After the Before (9 page)

I stumble sideways
, further down the hall while holding the side of my head, attempting to regain my balance. “Mom,” I protest in a whimper. “He’s my biology partner. We have an assignment so I have to work with him.”

She pauses, digesting the information. “So, when I asked you where you were
yesterday, and you said collecting stuff for biology, you were with him, weren’t you?”

How the hell did she put that together? I thought it
would be impossible for her. She could barely remember her own name, let alone what I said to her.

My silence gives her the answer she is looking for
… the excuse she needs.

For being drunk
and pilled out, her reflexes are fast. I didn’t even see her pick up the crystal vase and throw it at me until it was too late. It catches me on the side of my head, above my temple, and of course, on the same side as my now injured ear. I drop to the floor like a stone sinking in water, my hand moving to cover the new wound. Warm, wet liquid coats my hair and fingers.

“How dare you!” She screams down at me, kicking me in the side. “How could you see him? That family is solely responsible for killing your brother!” She pulls the belt off her pants and snaps it toward me
– a whip striking like a snake. “You never loved him like I loved him! I haven’t forgotten about him like you have!” The belt makes contact with my back, buckle first.

I shriek in pain.

She is deaf to my cry, continuing the assault by repeatedly striking me with the belt, barely taking a breath to recharge and recoil for the next strike. I’m lucky, because sometimes it’s only the strap that makes contact.

“Mom, please.” I sob, blood and tears mixing, streaking my face
.

She slows her rampage enough to stare down at me. Her chest is heaving, eyes wild. “Are you going to forget again?” Her voice
is a soothing, mocking tone.

I shake my head.

“Answer me!” She screams.

“No,
Mommy.” The word slips out before I can stop it.

“Don’t you ever call me that again
. And if you ever see that boy again, I won’t only beat the living shit out of you, I will smother your pathetic crippled father while he sleeps.”

I suck in a shocked breath as my eyes widen in fear. I cannot believe
what she has just said.

She laughs as she turns and walks away. “Remember what I said. There will be no other warning.”

She rounds the corner to the stairs, heading back to her room to leave me lying on the floor in my own blood, surrounded by broken glass. This is déjà vu, only this time I’m in the hallway instead of the kitchen.

After what
feels like hours, waiting for the dizziness to stop, I try to get myself off the floor, bracing myself on a table to pull myself up. My ribs and back hurt like hell, every breath being taken away too fast by the next. The entire left side of my head and face feel numb, but I can feel the cut, not too big, but big enough to be a bleeder. You would think I fought in the UFC for a living.

I retrieve towels from the linen closet to clean
up the blood and glass. My father’s nurse is out running errands for a few hours and I want to clean up the mess before she returns.

After everything is returned to its pristine grace, I practically crawl up the stairs, taking
more time than I expected. Everything from my head, down to my torso and back hurt so badly. I feel dizzy and lightheaded as I finally make it to my room. I strip off my clothes and sit under the spray of a warm shower because I can’t stand up any longer.

The water runs reddish pink for
a few minutes. I wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner, even though it stings like a son of a gun, but it’s the only way to get all the blood out. I sit under the stream until it runs cold and my fingers begin to prune. I dry my hair gently, and then the rest of my battered body with the same regard.

Two more days.

Two more days, then I can escape all of this, if only for a week. What else can I possibly do? I can’t turn her in to anyone, especially after what she threatened to do to my dad. I want to believe that she would never have the guts to go through with such a thing, but she is getting braver with her anger, and showing me what she is capable of. I see that as long as I do what she wants, she will stay clear of us. Besides, we have nowhere else to go.

I close my eyes and
slowly lay back on my pillows after locking the door to my room. As I’m about to fall asleep, I bolt upright, causing a massive amount of pain.

Alex.

I was supposed to meet him at eight. It was almost half past seven when Andrew showed up.

I look over at the nightstand that holds my alarm clock
… 12:47 am.

“Oh, no.” I glance around for my cell. What am I going to do, call him? What would I say,
“Sorry I couldn’t make it, but my mom kicked my ass.” After this evenings death match, calling him should be a low priority. I see that I need to take her threat seriously; she’s crazier than I could have ever imagined.

I
sit the phone down on my nightstand and breathe in deep. Instead of calling, I move to the mirror to inspect the damage.

Breathing deeply and building up enough courage to look takes me several minutes
until finally, I’m ready. My eyes travel and study every inch of my skin, and what I see sickens me. Fading yellow and green bruises litter my body from the first incident, only now, they have darker friends to accompany them. Next to my ribs, fresh dark patches are beginning to blot my skin. My face appears untouched, unless inspected closely, then my bruised ear becomes noticeable. My hair hides the lump and gash on my head, thank goodness. I face my back towards the mirror, where most of the belt lashes pelted me. Red and black whip marks dance a fiery dance across my back, complimented by a few puncture wounds from the hook digging in on impact.

A sob escapes my lips as I sink to the floor in front of my mirror, unable to look at myself any longer. I want Jace
here so badly my heart aches. He’d reassure me, defend me. If he were here, she would never have the balls to do this to me; he would never let her lay a finger on me. Jace being gone is the reason she’s losing her mind. I can’t understand why he was so special to her, granted he was special, but her love for him has always been extreme.

I begin to cry
even more, until eventually, my tears dry up and I crawl into bed. I make sure to double check the lock on my door before closing my eyes. No way did I trust Margret enough to leave me alone at night.

It feels as if I just closed my eyes, and i
n no time at all, my alarm wakes me the next morning.

Reaching over to shut it off causes my entire body to scream in protest, tightening up as if
it’s rebelling against itself. There’s no way I’ll be able to move around well enough to make my way through school, let alone have a new excuse for my pain. If I rest today, I’ll be ready for tomorrow… for Hawaii. I stop and realize that now, wearing a swimming suit is out of the question, or showing any kind of skin for that matter. These marks are not going away anytime soon.

I reach for my cell and punch in Andrew’s number. He answers after the third ring.

“Hey, Jasmine, I was just getting ready to head your way. What’s up?”

“I’m not going to make it to school today
because I’m not feeling well. I wanted to call you before you made it all the way here.” Sounding sick was not an issue.

He’s quiet for a
moment. “Are you alright? You seemed fine when I talked to you last night.” His words are accusatory.

“Yeah, I know. It’s weird. It just
came on all of a sudden… I even had to cancel on Alex.” For some reason I feel compelled to tell him this.

“That’s alright
, and I hope you feel better. You’re still coming on the trip, right?” He asks nervously, as if he just realized I may be too sick to go.

“Yes. I wouldn’t miss
it for anything.”

I have to get away from here, even if I spend all of my time with Andrew, trying to ignore Alex. He’s going to want to know why I no showed on him
, so at least this will provide me some cover until I can face him again.

“Great! You want me to pick you up. We have an assembly first thing in the morning, then
we get on the shuttle bus to the airport. I think our flight leaves at one.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure your right. Hey, I’ve got to let you go.” I tell him, not
wanting to discuss plane schedules.

“Oh, right. Sick. Sorry.
Just a bit excited.” I laugh, well, try to is more like it.

“See you Friday morning then?” I confirm.

“Yep, I’ll be there at eight to pick you up.”

“Alright, see you then.” I hang up and drift back to sleep.

Chapter Sixteen

Alex

             
It took me half the day to figure out Jasmine missed school. I overheard Andrew, that asshole, tell some of his friends that she was sick. The stupid part of my brain is compelling me to ask her why she stood me up last night, but it would be only out of curiosity, not that I cared either way, of course.

Who am I kidding? I kept my phone with me last night every second waiting for it to ring. When midnight rolled around, I gave up, showered
, and went to bed. I’ve been biting at the bit to find out why she didn’t even bother to call. Turns out, she may have a good reason for not showing, but she’s never been the type of person to leave you hanging, but what do I know these days.

Fuck! I’m sounding more like a chick every
day. Get your shit together Navarro!

Lunchtime is as far as I make it before breaking down and calling
her. Sitting sideways on my bike, I pull her number up and hit send. I blow out a deep breath, wondering why I’m so nervous to call someone I’ve been friends with almost my entire life.

On the fo
urth ring, she answers.

“Hello.” Her voice is groggy.

“Jasmine?”

“Yeah.” She sounds horrible
, but not in the way I expect a sick person to sound… she sounds like she’s in pain, reminding me of how I sounded after I was jumped to get into the gang… She sounds like she got her ass kicked.

“I hear you’re sick.” I
say, trying to hide the worry creeping up inside of me.

“Yeah, not feeling to
o well.” She doesn’t elaborate. I can’t help this bad feeling I’m getting.

“Are you sure that’s all it is?” The question comes out without my permission, but the fluttering of my insides warn me that something’s off.

She pauses, longer than she should. “I’m fine, really. I should feel better by tomorrow. You’re still coming to Hawaii, right?” She tries to sound excited, trying to convince me that she is fine and it’s time to change the subject.

“Yep.” I confirm
. When she remains silent, I ask. “Are you sure?” My voice is soft, filled with concern… I can’t help it.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m still tired though, so I’m gonna let you go.”

“Is your mom home with you?” The question silences her.

“Why?” Her voice is small.

“So you have someone to check up on you.” Then I remember what kind of mom Margret is to Jasmine. “Oh, sorry.”
That was stupid.

“No
, she went out with some friends and won’t be back until late tomorrow morning. My dad’s nurse is here throughout the day, and she’ll get me anything if I need it.” Her answer lacks confidence.

“Alright, I hope you feel better soon.” She disconnects without
another word.

I pull the phone away and look at the screen.
My gut is telling me that something’s not right. I’m tempted to rush to her house to check, but what would I do? Break the door down, storm inside, demand to know what’s going on.

Instead, I finish the rest of the school day and head home.

Mi Madre left a note; she’s working a double shift again today. I hate her working so hard for so little. One of these days, I will get us out of here; make enough money to give her the life she deserves.

Scanning the fridge for leftovers, I find black beans and chicken. I fry up some tortillas and sit down to eat. Grabbing a tablet and pen, I jot down what I need to pack tonight for the trip. I have to admit
, I’m getting excited, kind of like a kid on Christmas.

I finish my food and go to my room to pack.

My mind drifts to Jasmine. Out of all days, she missed class today. She’s hounded me all week about getting this project in early, and today was the day to get it turned in before the trip. I would have turned it in for us but she had all the samples of roots at her house. I’d forgotten all about it until seventh period, my mind being more distracted with why she was absent from school.

The next morning at school, I load my stuff on the number three bus. We were all assigned a bus number with the packets they sent us in the mail.

Walking through the hall, I notice I’m earlier than usual. I’m passing by biology class when
my teacher, Mrs. Hubert, runs out to catch me. She’s in her late thirties, but dresses as if she’s a sixties librarian. Her dark brown hair is always in a bun, and she wears those horned glasses to perfect her appearance.

“Alex!” She says excitedly. “I am so glad I caught you before the assembly. I thought you and Jasmine were going to turn your assignment in before we left for the trip?”

“Yeah, we were. Jasmine came down with something and couldn’t make it to school yesterday. She had all the samples of plants we found at her house.” I gave her the same lame excuse Jasmine gave me, only it was working on Mrs. Hubert.

“If you two can get your project in
before
the assembly begins, I promise it will pay off.” She winks at me. What is she saying? “Go. Go find Jasmine and bring me your work. You have fifteen minutes. Hustle!” She shoos me away with her hands. I laugh at the way she actually makes me rush off to find Jasmine, hustling without me even realizing I’m doing so.

Finding Jasmine seems harder than anticipated. Instead of looking, I call, which I should have done ten minutes ago. The phone rings a few times before she picks up.

“Alex… Hey.” She says, her voice sounding much better. Either that, or her acting skills are improving.

“Where are you?” I rush
out.

“I’m at my locker. Why? Where are you?”

“Stay there. I’ll be there in less than thirty seconds.” I hang up and head in her direction.

Less than thirty seconds later, I round the corner next to her locker. Her back is facing me,
and she’s looking down the opposite hall. The first thing I notice is that she’s wearing her hair down. She normally wears it in a ponytail, or in some kind of up and out of her face hairdo. With it down, it shines. Staring at her like this, she’s breathtaking.

“Jasmine.”
She jumps and spins around, a startled look on her face.

“Oh, you scared me.” She smiles,
but there is no warmth touching her eyes. It’s the smile that I see her give to everyone but me, but that’s not the case now.

“I just ran into Mrs. Hubert. She said that if we want to turn our project in before the assembly
, we could still get credit for it. Do you have everything we need here?”

“Yes!
This is so great! I thought I’d missed out because I was…” she glances at me, knowing she has to lie, but not wanting to. “When I was sick.”

I study her, looking her over from head to toe. She looks
fine, nothing out of place. She is, however, wearing long sleeves and long pants on the day we are leaving for Hawaii. That seems a little suspicious.

“
You feeling better?” I ask her, my voice thick with skepticism.

“I am.”

“Good. So do you want to go turn in our project before the assembly?”

“Of course I do.” She turns to grab the items from her locker.

We turn down the hall and catch Mrs. Hubert as she’s exiting her classroom.

“Mrs. Hubert!” Jasmine calls to her before she closes the door. “Sorry. It took Alex a little while to find me.”

“Oh, good, you made it.” She opens her classroom door again and walks to her desk. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” She holds her hand out for our paperwork.

We explain all the different kinds of plants we found, what uses they have, and how we could cook them. She inspected our samples, all labeled properly.

“We couldn’t agree on one recipe, so we made two.” Jasmine said.

One look and a whole conversation is exchanged. She made an additional recipe because she would not take credit for mine without doing her part. After realizing I understood her with just one look, my breathing speeds and my pulse hits hyper drive.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“This is great! Simply wonderful. I give you
both an A, plus the extra credit. Wonderful work.”

Jasmine and I glance at each other, a secret smirk playing on our lips. Why the hell is the teacher so thrill
ed about us turning in our project early?

“We better get to the assembly.” I point to
ward the door.

“Yes. I need to be there as well. Hurry along then.” She smiles and waits for us to leave.

We walk out of her room and down the hall. “That was weird.” I say. Before I even finish the sentence, she’s nodding her head.

“What do you think that was all about?”

“I have no idea. She was just all hyped up about me finding you and turning in our project, and it had to be before the assembly, too. She was very specific about that part.”

“That’s so weird.” She
says as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

That’s when I see it.

Her ear is a bit swollen, and very bruised. She catches me staring and realizes what she’s done. She quickly covers her ear again with her hair, but it’s too late; I’ve stopped moving. She tries to continue walking, but I corner her against the lockers, putting a hand on either side of her body. When her back bangs against the lockers, she winces as if it hurt.

“What happened to you?” I reach for the side of her face and she flinches, but doesn’t pull away. I trace my fingers lightly against her cheek, up her jaw to her ear, pulling the hair aside as I move.

“Nothing.” She speaks quickly, but quietly.

Her voice is so quiet I have to lean in close to hear her words.

‘
Nothing my ass.’

Her ear looks like someone went all Mike Tyson on her, only without the bite mark
. I step into her, our bodies almost pressed together. I’m pissed as hell that someone touched her, and because she’s not saying anything, protecting the hijo de puta who did this.

“Do not give me that shit, Ja
s. Who’s doing this to you?”

Tears are welling up in her eyes
, but she blinks them away before they can fall.

“Nobody did anything. Just leave it alone, Alex.”

She pushes past me and heads for the gym, while I jog a few steps to catch up. “Come on Jas, there is no way you can be mad at me for caring about what happens to you.”

She stops so abruptly I almost run into her. “No Alex, I’m not mad
, but will you please just drop it?” The pleading look in her eyes melts my heart, and I want to give her anything she desires.

“Alright, fine.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “I’ll let it go
… for now.” She almost walks away when my next words stop her again. “But if you ever have another mark on you again, I’ll kill them. No matter who it is, I.WILL.KILL.THEM. Do you understand?” My voice is stern, commanding.

I think I actually see a small smile quirk up on the side of her lips before she answers me. “Deal.” She then walks into the gym where the assembly has already begun.

We stand next to the bleachers where we entered, not wanting to draw attention by attempting to climb through everyone else. The principal is speaking, going over what he deems appropriate behavior on this trip and how he expects everyone to follow the rules. Right, as if that will happen.

Then Mrs. Hubert takes over
the assembly. She laughs before she says, “Thank you all for coming this morning. Like any of you would pass up a chance at Hawaii, right?” Everyone laughs with her. “I am here because there is a twist we declined to mention to you all. We have rented out an entire plane for our trip, which you all know, but we’ve been holding out on you, I’m afraid.” She pauses, drawing it out longer. “We have seats available in first class for a few lucky students.” The crowd begins cheering. “There was a competition of sorts that has already been completed. So, the people who will be sitting in first class will be everyone who turned in their biology projects before this assembly.”

There are cheers in small sections throughout the gym. Then it occurs to me that Jasmine and I both turned in our project
before
this assembly. We look over at each other at the same time, and a slow smile spreads across both of our faces.