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away and leave me to my misery.     
    “I don’t know what on earth you did to warrant this, but we can talk about it tomorrow.  I’ll call the school in the morning and tell them you are too injured to attend for a while.” 
    She handed me four Tylenol and held a glass of water out to me.  When it was clear I wasn’t able to sit up enough to take it, she got me a straw and I was able to swallow the pills lying down.  I gently put my cheek back on my pillow and closed my eyes hoping she would take the hint and leave now.  A few seconds ticked by and I began to wonder if she’d left yet before I heard a soft sigh.
    “I’ll check on you in a couple of hours.  We will get some ointment on those when they dry up a bit and I’ll bring you some more pain medicine,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
    She patted the bottom of my foot and closed the door behind her.  I spent the rest of my night concentrating on getting from one second to the next without sobbing.  I hated sleeping on my stomach, but it appeared like this was going to be the only position for me for a while.  Sleep was elusive for me under the best of circumstances but trying to sleep with this level of pain was impossible.  After an hour or so, I felt the Tylenol take effect.  It didn’t help significantly, but at this point I would take what I could get.  I closed my eyes and was able to feel an ocean breeze and hear the cry of seagulls.
    A hand brushed the hair back from my face.  Thinking my mom had finally come to check on me, I opened my eyes and carefully turned my head to look behind me.  I was surprised to find I was alone.  I closed my eyes and struggled to focus on something besides the pain.  Sometime later, I started to doze again when I heard muffled cries.  My mom was sitting right outside my door.  It was somewhat comforting to know that at least she was upset to see me savagely hurt, even if she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
    The entire backside of my body felt like it was in flames.  My muscles were screaming from being in one position for so long, but I couldn’t budge.  The slightest movement caused the agony to escalate to the point where I felt nauseous.  I was alone and immobile.  The prospect of spending the night in my own vomit had me staying right where I was. 
    Jack had really out done himself this time. The thought of having to wake up tomorrow and face him again made the nausea creep up my throat and set my pulse racing.  My only choice was to stare at my bedroom wall and listen to my mother’s muffled cries in the next room. 
    After a few minutes, I heard her get up and walk towards the living room.  I was hoping she would come back and give me more medicine, but she never did.   I was left to stare at the wall for hours desperately longing for the escape of sleep.  Anything to give me a respite from the tremendous pain I felt.  Tears silently trickled from my eyes.  It wasn’t just the pain.  I was weeping for the little girl I was before this monster came into my life.  I was grieving for the person I should have been before fists and hateful words crushed my spirit.  I shut my eyes tightly hoping to sleep.  Hours later, I finally fell asleep to the rhythmic touch of my mother’s hand brushing though the back of my hair.

 
    Chapter Four
    LOGAN
    It was Tuesday morning and Bethany hadn’t been to school for over a week.  I missed her.  School was monotonous without the expectation of seeing her every day.  I sat at her usual table while she was gone, praying she would walk through those library doors.  It was the only thing I could do for her until I saw her again.
    Praying always reminded me of my mom.  When I was little, she took me to church every Sunday and listened to my bed time prayers every night.  After she was gone, my dad never stepped foot in a church again.  We never talked about why but my best guess was he was mad at God.  When I was old