When the Blood Runs Thick

First Full Day with Mason and Jacob: Part 1

The next morning I am woken up by someone shaking my shoulder and repeatedly saying my name. I groan and roll over onto my other side in the hope that the person will go away, but he doesn't. The comforter and sheets are suddenly yanked from my body. A chill dominates the once warm spot. I open my eyes and see Jacob standing at the side of my bed, comforter and sheets in hand.

"Annie, you need to get up. Mason has breakfast ready," he says, tossing the sheets back onto the bed.

After that, he exits the room. I stand stretching my arms above my head. Stupid school. Stupid. Making kids get up early. Torture! Child abuse, I say! I open my new closet, which is a great deal bigger than my old one, and pull a dress off the hanger, slipping it on. I pull down on the skirt a bit. It has small straps that go over my shoulders and the skirt part goes down to my knees, barely covering the scars on my thighs. I decide to put on a jean jacket just so that my scars are covered.

I step on the pants that I wore yesterday and kneel down, pulling the razor-blade out of its pocket. Opening the jean jacket's pocket, I slip the small weapon that's already done mass destruction to me. Just in case...

Downstairs, I find the kitchen and sit at the table that is in the center. The kitchen is huge to say the least; it is definitely bigger than my old room. It has a good sized window above the dual sink which is attached to counters on both sides. On the left side counter sits a microwave and toaster. Next to the left counter sits the stove and oven. On the right counter sits a small coffee maker that is brewing. And on the right wall is a dark refrigerator. Mason stands at the stove cooking what smells like bacon. On the table lays a plate of pancakes, a glass of orange juice, forks, and three empty plates.

"Morning, Annie. Did you sleep well?" Mason asks, setting a plate of bacon on the table.

I nod, slapping three pancakes onto my plate and grabbing some strips of bacon. My mouth starts to water. It all smells and looks delicious! I wonder what the kids at the orphanage are eating this morning. Probably oatmeal or precooked scrambled eggs.

Jacob walks in and sees me shoveling a forkful of pancake in my mouth. "You must be pretty hungry." He sits at the table, stacking his plate with a few pancakes, drowning them in maple syrup.

"Yeah. The orphanage didn't usually serve very much food. Or good food at that," I say, biting into a strip of warm, crunchy bacon. "They never had the money to buy enough food for everyone."

Mason joins us at the table, handing Jacob a cup of coffee. "When do you have to be at the hospital, Jacob?"

"Nine o'clock," Jacob says.

"The hospital?" I ask through a mouthful of scrumptious pancakes. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no," Jacob says with a chuckle. "I work at the hospital, Annie."

"Oh," I say, relieved that nothing's wrong. "That makes a lot more sense." I pause for a few seconds before adding, "I've been to the hospital a few times."

Mason gives me a concerned look. "Oh, really? Why?"

I think back to a few years ago when I tried to commit suicide. I remember the pain and suffering I felt. I remember ripping the stitches and IVs out, the doctors then strapping my arms and legs down to the bed so that I wouldn't hurt myself. And I remember when I tried drowning myself in the tub. I had filled the tub with cold water and forced my head under, fighting the urge to pull out. "I got really, really, really sick a few times."

*****

Mason drops me off at school. I thank him and walk inside. Classes don't start for about ten minutes, so I decide to sit in the library and get some reading in. I plop down in one of the cushy, red chairs.