8 Part 7

Once back at the house, since it was close to time for everyone to be up anyhow, Alexia sent Anna to bed to rest, making sure she took the pain meds before she went. As the girl retreated with her now wired jaw and her casted cat cradled in her arms, Alexia looked to John, her look conveying all it needed to. John excused himself and retreated to the bedroom, calling into work and changing out of his sleeping clothes into regular clothes. Alexia down in the kitchen called Anna out sick from school. Once they reconvened at the kitchen table, both with coffee in hand, Alexia finally let the tears that she had been holding back all night out. "We need to discuss our son. It seems he has been lying." Johns face went from disbelief to rage to resignation in short order.

When Andrew got up, he found his mother waiting in the doorway and asked groggily "How is Anna?" Alexia's look was one of disapproval and pain. It didn't go unnoticed in the slightest but she told him Anna would be fine and he nodded, getting ready for school. Alexia watched his every move like a hawk, wondering how she could have raised such a monster. The boy also noticed her watching him and got suspicious. Did they know? Did she rat him out? Andrew shoved past his mom without looking at her again, saying "see you after school" only after he was past her. He found when he reached the living room though his father standing at the front door, dressed and watching him. "Whats going on dad?"

"Your grounded is what. I will be driving you to school and you will be coming straight home. No practice tonight."

Andrews heart sank. "Why?"

"Because you hurt your sister and her cat. Get in the car"

When Anna awoke, her jaw was throbbing and hurting. She felt like she was just waking from a bad dream and had slept wrong, until she sat up. Then her jaw went to throbbing and she realized it wasn't a bad dream. She glanced over at her clock to find it was almost noon and sighed, getting out of bed and venturing to the bathroom. After attending to her bladder Anna looked in the mirror. Her face looked bruised and she could see the butterfly sutures that the nurse had gently applied at the hospital hid the stitches that were holding the wire in her jaw in place. When they had said special brace, she hadn't realized they meant they were flat out putting a wire into her body. She looked like she had been in a race for her life, not just struck once. The purple mottling of the bruise stretched all the way from the edge of her lip to her ear and down her neck almost to her collar bone. She wondered how much of that bruise was from her brother and how much from the doctor the night before.

Shuffling the thought out of her mind, Anna made her way downstairs to find her mother relaxing on the couch and her father in his recliner. They both looked at her as she entered, neither saying a word. Anna could feel the tension radiating from both of them and looked away, glancing out the window to the deserted street outside. Finally after what seemed an eternity, her mother spoke. "Your father got the prescriptions filled and some jello and soups for you to eat for the next few days. And now that your up, the lock will be installed on your door. It's a simple bolt that can only be done up from the inside. For now, take your meds and relax. Your brother has been grounded and we wont let him harass you anymore Anna." Anna let the breath she didn't even realize she was holding escape in a long sigh of relief.