bruises // heathers

twenty // you better believe

"Camille?" Veronica asked, walking down the hallway in the large Victorian home beside JD.

"Oh Ronnie, Jay, I'm in the living room." Camille called from a separate area in the home. JD showed Veronica the way to it and sat beside her on the sofa opposite Camille and now Thomas.

"Jason, you going to introduce me to your pretty girlfriend?" Thomas asked, JD coughed in awkwardness.

"Actually, Veronica is my wife. We have a daughter named Giselle. She just turned eight almost a month ago." JD said.

"Well if the girl looks anything like your wife, she's gotta be beautiful." Thomas replied.

"Actually, Tom, that little dolly looks a lot like our Josie. But you can see her mother in her as well. Gorgeous little girl." Camille teared up a little bit.

"Why have you come back to see us Jason? You're twenty six." Thomas wondered aloud.

"We had to leave Sherwood. See, Veronica and I did some stupid things as teenagers. Her parents threatened to phone that in to the police. As a precaution, we left." JD answered.

"We have to protect our little girl." Veronica added.

"Do you mind?" JD asked, flashing his and Veronica's shared box of Marlboros. Thomas, who ran the show in the house as most old-fashioned houses were run by the males, shook his head which told JD he did not mind if he smoked. JD lit the cigarette, took a few drags and passed it to Veronica.

"Sorry I know it's unladylike to smoke but I can't break the habit." Veronica apologized.

"Oh, Ronnie, dear it's okay." Camille insisted. "So, you already know the rules. I imagine you explained them to Ellie."

"The basic rundown. She was dead tired, needed to sleep." Veronica said.

"You know, St. Ophelia's is a fantastic school. There's a house for sale down the street, we could pull some strings and get you three in there within January." Camille explained a plan for Veronica and JD and Giselle with childlike excitement as JD smoked the cigarette.

"That actually sounds nice." JD smiled.

"It sounds amazing." Veronica agreed with a laugh, butting the cigarette in the ashtray Thomas passed to her and JD.

Veronica and JD stood up, Veronica was holding the ashtray as Thomas and Camille stood. Just then a loud scream came from the other room, Josie's room, the room where Giselle was. Veronica dropped the ashtray and as it shattered, her and JD ran to the room as forced the door open. They saw Giselle on the floor, clutching her wrist.

"I'm sorry daddy. I'm sorry mama." She sobbed. "I broke my promise." Blood was dripping through the sleeve of her pajama shirt and making its way to the floor.

"I need rags and bandages! Now!" JD shouted loudly as he wrapped his arms around Giselle, moving her small hand off her wrist and placing his over the gash. Camille came in with what he needed as Veronica cried at the scene in the doorway.

"Oh god, my baby." She cried out as Elle continued to sob loudly. Sobs of depression and of frustration ripped from Elle's throat as she threw her head back into her father's chest while tears poured from her eyes.

"Veronica can you fucking help instead of just crying!?" JD yelled at his wife, who nodded as more tears fell. She took the bandages and rags from Camille and sat next to JD and Elle. She passed JD the rag and he pressed it to Giselle's wrist after rolling up her bloodied sleeve.

"I'm so sorry mama, I'm so sorry daddy, I broke my promise." She cried out over and over. It was enough to make Veronica sob harder and wish she could fix her little girl. Was this her fault? She wondered if she was to blame for her child's mediocre mental health.

"For fucks sake Veronica! The bandages!" JD shouted.

"Don't yell at me." Veronica cried.

"I've said it like twenty times, now give me the fucking bandages!" He yelled as he reached for the bandages in Veronica's grasp. But she yanked away before he could grab them. "Are you gonna be petty!? Our daughter could fucking bleed out you idiot! Give me the goddamn bandages!" He screamed, even angrier at Veronica.

He had the overwhelming urge to just hit her as she handed over the bandages with reluctance. Didn't she care about Giselle's life? This was life or death and she played games. Oh, he was gonna have some things to say to her he decided.

Elle's eyes started to roll backwards into her skull. She was losing a lot of blood. He quickly stood up and 'accidentally' kicked Veronica on his way over her. She stood up and followed him like a lost puppy into the living room.

"We need a ride to the hospital." JD said in as steady and calm of a voice as he could muster.

"Jay, we called an ambulance. It'll be here any second." Camille told him. "Is she okay?" She asked.

"No! She's bleeding out and I can't- I can't stop it this time!" He shouted before breaking down into ragged sobs. All of a sudden, an ambulance pulled up in front of the house, they could hear it. An EMT ran in and tried to grab Elle out of JD's arms. He cried a bit before passing his comatose daughter off to the man.

"Come with us," Another EMT, a woman, said to Veronica and JD. The ride to the hospital in the ambulance was terrifying for Veronica and JD, who curled together and sobbed in the fear.

"Oh, your poor little girl." Chandler snickered but was ignored by Jason and Veronica.

"I'm sorry," Veronica whispered to JD.

"Me too darling, me too." He choked out as they pulled in front of the hospital and followed the EMTs rushing in their baby girl.

"Eight years old." ... "67 pounds, 3'9." ... "Suicide attempt." ... "Severe blood loss." ... "Possible coma." ... "Hysterical parents." ... "History of self harm." ... "Family history of mental illness." It was thrown out in a blur for the doctors as Veronica and JD listened in and tried to follow the medical talk.

They sat in the plasticky hospital chairs and watched their daughter sleep seemingly peacefully despite this they knew in her mind she was being tormented.

Author's Note - I changed Elle's weight.