Toziette (Henry Bowers)(English version)

Chapter 11

Jane waited with Beverly for the school to empty so as not to meet anyone. She wasn't scared, but she wanted to move away as much as possible when Richie would see her lip and ask questions.

She walked home slowly, thinking about how to get to Bowers, without saying anything to her family.

Arriving home, she noticed her father's car parked in the driveway, she decided to walk around the house and go straight to his garden shed.

When Jane opened the door, Wentworth was sitting at his desk reading his newspaper. He didn't look up from his newspaper when he asked her:

"What do you want, Jane?"

She wasn't expecting it, he knew it was her even though she hadn't said anything.

"Your mother is more direct and Richie is always louder when he comes, he forgets that I'm there to work normally."

"Dad, you're a dentist, you don't need an office at home since you have a practice in town."

The man laughs. "You sound like your mother." He finally put his newspaper down to look at his daughter. "Why are you coming so suddenly?" He pauses and goes on, "Jane, sweetheart, what happened to your lip?"

She immediately lowered her head to hide her face from her father.

"Nothing, I... I ran into someone when I was running, so I wouldn't be late for class, that's okay, don't worry." She let out a nervous laugh, before continuing. "You know I'm in the high school tutor program? I have a new student who lives quite far away, and I was wondering if you could take me there? "

He stood up instantly.

"Here we go, grab the keys and off we go."

She got in the car, and waited for her father while checking her stuff.

"So ! Where does your student live? "

The question she dreaded, she would have preferred to avoid, and honestly, she ignored it.

"Jane, are you listening to me? I can take you wherever you want, but for that I have to know where you want to go. "

He started the car and began to drive towards the city center.

After a long moment of silence, she made up her mind.

"It's at Henry Bowers."

She felt her father tense up on the wheel a little, and he let out an "ah" before turning the first right. It was the first time that one of their car rides had gone so quietly, when neither was asleep.

The car stopped in front of Bowers' house and Jane tried to run outside, but Wentworth grabbed her by the arm.

"Stay two minutes, I have to talk to you."

She glanced around the house, then at her father's watch, she was going to be late.

"It's not going to be long, I just have a couple of questions for you."

She looked at him, there was too much tension in the car for her to say anything.

"Did he do this to you?" He tried to stroke her lip, but she avoided him. "Because if it's him, I don't want you to come near him, if he forces you for these lessons I'll talk to his father. If you have any problems you can talk to your mother and to me, you can trust us, you know that? "

Jane stared at him. God, she loved her father.

"Everything is fine, dad, don't worry."

"It's not fine, Jane, you've been off your bike for over a month. You wince in pain whenever you have to make a move and there you come home with a split lip, and you tell me you have to teach the boy who broke your glasses on your birthday. How do you want me not to worry? "