Picing up the Pieces

This story continues on from where my other story, "Choices," left off, though reading that one is not necessary to enjoy this story.

I hope you enjoy reading my story. I know I enjoyed writing it. Please feel free to comment or provide feedback.

All characters are over the age of 18.

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I looked down and realized I had a text from Susan.

Susan: Hey Jenn

10 min

>>>>Jenn, are you there?

8 min

>>>>Please answer.

5 min

>>>>I really need someone to talk to. Can I come over?

>>>>Right now?

4 min

Jenn: Sorry

>>>>Yeah, I'm just finishing some hw

>>>>What's going on? Are you okay?

2 min

Susan: I'll let you know. Promise.

>>>>Heading there now.

1 min

Aftermath

These texts from Susan had me freaked out. My goal for the day was to finish up some homework and mostly veg out. The first day of practice starts tomorrow, and I wanted to take a chance to relax before my day got too crazy. But for now, all of that is on hold.

Something was up. Despite Susan and I knowing each other since middle school, we really hadn't gotten close until we started playing on the freshman soccer team together, but at this point she was probably my best friend. Together we grew from being physically awkward, nerdy, and shy freshman to fetching...nerdy, and...a little bit more confident seniors. It wasn't hard to tell she needed something. I just hope she's okay.

Throwing on a non-wrinkled t-shirt, I went upstairs to wait for her. It was one of the advantages to being an only child. The basement was finished. I had made it mine. It was generally pretty cozy, and because I didn't cause trouble my parents mostly left me to my own devices. It had two sections. One was the lounge room that had a big comfy couch, a computer desk, and an 'entertainment center'. The other was my bedroom with its own full bathroom. Before I had gotten the texts, I had been working on an essay.

Going to the front door to wait for Susan, I passed by the living room. Inside my mom and dad sat on the couch watching a Bears game on TV. "Hey sweetie! Do you need some lunch? There's some leftover pizza in the fridge if you're hungry."

"Thanks mom!" I called out to her. "Susan's stopping by for a bit. How's the game going?"

"It's not over yet, but it isn't looking good so far," my dad replied glumly.

"You never know," I said absentmindedly.

I stood awkwardly in the kitchen waiting for Susan to arrive. I grabbed a couple plates for the cupboard, setting them on the counter and then waited. She arrived as I was flipping idly through Instagram. Susan pulled the minivan she drove into the drive and got out. When she had first gotten it I had teased her a little about the minivan, but it had come in handy when bringing a group of girls to team dinners.

As Susan approached, I opened the door for her letting her in. Her long dark hair was down over her shoulders, about halfway down her back. Today she was wearing a dark wash pair of jeans and to my small pleasure, a cute striped sweater I had gotten her for her birthday a couple weeks back. I tried a neutral, "Hey there."

All I got was a muted, "Hey," in response.

She followed me to the kitchen. "Do you want some lunch?" I asked pointing to the two plates I had set on the counter. "I was going to reheat some pizza."

"Sure. That...would be good," she said listlessly. I busied myself with setting up the slices in the toaster oven.

"Susan! How are you?" we heard my mom call from the other room.

She leaned around the corner, into the living room. "I'm doing well," she replied evenly.

"I bet you're excited for the start of soccer season tomorrow," my dad commented.

She actually smiled at that. "I really am. Hopefully the season will be better than last year," she said a little glumly. Last year we had lost the final of sectionals, giving up a last second goal. Susan and my parents continued back and forth for a few minutes until there was a ding from the kitchen.

At that Susan returned to the kitchen as I was sliding the pizza onto the plates. "I hope you like meat lovers? Can you grab these while I grab some water?"

She knew the drill, and started down toward the basement. Over the past couple years we had probably been down there hundreds of times for various sleepovers, study sessions, and after school hangouts. I followed behind carrying a couple glasses of water. We both sat down on the couch and started eating the pizza. Well, I say eating. I was enjoying mine, but Susan was just nibbling on it. We both sat there quietly, Susan avoiding my attempts at eye contact.

I offered a, "I was just working on my personal perspective essay for Miss Carragher's class." She visibly flinched at the name, and had stopped moving. For a long time, neither of us moved or said anything. I could feel the tension growing.

She set her plate down onto the coffee table in front of us, and looked me in the eyes. Susan had gorgeous blue eyes, but today they were a little red...from crying earlier? "Jenn, can you...can you please close the upstairs door?"

This was what she texted me about. Setting my plate down, I made my way up the stairs to close the door, giving us some privacy. What was this all about? What could have happened?

I sat down next to her on the couch. "Susan, what's on your mind?" I asked as gently as I could.

She took a deep breath, and briefly looked into my eyes before looking back down between us. I could see tears already welling up. "Jenn. I did something. On Friday I got a notice to go to Mr. Eriksen's office after school."

A vague sense of dread crept up on me, "Go on."

She continued, "It started out okay, but then he told me that Miss Carragher caught me cheating on last week's essay."

"Wait, what?" I was a little confused.

"I've been so busy with everything at school and outside of it, that I took an old essay that Lisa's sister had. Miss Carragher hasn't even been at the school that long. How did she find out? It doesn't matter. She did, and she let Mr Eriksen know," Susan continued adding details to the story. I let her talk.

"He told me that I had a choice. According to the guidelines he would have to tell basically everyone that I cheated. Or I could elect to recieve corporal punishment."

"Corporal punishment?!" I interrupted.

"What was I supposed to do? If he told everyone I would lose my scholarships...maybe even my acceptance would have been revoked. Anyway, I signed a copy of a form saying I would receive clemency if I underwent the corporal punishment," Susan started to hold herself.

"Go on," I encouraged her.

"Jenn, he spanked me," she started crying.

"Oh, Susan. I'm really sorry," I told her.

"That wasn't all," she said. "I liked it. I...really liked it, and he found out," she said, barely above a whisper. I looked at her a little horrified. "He kept touching me and I didn't stop him. It felt good. Really good. We...ended up having sex and I didn't stop him. I could have. I should have told him no. I could have walked away, but I didn't."

"Oh my God. Susan..." was all I could manage.

"I saw him today, at church. You know his family goes to the same church as mine? After the service he came over to talk with my family. Like it was nothing, like he wasn't inside of me two days ago," at that she just curled up into a ball and started sobbing.

"Susan, I am so sorry that happened to you," I said as I put my arms around her. "You didn't deserve that." I sat there rocking my best friend in my arms. "It's going to be okay Susan. It's going to be okay. What...what are you going to do?"

She whispered, "I didn't know what to do. I can't just keep avoiding him forever. I sort of blocked it out, almost like it was a dream until this morning when I saw him again. Then I freaked out. Amy's family is out of town this weekend. So I tried to get a hold of you." Amy had been Susan's best friend for years. They had grown up together, and while at this point Amy went to another school, Amy was still Susan's closest friend. "I don't know if I can do anything. The corporal punishment is allowed...and I didn't say no to the other part. I'm so ashamed. "

"Susan, what do you need right now?" I asked her.

"I don't know. Just someone to be near. Someone that I can trust," she said looking up at me.

"Susan, I promise I won't tell anyone you don't want me to," I gave her a small encouraging smile. Turning around, I took a blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. Unfolding it, I wrapped it around her. She said a small "Thanks," as I held my arms tight around her. "If you need anything Susan, I'm here for you. Just let me know."

"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. Is it...is it okay if I just stay here for a while? I feel safe, here...," she asked.

"Yeah, do whatever you need," I told her.

I got up to grab a box of tissues. Bringing it over to her, I handed her one. Bringing it up to her face she blew into it, giving out a resounding HONK. I couldn't help but laugh. She looked up at me and gave me a genuine smile for the first time today. Walking over, I brought the trash bin over and set it on the ground in front of us on the couch.

"Is it okay if I finish up my homework? I still have my essay to finish, then I was going to work on making some flash cards for chem. I'll bring my laptop over so I'll be right here if you need me," I told her. I saw her go a little stiff at the memory of the work for Miss Carragher's class.

"Oh, yeah...thank you. I managed to get mine done, though it took most of yesterday," Susan said. She grabbed one of the pillows on the couch and hugged it tightly to herself. Clearly it would take a while for her to come to grips with this. I vowed to do what I can for her.

Getting up, I went over to my desk to grab my laptop and school bag. As I returned to the couch, I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. At my touch she sighed, and clearly relaxed a little. I settled onto the couch with my laptop and continued working on my essay.

"As such, Dante's path through the circles of Hell would have been impossible if not for the help of Virgil. Similarly I feel that if not for my own mentor..." It wasn't my best work, but it was good enough for the assignment. By the time I was done with the essay, Susan was napping, curled up against some pillows and the arm of the couch. She looked peaceful. Not wanting to wake her just yet, I set my laptop down in front of me and gathered the plates. Sneaking upstairs, I made sure to close the door quietly behind me.

Rinsing off the dishes in the sink, I placed them in the dishwasher. Behind me my mom came into the kitchen and asked, "Hey, how are you two doing down there?"

"To be honest mom, Susan's pretty stressed. She's got a lot on her plate right now," I managed to not exactly lie.

With a half frown, she said, "Maybe she should take it easy. She doesn't have to do so much all the time."

"You and I both know you're right mom. She just doesn't listen. If you get dinner ready, can you get some plates for Susan and I put together? Just let me know when they are ready," I said.

"Of course sweetie," she gave me a small hug.

Susan was still asleep on the couch. She looked a little angelic, with her cheeks naturally a little rosy, and with her hair splayed across her back and shoulders. I tucked a loose corner of the blanket in closer around her. When I sat down, she stirred a little, but just snuggled a little closer to the pillow. In the meantime I worked my way through the flashcards for my chemistry midterm: enthalpy, entropy, exergonic, endergonic...

Not long after finishing up my studies for chem, my mom texted me saying dinner was going to be ready soon. Turning to Susan, I gently shook her shoulder, "Wake up sleepyhead." She blinked her eyes a bit before sitting up. I could see it on her face. At first Susan smiled at me, then it was like she suddenly remembered what had happened. A look of panic overtook her face. I reached out to put my arms around her, "Susan. It's going to be alright. I'm right here."

Hugging me back, she whispered, "Thank you."

"Are you up for some dinner? My mom made some chicken curry," she gave me a look. "I swear, it was a complete coincidence." Chicken curry just happened to be one of Susan's favorite meals. "Hang tight, I'll bring some down for us."

I returned down the stairs, with two heaping bowls of yellow curry over rice. Susan was just coming out of the bathroom as I was sitting down. Eating together, she looked more comfortable than she had been all day. We spent the evening down there, catching up on various reality shows judging the singing, dancing, and various talents of contestants. It was our usual ritual, whether we would share the couch watching them or just text back and forth. We talked about who we wanted to win, who we definitely wanted to lose, our crushes. Tonight was no different, and I could tell it was lifting her spirits.

Susan had admitted to me that she was into both guys and girls before. Though, she admitted to me, besides a couple late night necking sessions at camp a couple summers previous she hadn't really had much experience with other women. I knew she had been seeing a guy, and they had gone all the way before. That was in the past though, as far as I knew Susan wasn't seriously thinking about dating anyone at the moment.

I had dated a few guys over the years. Some more seriously than others. I had told Susan that I wasn't into girls, but some were definitely cuter than others. She had always teased me about that in the past, telling me that I was "halfway there," and that "you just need to meet the right girl."

Susan kept up her teasing tonight, "Okay, now if you had to be stranded on a desert Island with either Leslie or Jamie, who would it be?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "If it had to be one. It would be Jamie. You saw how fast she was able to build a fire, I can't do that!"

"You know what I mean Jenn," she said exasperatedly.

"Still Jamie," I blushed a little, sticking out my tongue at her. Jamie was lithe, confident, and had these piercing blue eyes. I had to admit to myself that the biggest reason why I didn't want her to be eliminated was because of how cute she was.

"See! See!" she said, looking at me accusingly. We went back and forth like this for the rest of the evening.

It was getting late, "Hey Jennifer, I should probably get home, but thank you for everything." She got up, fiddling with the blanket folding it back up. I could see her start to get more tense. We walked upstairs, and Susan said her goodbyes to my parents.

I walked her out to her car in our driveway. "Hey Susan, I could pick you up in the morning if you'd like? If you'll be more comfortable with that. And since practice starts up after school I can give you a ride home. Would that help?"

"That...that would be amazing. I don't know what I would have done without you," she turned to hug me. Susan held me tight, and we stayed like that for a while. I could feel her breathing in my arms, her warmth, the floral scent of her shampoo. Eventually she pulled away, and I was sad to see her get into her car and drive off.

That night in bed I thought about what happened to Susan. It made me so angry, Mr. Eriksen taking advantage of her like that. If I could I was going to protect her.

Jenn: Good night Miss P

6 min

Susan:Good night Miss G!

>>>>Thank you for everything. I really mean it.

3 min

Jenn: No problem

2 min

Susan: Sweet dreams

1 min

Jenn: Thx U2

1 min

Next morning

I got up bright and early the next morning, since I had to make sure I would be ready to pick up Susan. Making sure I had my practice gear and my bookbag, I went to head out the door.

"You're headed out the door early today," my dad said.

"Oh, I'm going to be picking Susan up today. We figured it would be a bit easier this way with soccer practice," I replied.

"Can't fault that logic. Good luck sweetie," he kissed me on top of my head.

I got into my little silver compact, and made my way over to Susan's house. As soon as I pulled into the driveway she popped out of the door with her own bags. She always made the school's uniform look good, crisp button down and plaid skirt. Susan threw the bags into the back seat, and sat down.

"How'd it go last night?" I asked her.

"I've been better," she admitted. "I couldn't really sleep."

I gave her a slight frown, "I'm sorry. Did you get breakfast? Big day you know."

"Yeah, I had my usual oatmeal and bacon," she said.

"Atta girl," I gave her a smile.

We drove on in silence for a while, but once the school got into sight I had to ask her, "Are you...are you going to be okay?"

"To be honest, I don't know. You helped a lot. You are helping me a lot. I guess I just need to get distracted by my work."

Parking the car, "Makes sense, but don't forget, I'm just a text away. Let me know if you need anything at all."

She gave me a small smile, "I can't tell you how much I'm in your debt Jenn. I would be a mess right now if it wasn't for you." She leaned over to give me a small hug.

"Let's do this," I told her. We got out of the car and headed into the school.

Normalcy

"Holy moly, I figured he'd push us hard, but not that hard," Susan said collapsing into the seat of my car. We were both dripping from sweat. Coach had us run sprint after sprint. I couldn't fault him, most people didn't take winter training seriously. He had to weed out the pretenders, and we needed to get up to speed. It had been warmer than expected, so we were able to do our drills outside.

"I know I'm going to need a nice cool bath when I get home," I said as I rolled down the windows. The cool breeze felt fantastic. "Today was a good day?"

Susan didn't say anything for a little while, "It was a normal day...which is to say, I think that's a good thing."

"Good! Let's plan for the same thing tomorrow...except we'll probably be a little more sore," I groaned. She laughed at that.

I grew a bit more serious, "Did...Miss Carragher say anything?"

Susan looked pointedly at the dashboard for a while, then said, "She talked with me. She said Mr. Eriksen told her that the matter was handled, and we scheduled a time to do a make up. It looked like she had some questions she wanted to ask me about it, but she kept it to herself."

"Thank God for that," I said.

Susan let out a big sigh, "Yeah. Would you be willing to pick me up early on Thursday, for the make up?"

Looking at her, I reached out and gave her hand a squeeze, "I can do that. Look Susan, it's going to be alright."

She held onto my hand, seeking small comfort in it. Laying back against the seat, she closed her eyes. We stayed like that, quiet for the rest of the ride back to her place.

We continued like this for a couple weeks. I would pick her up in the mornings, and drop her off in the evening after practice. Sometimes during the week we would have study sessions at each other's houses, and of course during the weekend one of use would end up at the other's house for a movie or game night. It was a source of stability for Susan, one I was happy to continue.

Monday was our first game of the season and Susan had come over the Sunday before. We had made it a small tradition of getting into our gear and doing a small photo shoot before the first game. We had finished up with our makeup. Now both of us were putting on the finishing touches to our nail polish. We used the school colors, Blackhawk Blue for the base and Blackhawk Gold for the tips. Everyone calls it a 'gold', but it really was more of a yellow. Not that it matters too much, as long it matched our kits.

I don't want to brag too much, but we looked pretty good. Coach did a good job of picking the jersey this year. They were a nice deep blue color and had a subtle geometric yellow throughout. And unlike last year, the manufacturer didn't make them way too tight. We both marched upstairs to the back where my dad was waiting to take pictures. We both stood there as my dad gave us directions for different poses: stand back to back, "ready to rumble," finger guns, bunny ears. He even managed to get a shot of the two of us juggling a ball back and forth. Then he told us to do whatever. I sort of stood there awkwardly trying to think of what to do when Susan turned to face me. She walked over and placed her arms around me. I did the same, holding her close.