Hidden (A Princeton Love Story)

Chapter 2

My phone starts to ring. Jacob is face timing me. I click answer. He's crying really hard.

"OMG JACOB WHAT'S WRONG?!" i ask startled.

"Everything, everyone hates me, even my family!" He cries. I stare in shock for a moment trying to think of something to say to him.

"Jacob, Im sure they don't hate you," I say in a soft voice.

"Really? My mom goes some place every night, ends up drunk in some guys bed the next morning, she's not home much. My dad is in jail. My older brother is always calling me a gay fag and is usually out with his girlfriend and I'm constantly left here alone with my baby sisters," he says in between sobs. I look at the clock, it's 4:30.

"Can i come over?" I say.

"Our apartment is really small and extremely dirty," he says.

"Please, I don't care," I say.

"Well, ok," he says. He gives me his address and I take the bus to his apartment. When I get there I notice that the building looks really old and dirty. I feel a little uncomfortable. I shrug it off and walk up to his door. I knock. I hear a baby crying and footsteps coming to the door he opens it.

"He-" His little sister screams wildly. He gives a short smile before running off to quite his sister. I walk in. There's paper and toys all over the floor, stains, and dirt. I walk over to where he's standing. He's feeding his sister a bottle of milk. She's chubby, with tan colored skin. This throws me off a little.

"Where are your parents from?" I ask Jacob.

"My dads from Atlanta and my mom grew up in Mexico," he says. Now I understand. I notice another little girl on the couch who looks about 3 or 4.

"Jake is dat your girfind (not a typo)" she ask. Jacob blushes.

"No kailey this is y/n my friend," I say.

"She should be your girfind she pretty," Kailey says. I laugh.

"Thank you!" I say.

"Kailey, can you and maryn go your room," Jacob ask them.

"Ok," They leave.

"You look much better than you did when we face timed," I say.

"Yea, sometimes I have emotional breaks downs. I suffer from depression and anxiety," he says.

"Do you self harm...." I ask hoping for him to say no. he's silent for awhile. he shakes his head yes. I give him a sad look.

"Why? I doesn't help anything," I say.

"I don't know, it's my only way of finding relief," he says with his head down. I grab his wrist and put his bracelets and jacket back. His arms are full of cuts and scars. Some are really deep and some look fresh. My heart breaks. How can someone be hurt so much that they hurt themselves. I kiss his arm. He looks up at me in shock.

"Promise you will never do this to yourself again," I say. He hesitates.

"I don't know if I can..."

"You can and I'm gonna help you!" I say, "where are the blades?" He leads me to a small drawer that is full of blades and scissors. I unattach it and flush all of them down the toilet. He stares is shock as if he were a kid seeing his dog get run over. I hug him.

"You'll be fine," I say. We sit back down on the couch.

"Why do people bully you?" I ask.

"My hair, my clothes, my passion for music, just being me," he says on the verge of tears. I hold his head up.

"Look, now you have me so don't worry about what others say about you," I say.

"It's hard," he says.

"Just try, for me," I say.

"Ok," he says. We sit and watch tv. He tells me more about his life and what he wants to do in the future. He wants to be an entertainer and show people how to be peaceful and tell them that they can be who they want to be.

"Wow, that sounds amazing," I say.

"Yea, but that'll never happen," he says.

"You can do anything if you put your mind to it!" I say. He shrugs.

"Whatever, you wanna snack, we may have a few things in the cabinet," he says.

"Whatcha got?" I ask.

"Cheese crackers, peanut butter crackers, and Oreos," he says.

"Oreos please," I say. He grabs the pack and sits down on the couch.

"Thanks," I say with a smile. We eat Oreos and watch tv. At 6:30 I decide its time to go.

"Well I should probably go," I say.

"Oh, well bye," he says.

"Bye!" I say with a smile. And for the first time, he smiles back.

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Poor Jacob, what would you do if you were his friend? vote & comment

<3