Parish: Killing Me Slowly

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

I pace around the classroom, thinking. Mr. Bane is sitting at the counter in the front of the room, watching me.

On one hand, this may be a good thing. Maybe telling someone is what I should’ve done all along. But there’s always been the threat of my father always coming back and hurting me some more. Maybe not telling was the smart idea. But then again, if he’s in jail he can’t hurt me. But what happens when he gets out? He’ll be furious with me! I’ll never lead a normal life. I’ll have to move constantly. He’ll always hunt me. He’ll always be there. I can’t take it anymore!

I drop down in one of the front desks, feet from the man that could make or break my life.

“He needs to be stopped Leigh.” he tells me. It’s something I’ve been wishing for my whole life, but I’ve never actually had the guts to do it. My father never hitting me ever again… so many possibilities open in my future that it brings tears to my eyes.

“I know. He does. But that doesn’t make it any easier. What happens when he gets out of jail? What do you think he’ll do then? He’ll find me. He always has!”

In all truth, I’ve tried running away numerous times, but it’s always ended up the same. He finds me. Hits me. Takes me home. Hits me harder. It was worse every time I ran, but that didn’t stop me. It kept me going. If there was a chance, even the smallest of chances, that I could get away from him, I took it. I didn’t hesitate. I’ve tried running all over the country. Sometimes it took days for him to find me, maybe a week or two, but never longer. The longer I stayed away the harder he hit me.

“If you won’t tell someone, I will. I can’t sit around and watch someone’s father beat them, Leigh. That’s not right.” He looks me over again. Before he knew I was being abused, he didn’t see the scars or slight bruises here and there but now that he knows what to look for, he sees them. It unnerves me.

“I understand that, Mr. Bane, but this is my life. I’ll do what I think is right.”

I lay my head on the table and listen to breathing, his or mine I’ve no clue. Just small, steady breaths.

A hand appears on my back, light and warm, and I shiver at the touch. It reminds me of Nick more than anything and fresh tears spring to my eyes.

“What about Nick? If you don’t tell someone, he may hurt another girl like he hurt you. Would you really want that to happen?” I look up at him with shining eyes. His frown deepens a bit and I realize he’s right. People need to know about Nick. My father may only be able to hurt me, but Nick could hurts others. I can’t let that happen.

“Will you go with me?” I ask, no, plead. His eyes grow wide, but he nods his head. Interesting.

“I’ll help in any way I can. Come on. First person we need to tell is the principle.” I stand up and wobble a little. He steadies me. Something flits across my mind.

“Mr. Bane. I don’t have any proof of what Nick did to me. No one will believe me.” I tell him.

He looks at me with utmost care. “Leigh, you’ll need to have a medical exam.”

Realization dawns on me and I look at him in horror. No way! “Oh no! Not a chance!”

“Leigh, it’s for the best. If nothing did happen, you’ll have nothing to worry about. But if something did, you need to be checked out. He could’ve damaged you more than you think.” I sigh in defeat as we walk to the principle’s office.

“Mrs. Perch? May we have a word with you? It’s quite urgent.” The principle looks over at us and her eyes widen. She gestures for us to go into her office and shuts the door behind her.