Abused and Unloved~

Chapter Twenty Five

My mouth was extremely dry and I felt unusually sweaty. I lift my heavy head from my pillow to find myself burrowed beneath a mountain of blankets and groan weakly.

There were faint indistinguishable voices outside my room door that made me wonder what time it was.

I wasn't convinced that school was a thing I could actually endure today. It felt like I had been hit with a truck and no amount of sleep would fix that.

The voices got louder and made me cringe in anxiety knowing someone was coming to wake me. I dreaded the thought of having to stand up and get dressed.

There was a quick knock on my door before it swings open. I reluctantly push the covers away from my head, shocked to find the sun out.

Once I painfully force myself to roll over, Jayden and Kaylee come into my view and I observe them chatting with each other in hushed voices.

"What.. time is it?" My throat was scratchy and raw and you could definitely hear it.

They both turn to focus on me in unison, "It's nearly five." My lids went dramatically wide, "In the afternoon?" Jayden finds humor in my surprise while Kaylee rolls her eyes.

"Yes. Now what did you do yesterday?" I disregarded her question not wanting to admit to my young and still naive sister I had done some stupid things last night, "How come I'm still in bed?" My body violently craved hydration, but I needed answers first.

"I told Maria that you were throwing up last night and couldn't go to school today." Thankful for her quick thinking, I huff and try to roll over getting comfortable again.

"No Jessica, it's time to wake up. You haven't eaten all day and I honestly thought you were dead." Everything in me screamed to ignore them.

"It's almost night time.. again. I should be allowed to go back to sleep." My bed dipped as I defiantly pulled my covers up and I detected the presence as Jayden, "Rise and shine." He gently pries the sheets from my clutches not taking into consideration that a few more hours of sleep would fix this sluggishness I felt.

"I don't want to rise... and I don't have any shine left." He snickered at my pain as his hand rested on my back, "Well you better find some cause your parents are coming up soon to check on you." I immediately felt alarmed and knew I had to fix myself up before they noticed something was wrong.

"Yeah and Maria keeps talking about you finishing some SAT prep classes that you keep putting off, she says you're going to miss the deadline." I flopped back onto my side at Kaylee's interjection to face them and give a monotone "No," in response.

"You have to get up. Today, tomorrow, the next day, and every day until you die."

Until I die?

He had a stupid smirk on his face but all his statement did was send me into a frenzy of overthinking.

I always planned to deal with my captors till I was eighteen then leave. I idealized going to a college on the other side of the world, getting an amazing life-altering job, eventually finding a loving partner, and maybe having a kid or two to prove to myself that a good parent can exist. It was the basic romanticized human experience.

But everything was different now.

I didn't have to limit my life or exaggerate it to prove something to my abusive parents. Running wasn't necessary anymore. I didn't want an insane job or a different partner. Shit, I wasn't even sure if I wanted children anymore.

I never really had to think reasonably or realistically about the future because even though I sat down and planned it and I let it drive me every day— I never thought I would actually get a future. I didn't think I would make it another month much less a few years.