The welcome center reopened, which meant that Jane and Constance were back in their room. Jane was laying down on her bed, looking at the bed above her, already missing Will, Jonathan, and Joyce. Constance was at her desk, working, but noticed her sister's sadness.
- "Look, I know you're missing them, but it's not like if we were far from them, you can still see them when you want."
- "I know, it's just different now," sighed Jane.
- "No, it's like before."
- "Yeah...I still hope we stayed with them."
- "I know, but we can't, they're not our family."
- "I know...They're good people, I wish we were born in their family."
- "Yeah...me too..." said Constance to herself. "What about taking a walk with Dog? To change your mind, and, maybe, meet some friends, ok?"
- "I'm gonna ask Max if she is free!" told Jane with a big smile before jumping from her bed.
- "Have fun!"
Jane took Dog and went outside in running. She jumped the three steps in front of the building, but miserably fell on her belly. She laughed while Dog was jumping happily around her, before standing and running in the streets. Max was in the park when Jane called her, so the brunette decided to run to arrive rapidly.
- "HEY MAX!"
The redhead turned around and chuckled when she saw her best friend running to her with her happy dog next to her.
- "Hey Jane, why do you run?" smiled Max.
- "I...wanted...to see...you," answered Jane, trying to breathe.
- "That's cute but don't lose a lung for me!"
- "What!?"
Jane wide opened her eyes before looking behind her, looking for something.
- "No, Jane, you didn't lose a lung, it was an expression, relax!"
- "Oh, ok, you scared me!"
- "I'm sorry, I didn't want to."
- "It's ok, one day my brain is going to understand when people are joking or not," affirmed Jane.
- "Yeah, I'm sure of it," smiled Max.
- "So? You're gonna keep your plaster cast?"
- "I asked my doctor and he said he could give it back to me when it's over."
- "Cool! My drawings are not gonna finish with garbage."
- "Neither Will's drawings."
- "Yeah Will's too, but mines are better."
- "Look how you are, you wanna be better than Will!" stated the redhead with an amused tone.
- "Well, we like doing this little competition, but we all know I'm better than him," joked Jane.
Max playfully pushed her. The redhead took Jane's hand and began to walk on the grass with her friends. Home became Hell lately, well, it was always Hell, but since Constance knocked Neil out, the man's ego was hurt, and he was trying to be more "a man" (like he said) than before. Max was allowed to get out of her room only to go to the bathroom or for meals, but nothing more. Now, if she was outside with her best friend it was only because she managed to force the lock on her window. She knew she couldn't allow herself to stay a long moment outside, but she needed this break, it was unbreathable at home.
But, apparently, she wasn't allowed to have a break. She heard her stepbrother's car motor and had a bad shiver. The blonde teen appeared with a quick angry walk before pushing Jane and grabbing Max' by her right wrist.
- "Stop, Billy! You're hurting me!" told Max with a plaintive tone.
Dog began to bark loudly in direction of the man, trying to scare him, while Jane was slowly standing, scared of Billy but worried for Max.
- "Don't fucking leave the house next time!" yelled Billy, his face red of anger.
- "Leave her alone!" intervened Jane with a shaking voice.
The blonde teen frowned at her before having an evil laugh.
- "You really think that you and your dumb sister can stop all of this!? You're just pieces of shit, just like Max!"
- "My sister is not dumb, and Max is not a piece of...what you said!"
Billy began to walk in direction of Jane, but Dog stopped barking to bite Billy's balls without letting him go. The blonde teen screamed of pain, releasing his stepsister. Jane put herself between her best friend and the teen boy, trying to protect her the best she could.
- "TELL HIM TO STOP! TELL HIM TO STOOOOP!" screamed Billy.
As the young brunette was doing nothing, Billy punched her in her face to make her move. Jane fell on the ground, unconscious, with blood flowing from her right temple. Dog let go the man before whining next to his mother. Max crouched next to her with a worried expression and tried to wake her up by gently shaking her.
- "Oh no, no, no, no, Billy! What did you do!?" told angrily Max with tears in her eyes. "She is not waking up!"
The teen boy tried to approach them, but Dog barked again at him. He stepped back and ran away the best he could.
Meanwhile, Will was joining his mother who was cooking in the kitchen with a paper in his hands and a sad expression.
- "What's wrong?" frowned Joyce.
- "I miss Jane. I wanted to show her my drawing, but she wasn't in her room..."
- "Oh...You can call her if you want, she could spend the afternoon at home, no?"
- "I don't know, maybe she is better in this welcome center...and I need to live without them now, like before," told Will.
- "Yeah..."
- "You miss them too?"
- "Well, of course, they were very nice and funny, and they seemed happy to be here!"
- "Can I ask you something?"
- "Sure," smiled Joyce.
- "Do you like Constance?"
- "What? Of course, I do, why wouldn't I?"
- "I don't know, you're stricter with her than Jane."
- "Yes, that's true, and you know why? Because Jane and Constance have two different personalities; Jane is still young and she is more...naïve about the world, it's not a bad thing, but it means that Jane solves her problems with drawings and things like that, like she did with Abigail, and it worked, but Constance, she provoked people, like that, she can push them over the edge and they usually attack first, which give her a legal advantage. Constance certainly faced every bad persons they met when they were alone, she knows what people are able to do, and she certainly did everything to protect Jane from all this hate and violence, I can't imagine what she saw or had to do to just survive in the streets; but Constance thinks she can solve everything by punching back, and I don't want her to think that, just because she had to do it before it doesn't mean it's the only solution; one day she will face someone stronger than her and she will have problems, and I don't want her to have problems."
- "Oh, ok. You're stricter with her because you actually care about her?"
- "Exactly. I care about her and about Jane. I don't blame Constance for anything; she had to raise herself and her little sister alone at a too young age, she has been amazing with Jane all these years, it's why Jane is like that. They have two visions about this world, that's all."
Will nodded. He understood better why his mother was like that with Constance and was relieved to hear the she liked her. Jonathan arrived in the kitchen with a quick walk, trying to put his jacket.
- "We have to go!" said quickly the teen boy.
- "What? Where?" frowned Joyce.
- "Jane is at hospital."
He didn't need to say more. Joyce and Will stopped what they were doing, took their coats, and left the house.
YOU ARE READING
Lost
FanfictionThere will be Elmax, but the first chapters are focused on Jane's childhood, but don't worry, she will meet the others ;) Cover: Morti (or Marti) the Mouse