only hope it went unnoticed.

Jessica gave herself one last look in the mirror, before packing her stuff and moving away from the sink to exit the bathroom. She walked through the hallways with her head down, moving faster than she usually did and not keeping a lookout for any of her friends or boyfriend. They hadn’t seen her face yet, as she’d been avoiding them all day, even going as far as just going straight to homeroom that morning instead of hanging out in the halls before. It was what needed to be done in order to keep her face hidden as much as possible.

She pushed the lunch yard doors open and headed outside, finally lifting her head to view the surrounding area. Half the twelfth grade population was in Jessica’s lunch period. She knew mostly every single person, too, as a lot of them turned when they saw her coming and waved or smiled. She, of course, returned the gestures with a smile, it being strained at best. Upon looking to the left of her, she found her eyes wandering over to the little plantation where Matt and his friends usually sat, and a shiver immediately ran down the curve of her spine when she found hazel irises staring right back at her. Jessica breathed the tiniest gasp and faltered in her steps, finding that she was now walking slower than before, as if trying to savor the glance being exchanged. His expression seemed to be one of concern, his eyebrows furrowed and lips slightly parted as if wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say or even who he’d say it to.

‘He can see them,’ Jessica thought to herself, swallowing the lump in her throat. ‘He can see my pain. How? No one else has mentioned a word about it. How can he see…’ Their eyes continued to dance with one another, having some sort of silent conversation that succeeded in filling Jessica’s stomach with unwanted butterflies. It continued until she reached her own lunch table, and she finally turned away from the gaze to seat herself down next to Jason, whom was already there along with Isabel and Leslie, who were paying most of their attention to the other football players that had joined their table.

“Oh, there you are,” Jason voiced once Jessica was seated. She side-eyed him and nodded, smiling softly to show she acknowledged his speaking. He squinted his eyes at her, noticing something was up, and quickly reached forward with both hands to grip her face, yanking it towards him bitterly. Jessica squealed, as the action put unwanted pressure on her bruises, and she pushed at his chest until he let go. “What the hell did you do to your poor parents now?”

Jessica scoffed and turned away from her boyfriend, eyes darting over to Matt again and noticing he was watching the scene intently with a look of distaste written in his features. “We got into an argument, that’s all.”

“That’s all?” Jason belittled. “I argue with people all the time and it doesn’t usually end up in a full on fight. You must have done something to really piss him off, and if you did, then you probably got what you deserved.”

“Yeah, probably.” Jessica rolled her eyes and sighed.

She did her best to remember what Jimmy told her; ‘You’re almost eighteen and then you won’t have to deal with that ever again.’ Jessica shook her head and fought back angry tears. Eighteen couldn’t come fast enough.