Scream with Me

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jensen was a nervous wreck. He wanted to help Maryanne but he was scared every second he was making the wrong choice. What if she got too sick and needed a doctor? What if she died? 

She fell asleep on the drive. He thought that was a blessing in disguise because the sweat drenching her body from pain didn’t look pleasant.  He hated that all of this was happening, that she had to go through any of it at all.

He wanted to know why she felt the need to get high and everything she was hiding from. It wasn’t something she was willing to share and he was clueless at how to get her to open up to him. After all they weren’t friends and she had really no reason to trust him.

Their location was an hour out of town. It was the only thing his father had ever shown interest in outside of tattooing and drugs. It was a lakeside cabin perfect when you wanted seclusion. The area was popular during the summer, right now all the cabins were empty and boarded up.

Jensen left her in the car and went first to open the door and power up the heat inside the cabin. He glanced around and noted the layer of dust everywhere, the smell of cold still air. The place wasn’t anything lavish but right now it was everything they needed.

After turning on the heat and some lights he went back out to the car to grab Maryanne. She was still out of it.

Inside the cabin he laid her down on the only couch and tried to wake her up. “Maryanne.” He shook both her shoulders with his hands. “We’re here and safe.”

Her eyes fluttered. “Where?” there was a thick layer of pain lacing her voice.

“It’s my dad’s cabin. He bought it outright after coming into some money. My mom was pissed about it because the money could’ve been used better and hates this place. No one would think to look here for us.” He kept his eyes glued to her face. He helped her sit up when she made an effort to. “How are you feeling?” it felt like a stupid question but he needed to say something.

“I feel every part of my body.” she groaned.

Jensen knew from hours of research after his father OD’d that her nerve endings were firing off in withdraw. “Can I get you something?” he felt worthless, he wanted to fix this for her but he was powerless.

Her eyes fluttered closed. “I don’t want to leave her with them.” after every word she groaned.

“You mean Annalise?”

She tried to nod and rolled her head back against the couch instead. “I have to go.” Her voice turned from pain to panic.

“You can’t go anywhere like this. You don’t want her to see you like this.” Jensen grabbed her shoulders before she could move. “She’ll be ok with your parents.” he ran his eyes quickly back and forth along her face trying to figure out what was happening.

Maryanne shook her head and began to cry. “They’re wrong. They don’t believe me and they’re going to hurt her.” she buried her face against his chest and sobbed.

Jensen’s heart stopped. “Hurt her how?” he liked Annalise, she was a cool little girl and he hated the thought of someone hurting her. He wrapped his arms tight around Maryanne’s back. Even though she was sweating she was cold to the touch.

“Lies. Everything they believe is a lie.” She sounded so young and broken.

“Relax and focus on getting better. When you feel up to it we can go get her.” he didn’t want her to worry, he didn’t want her to think about anything except recovery. It wouldn’t be easy, it’d take days for her to feel like herself again but if she could make it through today it’d be the biggest step taken.

Maryanne nodded and laid her face against his chest.

Jensen was glad when she drifted off to sleep again. The body healed better when you were asleep and hopefully she didn’t feel the same amount of pain as she slept. He let his thoughts get the better of him as she slept across his chest and there was nowhere for him to move.

He thought Nate and how they were supposed to meet up later. If at all possible he’d try to make it; he wanted to know what his cousin was going to say about Maryanne. The more Jensen thought about it he seriously doubted Nate knew anything about her drug use. Nate wasn’t the type to sit back and not say or doing something. They were a lot alike that way.

He’d also have to call out from work as soon as he got a chance. He didn’t want to leave Maryanne alone that long.

When he was sure she was in a deep enough sleep he moved her to lay on the couch comfortable. He stood and went to the kitchen to find something to make for when she woke up. There were cans and other sealed food but nothing appealing. After gauging his options he decided he could quickly go back into town to pick something up before she woke.

Maryanne felt like someone was holding her underwater. She fought to open her eyes and gain some life back into her body to move. She remembered Jensen telling her they were at his father’s cabin. She looked around and didn’t see him.

He must’ve left, she thought. She was stranded there with no car or phone, she knew he’d return eventually because he wasn’t the type of person to leave her there and abandon her. He was a good friend, far better than she deserved. Her thoughts were bitter as she lay there with no other options. Her thoughts got the best of her and there was no pushing them away.

She couldn’t keep falling victim to her addiction and hurtful memories. Annalise needed her to be strong. She had to stick this out and stay clean. 

Mary knew she had to get out of her parents house before Annalise was old enough to understand the hate inside of them. She didn’t want her daughter being talked down to and poisoned against her with ugly lies. She didn’t want her daughter to be scared every waking moment of the day like she was.

She tried to keep her guilt at bay, the guilt she couldn’t shake because she would’ve been doing all this sooner. If she had taken Annalise and run from the beginning they’d be settled down now somewhere new.

She hated herself now than she could put into words for allowing Danny to rip her soul apart. She hated how every day she had to remember the hell he put her through.

She curled up on her side and began to cry. She didn’t have the drugs to numb her senses right now, she couldn’t run away from her demons anymore than she really had getting high. They were there every breathing moment trying to suffocate her.

She wanted to tell someone, to scream the truth and have someone believe her. If her parents hadn’t thought she was telling the truth than no one else would either.

Later Jensen stepped back inside carrying a few bags of groceries. He dropped them by the door and rushed over to her side when he noticed her crying. Effortlessly he pulled her into his warm arms. “Talk to me.”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Her words were muffled against his shirt but he still understood them.

“Try me. I want to help you and I’ll listen to anything you have to say. It wouldn’t change anything.”

Maryanne closed her eyes to the new rush of tears claiming her. She wanted so badly for his words to be true but she wasn’t that crazy yet. She knew her truth would change everything. “I just miss Annalise.” It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t the cause for her tears either. Her tears and sorrow belonged to Daniel.