bedwetting Afternoon in the Chokey (Updated 4-17-24)

[CDfm]

Reading this was rough.  This kind of thing is by far the most difficult thing I’ve dealt with in my career. I can’t imagine what Jennifer and Hortensia are facing going forward.  The one positive thing is that Hortensia has people who care about her and will be there for her.  
It was an incredible job you din on this and I am looking forward to seeing things move on and allow the healing to come. 

[kerry]

On 2/15/2024 at 7:54 AM, SashaButters said:

Insinuating circumstances or not

Do you mean "extenuating"?

[kerry]

Wow. This is a very powerful chapter and so well-written. Great work!

[SashaButters]

4 hours ago, kerry said:

Do you mean "extenuating"?

Ugh! Yes! I was struggling over trying to think of that word! 

[SashaButters]

All Hortensia could do when she opened her eyes was cry. She couldn’t move. The pain was  intolerable. She had tried to sit up, but it felt like everything was ripping open inside her. She could feel something warm and thicker than urine sliding in between her butt cheeks. Blood. Fear gripped her. All she could picture was a nappy full of gore. They had tried to hide it from her, but she had seen. It had bled a lot when she had scratched the odd lump she found open a couple of nights ago as well. 

 

“Miss Honey!” She cried out. Her voice had a panicked whine she didn’t recognize. Miss Honey bolted up, took one look at her face and lunged for the pill bottle. 

 

“Water…water…I’ll get you some more.” She ran to the bathroom and came back with a little cup. Hortensia raised herself to her elbows and swallowed the pill down. 

 

“It broke open! I’m bleeding!!” she cried. Miss Honey ripped the blankets off her and yanked the nappy open in the back before letting it slide back into place.

 

“You’re okay, sweetheart.” Miss Honey said softly behind her head. “You’re not bleeding anymore.” 

 

“But I can feel it! It opened up when I tried to move!” 

 

“It’s not blood, it’s alright. You’re okay.” It’s not blood. It wasn’t, there’s nothing there. “Were you able to get any sleep?” The woman's hand had begun stroking her hair. Hortensia shook her head, too busy trying to fight back down the frightened tears to answer. 

 

She must have dozed off at one point because Miss Honey had no longer been reading to her, but had been asleep beside her. Most of Hortensia’s night had been spent listening to Miss Honey talk in her sleep. In any other circumstance it would have been amusing. Matilda hadn’t been kidding. You really could have a whole conversation with her in her sleep. 

 

“I’m sorry.” The hand that had been running through her hair was yanked away. “I promised I wouldn’t push myself on you and here I am doing just that.” 

 

“Do I have to go to school today?” Hortensia asked into the pillow. “It really hurts!”

 

“No, honey, don’t worry about school right now. You need time to heal.” Hortensia let out a relieved breath. She had been dreading school all night. How could she be expected to sit still in a hard plastic chair all day? She could hardly push herself up. “Do you want to try getting up?” She did not. She shook her head and closed her eyes. “You need to get cleaned up sweetheart, you can’t stay like that. It will only make it hurt worse.” Hortensia grimaced and pulled the blanket up over her head. 

 

“Tell you what, let me go say good morning to everyone and call the school. Then I’ll come back and we’ll get you in the shower. How’s that sound? It’ll give you a chance to get your bearings a bit before we get you on your feet.” Hortensia grunted in acknowledgement. Anything so she could go back to sleep. “Don’t fall asleep; I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Sure. Sure. 

 

“Tens, sweetheart. It’s time to get up.” The blanket was pulled off her. Hortensia’s eyes slowly opened. “You don’t want a rash on top of everything else.” Psh. A rash. What was a rash compared to everything else? “Give me your hand. We’ll take it nice and slow.” Reluctantly, she grabbed for Miss Honey’s offered arm and pulled herself into a sitting position. “That’s it. How do you feel?”

 

“Dizzy.” Hortensia mumbled. The infernal burning had turned into a dull ache. 

 

“Hold onto my arm, you’re almost up. Take your time.” As Hortensia was making her way to her feet, she was aware of more warmth accompanied by a faint noise, like a wet gurgle. She could feel the color draining from her face. She let out a strangled cry. Miss Honey’s eyes darted left and right, searching for the source until they finally fell on her. 

 

“Are you sure it’s not blood?” Hortensia asked in a small shaky voice. “It happened when I tried to get up.” 

 

“Doctor said that could happen if you strain.” Miss Honey said gently. 

 

“I wasn’t pushing it out!” 

 

“No, not straining to go, but straining your body, like if you cough or sneeze. The muscle in charge of keeping everything… contained needs a bit of R and R and is taking a little break. I know it’s out of your control right now.” 

 

“I can’t go to school like this!”

 

“I told you not to worry about school. One thing at a time.” She was led by the arm into the bathroom where Miss Honey turned on the faucet. She stared at her for a moment as she shuffled around. “Do you think you’ll need any help?”  

 

 Hortensia remained silent. It was a simple question, but she couldn’t get herself to say no. Her mind had gone blank. She didn’t want to make a decision or answer any questions, she just wanted to go back to bed. 

 

“Tens?” She could feel her eyes begin to well with tears. “It’s alright, honey, let me help you.” 

 

“I want to lie down.” Her body felt heavy and sluggish, like she was moving underwater. She felt her shirt get lifted over her head, leaving her standing naked except for the soiled nappy. 

 

“Soon. You don’t have to take a full shower, I’m just going to rinse you off. It’ll be real quick. See? Look at this.” Miss Honey eagerly pulled the shower head off the holder. “They make detachable ones now!” 

 

“Yeah,” Hortensia mumbled as Miss Honey let it dangle on its cord. “We had one at the house. I had to hose Matilda down with it.” 

 

“Hmm, maybe we should get Matilda to come clean you up, seems only fair.” 

 

“No!”

 

“I’m only joking.” Miss Honey said gently. “I wouldn’t do that to you.” Hortensia watched her dig around in a couple cabinets before tearing a plastic bag off a roll. “Go on and step in.” 

She clung to Miss Honey’s arm for balance as she slowly lifted a leg over the rim of the tub before repeating the process, wincing with pain as she did so. Miss Honey held the bag open in front of her. Hortensia stared at it, then up at the woman who flashed her a sympathetic smile. “For the nappy.” 

 

Hortensia reached for the tabs and froze. Another gory image crossed her mind. Panic welled within her and she shut her eyes, sure now more than ever Miss Honey had lied to her. Her throat constricted with emotion. 

 

“Do you want me to do it?” Hortensia nodded her head, eyes still shut tight. She heard the crinkle and rip of the tabs. “Oh, this isn’t bad.” 

 

“Is there blood?” 

 

“Is that what you're afraid of?” 

 

“I’m not scared.” Hortensia said, though her voice came out sounding meek and fearful. 

 

“There’s a little bit, but it’s nothing like it was.” Miss Honey said. “Do you want to see?” Hortensia shook her head. She could hear crinkling plastic before feeling warm water begin to spray at her waist. “Does the water feel okay? It’s not too hot or cold?” 

 

“It’s fine.” Hortensia mumbled. Miss Honey turned her this way and that, but Hortensia still refused to open her eyes. 

 

“Do you want to try going potty?” Hortensia thought of the toilet, imagined sitting on it, imagined organs coming out. 

 

“No.” she whimpered. She was starting not to care if Miss Honey thought she was being childish. She wished her curiosity hadn’t gotten the best of her when Miss Honey collapsed. She had nearly lost it herself. She had even puked all down the front of her gown. 

 

 

“Are you sure? You were dry. You must need to pee.” She did. The running water wasn’t helping. She let out another scared whimper and nodded. “That’s what I thought. I’ll dry you off and you can sit on the toilet for a bit.” She adamantly shook her head. That would make her organs come out easier. “Are you hurting too much for that?” She nodded. It wasn’t a complete lie. It did hurt, but the pill had kicked in now. It didn’t eliminate the pain, but it took the edge off, made her feel less like she had taken a jagged knife up her arse and more like she had had the biggest, dryest shit of her life. 

 

“It’s alright, you can pee there, just, can you turn to the side and squat down? I don’t trust that booty of yours. Hold on to the railing with your other hand. That’s it. You can open your eyes, there’s nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart.” Hortensia shook her head again and slowly lowered herself down sobbing as she did so. She had only meant to pee, but her back end had relaxed as well and she could feel it burning as it exited her. Hot blood. She began to sob harder. 

 

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Miss Honey kept whispering. “It’s only liquid. You’re not hurting anything. Go on and let anything that needs to come out, come out.” 

 

She was too afraid to push. What if a piece of her was only hanging by a thread? What if that was all it took? What if she started pooping out an intestine? She had to feel herself just to be sure nothing was hanging out, letting out a hiss of regret.

 

“No, no. Don’t touch. Try and keep your hands off. I know it’s hard when you know you’re not supposed to.” Hortensia slowly opened her eyes and stared up at her. “There’s those pretty blue eyes. It’s okay. Are you all done?” Hortensia nodded and pulled herself up. Miss Honey rinsed her off with the shower head one more time before shutting off the water. She dried her off with  frantic speed and led her back to the bedroom.

 

Probably afraid I’m going to shit on the floor, Hortensia thought. Yep. She was pulling out another nappy and motioning for her to lie down. 

 

The other ones were better, she mused. These reminded her of hospitals and old folks' homes. What was that word Matilda used to describe old people? Geriatric. 

 

“Do you want to put your medicine on, or do you want me to do it?” Hortensia motioned for her to do it and closed her eyes. Bed. Her eyes popped open as Miss Honey began applying something cold somewhere she was just told not to touch. She’d do it herself next time. 

 

“This is Lidocaine, it’s going to help take away some of that burn.” She felt the sprinkle of powder before the sides came up. Now she could go back to sleep. “Do you want to come downstairs or do you want to sleep?” Hortensia slowly rolled over into her sleeping position. 

 

“Sleep.” she said into the pillow. There was added weight to the mattress as Miss Honey sat down beside her. She opened her eyes and stared up at her.

 

“Can I ask what’s scaring you at this moment?” Miss Honey asked.

 

“It’s dumb.”

 

“I very much doubt it's dumb if it got you this worked up.”

 

 “I-I keep thinking it’s blood and intestines coming out.” Hortensia admitted. “I saw, last night, after you fell.” 

 

“Oh, sweetheart, no, that’s not dumb. That scared me too. And when you said you thought it had opened up and was bleeding… I’ve never been so happy to look down a child's pants and see poo.” Miss Honey said with a smile. Hortensia let out something between a laugh and a sob. “If it makes you feel any better I don’t think...” Matilda wandered into the room. “You can poop out your intestines.” she finished.

 

Matilda stared at them with a look that said what conversation did I just walk into?

 

“Your butt hole can turn inside out.” Matilda offered. “It’s called a prolapsed anus.” 

 

“Matilda!” Miss Honey hissed. “Not the time!” 

 

“You’re the one talking about pooping out organs! And it’s not like we're eating.” 

 

Miss Honey sighed and shook her head before whispering, “Get some sleep. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.” 

 

…

 

Jennifer was about to ask Matilda how her night was when Hazel appeared at the landing. 

 

“Daddy’s making breakfast.” She screamed up the stairs. Jennifer winced. Too early. How could such small kids yell so loud? 

 

Breakfast was a sweet gesture, but Jennifer didn’t think she could eat. Her stomach was still churning after dealing with Hortensia. She was proud of herself for not gagging in front of her. It wasn’t Tens’s fault Jennifer was squeamish. She sighed. She survived her first poopy nappy, she just didn’t think it would be for a pre-teen. 

 

“I’m not hungry, but thank you.” She said when she sat down at the kitchen table. Brian was at the stove making everyone pancakes. 

 

“How is she?” He asked. 

 

Jennifer put her head in her hands and shook it. She was so terrified of seeing blood she kept her eyes shut and cried the entire time. Her throat constricted. 

 

“She’s overwhelmed.” Jennifer managed to croak out. Brian sat back down at the table and let out a heavy sigh. 

 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about Hazel last night.” Brian said softly. “Who am I letting around her? Do I really know them? It wasn’t just The Neighbors, it was her moms best friends.” I’ve had to rely on people to watch her a lot this year. To think it was the person you trusted the most.” 

 

“I suppose that's why Eve’s pointing the finger at you, easier to believe it's a stranger.” 

 

“Pointing the finger about what?” Matilda asked. Jennifer went quiet. Little ears were listening. “About what?” Matilda asked again, more frustrated. She didn’t like being treated like a child. But this wasn’t something she was going to share with the kids. 

 

“Eve thinks she picked something up while she was staying with us.” Jennifer said. “But I think she picked it up from the neighbors. If she picked it up there, that means she gets to live with us.” 

 

 “But what if she got sick here?” Hazel asked. Her eyes locked with Brian’s.  

 

“Then someone’s going to die.” She said softly. Brian chuckled nervously.

 

“I believe it. You were pretty angry last night.” 

 

 They could hurt her, but touch her children and there would be hell to pay. “But don’t worry, we know she didn’t get sick here, because the test shows she has had a history of getting sick at home.” 

 

“That’s sad.” Brian said. Matilda wrinkled her nose. 

 

“Is this what’s been making her poop her pants? Your room smelled like a barn.” Jennifer scowled as the girls giggled. 

 

“Matilda, I need you to be mature about this.” She never thought she’d be telling Matilda to be more mature. “Tens is very sick and can’t help it. She needs our love and support right now.” 

 

“Okay.” Matilda mumbled. 

 

“And whatever happened between you two. I need you to let it go.” Matilda remained silent. “I’m serious. She really needs a friend right now.”

 

“Fine.” Matilda grumbled. 

 

"Do you think Hortensia will want any pancakes?” Brian asked.

 

“Oh, no, she’s slee-”

 

“Yeah.” Jennifer snapped her head up to find Hortensia standing in the kitchen entrance wearing a very mismatched skirt and blouse from her closet.

 

“What are you wearing?” Matilda giggled. 

 

“I don’t have any clothes.” Hortensia said. “I’m not coming down naked, so I guess I’m a teacher today.” 

 

“A blind teacher.” Matilda giggled. 

 

Jennifer was surprised she had come down at all. She looked wobbly on her feet, with a glazed look in her eyes.

 

“I thought you wanted to sleep.” she jumped up and offered her her seat. Hortensia slowly eased herself down. Jennifer heard a soft crinkle and breathed a sigh of relief. That was her favorite skirt. 

 

“I heard there was food. I’m starving.” Hortensia mumbled. “Haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

 

“Yeah, that’s how breakfast works.” Matilda snorted. “Of course you’d come down for food.” 

 

“Meant lunch.” She sat hunched over, eyes closed, head held up by her palm. “It’s hard to talk.” 

 

“You can take my seat.” Brian said, returning to the stove. “How many would you like? Three? Four?”

 

“One.” Hortensia said. 

 

“I thought you said you were starving?” Matilda scoffed. Jennifer frowned with concern. She had seen Hortensia eat. She had been feeding her all summer. It was like feeding a horse. 

 

“Are you sure you only want one?” she asked. Hortensia nodded. “How about two? Do you think you could eat two?” Hortensia shrugged. 

 

“Two it is.” Brian said. “Jenny?” 

 

“Fine, I'll eat one.” 

“Two it is.” Brian repeated.

 

When he set a plate of them down in front of her she nearly gagged. They had large brown spots all over them. Not the best morning for chocolate chips. 

 

“They're good!” Matilda exclaimed. 

 

And they were. Jennifer set her fork down with a groan.

 

 “I haven’t had this much sugar for breakfast since the time Matilda tried to roofie us.” Jennifer said.

 

“Umm, what?” Brian asked.

 

“You know, when she mixed in those edibles. I told you the story.” Brian’s lips creased into a tight line as he avoided eye contact. 

 

“That’s not what ‘roofie’ means.” He whispered the rest in her ear. Nope. Nope. That’s not what happened. 

 

But there was something about that… 

 

Her vision began to swim. 

 

He was handing her a flask, telling her to drink it. 

 

“It’ll help you relax. It’ll hurt if you don’t relax.”

 

“No, please don’t!” He grabbed her by the back of her hair and pulled her head up. He began to pour something like extra bitter grape juice in her mouth. She swallowed it down and choked. “I just wanted you to get me out!” she cried as she backed up as far as she could away from him.

 

“I’ll get you out, I just want a small favor first.” 

 

“Jenny?” Brian asked. “Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I just ate too much.” Jennifer said. “I think I need to sit on the couch for a bit.” She looked over at Hortensia’s plate. She had barely eaten. “Did you not like them?”

 

“You nearly licked the batter bowl last time I made these.” Brian said. 

 

“Wasn’t hungry after all.” Hortensia mumbled.  

 

“Do you want to go back up stairs?” Jennifer asked. Hortensia shook her head. She looked like she was going to drop. “Do you want to come sit on the couch with me?” Hortensia nodded. “Yeah, let’s go sit down.” She grabbed her lightly from under the arms and helped her to her feet. 

 

“Why are you making that face?” Matilda asked.

 

“Cause it hurts.” Hortensia grumbled.

 

“I thought you were sick.” Matilda scowled. 

 

“Matilda, can you get the dishes, please.” Jennifer asked to distract her. 

 

“Can I use my powers?”

 

“Yes, fine.” 

 

Matilda let out a woop and dishes began to fly.

 

“That never gets old.” Brian said. 

 

“It does.” Several voices said at once. 

 

Jennifer stopped in her tracks. Her living room was full of ghosts. Jacob, Amber, Billy, and three boys she didn’t recognize. They all stared at her expectantly, in various stages of thereness. All the boys were transparent, but both Billy and Jacob seemed to be barely visible, almost blinking in and out of existence. The only one who seemed the most whole was Amber. Jennifer wondered if it was because she was the most recent. Had time taken away the other's lifeforce? 

 

“It’s a little crowded here.” Jennifer mumbled. 

 

“What?” Matilda asked. She looked around the room. “There’s no one here.” Her face fell. “Are you telling me to leave?”

 

“No. No, sweetheart, you’re fine. Why don’t you put on a movie for Tens. Something happy.” They had been collecting more and more family friendly VHS tapes from yard sales. Didn’t want another episode of walking in on the kids watching Silence of the Lambs again. She had had to explain to Hazel it wasn’t actually about baby sheep. Matilda had been sent to her room for putting it on knowing full well it was not a farm movie like Babe or Charlotte's Web. 

 

“Land Before Time?” Matilda suggested.

 

“That’s not happy.” Hortensia mumbled. 

 

“Not Littlefoot's mom. That makes me cry.” Hazel said. Matilda’s face paled. Of all the movies she could have picked… Jennifer dug through her stack of videos. Fox and the Hound? No, not the scene of Todd being left in the forest. Charlotte’s Web? No, she dies and the babies leave him. The Never Ending Story? That gave Matilda nightmares about horses for weeks. Homeward Bound, Forrest Gump, Air Bud. Why were all these so depressing? 

 

“The Princess Bride, Hook or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?”

 

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!” Hazel exclaimed, jumping up and down as she karate chopped the air.

 

“Hey! Settle down!” Brian said, walking in from the kitchen. “Let Hortensia pick since she’s not feeling well.” 

 

“Nightmare.” Was all Hortensia had managed to get out. Nightmare Before Christmas it is, Jennifer thought, looking for the case amongst the pile she had amassed over the summer. She looked down and groaned. 

 

“Girls, you need to rewind the tapes after you finish watching them.” She slipped out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that too was unwound. She slipped it in the VCR just in case she got it backwards, but the credits popped up on the screen when she hit Play. Matilda bent and picked up The Nightmare Before Christmas.

 

“Race you.” she said, gripping the tape in both hands. “Let’s see who's faster, the VCR or me.” Jennifer’s eyes flickered to the eager faces, both living and dead. She hit rewind. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles won by a landslide. Matilda couldn’t use her powers without moving her eyes. They kept going round and round with the tape.

 

Hazel, Matilda and four dead boys sat on the floor in front of the telly. 

 

“You can stretch out on the couch if that’s easier for you.” Jennifer said, taking a seat on the couch. “If you put your head in my lap you can lay down.” Hortensia seemed to weigh her options before slowly easing herself down. “There you go.” The girl leaned against her shoulder, but seemingly ran out of gas and stopped. It didn’t look very comfortable, so Jennifer re-positioned her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder so that she was cradling her against her chest. Hortensia’s eyes had closed and within minutes, she had fallen asleep in her arms. 

 

She absentmindedly brushed her fingers through Hortensia’s hair as she studied her features. She thought of the girl trembling in fear in her bathtub and sighed.

 

 Matilda had gotten bored with the movie and had wandered away, Brian was asleep in the armchair, but Hazel and the ghosts were watching intently. Amber was sitting on the arm of the chair beside him staring longingly at her daughter. It was the first time Jennifer had seen her not preoccupied with the only two living people who could interact with her. She was different from the other ghosts, she was still non corporeal, but she could interact with objects and touch her while the others could not. 

 

“Hey, Hazel.” Jennifer said. The girl bent her head backwards to look up at her. “Why don’t you go get in your daddy's lap.” The little girl stood and catapulted herself into Brian. Not quite what she had meant. Jennifer winced as Brian let out a startled cry of pain, but she couldn’t keep the amused grin off her face. 

 

“Hi,” Brian said. Hazel was giggling but suddenly stopped. “It got cold all of a sudden. Is the AC on?” He asked. Jennifer shook her head. Amber was trying to hold them both. His face suddenly fell. “Is it okay that she’s getting into that stuff?” Jennifer looked away from the bittersweet scene and followed his gaze. Matilda was sitting cross legged on the floor going through the contents of a bag. Hortensia’s hospital bag. She was reading through the after visit summary.

 

“Matilda! Get out of there!” Jennifer shouted, but the look on the girl's face told her it was too late. She had already seen. 

 

“That’s not a stomach virus.” Matilda said. 

 

“No, it’s not.” Jennifer said softly. “Get out of that stuff, come sit with us.” 

 

“What-” Matilda started to ask, but Jennifer put a finger to her lips and pointed at Tens, who was fast asleep in her arms. Matilda stared at the two of them for a long time.

 

“Does this bother you?” Jennifer asked. Matilda was silent for a moment before shaking her head. Jennifer scooted over as much as she could leaving a small gap between her and the armrest. She patted the spot, Matilda stared at her for a moment before laughing. 

 

“I’m not going to fit.” But she climbed up anyway and made herself fit. Jennifer put an arm around her and held both girls tightly against her chest. 

 

“How?” Matilda whispered. 

 

“I don’t know.” Jennifer whispered back.  

 

“Hasn’t she said?”

 

“Let’s not talk about this.” Jennifer said. 

 

Brian stretched before meeting her eyes.

 

“I’m going to do that test today.” Brian announced. “Would it be too much trouble to leave Hazel here with you? I know you have your hands full.” 

 

“Not at all.” Jennifer said. 

 

“What test? I like tests.” Matilda said.

 

“Only you.” Hortensia mumbled, eyes still shut tight. 

 

“I don’t think you’d like this test.” Brian said. “It’s a medical test.” 

 

“Oh.” Matilda said.. “Do you really have to stick a q-tip in your ure-”

 

“Okay, no more of that topic.” Jennifer said. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you read Carol’s old textbooks.”  

 

“Yeah, that…that’s umm…” Brian scratched at his head before shuddering again. “Unsettling.” he mumbled. 

 

“I like knowing stuff.” Matilda said with a shrug. 

 

“I know you do, but it’s a very inappropriate topic for you to be spouting off about.” Jennifer said. “Especially at your age, and in front of the other children.” She waved her hand amongst the sea of confused faces. 

 

“Hazel is a child, not children.” Matilda said. 

 

“Remember what I told you about keeping topics age appropriate.” Matilda rolled her eyes. “And not asking Brian inappropriately personal questions.” 

 

“Fine.” Matilda grumbled. 

 

“I think it’s a blood test.” Brian said before adding. “I hope.” His eyes darted from Jennifer to Hortensia. 

 

“Is that what they stole my blood for?” Hortensia mumbled. Brian visibly relaxed. 

 

“Maybe.” Jennifer said. “Are you going now?” 

 

“Yeah, best to get it out of the way. Peace of mind,” he looked around the room. “For everyone.” Jennifer wanted to assure him she didn’t think it was him, but still, she’d feel better about his presence around the kids with hard evidence. 

Her mind had been haunting her with “what iff’s” since she heard of Eve’s accusations and it scared her. Scared her that the possibility of Brian being a predator had never crossed her mind even once. She really had sent someone else's child off with him without a second thought. No wonder Eve was angry with her. Would she have thought twice about it if it had been Matilda? When had she let her guard down so much? Because he had kids? Or was she just being biased because she had fallen in lo-

 

“What?” Brian asked. “What’s that face for?” 

 

“N-nothing.” She said quickly. She busied herself by kissing each girl's head. Once Brian had let himself out, and the movie had ended, Hazel’s attention had turned back to them. 

 

“Where’d daddy go?” Hazel asked. The girl had been so transfixed with the screen she had tuned out Brian’s goodbye’s and explanations. 

 

“He has to go get blood work done.” Jennifer said. 

 

“He hopes.” Matilda snickered. 

 

“Why?” Hazel asked. 

 

“To make sure he’s not sick.” Jennifer said. 

 

“Why?” 

 

“Because Tens is sick and we need to know where it came from.” 

 

“One time, this girl came to Sunday School sick and she got everyone else sick too.” Hazel shared.

 

“It’s important to stay home if you're not feeling well.” 

 

“I hate church.” Hortensia mumbled. “They make me go.” 

 

“Was never a fan of it myself.” Jennifer admitted. “You’d never know Miss Trunchbull was deeply religious, but she was.” 

 

“The pews hurt my butt, and it’s boring.” Hortensia mumbled. Jennifer patted her back. She finally didn’t say arse. Small miracles.

 

“Are we going to school today?” Matilda asked. 

 

“Not today. You girls might be doing school work at home, or Hortensia will be joining us in my office.” 

 

“Why?” Matilda asked with a frown.

 

“Because she’s not feeling well and it hurts her to sit.”

 

“Syphilis doesn’t hurt.” Matilda said. “Faker.” 

 

“There’s sores in my butt.” Hortensia said softly. “They hurt.” And on the front. 

 

“Matilda,” Jennifer hissed. “She is not faking it. And how would you know if it hurts or not?”

 

“Sure.” Matilda said unconvinced. “Because I read. The sores aren’t itchy or painful.”

 

“It does if you scratch it open.” Hortensia groaned. 

 

“It’s infected.” Jennifer said. How she had even found it in order to scratch it open Jennifer couldn’t understand. It was a knuckle deep, at least. No way she had found it wiping, like she had said. But would Jennifer have been able to get her out from their care in time if she hadn’t been in pain? Probably not. 

 

“Oh.” Matilda said. “Your infection…got infected?” 

 

“Something like that.” Jennifer said. “Let’s not talk about this right now.” Not in front of Hazel.

 

“I’m sorry I laughed at you for getting a tube up your butt.” Hortensia lamented. “It hurt so bad!” 

 

“Why’d you get a tube up your butt?” Matilda asked, face wrinkled in disgust. 

 

“Remember what happened when you were constipated?” Jennifer whispered. Matilda shuddered. 

 

“What did they do that for? We all know you can poop just fine.” Matilda snickered. 

 

“Stop it.” Jennifer hissed. 

 

“Miss Honey fainted.” Hortensia said with a soft chuckle.

 

“You did?” Matilda asked, shocked. “Why?”

 

“I, umm, got a little woozy.” She figured it was a mix of seeing the blood and hearing Hortensia screaming in pain. 

 

“They put it in wrong and cut me.” Hortensia said. “A whole bunch of blood came out.” Matilda’s face paled. 

 

“That’s because you jumped when they put it in. It’s a very sensitive area. The slightest thing could open it up, that’s why it’s important to lie still. ” She held up one of Hortensia’s arms, which was covered in bruises from the Iv line. “How many times did they try to put an Iv in before they got it?”

 

“Twelve!” Hortensia hissed. 

 

“And were you lying still and letting them try?” 

 

Hortensia grumbled under her breath. She’d take that as a no. 

 

Thankfully, the subject had soon changed. Jennifer was in the middle of listening to Hazel’s description of her classroom when she felt moisture on her arm. She looked down and found Hortensia’s face buried in the crook of her arm. She had either fallen back asleep and started drooling or… Jennifer could see her body violently rising and falling with choked sobs. 

 

“Honey, are you okay?” Jennifer whispered as she rubbed her back. “Do you need a change?” she asked after a pause. Hortensia shook her head. “Did the pain pill wear off already?” She looked at the clock. She couldn’t have any more for at least another hour. Again, she shook her head. “Would you tell me what’s wrong?” Shake. 

 

“Matilda, could you take Hazel up to your room and play?” She watched as the girls slowly ascended the stairs and turned her attention back to the distraught lump in her lap. She had started off leaning against her chest, but over the course of the morning, she had slowly dragged herself into Jennifer’s lap without her noticing. All promises of Jennifer keeping her hands to herself had gone out the window. It had been a dumb thing to say anyway. Hortensia wasn’t an adult who needed space, she was a child. A broken child who needed to be loved and comforted. 

 

“Please talk to me.” Jennifer whispered, running her fingers through Hortensia’s hair. 

 

“E-e-e-very-thing’s a-a-always m-my f-f-f-ault!” Hortensia sobbed. 

 

“No, Tens, this isn’t your fault.” Jennifer said softly. 

 

“It’s my fault for picking at it! It’s my fault it bled! It’s my fault they couldn’t get the Iv in!” 

 

“Sweetheart, I wasn’t blaming you. I just wanted you to understand why you need to stay still. I know it’s hard to do when you’re scared. I’m sorry I made it seem like I was blaming you.” Hortensia didn’t respond, only cried until she didn’t have the energy left in her to cry anymore. “You’ve been strong for so long.” Jennifer whispered when Hortensia had finally settled down. “How have you been keeping this to yourself all this time?” She didn’t answer. 

 

“When I was only a few years older than you, I asked a very large man for help. Instead of rescuing me, he took advantage of me.” Jennifer explained. 

 

“What do you mean?” Hortensia mumbled. 

 

“He raped me, and the person who was supposed to look after me let him.” Jennifer said. “Does this sound anything like your situation?”  Hortensia shook her head. 

 

“So Cynthia wasn’t letting Aiden…” Hortensia shook her head again. 

 

“I wasn’t raped.” Hortensia said. Jennifer shut her eyes. Hortensia didn’t understand. She was in denial.

 

“Whatever he told you, whatever he made you believe to get you to agree, it was still rape. It’s called grooming.” Hortensia shook her head.

 

“They got it wrong. I wasn’t raped. I’ve never been raped.” Jennifer frowned. 

 

“Sweetheart, even if you agreed to have sex…” The doctor had told her it was definitely an adult. 

 

“I’ve never had sex.” Hortensia said. “I didn’t even know what sex was until Mrs. Rodgers gave me that talk.” she shuddered. 

 

 “Tens, you don’t need to lie anymore. You’re not in trouble, you’re safe.” 

 

“I’m not lying! I- I don’t, I don’t know what’s going on!” Fresh tears were sprouting in her eyes. So Jennifer did need to explain.

 

“Tens, you have a sexually transmitted infection. Those sores came from someone else who has sores. Their genitals had to have come into contact with yours. And no, you couldn’t have gotten it from a toilet seat or bath water. Whether you agreed to it or not, they are in the wrong. An adult did this.” Hortensia looked confused. 

 

“I didn’t.” Hortensia said. 

 

“What about when you were little? When you told people Aiden…” Hortensia shook her head.

 

“I was stupid and didn’t know what ‘rape’ meant. I had heard the word and asked mom what it meant. She said it was when someone touches you when you don’t want them to. Aiden was tickling me and I didn’t want him to…” 

 

“And no one explained?” 

 

“Everyone started making a big deal out of it. I was too scared I’d get in trouble to explain. Mom took me to the doctor, and they said it didn’t happen. Then I had to go to church for counseling, and they said I had made it up because I was upset over dad leaving us.” 

 

“So then Aiden…” Hortensia shook her head. Jennifer wasn’t sure she believed her. Was she protecting him? 

 

“Tens, I’m going to be blunt with you. Someone raped you, repeatedly. We know this for a fact, there is no mistake.”

 

“But…no. I couldn’t have been. I’d know.” 

 

“Yes, honey.” She could hear the phone ringing. “I need to get that. It’s probably your mom.” 

 

“Don’t tell her.” Hortensia mumbled into Jennifer’s arm.

 

“She already knows.” Hortensia reluctantly wiggled out of her lap and Jennifer raced upstairs to get the cordless phone. She winced as the prerecorded message played from the jail. It was Eve alright. She accepted the charges and tore the phone away from her ear.

 

“JENNIFER! WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?” The voice on the other end of the line screamed. 

 

“She’s here.” Jennifer said once she thought it was safe to put the phone to her ear again. “She’s with me.” 

 

“And your boyfriend…?” She growled. 

 

“It isn’t him!” Jennifer defended, but stopped. “He’s getting tested now. He’s not here. I’m not taking any chances.” 

 

“You keep him away from my daughter!” 

 

“Eve, it’s Aiden.” She said softly.

 

“Is that what she told you?” Eve demanded. 

 

“Well, no, but-”

 

“It’s. Not. Aiden! You think I don’t keep an eye on who I let watch my only daughter?”

 

“I-I’m not saying that, but-” 

 

“He tested negative.” Eve said. 

 

Jennifer felt her stomach fall. If not him…who?

 

[smilekat414]

To be honest I thought it was someone else, its to easy and neat for it to be Aiden, but I'm interested in where this goes from here. This story keeps me hanging on the edge of my seat. 

[Mazamune]

The mystery keeps deepening. We have now officially reach the Marianne's trench bottom of plot.

The cliffhanger is excruciating.

Hope to read more soon !!

Cheers!

[Allman90]

Oh, you are just torturing us now. 

 

I still think it's Aiden. 

[CDfm]

Again I absolutely loved it.  Still very confused but enjoying every bit of it.  Certain STD’s can only be transmitted one way and it seems as though Hortensia has that kind. Now the only question is who gave it to her. 
I am eager to know more. 

[SashaButters]

Her mom was crying. Hortensia’s mind was going blank from the stress. She sat across from her at a table in the prison visiting center. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” her mom asked, doing what she had referred to as “ugly crying”. Hortensia sank down, glad for the nappies extra cushion on the hard bench seats. She was trying to hide her watering eyes. She didn’t want to do this in front of everyone. Miss Honey, Brian, Matilda, Hazel, Zach, Nick, Aiden, Cynthia, Mrs. Rodgers and a police woman with a notepad were all here, having a “brainstorming session.” It was her moms idea, like a police interrogation with everyone, all at once, pointing fingers at each other and a cop taking notes. Her mom wanted to feel involved in the investigation and the warden allowed it given the “special circumstance”, so long as the officer in charge of the investigation was present. She wanted to meet them all before her transfer in two days. Wanted to meet Brian. And anyone else male Hortensia had been spending time with. 

 

All four of them had tested negative. She couldn’t believe her mom had made an eleven, and thirteen-year old get tested for an STD. Now everyone knew. And they demanded answers. Answers Hortensia didn’t have. 

 

“I don’t know.” Hortensia mumbled for what felt like the hundredth time. She looked down, chipping away at the fake wood table’s finish with her fingernail. “Sometimes, I just hurt.” There were specific times she could point to where something hadn’t been right. Like that summer a handful of years ago. 

 

 She kept… sharting herself. That happened sometimes when she farted, but it had been happening worse than usual that summer. And her arse had been killing her. They had even sent her home from camp over it, and lectured her about her personal hygiene. 

 

“That’s why your fanny hurts so bad; you're sitting in poo and your skin got irritated.” The camp nurse had said. Her mother had not been happy to drive four hours round trip to pick her up. All because she’d been sharting herself and not wiping properly? But she couldn’t help it. The pain had been unbearable. She couldn’t stand the thought of one more hot and sticky, bug infested night in the forest. She couldn’t do any camp activities. She couldn’t sit for meals, and she couldn’t sleep. Finally, she had broken down in tears mid tennis match and demanded to go home. 

 

Everyone told her it was because she wasn’t wiping properly, but Hortensia had been sure the pain had started before the accidents. No one ever took her seriously. It made her blood boil. 

 

She had always wanted people to listen to her, and now that everyone was here hanging on her every word, Hortensia wanted to duck underneath the table and hide. This week had been humiliating. So many questions. So many people in her personal space. When would this all end? 

 

“You must have some idea!” her mom said. 

 

“I can’t.” Hortensia mumbled. 

 

“Tens, no matter what you say, you’re not going to get in trouble.” Jennifer said. 

 

“You wouldn’t believe me.” 

 

This meeting had been a mistake. Everyone had been at each other's throats. Her mom blamed Brian and Jennifer, Jennifer blamed Aiden, and Aiden and Cynthia blamed just Jennifer.

 

“You’re the one who needs to be tested!” Cynthia shouted, pointing a finger at Miss Honey, who gawked. 

 

“I would never lay a hand on her!” Miss Honey hissed. 

 

“Never lay a hand on her?” Cynthia scoffed, “your hands have been all over her this whole time!” 

 

“That’s not the same thing!” Miss Honey argued, but Hortensia could feel Miss Honey remove her hand from her back just the same and put them under the table. Hortensia reached for it, and Miss Honey gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

 

“What do you have against her?” Hortensia demanded. Cynthia looked surprised. They both gave Miss Honey dirty looks. “Why’d you make me beat up her car?” 

 

“Nobody made you beat up her car, you’re just refusing to take responsibility for your actions.” Cynthia said. 

 

“Aiden hit me in the face and told me if I didn’t make her quit he’d have the guards beat up mom!” 

 

“Oh, not this again!” Eve groaned. “It’s stories like this that make us not believe you.” 

 

“There’s no way for me to even get the guards to do that even if I wanted to. Your story telling needs work.” Aiden said, with his massive arms crossed across his ginormous chest. 

 

“Yeah it is! You could bribe them or something, I don’t know!” Hortensia said. 

 

“With what money? My business just went under!” 

 

“There was a day we found Hortensia with a bloody lip right before the incident with my car.” Miss Honey said. “I had assumed it was a teacher she had had an altercation with, but the teacher denied it.”

 

“And we saw you at her house right before she went mental.” A voice threw out. All eyes turned to Zach and Nick who had remained quiet until now. 

 

“He’s the massive bloke we saw fighting with her.” Nick chimed in. 

 

“No! Th-that wasn’t me!” Aiden said. 

 

“How many 300 pound Islander men are there in this town?” Mrs. Rodgers asked. 

 

“Quite a few.” Cynthia growled. “His whole extended family is here!”

 

“So you're throwing your own family under the bus?” Mrs. Rodgers asked, eyebrows raised. Cynthia went quiet. “I’d like to know what you have against Jenny as well. This whole time you’ve been dragging her through the mud. It feels personal.” 

 

Hortensia could see her mom’s eyes flicker between her and Aiden. 

 

“You were telling the truth?” Eve asked so quietly, Hortensia wouldn’t have heard if she hadn’t been staring directly at her. Hortensia nodded. She turned to Aiden. “Why did you tell my daughter to break Jennifer’s car?”

 

“You can’t believe this garbage, Eve, you know how she is. She has those temper tantrums and loses control.” Aiden said. “And I didn’t tell her to break her car!”

 

“They saw you there.” Eve said. “You aren’t someone who can be easily mistaken.” 

 

“I was just there checking up on her, and she got mouthy.” 

 

“So you hit her in the face?” Eve asked. “A spanking I could understand, but…”

 

“It was a slap! Open palm!” Aiden said.

 

“She was bleeding.” Miss Honey said, glaring daggers at him. 

 

“My ring must have caught her lip.” Aiden mumbled. Her mom stared at both Aiden and Cynthia as if seeing them for the first time. 

 

“Honey, what did Aiden tell you, exactly?”

 

“He told me if I helped him get rid of Miss Honey he could keep you from getting transferred, and if I didn’t, you’d get hurt.” 

 

“Why?” Eve asked him. Hortensia could see the cop in the corner furiously scribbling down their conversation. 

“Because she’s a dyke who shouldn’t be allowed to run a school full of children!” Cynthia spat. “All that work to get rid of the first dyke, only to get replaced by another!” 

 

The room went silent.

 

“Why does everyone think I’m a lesbian?” Miss Honey asked. 

 

“Everyone knows you had an incestuous relationship with your aunt!” Cynthia said. 

 

“My aunt abused me!” 

 

“You know,” Mrs. Rodgers said calmly. “ I really have my doubts that Jennifer's sexual orientation has anything to do with this. See, the only reason you’d know Jenny was being abused is if you saw a certain letter they found in your best friend’s safe. So either you helped Eve blackmail Agatha Trunchbull, or you two are the ones who did and framed your best friend. How about you tell us about this company that went under? You wouldn’t happen to be in the publishing business, would you?” 

 

Hortensia could see the color drain from both of their faces. 

 

“What was that company called again?” 

 

“A.C.R Publishing.” Miss Honey said. 

 

“Ah, yes, and that wouldn’t happen to stand for Aiden and Cynthia Redding Publishing, would it?” Mrs. Rodgers asked. 

 

“We don’t have to sit here and take this bullshit anymore!” Cynthia shouted. They both stood up. 

 

“No, my mistake.” Mrs. Rodgers said. “It’s not Aiden and Cynthia Redding Publishing, is it? It’s Aiden and Christopher Redding Publishing.” She pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pocket and tossed it on the table. “Jennifer, did you know there’s this thing called the internet where you can look up almost anything? Like businesses, and criminal records.” 

 

Hortensia picked up the piece of paper and blanched. It was a mugshot of a familiar looking man.

 

“You leave my brother out of this! He’s turned his life around!” Aiden shouted. Cynthia was trying to pull him away by the arm.

 

“Hortensia, what was it you were going to say?” Jennifer whispered in her ear. “You said, you didn’t think anyone would believe you? Now’s the time to say it.” Hortensia nodded, took a deep breath, and shouted to be heard over the arguing.

 

“Do you remember that time you sent me to summer camp?” Everyone stared at her. Hortensia sank down in her seat. “When you had to drive four hours to come pick me up because my arse hurt.” she mumbled. 

 

“I remember that!” Eve said, but then frowned. “You don’t think it happened there, do you?” 

 

“I don’t know.” Hortensia said at the table, but it was her best guess. “I just woke up after the first night hurting.”

 

“Camp Summercrest?” Matilda asked. Hortensia stared at her. 

 

“How’d you know?”

 

“There was a shirt for it in the lost and found box. I was wearing it when you had to take me home that one time when I…” Hortensia let out a weak chuckle. 

 

She saw Miss Honey reach for the paper next.

 

“It’s him.” Miss Honey said, dropping the paper as if it burned her. “Who is he?” 

 

“His brother.” Mrs. Rodgers said. “And?” she was staring at Hortensia and motioning with her hand for her to continue.

 

“The youth pastor at our church.” 

 

Suddenly the room exploded in a cacophony of voices. Her mom and Cynthia were screaming at each other. Aiden had run. The cop taking notes was yelling for guards to stop him. Hortensia put her hands over her ears. She wanted to go home. Her stomach cramped. She could feel the nappy filling with hot liquid and she began to cry.

 

…

 

“You did good, sweetheart.” Jennifer said. “I know it’s hard to answer all those questions, but I’m so proud of you for being brave.” They had just gotten back from a real police interrogation where they both gave victim testimonies. She wiped her hands clean with a wet wipe and bunched up the soiled nappy before tossing it into a garbage bag. 

 

“I don’t remember.” Hortensia said. 

 

“I do.” Jennifer whispered. She knew he was the one who had assaulted her all those years ago. “There’s something called DNA. When you were in the hospital, and they did all those invasive tests, they took samples from you. They found male DNA inside you, and they’re going to test it against the samples they took from him.” 

 

“Okay.” Hortensia said softly. 

 

“And you know who else is in a lot of trouble?” Jennifer said, a slight grin on her face. “Cynthia and Aiden.” Hortensia smiled slightly. All thanks to Hortensia’s drawings. Jennifer had finally peeked at copies of them at the police station, but they hadn’t been what Jennifer had expected. They were horrific, but it wasn’t a story of Hortensia’s abuse, it was of Billy’s. 

 

The story featured a young blonde girl riding on her daddy’s shoulders. She liked being up high, and being able to see things she wouldn’t normally see. Like the inside of vehicles. And as the father and daughter were walking down the street, the little girl noticed something strange.

 

“Daddy, what’s he doing with Billy?” The little girl asked. The tall, blonde haired man looked to where she’d pointed. He quickly removed her off her shoulder and put her on the ground.

 

“Run home as fast as you can.” The man said. The little girl ran, but not home. She ran behind another car and watched. She saw her daddy nearly rip the door open and drag the man out. 

 

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” Her daddy screamed. But the man pulled something black out of his pocket. There was a loud bang and suddenly, her daddy was on the ground. There was a red puddle forming around him. He stared up at her with wide vacant eyes, with a hole in his face. One of his eyes was gone. Jennifer knew that face well. She had seen it all over the pages of notebooks. 

 

The strange man did not know the girl was watching him. He was panicking. The man was large and strong, just like his brother. He picked up her daddy and threw him in the back of his truck along with Billy and covered them with a tarp. Then he got out and walked across the street to a familiar looking house. Aiden’s house. 

 

Hortensia had witnessed her father’s murder as a very small child. Too young to understand what she had just seen, but traumated none the less. Jennifer sighed and laid down on the bed next to her before wrapping her in a tight hug. 

 

“I’m going to miss you when you go back home.” Jennifer said. “You’re like my second daughter.” 

 

“You think mom will get out?” 

 

“As long as she doesn’t follow up on her threats to hit Cynthia over the head with a crowbar.” Jennifer said. “Speaking of…” she let go of the girl and rolled onto her feet. She offered Hortensia a hand up. “I have a surprise for you in the backyard.”

 

Jennifer led her out blindfolded to where Brian, Matilda, Hazel, Zach and Nick all stood around eagerly before removing the blindfold. Hortensia looked around, frowning in confusion.

 

“My surprise is a junkyard?” Hortensia asked with a laugh. The backyard was covered in tarps, and on them was a mismatched assortment of broken tellies, cracked statues, chipped vases, and other damaged items. 

 

“Yep.” Jennifer said, a wide smile on her face. She picked up a pair of safety goggles and put them on Hortensia’s face. “You’ve been going through so much, I figured you needed to blow off some steam by partaking in your favorite pastime of…” Jennifer handed her a bat. “breaking stuff.” Hortensia stared wide eyed at the array of junk and then at the bat.

 

“You mean I get to…” Hortensia grinned. The first real smile Jennifer had seen in a long time. She gestured to the pile of junk.

 

“Go nuts.” 

 

Jennifer watched the kids go nuts taking turns smashing things to bits. She even took a few swings herself before joining Brian on the patio. 

 

“Thank you for finding all this stuff.” Jennifer said. They had been going from yard sale to yard sale buying cheap, breakable looking items for the last month.

 

“Half of it was in the dumpster behind the Salvation Army.” He grinned. Jennifer smiled at him before taking his hand. 

 

“I bet they won’t notice we’re gone.” She said.  He chuckled and held her close for a moment. 

 

“What did you have in mind?” He asked. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “What is it?” 

 

“My test results.” She said. “If she can do it, so can I.”  He took the paper and read it before grinning, eyebrows raised. 

 

“Were you afraid of needles?” 

 

“That was not a blood test.” She shuddered. He laughed and kissed her. 

 

“And what would my brave girl like to do?” 

 

“Everything.” she whispered. 

 

“Ana-”

 

“Okay, maybe not everything.” He laughed and took her hand before kissing it. 

 

“You’ll tell me if you want to stop, right?” She nodded. He put his forehead to hers. “I love you, Jenny.” 

 

“I love you too.” she whispered before taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs. 

 

…

 

“Thank you Rachel, that’s right. I’m standing in front of West Bishop Church off London Ave where a local youth pastor has been taken away in handcuffs. Residents in this town are in an uproar. The man in question, Christopher Redding, is under suspicion of using his position to commit sexual acts against children. An investigation was launched when one of the children in his congregation was brought in to the local hospital where she was found to have several injuries consistant with sexual assault and a high level of a unnamed prescription sedative in her system. 

 

Police investigated Mr. Redding after a tip from another victim where multiple bottles of this same medication were found in his possession. The police believe Mr. Redding was slipping the sedatives into the grape juice used for communion and giving them to pre-selected children. Now police are asking for the cooperation of the public. Parents who have attended this church are being asked to sit down and have a difficult conversation with their children. A special task force has been formed as numerous potential victims have begun to come forward. 

 

Other members of the Redding family have also been taken into custody at this time on suspicion of aiding and abetting, blackmail, falsifying official documents, hindering a police investigation, second-degree murder, and abuse of a child under fourteen. 

 

Police have also confirmed Mr. Redding has been named as the prime suspect of the slaying of the nearly half- dozen bodies found earlier this summer. Dubbed as the Buckinghamshire Boy Butcher for his preferred choice of victims, this serial killer has left the city gripped in terror over the summer, but tonight, that fear may finally be over. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time. If convicted, the DA has announced he will be pushing for the death penalty. Back to you in the studio.” 

 

“Prayers? Psh, what a load of shi- Oww.” Hortensia grumbled and rubbed at the side of her head. Miss Honey turned off the tv. 

 

“Pay attention.” Matilda said, arms crossed across her chest. 

 

“Who left you in charge?” Hortensia grumbled. 

 

“I did.” Miss Honey said. “You’ve been out of school for a while, it’s time to catch up. I have to go to the office for a few hours. Poor Mr. Trilby’s been dragged out of retirement to help keep the place running since I’ve been gone.” 

 

“Where did your class leave off?” Hortensia pointed to a chapter. Matilda scoffed. “How were you only in chapter twelve? I’m going to graduate highschool before your class gets through this.” 

 

“Fine smarty pants, what chapter are you on?” Matilda scoffed again.

 

“I finished that thing a month ago.” 

 

“A month ago? It hasn’t even been three full months into the school year. This is supposed to last all year. It’s a textbook.” 

 

“And this is why I pulled her out of the classroom.” Miss Honey said. 

 

“You guys were so slow!” Matilda groaned, her fingers dragging down her face for emphasis. “It was torture.” 

 

“You thought Mr. Larson’s class was slow?” Hortensia asked, eyebrows creased in disbelief before snorting. “What level of hell did you think you were in when you walked into Miss Honey’s class for the first time?” Hortensia chuckled. 

 

“The fourth.” Matilda admitted. 

 

“You didn’t like my classroom?” Miss Honey asked. 

 

“I did once you started giving me my own work to do, but those first few days.” Her eyes opened wide in mock horror. Miss Honey laughed. “I thought school was going to be educational. I walked in expecting to see the periodic table of elements, and got hit with the Abc’s.” 

 

“Maybe in high school. You couldn’t possibly have thought all the other runts were as smart as you?” Hortensia asked. Matilda shrugged. 

 

“I didn’t know I was smarter than them. It’s not like I had ever spent time with other kids my age.” Matilda said.

 

“You had an older brother. Didn’t you see his homework?” Matilda scoffed.

 

“As if he ever did his homework.”

 

…

 

Jennifer poked her head into Carol’s office. She was sitting at her desk staring down at a book. Jennifer knocked on the door as Carol slammed the book she was reading closed. 

“Jen, you’re back.” Carol said, a guilty smile on her face. 

 

“Slow day?” Jennifer laughed. She didn’t care if Carol was reading if it was slow. She wasn’t her boss. No wait, yes she was. 

 

“Two paper cuts and a crushed pinky finger.” Carol said with a shrug. “Not much to do without our problem child sending me skinned knees and bloody noses. How is she?” Jennifer sighed.

 

“About as well as you can be going through something like that. Still incontinent though.” Jennifer said. “At least I’ve managed to get over it. Poor kid’s embarrassed enough without me gagging in front of her.” Carol grimaced.

 

“At least she’s older and you don’t have to change nappies.”  Jennifer grimaced. “Jen, she’s eleven-years-old. She is more than capable of cleaning up after herself.” Jennifer shook her head. 

 

“It’s complicated.” Jennifer said. 

 

“What’s complicated about it? Tell her where the cleaning supplies are. What are you babying her for?” Jennifer knitted her eyebrows together. 

 

“Because she isn’t capable of it.” Jennifer said. “The pain is gone, but it’s like her soul leaves her body the moment it happens. She’s like an empty shell until she’s clean. I have to literally lead her by the hand. She says she doesn’t remember the attacks, but our psychologist thinks the sensation of the sudden, involuntary, uh, pooping and the feeling of not being in control is triggering flashbacks.”

 

“Her body remembers.” 

 

“Yeah, something like that.” Jennifer said. “It’s… hard to see her like this. ”

 

“You’re like the Patron Saint of Lost Children.” Jennifer clenched her teeth. 

 

“I’d rather not be associated with any religion.” Rumors were spreading amongst the community of prior allegations. “They knew what he was doing with those kids. They were protecting him. Not the kids, but him.” 

 

“There’s more than a few people ready to scalp him.” Carol said. “Did you see that interview they aired of one of the parents?” 

 

“The one they had to bleep out every other word?” Jennifer asked with a slight smile. 

 

“He’s either getting lynched or murdered the moment the guards look away. He’ll get what’s coming to him. Even the other inmates don’t tolerate crimes against children.” 

 

 “That’s what Brian said.” Jennifer said. Speaking of… She looked around the room. “Is there anyone here?” She whispered. Carol shook her head. “We, um…” Carol raised her eyebrows. “Had sex.” Jennifer mumbled. Carol grinned. She pushed a chair towards her. 

 

“You should have led with that. Sit. Spill.” 

 

“Oww!” Was all Jennifer could say. Carol gave her a sympathetic smile. 

 

“It’ll get better.”

 

“The second time was better.” Jennifer agreed. “Third was the best.” 

 

“Third?” Carol nodded her head in approval, a large smile plastered on her face. “Look at you! Was it as scary as you thought it would be?” 

 

“The first time was. I was nervous he’d think I was too grotesque.” But he had gone out of his way to show her the scarring didn’t bother him. She blushed. She’d keep that memory to herself. 

 

“What was his reaction? Did he say anything?” He wasn’t talking, but his mouth had been plenty busy. 

 

“Umm, no.” 

 

“You use a condom?”

 

“Carol!” She sighed. So nosey. “Neither of us have anything and it’s not like I can get pregnant.” 

 

“And did you get that verified by a licensed doctor like I told you to?”

 

“Umm, no.” Jennifer admitted, shrinking back under her gaze. “Getting tested was bad enough. The nurse took one look, called the doctor in, who called another doctor in. I felt like half the clinic was staring at me. I was starting to wonder if I should start charging admission to come into the room.” 

 

“Well, I’m relieved to hear you don’t have Syphilis, and I’m proud of you for getting checked. It can cause much more serious health risks than a few sores if you leave it this long untreated.” 

 

“Not so loud!” Jennifer said with a cringe. There were already enough rumors about her without STD’s added to the mix. The women who worked in the office were gossip mongers. “They’ll hear you.” 

 

“Oh yes, you’ve missed all sorts of juicy gossip.” Carol chuckled. “I’ve been hearing all kinds of things about you and your boyfriend all week.” 

 

“He visited me at work one time.” Jennifer cringed. He hadn’t done anything. “And how would anyone know anything about him? He looked like any other parent with their kid.” She stared down Carol. “Unless someone let something slip…” She crossed her arms, fingers tapping anxiously. “Carol…”

 

Carol shifted her eyes, a guilty grin twitched at the corners of her mouth. “I walked in on some ladies chatting in the teacher’s lounge.”

 

“...And?”

 

“I was only trying to help set the record straight…”

 

Ignore it. Ignore it. Just ignore it.

 

“What were they saying?” Jennifer asked, taking the bait. She was going to regret this.

 

 “That you were dating a woman from the bank.” Jennifer let her head fall in an exaggerated show of dismay. 

 

“Why does everyone think I’m a lesbian?” 

 

“So I told them the bloke with the kid the other day was your boyfriend.” 

 

“Oh, is that all?” She sank down in her chair in relief. 

 

“Want to hear my favorite one? These girls have quite the imagination.”

 

“Fine, out with it.” 

 

“He’s been your secret lover for years, and he killed Agatha Trunchbull on your orders so you could openly be together.” They stared at each other in silence before erupting in laughter. 

 

“Hey, can I ask you something weird?” Jennifer asked. “There’s something I had been meaning to ask you since the revelation of the drugged juice.”

“What’s that?”

 

“It brought up a memory of getting something similar poured down my throat.” 

 

“Something to knock you out so you don’t fight back or make a commotion.” 

 

“Yeah, but I was wondering, something you told me about back then made me wonder. Did you have any memory gaps around the time you were held hostage?” She saw a strange look in Carol’s eyes. 

 

“Why do you ask?” 

 

“ I figured I had been drugged and that’s why I don’t remember much. But there is something I do remember. My aunt kept a bottle of expensive tequila in her desk drawer. I remember him finding it and pouring himself a drink.”

 

“Is it still there? Party in your office?”

 

“No, I think…we already drank it.” Jennifer said, studying her confused face. “I wasn’t watching what he was doing with it, but I remember he was holding it at one point. I was so angry at her I stole the bottle a few days later and put it in the vent in my room. You told me we drank it all when we were held there.” 

 

“Are you saying you roofied me?” Carol asked before letting out a sigh. “That…explains a few things.” 

 

“Like what?” 

 

“Like how I woke up with no idea where I was for the last five days with enough drugs in my system to sedate a horse. The hospital accused me of either stealing the drugs and going on a bender or trying to commit suicide. One day I was sitting in my car and saw you riding your bike and it started coming back, bit by bit.” 

 

“So you didn’t come back because…you forgot about me?” Jennifer asked. Carol grimaced and hung her head. Jennifer began to laugh. She couldn’t help it. This whole situation was so crazy. “I don’t know why, but that makes me feel better. Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been going around this whole time thinking you abandoned me, well, since you told me about it.” 

 

“How is ‘I forgot you existed’ any better? I’ve felt terrible about it. Then I thought it was because of the carbon monoxide, but five days wouldn’t cause that, you’ve been breathing it in for years.”

 

“Maybe it was both? Like a perfect storm of events. Drugs, carbon monoxide and trauma.”

 

“Traumatised? I wasn’t the one traumatized. You and the kid, yes, but-”

“You were held prisoner for five days with three other people eating nothing but expired MRES and beat up. Of course you were traumatized. It isn’t a contest.” Jennifer said. “Eve said we all thought we were going to be killed.” 

 

“It was looking that way.” Carol admitted. “At least the kid was young enough not to know what was going on.” 

 

“I saw her pictures at the police station.” Jennifer said. 

 

“Those were…” Carol let out an exaggerated breath. “No wonder she’s so messed up.”

 

“She said she only drew a recurring nightmare, but our therapist thinks there’s truth to it. I think he’s the adult body they found with the kids.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I think so too.” Carol said. 

 

“Well,” Jennifer said standing up. “I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on. I’ll let you get back to your book.” 

 

“Is she coming back to school soon?” Carol asked with a stretch. 

 

“I don’t know what we’re going to do. She keeps having these dissociative episodes. I might have to do what I did with Matilda and put another desk in my office and have her do independent studies.”

 

Carol snickered. “Good luck getting anything done.” 

 

“No kidding.” Jennifer said as she walked out the door. 

 

The office staff greeted her warmly when she walked in. They asked her how her “vacation” was. One woman even thought she had gone to the Bahamas with her boyfriend. 

 

“One of my kids is sick.” Jennifer explained. They wished Matilda a speedy recovery. Jennifer didn’t correct them. She sat at her desk and scowled at the large pile of forms waiting for her. She was starting to understand why Agatha kept tequila in her desk. She really hated paperwork. Jennifer was only halfway through when the phone rang.  Please don’t be Matilda. Please don’t be Matilda. 

 

It was.

 

[BabySofia]

I'm glad they figured out who was responsible. I do hope those inmates take care of that disgusting creature. 

It feels like we might be seeing a conclusion coming to this story?

[CDfm]

Wow this was amazing.  I have to read this a second time.  This chapter really opened my eyes and explains so much. Conducting an interview/interrogation with the victims present is a bit unusual but apparently it worked.  I wasn’t expecting it to be Aiden’s brother.  I guess I didn’t know he even had a brother. I almost feel bad thinking bad about Hortensia’s dad.  Turns out he was actually a good guy and paid the ultimate price for trying to help a child. Now speaking of Hortensia, I hope that she can recover from some of the horrible things that happened to her.  It hurts me deeply to think of a child being hurt like that.  You are still doing such an incredible job with this story.  I am looking forward to seeing more. 

[AdultInnocence]

That is a ton to take in from one chapter, with so much answered. I'm on the train with @BabySofia that it seems like the story will be coming to a conclusion soon, as well, of course, the brother gets what is coming to him in prison.

Aiden had to have known something was going on and that is the reason he kept sending the post cards pretending to be Hortensia's father.

If that was spiked alcohol they had gotten a hold of all those years ago, maybe with everything finally coming to light, Carol could get her license back. They felt she may have stolen the pills or tried to commit suicide. Their story doesn't hold water now that things are becoming clearer. Maybe not, but I can be hopeful anyway. If she does I would hope she stayed at the school to continue helping the kids there.

[smilekat414]

Well this has been a brutal arc, and that was a good twist, and it brought together allot of threads and answered allot of questions that have been running through this whole story. I was expecting next chapter would be a cool off but it looks like we're getting another twist with Matilda, so I'm eager to see more. 

[SashaButters]

Matilda ground her teeth together. She was trying to be nice, but as she looked up from her own schoolwork for the fifth time to catch Hortensia doodling in her notebook instead of reading her assignment, she was losing her patience. Fast. 

 

“Mom isn’t going to let us stay home if you don’t do any of your work.” Matilda said. She liked going to school. She did. But this…was so much better. Hortensia let out a deep sigh and dropped her pencil before letting out an exaggerated moan.

 

“How can you just sit there and do school work all day? It’s so boring!” Hortensia complained. She looked at the clock. Had it really already been three hours? 

 

“I guess we could take a break.” Matilda said. Hortensia threw down her pen and let out a cheer before launching herself up from the kitchen table. 

 

“My arse is killing me.” Matilda’s face fell. “God, not like that. Quit it. I hate when people look at me like that.” Hortensia groaned. 

 

“Like what?” 

 

“Like I’m going to break. No one talks to me normally anymore. I’m starting to actually want to go back to school and get treated like shite.” 

 

“Why?” Matilda asked with a sour face. “I spent all that time wishing to go to school only to realize I had it better just doing my own thing.” 

 

“I just want things to go back to the way they were.” Matilda realized it wasn’t school she missed, but her old life. But going back to school wasn’t going to get her mom out of prison, or change what had been done to her. “I told you to stop looking at me like that.” She growled. 

 

Matilda averted her eyes. “I can make a better lunch than the school can.” Hortensia perked up at the mention of food. It was only 10: 30, so brunch then. Even better, because school didn’t serve brunch. “I can make a quiche.”

 

“What the bloody hell is a quiche?” 

 

“You mix a couple ingredients, like eggs and stuff and then you ba-” Matilda’s face fell. She wasn’t supposed to use the oven unsupervised. “Never mind.” she said glumly. “Sandwiches it is.”

 

“Sandwiches? What happened to ‘I can make a better lunch than the school?’” 

 

“I’m not supposed to use the oven by myself.” Matilda said with a scowl. 

 

“You’re not by yourself.” Hortensia said with a shrug. Matilda shifted in indecision. “Quiche.” Hortensia cheered, fist high in the air. 

 

“You don’t even know what a quiche is.” 

 

“But now I want it.” Matilda groaned. She had opened up a can of worms she couldn’t get herself out of. Maybe Hortensia had a point. She went to get a bowl, but stopped. It felt too wrong. Matilda bit her lip. She didn’t like being bad unless she had to. “What? What is it?” 

 

“I don’t want to get in trouble.” Matilda mumbled. She had been fighting with Jenny on and off most of the summer, but things were finally good. She liked not being in the spotlight. No one was bothering her here. No one was interrupting her to ask what she was reading or marvel at her. Hortensia rolled her eyes.

 

“You’re. Not. Alone.” Hortensia repeated. Matilda sighed. She’d feel better if she called and asked just in case. “Seriously?” Hortensia asked as she reached for the phone. “Where’s the fun in that?”
 

“Fun?” Matilda scrunched up her face in confusion. “Getting in trouble isn’t fun for me.” 

 

“Not the getting in trouble part; it’s about the thrill of getting in trouble if you get caught.”

 

“That just gives me heart palpitations.” She shook her head as Hortensia began to ask what that was as she dialed the number for the school. She had never needed the phone book. She only needed to see the number once in order to memorize it. 

 

“I’m entering it into our database now.” Jenny would say as she held up a piece of paper with a name and phone number for Matilda to see. 

 

A voice answered on the third ring, not her mom, but someone from the office. Naomi Stevens, 43, worked in the school office for thirteen years, and had the loudest speaking voice Matilda had ever heard. 

 

“Hello, Mrs. Steven’s, could I please speak to my mom?” She forced a smile out of habit which earned her an odd look. 

 

“Oh, Matilda! Hi, sweetheart! I heard you’re not feeling well! I hope someone’s there taking good care of you.” Watching out for her? She stared at the girl whose finger was currently knuckle deep into her left nostril. 

 

“Something like that.” Matilda said. “And I’m feeling fine, but thank you for your concern.”

 

“Oh, always so polite.” Naomi squealed so loudly Hortensia could hear. She rolled her eyes. Hortensia didn’t like anyone from the office. She said they treated her poorly, but that was probably only because she was rude to them first. “Oh, is your mom’s boyfriend there?” Matilda scowled. 

 

“Uh, no, Hortensia. And I’m watching her.” 

 

“Hey!” Hortensia complained. Matilda grinned at her. 

 

“Hortensia? You don’t mean… Hortensia Smith?” Naomi said, sounding on guard. Matilda held a fist to her lips to keep from laughing. 

 

“No, I mean Hortensia Biedrzycki.” No one ever attempted to say her legal last name. 

 

“Yes, her.” Naomi said before tutting. “What’s she doing at your house?”

 

“Umm, she lives here.” 

 

“She lives there?”

 

“Yeah, she’s kind of my foster sister now, or something. Mom’s her guardian.” 

 

“Oh, is she now?” Matilda winced. She didn’t realize the office didn’t already know. She could hear the piqued interest in her voice. Matilda could picture Naomi waving the other women over and pointing at the phone in her hand as they eagerly hung on her every word. 

Only Naomi burst out laughing. Matilda stared at the phone in confusion before putting it back to her ear. “You're so well behaved you’ve lured your mum into thinking raising kids is easy, and now she thinks she can handle Mnt. Everest.” Matilda snickered. “So that’s why you haven’t been here? Is she sick?”

 

“It’s complicated.” Matilda said. She didn’t fully understand what was going on, and Jenny had forbidden her from asking Hortensia any questions even though she was dying to probe. 

 

After a few more moments of polite back and forth, Naomi finally transferred her call. 

 

“Matilda, is everything okay?” Her mom sounded worried. 

 

“Mom! I’m really sorry bu-”

 

“What? What is it? Is Hortensia okay?”

 

“What?” She looked at Hortensia who stared back at her looking puzzled. “She’s fine, but I think I accidentally told Naomi she’s living with us before you did.”

 

“Oh.” Her mom let out a relieved breath and a shaky laugh. “That’s okay, it’s not like it’s a big secret. What’s up?” 

“Well, since Hortensia’s here, and I’m not alone, I wanted to know if I could cook something?” There was a pause.

 

“What were you going to make?” 

 

“A quiche.” Another pause followed by a drawn out sigh. Matilda grimaced. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. 

 

“That sounds so much better than my leftovers.” 

 

“I could bring you some.” Matilda offered. A little bribery wouldn’t hurt. 

 

“No, you don’t have to do that.” A pause. “Would you?Do you think she’s okay to leave the house? Put her on the phone.” Matilda handed her the phone and gave her a thumbs up before getting to work. 

 

“I’m fine.” Hortensia said. Matilda peeked over her shoulder occasionally as she mixed the ingredients. She had gone quiet for a minute, only breaking up the silence with the occasional “okay” or “fine.” Eventually, she handed the phone back. 

 

“Make sure you hold her hand when crossing the street.” Jenny said. Matilda rolled her eyes. 

 

“Yeah, okay.” 

 

“I mean it. It’s for both your girls' safety. If she spaces out, you’ll need to guide her by the hand.” Matilda’s eyes briefly flicked over to her. She had seen Hortensia do that a couple of times since she had moved back in. She’d stop whatever it was she was doing and go rigid. It was…odd. She had never seen her do that before. She wouldn’t respond to anyone. Jenny usually took her upstairs for a bit until she snapped out of it.

 

“What do I do if that happens?” 

 

“Call me.” 

 

“How do you usually snap her out of it? Does she come to on her own or…?”

 

“Just…” Jenny said. “Call me if anything happens and I’ll try and come home.” 

 

“Okay.” Matilda said with a shrug. 

 

“And don’t forget to take a nap this afternoon.” Matilda clenched her jaw in annoyance. “But make sure the oven’s off before you do. Triple check please.”

 

“Hortensia’s more likely to blow up the house.” Matilda grumbled. 

 

“We should give her cooking lessons.” Jenny said. “Oh, and maybe she could teach you how to draw.” 

 

“Oh no, I need both hands to make this quiche, I’m going to have to let you go.” Matilda said.

 

“Ha. Ha. Okay, be safe. Call me if anything happens. I love you both.” 

 

“Love you too, bye.” Matilda hung up and shook her head. “She wants to teach you how to cook. You’ll blow the house up.” 

 

“I will not.”

 

“Or poison us.” 

 

“I will not.” 

 

“Tsp and Tbsp aren’t the same thing!” 

 

“I know that much!” 

 

“They’ll find our corpses when they don’t hear from Jenny, half eaten cookies in all of our hands.” Hortensia pursed her lips together, but couldn’t keep back a chuckle at the image. 

 

“Is there even an ingredient I can mess up on that would cause that?” 

 

“Hmm, not unless you added something you weren’t supposed to, like arsenic, or cyanide, but that would be premeditated murder, not an accident.” 

 

“I meant like, if I misread and added too much of something? Could that kill us all?” 

 

“I think you’d have to purposely be trying to kill us. At worst, you’d make us all sick, with salmonella or something. There was a guy who got cockroach poison and saltpeter confused and killed a whole floor of patients in a mental hospital once during World War 2.” Hortensia made a face. “Then there’s Jim Jones, of course.”

 

“Uhh, yes, of course….who’s that?” 

 

“You know, the cult leader from the 80’s who convinced over 800 people to drink poisoned Kool-Aid.” 

 

“Why do you know this?” Hortensia asked. 

 

“I read.” Hortensia narrowed her eyes. 

 

“And not from one of those boring documentaries on the History channel I keep catching you watching?” Matilda opened her mouth to retort, but shut it again. “Ha! See, you do like the telly.” 

 

“One channel,” Matilda mumbled. 

 

“Of course, you’d have to like the most boring channel on the network.” 

 

“History isn’t boring. You want boring; I’ll give you boring.” She hopped off the step stool and ran for the remote. Zinnia’s favorite. The Home Shopping Network. It would be on for hours! How anyone could sit and watch an hour straight about a purse… When she turned on the telly, it was a news report, the same one from this morning. She had been so busy with school work she hadn’t been paying attention, but now she stood and watched with rapt attention. No matter how many times Matilda had pestered Jenny, she had refused to tell her what exactly had happened. Something about a camp? She knew the gist of it, but as she listened to the news broadcast, the missing pieces fell into place. 

 

“I thought you were making food?” Hortensia asked, sticking her head out from the kitchen. 

 

“Is that what happened to you?” Matilda couldn’t stop herself from asking. Hortensia averted her eyes and shrugged. 

 

“I don’t know.” she mumbled. 

 

“How do you not know?” 

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Hortensia said. “Food!” 

 

“Let me finish wa-” Matilda stopped. The telly flicked itself off. 

 

“Food.” Hortensia repeated. Matilda looked for the remote, but it was still beside her. Had she sat on it? Or had the telly burnt out? She shrugged it off and stood before making her way over to the Scrabble board on the coffee table to play a quick word. The only person who could beat her was herself. 

 

The air was tense between them when Matilda got back to work on cooking. Every attempt at conversations was met with one word answers. Hortensia seemed to be lost in thought, but at least she hadn’t gone catatonic. 

 

“Are you okay?” Matilda asked as they sat across from each other at the table each with a piece of quiche. She had done it now. She had brought up the topic she had been forbidden from asking and now Matilda was desperate to make amends. 

 

“I’m fine.” Hortensia growled at her. “Quit it.” Her brain searched for something. Anything. 

 

“What do you think of Brian?” she blurted out. Hortensia shrugged. Matilda noticed she wasn’t eating. “And you’re okay with walking to the school?” Hortensia shrugged again. “Rescue me from them!” 

 

“From who?” 

 

“The office ladies!” At this, Hortensia’s eyes finally seemed to focus on her. 

 

“Pft, I don’t see them being bitchy to you.” 

 

“It’s worse than that!” 

 

“I don’t believe you.”

 

…..

 

“Oh, Matilda! How sweet! You’re such a good girl coming over and bringing your mommy lunch!” Naomi squealed. Matilda’s eyes drifted to Hortensia and gave her a look that said, ‘see?’. 

 

“Uh, yeah, I’m going to go see my mom now. Have a nice day, Mrs. Stephens” Matilda said. 

 

“She’s so cute!” They both could hear as they headed towards the back of the office. 

 

“Where do you think you're going without permission?” Another voice boomed. The girls stopped in their tracks at a new voice behind them. Mrs. Henderson, the third year teacher. 

 

“To Miss Honey’s office.” Matilda said. The woman waved her away.

 

“No, I know you are sweetheart, I mean you.” She gestured at Hortensia,  “Why aren’t you in class? Let me see your hall pass!” the woman demanded. 

 

“I don’t have one. I haven’t-”

 

“Detention!” Mrs. Henderson roared.

 

“But I’m not-”

 

“Do you want to make it two?” 

 

“I haven’t even-” 

 

“Another word out of your mouth and it will be three!” Hortensia’s shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Mrs. Henderson let out a “hmph” before pushing past. Matilda burst into giggles. 

 

“You’ve been here for less than a minute and you already have detention.” Hortensia grumbled something unintelligible under her breath. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Jenny what happened.” 

 

Hortensia looked like she had eaten something sour. They could hear whispering all around them.

 

“She looks terrible.” Matilda craned her neck around. Mrs. Stephens and Mrs. Alto were huddled together staring at the two of them. “What do you think she’s sick with? Do you think she’s contagious? Did she say what was wrong with her?”

 

“I was hoping she got expelled.”

 

“Sush, I think she can hear you.”

 

“You’re one to talk, loud mouth.” 

 

Matilda stopped walking and stared at them. They weren’t even trying to keep their voices down. She felt something heavy crash into the back of her. Hortensia hadn’t noticed she had stopped walking and collided with her, sending her crashing to the ground. Her eyes began to water from the shock of it. That was when the shouting started. 

 

“MISS HONEY’S OFFICE! NOW!” It was Mrs. Phelps this time, Hortensia’s teacher. She’d at least have noticed Hortensia’s absence, but the old woman had grabbed Hortensia by the back of her shirt and began pushing her forward like a prisoner. Matilda pushed herself up and staggered after them. What could she possibly be in trouble for now? At least Hortensia had been the one carrying the quiche, although Matilda could have done without getting smacked in the back of the head by the tray. 

 

When they turned the corner, she could see her mom coming out of her office. 

 

“Jennifer!” Mrs. Phelps said, a stern angry note in her voice that made Matilda cower despite not even being the one in trouble. “I just saw this one push your kid to the ground. You going to do something about her now?” 

 

Miss Honey’s eyes shifted from Hortensia to Matilda. 

 

“It was an acc-” Matilda tried to say, but the accusation had set Hortensia off. 

 

“I did not shove her, you blind old bat!” Matilda inwardly sighed. She always made things worse for herself. 

 

“Tens, stop.” Miss Honey said. She raised and lowered her palms in a settle down gesture, but this only seemed to infuriate her more. 

 

“What are you telling me to stop for? She’s accusing me of things I didn’t do! Again!” Hortensia had often said the school had it out for her, usually resulting in Matilda rolling her eyes. But now that she had seen how everyone treated her she was starting to wonder. 

 

“It was an accident. I stopped in front of her.” Matilda said. Mrs. Phelps turned to glare at her.

 

“Do not interrupt me, young lady! I won’t hesitate to put you in detention with her. Children should not correct adults.” The shock of the threat was enough to reduce Matilda to tears. She had never been in trouble at school before. 

 

“Girls, go wait for me in my office.” Miss Honey said. So they waited. And waited. And waited.

 

“Should have just made sandwiches.” Matilda mumbled. “Not like you ate any of it anyway.” At this, Hortensia peeled back the seal on the dish and cut herself out a small piece. 

 

“Happy?” Hortensia said through a mouth full. 

 

“Why don’t you eat anymore?” Matilda asked. She had witnessed her mom practically force feeding her since she had come back. They had gone from joking about enrolling her in a hot dog eating contest just to feed her lunch to not being allowed up from the table until she ate at least half a serving.

 

“I’m not hungry.” Hortensia said. She was staring at the sliver in her hand. “Do I have to eat this?”

 

“Do you not like it?” 

 

“I do. I just don’t enjoy food anymore.” Matilda frowned in thought. 

 

“Why? Is it the taste?” Hortensia shook her head. “The texture?” She shook her head again. “Do you think you’re fat? Are you anorexic? Is that why you’ve lost so much weight?” 

 

“What, no? I haven’t lost weight.”

 

“You look like a zombie. Maybe you’re turning into a zombie. People food isn’t doing it for you anymore because you crave braaaiiinnnssss.” She stuck her arms out in front of her and mimed walking like the living dead. A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Hortensia’s lips. 

 

“Maybe I should start with yours since it’s so big.” 

 

“No, no. Mine hasn’t fully formed yet, it isn’t ripe. You need a mature brain, like Mrs. Phelps.” Hortensia’s face soured.

 

“Eww, that’s too old. It’s probably gone bad. What do you want to bet her brain looks like a shriveled nut sack?” 

 

“Eww.” Matilda said, before pausing in thought. “Is everyone always this mean to you?” She asked, changing the subject. Hortensia shrugged. “How do you deal with it?” Matilda was still shaken up. She had thought things would be better with the Trunchbull gone, that perhaps they were only cruel under her orders, but now she could see that was only wishful thinking. Nothing had changed. Mrs. Stephens and the other ladies in the office had seen what had happened and yet, none had come forward in Hortensia’s defense. Not with Mrs. Henderson and not with Mrs. Phelps. Matilda had tried to stick up for her, but it had only made things worse.

 

Would Jenny make the situation right? Could she? Even if she was the boss, she often took a backseat to arguments, couldn’t handle confrontation. She hadn’t said anything to Mrs. Phelps when she had lashed out at her, had merely told them to wait in her office, and that had been, what? 20 minutes ago?  What if Matilda had been in the wrong? What if she came back fuming at her for making Jenny look bad? 

 

“I’ve never been in trouble with the teachers before.” Matilda mumbled. With Jenny, sure. Matilda was self aware enough even at her age to know she could be…how did Jenny put it…stubbornly willful. Hortensia often called her a fucking know it all. Matilda liked to make up words that sounded like insults to hurl at her when they were fighting and giggle when she couldn’t find them in the dictionary. Once she had even made up a country when Hortensia demanded to know what language she was speaking. Matilda had even gone as far as to convince Brian’s kids to call her an “ovalarskin” and then look at her like she was dumb when she asked what that was. But damn it, she was her “ovalarskin” and she was feeling angry to see her so mistreated by all the adults around her. 

 

“That’s because they think you’re a little angel.” Hortensia said sarcastically. “With your ‘yes ma'ams’, and ‘please’.” 

 

“You get farther with them if you’re polite.” Matilda said. “But I think nice Matilda needs a break now.” Hortensia’s eyebrows went up. “Have you ever been in a hardware store before?”

 

“Of course i’ve been in a hardware store. I don’t live under a rock.” 

 

“Did you know they sell li-” Matilda stopped talking as the door opened and Miss Honey entered looking exhausted and stressed. Without saying a word to either of them she unwrapped the quiche, cut herself out a large slice and collapsed into her chair. 

 

“I needed this.” She groaned through a mouthful. No one said anything as Miss Honey scarfed down nearly half the pan single handedly. Finally, she swiped at the crumbs coating her desk and brushed them into her hand. Matilda was starting to think she was going to eat those too, but she dumped them into the trashcan by her desk. She stared at the two of them and sighed.

“What happened out there?”

“That bi-” Hortensia started to say before Matilda cut in.

 

“Maybe I should say, before you get yourself in trouble.” Hortensia let out an annoyed breath before waving her hand and motioning for her to talk. 

 

“They’ve been going after her since the moment we got here.” Matilda said. “Mrs. Henderson gave her a detention when Hortensia didn’t have a hall pass, and then another when she tried to explain why she didn’t have one. She didn’t let her say anything! Then the office kept gossiping about her like she wasn’t even there. I was so surprised when one of them said ‘I had hoped she had gotten expelled’ I stopped walking and Hortensia must have bumped into me. That’s when Mrs. Phelps started yelling at her about pushing me. Am I really going to have a detention? I didn’t mean to talk back, it’s just, no one was defending her at all and it made me mad!” 

 

“No, no one’s getting detention.” Miss Honey said before sighing. “I did have a long talk with the women in the office. Mrs. Stephens admitted it was only an accident.” 

 

“Then why didn’t she say that to begin with?” Hortensia said, throwing her hands in the air. “She saw the whole thing with Mrs. Henderson too!” 

 

“Matilda, how’s your head? I heard you got smacked pretty good.” 

 

“Hurts.” Matilda whimpered, rubbing the back of her head. In truth, Mrs. Phelps had caused her more grief than the dish to the back of the scalp, but she wasn’t about to admit that in front of Hortensia. Miss Honey gave her a sympathetic smile.

 

“How about you go see Mrs. Rogers and get some ice. Oh, and bring this. See if she wants any.” She said before adding under her breath, “Before I eat it all.” Matilda giggled despite knowing she was being kicked out. She hadn’t seen her mom eat so much since she had gotten high. She obediently slipped out of the chair, grabbed the dish, and left the office.

 

…

 

“Now,” Miss Honey said once they were alone. She stared at Hortensia. “In your own words, tell me what happened.” 

 

“Bi-”

 

“Without swearing.”

 

“You said ‘in my own words’.” she grumbled before sighing. “No one wants me here. Do I have to come back?” 

 

“I think it’s still too soon.” Miss Honey said. “You’re still not eating and you still…” Miss Honey frowned in thought. “You’re not ready.” 

 

“I still what?” Hortensia asked.

 

“You’re not yourself yet. I might have you do lessons here with Matilda for a bit, before I send you back to class. You’ve got some catching up to do. But when you are ready to come back, there will be some changes. In fact, starting now there will be changes.” Her tone had gone sharp. Hortensia sank down in her seat like a child being scolded. “I called a staff meeting while you girls were waiting. I made it very clear to them they will not be treating you like a criminal any longer. This is a school; not a prison. You are a child; not an inmate. Whatever happened between you and any member of this staff is in the past and they are to treat you like a new student with a clean slate.” 

 

“Like that’ll happen.” Horrtensia said sarcastically. 

 

“That goes for you as well, Tens. I want this to be an opportunity for you to start over. I know you’re a good kid. You are intelligent, brave, and a good big sister.” 

 

“I’m not smart.” Hortensia mumbled looking away. 

 

“You have picked up math faster than I thought possible this summer.” 

 

“A six-year-old can do it.” Hortensia said morosely. 

 

“You can’t compare yourself to Matilda, she’s in a completely different league than anyone I have or probably will ever meet. She operates on a different wavelength than the rest of us. We’re all tuned into AM/FM stations and she's broadcasting out to space. I’m not here to talk about Matilda though, I want to talk about you.” 

 

Hortensia shrugged. “I guess.” she mumbled.

 

 “Tens,” Miss Honey said, “Please look at me.” Hortensia slowly lifted her head and locked eyes with her. “I can neither make you let go of all the anger inside of you, nor can I ask you to. I can only warn you of what harboring hate for years will turn you into it. You’ve seen it in my aunt. I can not take away the pain or damage, although I desperately wish I could. I wish I could turn back the clock. I wish I could stop everything from happening to you, but I can’t. I’m only human. What I can offer you is love and a place in my mismatched, pieced together family. You’ll always be welcome, but you have a choice to make. It wasn’t fair what happened to you. It wasn’t fair what happened to you and it wasn’t fair what happened to me. You can silently hold on to this hate and let it make you bitter and cruel. Or you can take all this pain no one should have had to experience and channel it.” Jennifer reached into her desk drawer and pulled something out.

 

Hortensia looked away as her shoulders slumped. “You want me to stop fighting with the teachers. I get it.” She grumbled. 

 

“No.” Jennifer said. Hortensia looked up at her confused. “I want you to fight them. I want you to be the biggest pain in their arse you can be.” Hortensia stared at her flabbergasted as Jennifer held out her palm to reveal a small golden letter “P” pin. 

 

“You’re crazy.” Hortensia said, looking from the pin to her. Jennifer laughed. 

 

“Who I want you to stop fighting with is the other students. Not everyone here has the courage to speak up for themselves. You know better than anyone how infuriating being treated unfairly can be. Now this doesn’t mean you get to unleash an army of ladybugs in a classroom because someone got their recess taken away for being late.”

 

“I only did that one time.” Hortensia said.

 

“And Mrs. Henderson is still finding dead ladybugs in her classroom three years later.” Jennifer said, causing Hortensia to snicker. “Where did you even get that many lady bugs from?”

 

“You can buy them in a bag at the hardware store.” Jennifer shook her head. She remembered that day. It was her first year teaching and the sound of Mrs. Henderson’s screams had abruptly put a stop to story time. Jennifer had been appalled to hear that kind of language coming from a teachers mouth, and aimed at a student no less. 

 

“First you let me break things with a bat, and now you want me to talk back to the teachers?” 

 

“Within reason.” Jennifer pointed out. “That does not mean you get to call anyone names. I’ll be having this talk with all the prefects.”  Hortensia stared down at the pin in her hand, closely examining it as she twirled it back and forth between her fingers. 

 

“I’ll just get in more trouble.” Hortensia mumbled. “They’ll give me detention the moment I open my mouth.”

 

“And if you do and I find it unjustified I’ll over ride it.” Jennifer said. “But if I find out you called anyone a ‘bitch’ or ‘hag’ you better believe you’ll be serving whatever punishment they dish out. You can disagree with someone and still be respectful about it. But if I find out your abusing your position, I’ll take that pin right back.” Hortensia stared at the pin before holding it back out to her. Jennifer shook her head. “Keep it and think it over. I trust you.” And she did. She had discovered something interesting over the summer about her. The more she was treated like a delinquent, the more she acted like one. And being on hall moniter duty would give her additional time on her feet and a chance to expel the extra pent up energy that made her so disruptive in the classroom. “Any questions?” 

 

Hortensia didn’t respond, only stared down at her hand which was now empty. Jennifer craned her neck around her desk to see the pin on the ground, but Hortensia made no move to pick it up, only sat perfectly still and stared.

 

“Hortensia?” Nothing. “Tens? Are you alright?” Jennifer turned her head sideways and put her head on her desk to look into Hortensia’s eyes. Blank. She was having one of her fits, which meant…. A wet gurgling sound soon followed. “Ah.” They would have to get to the bottom of this before Jennifer felt comfortable sending her back to class. She stood and made her way before lightly touching the girls shoulder. “Tens, can you hear me?” Nothing. She gave her shoulder a light shake. She didn’t react in the slightest. 

 

Jennifer gently lifted her face by the chin and it stayed there when she let go, eyes staring straight ahead at her, but there was nothing in them. She had gone someplace else, someplace safe. That’s what her psychiatrist said anyway. She hoped whatever this was was temporary. 

 

Jennifer picked up Hortensia’s backpack, hoping she had packed what Jennifer had asked her to. Good. There was a spare nappy. She pulled it out and rummaged around some more pushing aside empty bags of chips. Jennifer stared at them curiously for a moment. They were all cut open, laid out and looked like they had been cleaned. Hortensia had been saving them for some reason.  They hadn’t been there before the hospital, but they hadn’t come from home. Jennifer tried not to keep too much junk in the house as she had found her own clothing becoming a little more snug than she was comfortable with. She wondered briefly where she had gotten them from, but it was a mystery for another time. At least she was eating something. She dug around a bit longer before checking the front pocket. There they were! Gloves! Or more like glove. She frowned. Only one. And no creams or wipes. 

 

“Looks like we’re going to Carol’s office.” 

 

“Looks like we’re going to Carol’s office.” Hortensia repeated in a flat monotone voice. Jennifer stared at her. 

 

“Hortensia? Are you awake?” 

 

“Are you awake?” 

 

“Can you hear me?”

 

“Can you hear me?” Hortensia mimicked. 

 

Jennifer stared at her in surprise. This was… new. She waved a hand in front of her face before snapping her fingers. Hortensia didn’t react, just stared straight ahead with the same dead eyed expression. She put the nappy back where she had found it and slung the pack over her shoulder. She hoisted Hortensia up by the arms into a standing position before linking an arm with hers. Jennifer hated the idea of parading her through the office like this, but she wanted Carol to see. 

She ignored the curious glances as she slowly guided Hortensia through the busy front office, out the door, and across the hall where she found Matilda talking with Lavender. 

 

“Hi, Miss Honey!” Lavender called.

 

“Hi, Miss Honey.” Hortensia repeated. The girls stared at her. 

 

“Is it recess?” Jennifer asked. Hortensia echoed the question.  Lavender nodded, still staring curiously at the older girl. “Matilda, how about you and Lavender  go out and play. I’ve got something I need to take care of. I’ll be a bit.” 

 

“I’ll be a bit.” 

 

Matilda looked from Jennifer, to Hortensia, and then back to Jennifer. “O-okay?” Matilda said, sounding more like a question than a statement. “Why are you repeating what we say?”

 

“...what we say.” Lavender giggled thinking it was a game, but Matilda furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“I don’t know.” Jennifer answered truthfully earning herself an echo. “She’ll come to in a bit. Go play.” 

 

“Go play.”  Matilda stared at them a moment longer before turning and heading out to the playground with Lavender. 

 

“Jennifer, thanks for the food!” Carol said, looking up from her book as they walked inside.

 

“Thanks for the food.” Hortensia muttered.

 

“You know if she gives up on being a doctor, a chef could be a good second.” 

 

“A chef could be a good second.” 

 

“See, she agrees with me.” 

 

“She agrees with me.” 

 

Carol rolled her eyes. “A little too old to be mimicking people.” Hortensia repeated her admonishment.

 

“Problem.” Jennifer mouthed over her head and pointed at her. Carol stared at her curiously before wrinkling her face. She covered her nose and waved a hand in front of her face. “She usually zones out when she has an accident, but now she’s repeating everything she hears.” Jennifer whispered in Carol’s ear. Carol looked Hortensia over for a moment.

 

“Are you sure she’s not messing around?” 

 

“Are you sure she’s not messing around?” 

 

Jennifer nodded and bit her lip. There was no life in her eyes, and the way she repeated everything in a flat monotone pitch… Something about it made the hair on Jennifer’s arms rise. It was unsettling. 

 

Carol leaned down in Hortensia’s face and began to make silly gestures, even going so far as to stick up her middle finger, something Jennifer didn’t appreciate, but Hortensia failed to react at all. 

 

“Hortensia? Can you hear me?” Carol asked before receiving an echo in reply. Carol frowned before shrugging. “Does she usually snap out of it on her own?”

 

“Once I change her. Can I have some wipes and gloves? She packed a spare but nothing to clean her with.”

 

“Have you ever let her stay like this and see if she wakes up on her own?” Jennifer nodded and held up a single finger. Never again. 

 

“What happened?”

 

“Started screaming like she was having one of her fits, but more…” Jennifer frowned trying to come up with the right words. “Like a toddler having a meltdown.” Feet, arms, fists, legs and poo flying every which way. “It’s better to take care of it before it gets to that point. I have to manually move her, but she’ll stay that way, see.” Jennifer lifted up Hortensia’s arm and it stayed in the air. Carol’s expression turned grim. She looked like she wanted to say something, but shook her head and went to retrieve the supplies. 

 

When Jennifer finished, she came back out to find Carol combing through a very large volume. It was the same one she often caught Matilda going through, the nursing textbook with all the graphic pictures. 

 

“Has she come to yet?” Carol asked without looking up. 

 

“Takes a bit usually, ten minutes at most, but she’s often very disoriented. I try and be there when she wakes up.”

 

“Have you talked to her doctor about this?” 

 

“Yes, her psychiatrist says her spacing out is a trauma response.” But Carol shook her head.

 

“That’s not ‘spacing out’.” She slid the book over so Jennifer could read the paragraph. She bent down and read the headline. Akinetic Catatonia. She breezed though the article, not understanding half the medical jargon, but stopped when she saw the list of symptoms. 

 

“What’s negavatism?” Jennifer asked as she read through the list. She didn’t like how much this sounded like her. She liked the treatment and causes even less. Schitzophrenia? Brain tumors? Electro convulsive therapy? 

 

“You saw how she didn’t respond when I was making faces and talking to her.” Jennifer pinched the bridge of her nose and slid the book back. “Jen, she might need inpatient care.”

 

“No.” Jennifer said. “I am not leaving her at some mental hospital and wiping my hands of her. She’s a child!”

 

“I’m not saying drop her off and forget about her, it’s just something you might need to consider. She needs help.” 

 

“And i’m getting her help.” She could feel herself growing defensive. She took a deep breath.

 

“It could be as simple as a change in medication. I’m only talking worst case scenario, i’m not a psychiatrist.” Carol said. They both looked up at the sound of rustling plastic. She was coming to. Jennifer went to her side as Hortensia slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. 

 

“Easy. Easy.” Jennifer whispered as Hortensia wobbled and held her head in her hands. 

 

“Do you know where you are?” Carol asked. Hortensia nodded. “Do you know how you got here?” Hortensia nodded again. “Can you speak?”

 

“Yes.” She mumbled before staring at Jennifer. And then she said something that made her stomach drop. “You’re poisoning me.”

 

[AdultInnocence]

Oh dang! Thank you for the new chapter. We got spoiled and got used to the frequent updates this one took a while! Now I'm really curious.

[CDfm]

I was definitely missing the story.  I hope life is treating you well enough and you just took some more time for yourself.  I know how tight time can get.  I saw this last night but was just too tired to read the entire chapter.  Work today was 12 hours of nonstop hell so I just now managed to finish it.  
Loved the chapter.  Again I was laughing and cringing here and there.  The comment “What do you want to bet her brain looks like a shriveled nut sack?”  had me doing both at the same time.  As the chapter progresses you really start pulling the heart strings again.  Can’t help but be concerned about Hortensia.  The last thing I would want to see is her being placed in an institution for treatment.  I will be ready to read more whenever you get a chance to put more out. 

[SashaButters]

10 hours ago, AdultInnocence said:

Oh dang! Thank you for the new chapter. We got spoiled and got used to the frequent updates this one took a while! Now I'm really curious.

Yeah, sorry. Things are a little hectic on my end. We are in the process of moving so lots of construction to fix up the place. Hammers and drills don't make the best writing ambiance. 🥲

[Mazamune]

Hey there.

Thank you for this new chapter and the one before. Sorry for not commenting sooner as life pulled me away from the forum for a couple of weeks.

The big reveals were well brought and it's good to have explanations for a some mysteries around Jenny and Horthensia. Sadly knowing things don't always make them better and recovery will be long.

You sure know how to keep us on our toes with an other cliff hanger.

Good luck with your construction, I know how this kind of project could be.

With hope to read more when you can.

Cheers !

[SashaButters]

“What?” was all Jennifer could manage to get out. Poisoning her? Poisoning her how? “She, she gets confused when she comes out of it.” she explained when she had found her tongue. But she couldn’t get the words out of her head for the rest of the day. The accusation hung over her head all the following week as well, and the weeks after that. Hortensia hadn’t said anything more on the subject and Carol had taken her word for it, but as they sat at the dinner table, another untouched plate in front of the preteen, Jennifer started to wonder.

 

“Tens, we need to talk after dinner.” Jennifer said. 

 

“I didn’t do anything.” Hortensia mumbled, elbow resting on the white dining room table cloth, head propped up by her fist. 

 

“Yes you did!” Matilda said. 

 

“What did I do?” Hortensia argued.

 

“What didn’t you do?” Matilda insisted.

 

“We can talk about it later when Matilda’s in the bath.” Jennifer said. 

 

“Tell me now.” Hortensia said in a bored voice. “I don’t care.” Matilda looked up from her plate, hopeful to hear what trouble Hortensia had gotten herself into now, but Jennifer only shook her head. 

 

“Later.” Hortensia made a dissatisfied noise. 

 

“You can’t just drop a, ‘we need to talk’ on me.” 

 

Matilda giggled. “She thinks you’re breaking up with her.” 

 

“I do not!” Hortensia grumbled. “Can’t you tell me what it’s about?” 

 

“We have a meeting at the police station tomorrow.” Jennifer said. Hortensia’s eyes briefly flicked over to meet hers before looking away. “Matilda, if you’re done eating, please go upstairs and get ready for bed.” 

 

“Bed? It’s only six!” 

 

“I didn’t say you had to go to bed, I said please go get ready for bed. Take a bath, brush your teeth, put on your pajamas, read.” Matilda slowly slid off her chair and turned to leave. “Put your plate in the sink, please.” Without a word, the plate rose into the air and into the sink before she made her way up the stairs, visibly sulking as she did so. “She’s going to be a handful when she’s a teenager.” Jennifer said, but Hortensia didn’t react. 

 

“Why do we have to go to the police station?” Hortensia mumbled after a minute of silence. 

 

“I think we’re meeting with the detective, I’m not sure. I just want you to be prepared in case they start asking you questions.” 

 

“I don’t know anything.” Hortensia said softly. Jennifer gave her a sympathetic smile. 

 

“I know it’s difficult to talk about, trust me, I know, but it’s important they have all the information.” 

 

“I don’t know anything.” Hortensia repeated. Jennifer didn’t believe her. There were too many injuries. Too many inconsistencies in her story. Too much pain in her eyes. And the odd erratic behavior. She knew.  Drugs or no drugs. She knew.

 

“Okay.” Jennifer said. She wouldn’t push her. “Can I ask you something?” Hortensia wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Are you aware you’ve been, what’s the word, dissociating?” 

 

“I don’t know what that means.” Hortensia said into her still full plate as she moved mashed potatoes back and forth with her fork. 

 

“Spacing out… intently.. to the point you…” She could see the girl freeze in place even without actually verbalizing it. “Hey, It’s okay.” Jennifer whispered. She could see her eyes growing glossy. Jennifer had obviously struck a sore spot, but it was time it was addressed. She had tried to fish for answers on numerous occasions, but all she had ever accomplished was shutting her down even more. So Jennifer had held her tongue and passed on her symptoms to her doctors, but even she was growing more reluctant. More and more medication was being added, which left her scrambling even more trying to distinguish symptoms from side effects. 

 

Repeating words of others? Side effect. Switch medication. Fixes problem. Mood Swings intensify. Increases medication. No energy. Lowers medication and adds a secondary pill. Stomach ache. And on and on it went. But it all still hadn’t fixed the original problem of the trances. 

 

 Not a side effect. Get referred to a neurologist to check for seizures. Not seizures. Told the source is psychological. Referred back to Psychiatrist. Same run around with the accidents. Everything had healed and there was nothing physically wrong. Which was a relief, in a way. She didn’t have a head injury from the attack, no swollen blood vessels ready to pop, no hemorrhages, no lesions. She had dotted her i’s and crossed her t’s, but It had caused a bit of contempt in their relationship. 

 

Doctor’s appointments, medicine, nappies and food. That’s what they always fought over. Not homework, or curfews and bedtimes. 

 

 

 

Hortensia mumbled something unintelligible before pushing her plate aside and burying her face in the crook of her arm on the table. Her shoulders began to rise and fall as her breath came in great heaving sobs. “So you are in there?” Jennifer asked gently. 

 

Hortensia nodded. 

 

“Would you tell me what’s going on when it happens?” Jennifer asked. She got up from her spot on the table and came around.

 

“I feel funny.”  

 

“Are you upset when it happens?” Hortensia shrugged. Her psychiatrist said it was stress triggered, her way of escaping a difficult situation. “Is it because you’ve had an accident? Are you panicking?” It’s what she had always assumed was going on. Because it didn’t seem like arguing with her set it off, lord only knew how much they fought, and not once had she froze as an out.  (And give Jennifer the last word in an argument? Ha!) 

 

No, she had never seen Hortensia retreat from any visible stress. She had seen her freeze during dinner while being forced to eat, and while doing lessons, and while yes, that could be seen as a stressful situation, she had also seen her freeze mid Mario Kart race, but she had been doing terribly, crashing into walls and such ( even Jennifer had managed to keep her cart on the track) so maybe losing to your headmistress was considered a stressful event. But, sometimes she just stumbled onto her like that, slouched over on the couch or lying in bed. Or sometimes, she’d smell her from the kitchen and she’d know what she’d walk out to. 

 

The soiled nappies were the only constant. Usually she was just wet, but sometimes… she wasn’t. It was… difficult, cleaning those up. Usually Jennifer would put her in the shower and stay with her until she woke up, but sometimes it wasn’t an option. And it wasn’t like she had to clean up every bowel movement. It was more like once a week. Her fecal continence had come back, well mostly. (Rest In Peace to her second favorite throw pillow) Jennifer had enacted a new rule.  “No one is allowed to run around in their knickers.” 

 

“It’s just like a big pad that wraps around. It’s really not that different.” She tried to say. At first it was only when they left the house, but after a few mishaps on the rug and the couch, she had made her keep it on.

 

“But the heat!” Hortensia had protested. So she had made the rule in solidarity. If Hortensia had to roast, so did the rest of them. At least it was cooling down now. 

 

    Jennifer had gotten rather lax around the girls and had found herself downstairs…not prepared to receive company. The markings on her skin no longer even garnered a second glance from either of them. The summer had been an unbearably hot one and one horrifically miserable night had left them all downstairs in their knickers as Hortensia lamented to Matilda about how terrible getting boobs were. 

 

Matilda hadn’t responded, she had been nestled tight against Jennifer’s chest despite her hot, sticky skin and was utterly sacked out. Jennifer hadn’t minded. She had laid on her back and stroked the girl's hair from her sweat streaked face. 

 

“I’m going to be sad when she’s too old for this.” Jennifer had said softly. Hortensia glanced over for a moment and resumed her drawing. 

 

“How old is too old?” 

 

“I don’t know. Nine or ten?” Jennifer could have sworn she saw something on Hortensia’s face then, but maybe she only imagined it in the dark room with only the telly to see by. Maybe it had only been wishful thinking. She had been glued to Jennifer for the first three days she had come back, but then as things settled down she had gone back to her usual ways of keeping her arm length away. She was hesitant to touch her even now, sure Hortensia would smack her hands away or scream obscenities before locking herself away in her bedroom. 

 

“Would you tell me what’s gotten you so upset?” Jennifer asked softly. Hortensia shook her head, still hiding her face in the crook of her arm. “Is it about tomorrow?” Shake. “Tens, please talk to me. I only want to help.” 

 

“You can’t. You just make everything worse!” Jennifer bit back a frustrated sigh. 

 

“How am I making things worse?” No response. “Tens?” 

 

“You just do.” How helpful. 

 

“Would you answer my earlier question?”

 

“Wh-what question?” She mumbled followed by a wet sounding sniffle. 

 

“When you have an accident are…” Jennifer trailed off as Hortensia’s sobs intensified. Ah. “It’s okay, Tens. Really, it is.” she whispered.

 

“It’s not okay!” Hortensia wailed. 

 

“Tens, is this why you’re starving yourself? To try and avoid having accidents?” Hortensia shook her head, but she wasn’t sure she believed her. “You need to eat. Starving yourself is only going to make you more miserable. If you have an accident, you have an accident. It’s not the end of the world. You don’t have to be afraid.” 

 

“I’m not afraid!” Hortensia growled. 

 

“Then tell me what you feel when it happens.” 

 

“Tired.” Hortensia mumbled. 

 

“Tired?” Too tired to get up and use the bathroom? No. 

 

“What else?”

 

“Dizzy, and sick, like I need to lie down.” Interesting. She did often find her sprawled out. 

 

“So you feel it coming on? These…episodes?” Nod. “And then what happens?” 

 

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Came the mumbled response. No. She was shutting back down. It was so difficult to get her to open up. 

 

“It’s important.”

 

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

 

“Tens, please don’t shut me out. We need to get to the bottom of this. If it’s stress, that’s fine, but I need to know there isn’t something else going on.” 

 

“Leave me alone!” 

 

Jennifer sighed. “Tens, you can tell me what’s going on. No matter what it is. I’m here for you.” She placed a hand lightly on her back. “I love yo-” Jennifer gasped in pain and held her stomach. That little… Hortensia had taken her elbow and slammed it into her stomach. Jennifer grabbed her wrist and held it up before grabbing her chin and forcing her to meet her eyes.

 

“Look at me! I don’t care how upset you are. We do not hit people!” Jennifer said. 

 

“Don’t touch me! Let me go!” The girl began to wriggle out her grasp.

 

“Then don’t hit me!” Jennifer shouted back before releasing her.  

 

“Don’t tell me what to do! You’re not my mom!” She was glaring daggers now, not in defiance, but rage. 

 

“One more word out of your mouth and you’re going straight to bed!” Jennifer turned away and leaned over the sink like she was going to be sick. She took a deep breath before turning back around. Hortensia was pacing back and forth in agitation like a bull ready to lunge. So it was going to be that kind of night. Jennifer opened the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of pills from the top shelf. She slowly shook one out in her palm all the while staring pointedly into her face.  Night night Hortensia. 

 

“No. No. I’m sorry. I’m fine.” Hortensia held up her hands defensively.  

Twenty minutes and she’d be out like a light. Her medication to pull her out of a rage attack worked a little too well. Getting her to take them was another story. It was like trying to give a cat a pill. Sometimes the sight of the bottle was enough to calm her down if she wasn’t too far gone. Other times she needed Matilda’s help if she felt like Hortensia was a danger to herself or others. Psychic powers really came in handy pinning her down in an emergency.

 

An elbow to the gut would have earned her a tablet, but Jennifer wanted to salvage the conversation. 

 

“Are you?” Jennifer asked, a note of skepticism hung in the air.  

 

“Yes!” Hortensia said, eyes rolling and voice thick with enough attitude and resentment that Jennifer debated giving it to her anyway. 

 

“Are you going to sit back down and talk to me?” 

 

“I don’t want to talk to you!” 

 

“You can drop the attitude, take a seat and answer my questions, or you can take your medicine  and go to bed. Those are your options.” Hortensia made a series of whining noises and stomping gestures befitting a child half her age. Jennifer had had enough. She pointed to the back door. “Go. Outside. Twenty minutes. Go hit your bag or something, I don’t care. Just go.” Hortensia remainted where she was, glaring defiantly up at her. “GO!” Jennifer yelled. Finally the girl began to move, not towards the back door, but further into the house. “Where do you think you’re going? I said go to the backyard!”

 

“The lou!”

 

“No, you’re not going to the lou!”

 

“I have to pee!” Jennifer knew her better than that. It was a stalling tactic. She often said she needed to pee before disappearing for twenty minutes. For someone clever enough to tape a Gameboy to the inside of a toilet tank ahead of time, you’d think she’d be smart enough to turn the volume down. 

 

“You can hold it for twenty minutes.” 

“No, I can’t! I really need to pee!” But she exhibited no outward signs of distress that Jennifer could see. No wigging, squirming, or dancing. She was calling her bluff.

 

“Good thing you’re wearing a nappy then. Out!” 

 

“No, I’m not!” Hortensia lied despite the clear outline under her shorts. 

 

“OUT!” 

 

“FUCK YOU!” Hortensia screamed. “I HATE YOU!” She stormed out of the house, slamming the back door on the way out. 

 

Jennifer collapsed into the nearest chair at the table, passing the prescription bottle from one hand to the other. Place one tablet under tongue as needed for outbursts. Her vision began to blur. She felt like she was failing. Hortensia was slipping away more and more everyday and there was nothing she could do. Was this normal preteen behavior? She stared at the bottle and debated taking one herself.  The thought of a dreamless, drug induced slumber sounded like heaven. An intrusive urge to dump the entire bottle in her mouth buzzed around in her head like a fly that kept returning no matter how many times she batted it away. 

 

Eventually, she stood up and put the bottle away, save one tablet which she slipped into her pocket just in case. For Hortensia, she told herself before setting the kettle on the stove. She had just finished pouring herself a mug of tea when the doorbell rang. She stared at the clock before deciding to ignore whoever it was. Now wasn’t a good time for company. But the doorbell rang again. And again. And again. 

 

Feeling irritated, she went to the backdoor to make sure Hortensia wasn’t playing a trick on her, but she was outback with her punching bag where she was supposed to be, not hitting it but holding it against herself in a tight embrace. Jennifer frowned. She debated going out there, but they both needed time apart to simmer down, so she wiped at her eyes and decided to see who it was that couldn’t take a hint. 

 

Jennifer opened the door to find her neighbor who lived across the street from her. He was a short, balding man with gray hair and glasses who fancied himself as a type of neighborhood enforcer. She would often see him going through the neighbors rubbish bin, making sure they recycled and calling the cops for any excessive noise. 

 

“Mr. Fern, “ she said, plastering a fake smile on her face. He made no move to return the gesture. She let her smile fall and waited for him to talk. When no words came, she began with “Is there something wrong?”

 

“Unfortunately, yes, there’s been a number of break ins along the street in the last few weeks, myself included. I'm going door-to-door to warn the others. I know it’s just you and the girls, so I wanted to let you know the neighborhood’s not safe anymore. Please make sure you lock your doors and windows.”

 

“Oh.” Jennifer said with a frown. Her aunt had installed a security system in the midst of one of her manic episodes, but Jennifer hardly remembered to set it before bed. “Thank you for telling me.” He nodded his head in acknowledgement. 

 

“Did the police ever find out who was responsible for vandalizing your car?” 

 

“Oh, that. Just some neighborhood kids.” Jennifer lied before letting out a nervous chuckle. “I work at the school. Easy to make enemies when you’re the one handing out punishments.” 

 

“I thought you teach little kids?” he asked skeptically. 

 

“Oh, I used to, now I’m the headmistress. But breaking in? That's terrible!” He must be having a field day. Maybe now he’d stop harassing her about her rubbish bins not being a full meter from the curb. “How did they get in? I hope they didn’t break your window.” 

 

“No, um” he looked away, seemingly embarrassed. “I left my front door unlocked.”

 

“This isn’t a ‘lock your doors’ kind of area, I understand.” At least it used to be. She couldn’t remember the last time she had heard about an actual robbery being committed on her street. “What did they steal?” He frowned at her question.

 

“Nothing valuable.”

 

“What kind of burglar doesn’t steal anything valuable? He wasn’t a very good burglar then.” 

 

“It was more unsettling.” He explained. Jennifer nodded. The thought of someone coming into her home uninvited and going through her things sent a chill up her spine. “They only took…” Please don’t say knickers. Please don’t say knickers. “Food.” She gave him a confused look. “Yeah, I think my wife scared him off before he could root through the place. Came downstairs and found some guy rummaging around in the fridge. She didn’t get a good look at him, ran upstairs and locked herself in the bedroom as soon as she saw him. He was long gone before the cops arrived. Only thing missing was a bag of deli meat and a jar of pickles.”

 

“How odd. Do you think it was a homeless man?” 

 

“No, I think he was just brazen enough to make himself a snack before turning the place. It reeks of confidence. I think he’s done this before and didn’t expect to get caught. Mrs. Prett said she’s missing 200 pounds out of her desk drawer.” 

 

“How horrid! That's a lot of money!” She exclaimed. Her couple of years living destitute had taught her to appreciate living modestly. The most expensive thing in her home she had bought was the Nintendo 64 she had gotten the girl’s to celebrate her one year anniversary with Matilda. It was a much adored purchase by both children and the heartache of coming home from school to find someone had broken in and stolen it would break them. Not to mention it was her and Brian’s main tool to slip away unnoticed. Other than that, a burglar would be rather disappointed to break into her house. She had either sold, or given away most of her aunt's possessions, except the odd pieces she knew her aunt had an attachment to, like her Precious Moments porcelain figurines she kept in a glass cabinet. Those she smashed with a hammer in the backyard while the girls cheered her on and laughed. Hortensia had the right idea, smashing things to bits was cathartic. 

 

“JENNY! I NEED TO PEE!!” she heard bellowed from the back followed by the backdoor slamming shut. Jennifer winced. 

 

“Haven’t seen her in church for a while.” He said with a sniff. “Might behave herself better if you went to her church instead of your own. I bet she misses her church family.” What she missed was her real family.

 

“We don’t go to church.” she said automatically. He looked scandalized at the very thought. 

 

“Well that’s why she’s misbehaving! All that yelling coming out of your house. She’s crying out for Jesus!” Jennifer’s eyelid twitched. “Take her back, see if she doesn’t straighten out. She never acted this way when her momma was around. She would have smacked that attitude right out of her.”  It had been a rough few weeks. The whole street must know she had some kind of behavioral issue with her hollering. Police had even been called several times anonymously to do a welfare check, thank you Mr. “Your-Bins-Aren't-Two-Meters-From-The-Curb.” 

 

“You know Eve?” She asked. She didn’t even know he had known Hortensia before. “How well?” 

 

“We’ve gone to the same church for the last ten years.” Jennifer’s lips pursed. He went to that church. The one Hortensia had gone to. The one where Hortensia had been… And he wanted her to go back?

 

“No, it’s not safe there, haven’t you seen the news?” Her posture had gone from defensive to offensive as he spoke.

 

“Oh, that’s a lot of bollocks. I know him, he’s a good man! He’s the pastor's son! That family has been a part of that church for generations. Someone’s trying to run his name through the mud. It’ll all blow over once the police realize it’s just some kid telling stories. It’s all a lot of bollocks.” Jennifer’s eyes began to blur. 

 

“There’s a kid in my house going through hell because of him.” She said through clenched teeth. 

 

“Her?” He rocked back and forth on his heels for a moment in thought. “That explains things.” He didn’t say it with pity, but with understanding. “She’d be the type.” Jennifer’s jaw dropped. “Look, I’m not accusing her of anything.” He held up his hands. Jennifer gritted her teeth in anger, fighting the urge to slam the door in his face. She was an adult. She could control herself better than this. “This is a good man’s life we’re talking about. He’s an absolute staple of our church community, and Hortensia, well, she clearly has her problems. We want you to be sure, you know, before you do anything hasty. Wouldn’t want you to make a big deal of this and it blows up in your face.” 

 

“So this is why you’re here? To intimidate me?” Jennifer asked. 

 

“No, not intimidate you, just to, you know, warn you. I wouldn’t want you to go through all this for nothing.” 

 

“Go through all what?” 

 

“Well you know, victims of this kind of crime usually get their reputation trashed just as much as the perpetrator. Her history with these kinds of stories and behavior are going to come out.” 

 

“Are you threatening us?” she demanded.“She’s only eleven-years-old for bloody sake! She’s just a kid!”

 

“I’m just telling it like it is. Everyone hates lawyers for a reason. Eve’s asked us all to keep Hortensia in our prayers for her behavioral issues for years. Any damn lawyer worth his salt is going to find that out.”

 

 So much for “Eve would have smacked the attitude right out of her.” 

 

“Do yourself a favor and drop the whole thing. Even if it did happen, other people are pointing fingers as well. Let them bring the case forward and save yourself the trouble.”

 

“You need to go.” Jennifer said. She was shaking now. “You come here with your fake story about a break in, pretending to care about us, and threaten me.”  

 

“No, no, that part was real, which reminds me, where was she two days ago? Where does she go when she goes out on her bike?”

 

“You said it was a man.” Jennifer had her hand on the door, ready to slam it shut. 

 

“They were in a hoodie, and like I said, she didn’t get a good look at him.” 

 

“It wasn’t her; she hates pickles!” She said before swinging the door shut. She stood in her living room for a solid minute shaking with silent anger. How dare he. How dare he. To accuse her of lying. As if she could fake those injuries… To accuse her of breaking into people’s houses to rob them? An eleven-year-old-girl? 

 

She went to the backyard to see if she had come back yet, but surprise, surprise, she hadn’t. She peeked in the downstairs bathroom, but she was nowhere to be found. Someone’s earning themselves an early bedtime, she thought numbly as she climbed the stairs. She peeked in her room, but she wasn’t there either. She paused in the doorway and sighed. So messy. 

 

“Have you seen Tens?” Jennifer asked, coming into Matilda’s room. “Is she hiding in here?”

 

“Restroom.” Matilda said. She was lying on her stomach with her feet curled behind her, an open book resting in front of her “Ran in while you were coming up the stairs.” Of course. 

 

“You’ve earned yourself a restart of your twenty minutes.” she called, knocking on the bathroom door.

 

“G-go a-w-aw-way!” Jennifer grimaced and softened her voice. 

 

“Would you come out so we can talk?” But there was no response, only sobbing. “Can I come in?”

 

“Go away!” 

 

They went back and forth for a few minutes before Jennifer gave up. 

 

“Okay Tens, I’ll go, you can come out when you’re ready.” She went into Hortensia’s bedroom and sat on the bed and waited. She wondered if she was still crying over their fight, but when a cold chill came through the room and she looked up to find the window open, she had a feeling she wasn’t so fortunate. She stood up and slammed it shut. He was standing across the street in his front yard, watching her. He waved. She shut the blinds.

 

 She needed something to distract herself so she bent and started tidying up. Why was there so much trash in here? All these Crisp wrappers and banana peels. At least she’s not eating only junk … She bent and picked up a half empty bag of sliced bread. Odd taste in snacks, but okay. And then she decided to move the bed away from the wall. Food wrappers of all kinds fell to the floor. 

 

“Hortensia…” Jennifer sighed and bent down to start scooping it up. She was obviously hoarding food, but…why? And not just junk, but bread, yogurt, and granola bars. There was an empty protein shake for diabetics, a half eaten tomato, and cottage cheese. And then she saw it. The pickle jar. 

 

Jennifer sat on the bed, put her face in her hands and cried.

 

[CDfm]

Such a heat breaking chapter. I feel so bad for Hortensia and Jennifer. You can tell Jennifer truly cares for and loves Hortensia.  I just wish she would open up and start to heal. I honestly don’t think she was responsible for the break-in and there’s a good explanation for her having the pickle jar. 
I hope to see the next chapter soon. 

[Mazamune]

Wow, okay...

Horthensia seems to be sinking and fast. I hope Jenny will be able to find why and how to help her.

I fear for Jenny's capacity to wistand the pressure if even the neighbors start to have despicable attitudes like in this chapter.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

Cheers !

[parkintochter]

damn, this story is huge. I'm reading on it for a few days and I'm still only at page 4. Until now, I'm really in love with it! You are an terrific writer! This story even made me watch the movie so I understand the characters better. I guess this will keep me busy for a few days (I don't have that much time to read in a day).