The story she carries

I was in the bathroom when I heard a knock on the door

"I'm in the bathroom" I replied to the person on the other side of the door. I went back to scrubing my body and I didn't realised when the door fell open. I wasn't the only one in the house Mr Christopher was at home with me while my younger brother and Mr Christopher's children went to play football outside. I picked up my towel and mopped my body stepped out of the bath tub and when to the sink to brush my teeth. I picked up my brush and applied the toothpaste I brushed my teeth and smiled at the mirror before proceeding to step out of the bathroom. I opened the bathroom door and I saw Mr Christopher sitting on my bed with a towel tied below his waist. I was shocked before I could make another move, he pulled me to the bed letting my towel to fall on the floor

"what are you doing sir?" I asked with fear in my eyes

"what does it look like I'm doing?" he asked with a harsh tone. Before I could utter another word, he loosed his towel and pounced on me. I screamed for help but no one was around to help me, struggling at this point felt pointless because he was already having his way. I just laid there crying bitterly, I couldn't do anything. When he was done he picked up his towel and made for the door but paused and turned back to look at me "if you tell anyone about this I will kill you" he said and shut the door behind him. I didn't move from the position I was in but I could feel the blood running down my legs I just laid in that position and cried bitterly. I knew I had to stand up at some point, I didn't want my siblings to meet me in that position.

After crying and cursing for what felt like hours, I stood up, with pains and blood stains on my legs, I went to the bathroom to clean myself up. I prepared a hot bubble bath and just sat in the bathtub washing away the pains and hurt I was feeling. After some minutes, I went back to the room, changed my bedsheets took the blood stained sheets to the laundry. I came back to the room and just laid in bed like nothing had happened. I was afraid to tell my parents not because Mr Christopher threatened me but because I didn't know how they will react. I decided to wait for them to get back so I could explain it to them instead, maybe that way it wouldn't look like I'm lying but was that the best decision? I don't know maybe keeping it to myself will be the best decision and I will make sure my parents dont bring us back here again. I convinced myself that I wouldn't tell my parents and I will make sure we don't come back to the Christopher's.

The boys were already back from playing football. My brother ran upstairs to my room to tell me how he scored almost all the goals for his team.

" That's my boy" I said patting his head

" Thanks sis I'm hungry" he said rubbing his tummy

" Go to your room and freshen up I made spaghetti, your favourite

" Yayy " he said and skipped excitedly to his room.

I was sitting in the backseat of the family car. My parents, casually chatting in the front, my mother laughing at something my father said. My younger brother is beside me, playing a game on a tablet, completely unaware. To the outside world, it's a peaceful reunion. But to me, it feels like being locked in a glass box.

I clutched my bag tightly on my lap. My thoughts are loud: the memory of what happened still fresh, replaying like a broken film reel. I watch my father's hands on the steering wheel, and for a fleeting second, the image of his friend's hands flashes in my mind, my stomach tightens immediately and I felt disgusted . The ride home felt like a long and torturing one but we finally got home. Back home, I slowly unpacked my bags. The house that once seemed like comfort and familiarity, now feels alien to me. My parents tried to make me and my brother feel at ease by

asking about our time away, what we ate, how his friend treated us. " we had a great time" I lied.

Night finally came and I couldn't sleep. I stared at the ceiling, flinching at every creak of the house. I started avoiding eye contact with my dad, though I knew in my mind that he wasn't the one who hurt me. Still, my mind couldn't separate him from the man who did this because they were friends. I finally found sleep admist my thoughts.

It's was a school day and I wasn't sure if I was ready for school yet but I didn't show it I didn't want my family to suspect. I got up and got ready for school. My mom got my brother ready for school and they dropped us off after breakfast. We finally got to school and I knew that my friends will notice my werid behaviour. My best friend was the first to notice. She noticed that I became quite and withdrawn. I reacted differently when someone touchs my shoulder unexpectedly. I didn't dress the same. I avoided P.E. and started skipping lunch. Students started talking and she came to confront me about my sudden change. "you don't need to worry about me I'm fine" I told her trying to dismiss her

"well you don't look fine" she said. Just then I saw my mom's car drive into the parking lot " my mom's here i have to leave now" I said in a hurry

"make sure to call me when you get home" she yelled. I wasn't sure if I was going to call her but I said okay just to end the conversation. I should have told her cause she was my best friend but I didn't trust anyone at this point.

I got home later that afternoon. I was taking a walk round the house when I noticed my dad on a phone call. I don't know why I went to eavesdrop but I overheard him on the phone with Mr Christopher. He was laughing and chatting with his friend even planning a barbecue for the weekend, my heart raced. My vision became blury. I dropped the plate i was holding which startle my dad. My mom ran to the scene, she scolded me for being clumsy. I ran upstairs and locked myself in the bathroom. I didn't want my parents to see me crying. I felt like my parents were betraying me by keeping contact with Mr Christopher but it wasn't their fault cause they weren't aware of the situation. At this point I wanted to scream, to tell someone but I was scared. What if they don't believe me? What if my dad gets mad? What if they blame me for lying? Then I remembered what he said: "Don't tell anyone. No one will believe you anyway."

I began to ask myself questions : Did it really happen? Was it my fault? Did I do something wrong? I said staring at myself at the mirror trying to find myself but she was hidden deep down, she was scared and lost. Maybe I should tell my best friend she'll understand me. I picked up my phone and texted my best friend narrating every detail to her. I didn't feel relieved after cause I didn't know how she will react but at the same time I felt good, I was happy that I finally told someone.

My best friend was shocked when she heard the news. She was at my door the next day looking worried. I took her to my room and there I narrated to her how the whole event took place. She didn't hide the fact that she was surprised, she couldn't cause that was a shocking news. She asked if I informed my parents about it but I refused I told her that I was scared and I didn't want them to know about it. She promised me that she wouldn't tell a soul about news and she promised to keep it a secret. We changed the topic and discussed about something else.

She told me how she was thinking of taking up an after school sport activity I also wanted to take up an after school sport activity but i didn't know the one to go for. I tried cheer leading last session but i was bullied by the senior girls so I left.

We spent the rest of the day talking about radom things. We later joined the family downstairs for lunch after which I left with Margaret to her baseball practice. She had baseball practice at school she was the team captain. Since they had a big game coming up, they had to make use of the school pitch to train on weekends. I sat on the bleaching boards like a proud mother watching my best friend train for her upcoming game. I was cheering for Margaret when my eyes caught something beautiful . A very stunning guy who could be mistaken for one of those male models that you see on television. He had thick long blonde hair, big bright smile that reflected his beautiful brown bright eyes, he was also very tall and elegant. I don't think I've ever seen him in River stone Academy. He walked up to where I was sitting I noticed that everyone's attention was drawn to him at this point. I wasn't the only one admiring this hunk, the whole school was. When I noticed he was moving towards where I was sitting, I quickly looked away pretending to be focused on the game. He came and sat next to me.

"you must really enjoy the game" he said bringing me back to reality. I snapped out of my thought and let out a chuckle before addressing him.

"my name is Chris" he said extending his hands out for a hand shake and a proper introduction from me.

" Jade Smith" I said still stunned by how stunning Chris looked.

"do you play too?" he asked snapping me right out of my thought again.

"no I don't I just came to watch my best friend" I said staring him in the eyes. I noticed he was feeling a little uncomfortable so I took my eyes away from his and instead, took time to study his fit. He had a brown tank top on with a pair of black shorts and a casual males footwear on. It was quite hot so the tank top was quite acceptable. You could see his broad chest from his tank top and his biceps just sat there staring at me. He was so built for his age even though I didn't his age.

"oh ain't you going to ask me too" he said drawing my attention away from his body to his pretty face.

" sorry do you play?" I asked locking eyes with his.

"no I don't. I play basketball and I'll love it if you could come watch me sometime" he said. Is he flirting with me? I thought to myself. He thought I was not comfortable with he said so he quickly tried to change what he said.

"or I can teach you" he said hoping to break the silence.

"well that's not a bad idea I was thinking of an after school sport and basketball sounds great I haven't tried it before" I said sounding very excited to ease the tension that was beginning to surround the atmosphere.

"okay then it's a date" he said wearing a smile across his face. He was definitely flirting with me. I thought to myself before letting out a smirk.

" so why are you here" I said trying to change the topic.

" I came to pick up my little sister" he said feeling like a proud big brother.

We spent the last few minutes talking about radom things and laughing. We also took time to watch the game and he siezed the opportunity to show me his little sister. She was also a blonde. "she's blonde too I guess it runs in the family" I said smiling at him. He let out a chuckle " well only my mom, me and my younger sister. My dad and elder brother ain't blonde though" he said. So there's more where he came from I said to myself and went on to imagine how his elder brother would look.

Soon the practice was over and it was time to go. Britney, Chris's sister packed her bags and ran towards her brother while I went down to join my best friend.

"I'll see you at practice tomorrow?" Chris asked clutching his sister's bag on his shoulder.

"sure thing" I said excitedly as I walked to where my best friend was. She was waiting for me in the changing room. When I got there she didn't say much to me I guess she was just tired from working herself on the pitch.

"you did so well today" I said trying to break the silence.

"thank you" she said rather cold. The rest of the ride home was quite.