It's the next day. Saffron wakes up and does her usual routine. Once she's ready, she heads downstairs and sees Richard and Ellen in their usual spots at the table.
'Before you can go to school, you can make us a cup of coffee each.' Richard tells her, the moment she walks in. 'You know how we like it.' Saffron nods, places her bag on the kitchen island and gets to work making the coffee. 10 minutes later, the coffee is done. Carefully, she walks over to the dining table, places one mug in front of Ellen and walks to Richard to give him his. Suddenly, she trips, causing some of the coffee to spill over her hand, the rest goes on the floor.
'Fuck.' She hisses in pain, shaking her hand. Tears start filling her eyes.
'You stupid girl!' Richard shouts, jumping up from his seat. Saffron ignores him, quickly walks to the sink and holds her hand under some cool water. 'Did you just ignore me?' Richard seethes, walking over to her.
'I'm- I'm sorry.' Saffron trembles, not looking at him. 'It-it hurts. Really bad.' The next thing she knows, her head whips to the side and pain radiates across her right cheekbone.
'Get the hell out of my sight.' Saffron now looks at him and sees his right hand clenched into a fist at his side. 'Now!' He picks up her bag and throws it at her. 'Don't forget what you promised us yesterday.'
'Yes, sir.' She nods quietly before hurrying out of the kitchen. With her right hand still throbbing with pain, she takes her phone out with her left hand and clumsily texts Ben to say that she'll be walking to school today and that she'll meet him in Alex's classroom, like they normally do if one is going to be at school earlier than the other.
'I don't hear you leaving!' She hears Richard shout. Quickly, but carefully, she puts her phone back into her pocket, her bag on her back and she leaves.
.
Half an hour later, Saffron arrives at the school. She makes her way to Alex's classroom and sees that Alex and Ben are already in there. Alex is leaning against his desk whilst Ben sits cross-legged on one of the student tables. Her eyes are still full of tears and her cheeks are shiny from crying. On top of that, a red mark has started to appear on her cheek. As soon as they notice this, Ben jumps off the table and Alex stands up straight.
'Saff? What happened?' Ben asks, walking towards her.
'It's nothing.' Saffron shakes her head. 'He got angry because I spilled some coffee.'
'Saffron, you know I have to report this right?' Alex tells her, walking to stand beside Ben. 'You came to us on school grounds, if the board get wind that I didn't report it-'
'I know.' Saffron nods. 'You've reported it before, nothing has ever come from it. So, I've given up trying to convince you not to.' Ben looks down at her arm and sees that whilst her left hand is showing, her right hand is pulled up into her sleeves. Saffron catches his looking and sighs. 'He didn't do this.' She pulls her right hand out which is now an angry shade of red. 'The coffee spilled on my hand.'
'Take her to the nurse.' Alex tells Ben. 'I'll warn her you're coming.'
'It's fine.' Saffron shakes her head. 'It hurts like fucking hell, but it's fine.'
'I'm not taking no for an answer, Saff.' Alex folds his arms. 'You need to get it looked at. If the nurse thinks you need to go to hospital, then I'll speak to the principal and accompany you there.'
'I don't want to go to the hospital.' Saffron mumbles.
'Did you run it under water?' Alex raises an eyebrow.
'Only for like a minute.' Saffron replies. 'Dad pretty much chucked me out of the house after he did this.' She points to her cheek.
'Please, go to the nurse.' Ben pleads with his best friend. 'We don't know what damage has been done.'
'Fine.' Saffron gives in.
'I'll call the nurse now.' Alex nods before Saffron and Ben walk out.
'I'm not going to the hospital.' Saffron reiterates as they walk down the hallway. 'They can't force me.'
'No.' Ben shakes his head. 'They can't.' He adds. 'But you should go if they say you should Saff. It could cause long lasting damage, you know that.' They reach the nurse's office and Ben knocks on the door. A few moments later, the door swings open.
'Alex called ahead.' Mary Sharpe, the school nurse nods. 'Come in.' The two teens walk in and Mary closes the door behind them. 'What happened this time, Saff?' Mary knows Saffron's history with her parents, and so she has also attempted to report them.
'This one was all me.' Saffron replies, holding up her hand. 'I tripped and spilled some coffee over my hand.'
'Take a seat on the bed.' Mary nods over to the bed as she puts some gloves on. 'Probably a stupid question, but how hot was the coffee? Had it cooled down a bit before you spilled it?'
'Fresh out the machine.' Saffron shakes her head as Mary examines the young girl's hand. She winces in pain. 'I ran it under hot water but I couldn't do it for long.'
'I take it because of that?' Mary points to the red mark on Saffron's cheek and she nods. 'Does that hurt too?'
'A little but not a lot.' Saffron replies. 'Do I need to go to the hospital?'
'Realistically, because it's on your hand, you should go to the hospital.' Mary tells her. 'However, I will clean and dress it and see how you go during the first period. I'll have another look then, if it's still looking this angry, then yes. You'll have to go.' Saffron groans as Mary gets what she needs together. 'Ben, keep an eye on her. Any signs of shock-'
'I know what to do.' Ben nods, grimly. Remembering the first time he had to treat Saffron for it.
'Good.' Mary nods.
Five minutes later, the scald is cleaned and dressed. Saffron has also been given some painkillers.
'Now, I'm sure Alex has already reported this. I'll also have to report it.' Mary tells the youngsters. 'I hate how much I have to do this with you.'
'Yeah,well,' Saffron sighs, 'it helps when you have friends in high places.'
'That's it.' Ben clicks his fingers.
'What?' Saffron asks, confused.
'Officer Reyes.' Ben states. 'If we keep him in the loop about what's going on, he'll be able to help more.'
'I-I don't know.' Saffron shakes her head.
'Just try it.' Ben raises an eyebrow. 'Your mom and dad will never know.'
'It's true.' Mary nods. 'You know I won't tell them that you came to see me. I take it Officer Reyes is with APD?'
'Yeah.' Ben answers. 'He's offered to help Saffron.'
'Then I'll give him a call as well as CPS,' Mary says, 'even though CPS won't do anything.' She adds under her breath. The first bell rings, warning everyone that the first period is about to start. 'You two better get going. Remember what I said.' They both nod before leaving the office and making their way to their first lesson.
.
The rest of the day goes by without a hitch. Saffron checked in with the nurse throughout the day and the scald hasn't gotten worse, which is a good sign. Saffron is sitting in her room having just posted the video of how the charity saved her life. She's sitting on her bed with her knees to her chest and tears rolling down her face. It was hard for her to film the video. Even harder for her to post it, knowing it's now on the internet forever.
.
Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. in an office building, a worker gets a notification on his computer. He clicks on it and a video of Saffron pops up. The worker furrows his eyebrows and looks through some files on the computer before gasping.
'Jesus christ.' He mumbles to himself before standing up and walking quickly to his boss's office. He knocks on the door before walking in. 'Boss, we got a hit.'
~~~~~~~~~
Oooo... what do you think is going on??? Who do you think is in D.C.?
Let me know what you think!
Much love