That Night

Chapter three

“Jessamine, honey, you know you could have come to us?” Her father said. 

“I could have, but then I would be in serious trouble at school.”

“Well, you already are. Your life is in danger, and Jess, I dont think that you can protect yourself.”

She was silent. She knew that if anything started to go wrong, she was instantly afraid. She was afraid of every little thing that moved, talked, or yelled. She could barely stand to talk to her own sisters and brothers. She knew her fathers were just trying to look out for her, but she was angry. She didn't want to be a weakling that everyone needed to protect. It was ruining their lives, especially Alessa’s. She was the one constantly in fights, and she had even been held in a cell for nearly killing a boy that was trying to flirt with her. 

Jessamine stared out the window. What was she going to do? She needed to be more confident, but she was scared of what that entitled. She would have to start going way out of her comfort zone.

As the car pulled in the driveway, she snatched her school bag and dashed to her room. As she dropped her bag on her bed, she found a small note.

Jess,

Would you mind coming and helping me with a little something? You don’t have to, but I thought you’d might want a break from all the chaos for a bit. It’s up to you.

-Vulcan

Her older brother wanted her to help him? She was tempted to say no, but he was right. She didn’t want to deal with anything more tonight. It would be a wonderful break from the constant fear and worry. She undressed from her clothes, and threw a tank-top and ratty shorts on, and bounded to the garage.

There, she found her brother playing with a motorcycle. She stopped and stared at it in awe. 

“Pretty cool huh?” Vulcan asked, wiping his hands with a dirty rag. 

“Yeah! Where did you get it from?”

“Found it in my boyfriends shop. He said if I could fix it, it was mine.”

“I’m guessing you took him up on that?”

He smirked. “Well it’s here isn’t it?”

She laughed. “So have you fixed it?”

Vulcan scowled playfully. “If by fixed you mean it was a pain in the a*s, then yes. It runs smoothly now.”

Jessamine touched the bike. As she ran her fingers over the paint, a jutted edge sliced her hand. Her blood ran purple down the rusted blue. 

“I’m sorry Jess. I didn’t have time to buff it yet.” He pressed the oily rag into her hand.

“It’s okay.” She couldn’t feel the sting of the cut yet. 

“If you want,” Vulcan said, sitting on a bag of alfalfa. “You could paint the bike.”

“Do you really mean it?” She asked, her eyes wide.

“I mean it. You, Avalie, Addeline, and Mynach can paint and doodle really well. I thought that maybe you and Avalie would love to have a go at it.”

Momentarily, she forgot about her previous encounter with death and jumped. The pain in her ribs stole the breath from her, and she crumpled to the ground. She clasped onto her side, curling into a small ball.

“Jess?!” Vulcan rushed to her side. “Are you okay?”

“My ribs,” she managed to say. “They- hurt.”

“Who did this to you?”

“D-“ She stopped herself.

“Was it Dylan?”

All she could do was nod. She wasn’t going to risk speaking his name. She already was going to get beat at school on Monday. 

“Oh Jessamine. I wish I could beat the stuffing out of him.”

“Don't worry about it.” She managed to sit up. “Alessa already tried that.”

“Did she hurt him?”

She shook her head. “No. The teachers stopped her before she could.” 

Vulcan leaned back. “Really? I know his sister. Does she know what he is doing?”

“He made her think that nothing was wrong with my being there, and all the screaming. He told her I was watching a horror movie.”

“That son of a-!”

“Vulcan! Please, it wont do anything to him. All it will do is hurt you and I. Please, for me, let it drop.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “Ill leave it be. But the next time he harms a single hair on your body, I’m not going to hold back. He has gone to far.”

Nodding, she stayed quiet. She was afraid to tell him everything. All she wanted to do was take his mind off of the topic. Suddenly, she had an idea.

“Hey Vulcan?”

“Yes?”

She took a deep breath. “Can we take a ride on the motorcycle?”

He smiled. “Oh? You wanna ride the toy?”

She laughed. “Yes. You said it yourself, it runs smoothly.”

“I do need to take it out on a test ride.....” he said, more to himself than to her.

“Then its a perfect opportunity to take me out!”

“Are you sure you can handle it? You seem badly hurt.”

She pouted slightly. “Of course I can handle it! I’m not weak!”

“I never said you were. Your stronger than most I know.”

She had nothing to say to that. He had caught her off guard. She watched him stand, and head to the closet in the corner. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, standing up. “Are you locking yourself in there?”

“Ha! You wish kiddo! I am going to lock you in there!”

She could hear him laughing and rummaging around. Vulcan was her favorite sibling by far. He was kind and he had an amazing sense of humor. She never had to play pretend with him. He loved her for who she was, not for who she could pretend to be. He never lied to her, and he never sent her away. He was a really good listener.

He came back with two riding jackets, one for her and one for him. She struggled to put it on, and Vulcan bent down and helped her zip it and make it her size. 

“It’s heavy,” Jessamine complained, her body legs straining to hold under the weight.

“I told you that you should start working out. It would make that skinny little body strong enough to hold the simple weight.”

“I’m not a boy,” she glowered. “Even if I worked out, it would still be heavy!”

Vulcan shook his head and just laughed. "you're quite the sister."