My Bully, My Love

Chapter 4

"Yes? Can I help you?" He says in a somber voice, showing further that he isn't happy.

"Hi.. um, I'm a friend of Jessi's. Is she here?" Sam says, concern and politeness in her voice.

"She's... yeah, she's here."

"It's just, she hasn't shown up to school in two weeks. I've even tried calling and texting, but nothing. At this point I've gotten really concerned."

"Shouldn't you be in school then?"

"This is more important than school." She says to him, looking him in the eye.

"Come in." He says as he steps aside, and motions for her to come in. She walks in, taking her shoes off at the door. "Why'd you come here at a time like this? It's absolutely pouring out there." He says as he closes the door.

"It only got bad when I was basically at the end of your yard, I wasn't in it for long." She looks to him, seeing him nod a bit at her reply. He then turns to her.

"Um, why don't you take a seat in the living room? Let me get some water for you." He says to her. Sam can't bear to say no to this man, so she thanks him and he goes to the kitchen, while she goes to sit. Looking around the place, she always thought Jessi's home would have looked a bit more, messy, less, homely. But this place just looked like a normal home, nothing out of the ordinary. She looks over at a fireplace to her left, seeing what looks to be family pictures along it. She gets up to look at them, seeing Jessi, and her father, and what looks to be her mother in them as well. All happy looking pictures. Jessi, with genuine, happy smiles in all of them, something she'd never seen on her before.

   She inspects them for a little longer, interrupted though.

"You know, I decided to change my mind about the water." At she turns around to see him holding a glass. "I decided on lemonade instead." Sam gives him a smile, before walking up to him and taking the glass. "Thank you." She says. She goes to sit on the couch, and he goes to sit in a chair opposite the couch. She takes a sip then sets it down on the table between them. Silence doesn't hang long though.

"You know.... you are the first person, in those two weeks.... that has shown any concern for her. Not one person, has come to check on her." Sam doesn't say anything, do anything, she just sits there, waiting for him to speak. It does however, hurt to hear that. "Me and her mother, both knew about her school life, how she treated people there. We tried to talk to her about it, but we never got anywhere. We couldn't bring ourselves to do anything extreme, we loved her too much." He takes his glasses off, and rubs his eyes a bit.

"Sir-"

"Call me Dan."

"Ok. Dan... um... I, am one of the people, she hasn't treated too well over the years. However recently, she has toned down a bit, but there's still the taking my lunch, money, slapping my books or papers out of my hands. Two weeks ago today, I was in the bathroom. I was about to leave the stall, when I heard someone come in, crying, like their heart had just been broken in two. I didn't realize it was her till I left the stall. She looked at me, and yelled at me to get out. And so I did." Sam sees Dan's face as he mentions Jessi crying, his own eyes start to water up. "No matter what she's done to me in the past, I know not even she deserves to feel that way. Dan, I want to know what happened, and see if I can help." Looking him, he's staring back at her, eyes still watery, then a lone tear fell down his cheek. He looks down at the table, looking at his glasses that he set down, before turning his head towards the pictures on the fireplace.

"......Jessi's mother was in a car crash..... she died on impact." At that, Sam doesn't have anything to say. She watches as Dan stares at the pictures. Slowly, she takes a sip of her lemonade, then sets it back down. He then turns to look Sam in the eye. "Jessi had a fight with her mother that morning. And she didn't leave on good terms, some things were said." All Sam can do is listen, and not being able to help as her own eyes start to water as well. "The argument kept going past when Jessi was supposed to leave for school, so she left late, she somehow made it on time though. But her mother, she had to go to work, and since the fight lasted a bit, she was late." Sam takes a shaky breath, and another tear falls down Dan's cheek. "She blames herself. Saying if she had been a better person, she wouldn't have had that fight with her mother." Dan wipes tears from his eyes. Sam leans forward, taking and holding Dan's hands, feeling a tear drop on hers. She looks at Dan, who looks back at her. "She's a good girl. *sniff* When you go up there. Tell her that. Help her." He says to her.

"I will." She says back. Dan nods a bit, then pulls his hands away. He puts his glasses back on, then stands up. Sam stands as well.

"Her room, is at the end of the hall, up there." He says as he points to the stairs, in view from where they were standing. Sam nods, then makes her way over there, before stopping and turning around.

"I am very, truly sorry." She says to him. He gives her a smile, before picking up the lemonade glass, and taking it into the kitchen. Sam turns to the stairs. She doesn't go fast, but takes her time, still working up the courage to knock on that door, not know what she'll see behind it. Getting closer, she sees the letter J on the door. Nervousness racing through her, the only thing she hears is the pounding of her heartbeat against the storm outside. Lifting her arm up, and doing what she came her to do, comfort someone who's hurt.

*knock, knock*