The Scarlet Sweater

13. End of the Curse

Jeni returned home and Juliearl ran off to do 16 year old little girl things. Guilt and anxiety washed over her. Why had she promised Nic she was going to tell Daniel?

Because he has a right to know why his life is going to the dogs, Jeni thought.

Considering it was Saturday, and it was about 1 o’clock after she and Nic had finished their conversation, it was going to be a nerve-racking eleven hours.

Meanwhile, Daniel was at his house in his room. His door was always closed for roughly four hours everyday. No one really knew what he did behind the door, but you, dear reader, get to find out.

Now, nothing disgusting happens behind closed doors, unless you count spiritual penance disgusting. In truth, Daniel was fasting and beating himself because he felt that he deserved punishment for wronging Jeni, and not having to pay the price with her. We aren’t going to describe his penance in great detail, but you just have to know that it was absolutely horrible.

In truth, that really has nothing to do with the story, as Daniel was doing this to himself. Sure, he was already dying, but this wasn’t helping.

Since the beginning of our story, Daniel had been growing closer to death with every passing hour. The chances of him making it to the end of his senior year were slim to none, not that anyone knew that. He wanted to keep his current… “predicament” a secret. Nobody needed to be bothered by the fact that he was dying slowly and painfully.

On the bright side, Daniel was going to see Jeni that night for their midnight walk. He was filled with a sense of excitement that could not be diminished by anything, not even his oncoming demise. Whilst fantasizing about spending quality time with his beloved and their child, he continued to punish himself—whippings and beatings and such, the usual drill.

At a certain point, Daniel was losing quite a bit of blood from his penance. He had begun to feel lightheaded, seeing white spots flashing before his eyes. Suddenly, he collapsed on the floor in a heap of beaten and worn-down pubescent boy. He remained there for about ten hours and thirty minutes until he awoke with a moan.

“Ow! WHY?” he moaned and screamed.

He attempted to stand, but found that he could not - his body was aching far too much. He laid himself back down on the floor while simultaneously reaching up to check the clock - it was 11:35 PM. Jeni would be at school in a mere twenty five minutes! Beginning to panic, he heaved himself up and rushed off to take a shower.

After cleansing himself, Daniel dressed in a loose-fitting T-shirt and sweatpants (hopefully his attire wouldn’t irritate his penance wounds too much). He grabbed his car keys, shouted “See you later!” to his mom, and painfully made his way out the door.

It could be said that Daniel drove way too fast on his way to the school… it could also be said that he was driving recklessly… it could be said. Speeding into the parking lot, Daniel parked his car in three spots at once and lept out of it. He found that (unfortunately) his wounds really slowed him down when travelling on foot, but Daniel was not about to miss the only thing in his life that was going right.

Moving at a snail’s pace, Daniel walked through the front doors and made his way toward the lunch room. He was nearing the ramp when he began to see spots again, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him! He got a third of the way up the ramp, halfway, two thirds… then the most terrible thing happened. Our lovable (no longer) jock fell, hitting his head on the ground and passing out for the second time that day.

As he lost consciousness, he let out one (barely coherent) word, “Jeni?”

Luckily at the exact same moment that he fell, Jeni was walking with Juliearl to find Daniel (he was two minutes late). Upon seeing him crumpled on the ground, Jeni let out a shriek, running to his aid.