Bully

Chapter 11: Talking with Lori

**ERIC’S POV** 

Barry, Zach, and I were getting ready to play cards. Brent had went to the student’s bus to see if she wanted to play too. Brent was pulling Abrielle along as they boarded the bus. He ordered Barry to call Jake and to bring the med kit. Brent gently pushed her onto the right-side couch before rushing off to the back. None of us saw exactly what the issue was until Zach stood up to find out why.  

“What the fuck happened to you?!” Zach suddenly exclaimed as Barry was on the phone with Jake  

She couldn’t look him, or anyone, in the eyes. Barry and I had moved so we could what Zach was freaking out about. Brent returned with a clean t-shirt. He wrapped it around her bleeding forearm and squeezed to try and stop the bleeding. Glancing up, she found Zach kneeling in front of her. I had moved to kneel on Zach’s left so I could be near her and help with anything that I could. I gently placed my right hand on her right knee in a comforting manner. Had she been attacked? Was it an accident on the bus? Had one of the other student’s done this?! 

“What happened on your bus?” Brent asked, voice soft but still slightly panicked as he kept pressured on her arm  

“What happened? Why did I need the med kit?” Jake asked as soon as he boarded the bus  

“She has a pretty bad cut on her left forearm.” Brent replied  

Jake ordered Zach to move so he could doctor her wound. Brent removed the t-shirt revealing the wound. Barry went to get a couple towels to put down on the floor since she was still bleeding pretty badly. I just looked between her and her bleeding arm.   

“This wound looks deep. She may need to go the hospital if I can’t get the bleeding to stop.” Jake informed us  

“Darlin’ please tell us what happened.” Barry urged, voice cracking slightly  

She couldn’t say anything. It really bothered me why she wouldn’t tell us what happened. She just sat there and watched Jake as he doctored her. She appeared to upset because there were tears in her eyes. My natural instincts were going crazy!  

“Black.” I suddenly stated as the realization of what really happened hit me  

The black band in the bracelet she wore all the time meant “self-harm”. It upset me to know she had done this to herself. If she was so upset why didn’t she come to one of us? Did she not like us? Did she not trust us?  

“Black? What the fuck does that mean?” Jake questioned, cocking his eyebrow  

Zach got it and gasped. I could see the shame she felt wash over her. The realization hit that we knew seemed to sting deeply. All I wanted to do was pull her to me and keep her safe.  

“You did this to yourself, didn’t you?” I questioned with the saddest tone I’d ever heard come out of myself  

All she gave us was silence. The silence told me all I needed to know. It hurt to know she she had actually done this to herself.  

“If she did this to herself, I’d suggest moving her onto your bus for a while. Keep an eye on her. Especially with that wound.” Jake verbalized before turning his eyes to her, “Are you feeling dizzy or nauseas?”  

She shook her head yes. He asked if she meant yes to both so she nodded her head again. He popped open a bottle and handed me a pill. It was an anti-nausea medicine. He told us she should lay down and rest but that she needed to drink plenty of liquids to help replenish what she’d lost nearly bleeding to death. Barry said he’d go fetch her things from their bus. Jake finally left but before he left, he said that if she was still bleeding that we would have to take her to the hospital.