“So…where you from?” Kevin asked, trying to break the silence between them. She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked at the ground. He could tell she was very uncomfortable.
“Michigan. Detroit, Michigan. Originally anyway,” she said.
“Cool,” he said, “What are you doing in California? Vacationing?”
“Yea sorta,” she replied. He was going to ask about her bruise but quickly dismissed the thought seeing how uncomfortable she was.
“How did you and AJ meet?” he asked. He regretted saying it when he seen the look on her face.
“Um..he kinda..um..stopped me from..a.. making the..um…biggest ...a… mistake of my…Um… life. Um…I guess you could say,” she replied, tears forming in her eyes, threatening to fall. He could tell she was trying her hardest to keep them from falling.
Just then AJ came back with a fully dressed Howie. When he saw her face, he knew instantly something was wrong.
“Hey, uh D, Kev, why don’t you go get Frick and Frack and meet us downstairs for breakfast?”
“Okay.”
“Sure,” they replied at the same time. AJ and Jordan went back to his room.
When they got there, he asked, “Jordan, will you trust me and tell me what happened?” She nodded. AJ moved closer to hug her. He rubbed her back and in a tiny voice she said, “That hurts.”
“Rubbing your back hurts you?” She nodded.
“You mind?”
“You hafta find out *sniff* sooner or later.” He lifted the back of her shirt and was shocked at what he saw. He couldn’t believe it. The poor kid’s back was black and blue. She had quite a few cuts, which luckily weren’t infected.
“They’re on my *sniff* ribs too *sniff*,” she said as she pulled away and lifted the front of her shirt high enough to expose some of her ribs.
‘Man I’m surprised she doesn’t have a broken rib or two with those bruises,’ AJ thought. Then he couldn’t stand it and he looked away as he put her shirt down. He was going to be sick. She was so thin her ribs were sticking out.
Then there was an awkward silence between them. Thankfully, it was interrupted by a knock at the door. AJ got up and opened it. The guys were all standing there. They were in awe when they saw a teary eyed AJ. He motioned for them to come in. Kev asked him, “Bone, is Jordan okay?”
“Depends on your definition of okay Kev.” Then he walked over to Jordan, who was crying again and hugged her.
“Are you ready to tell us what happened?”
“A-A-Alright, I will.” She looked up and saw the others. She felt a lump
forming in her throat. Jordan calmed herself down and stopped crying.
She took a deep breath and began.
