All characters are at least 18. This is a rewrite of a story that I had on here before, so there's no need for you to accuse me of plagiarism.
Jessica was cold and shivering despite piling several old blankets onto the bed. It was winter and the old farmhouse was cold, especially since the electricity had been turned off. The woodpile was getting very low, Jessica had noticed that evening when she got home from school. What would they do when they were completely out of wood? She managed to build a fire in the lone fireplace in the house each morning, but she was hesitant to build another fire when she got home from school because she didn't want to use the small amount of wood that they had left.
Her father, Marty, was often not at home for days on end. When he was there, he was usually too drunk, or high, to get a good fire going. He usually bought a few groceries once a week, but not nearly enough to keep Jessica from being hungry. With no electricity, they had practically no perishable goods. Jessica usually ate some bread and, on rare occasions, a banana for breakfast. At night she usually went hungry, but sometimes opened a can of soup and ate directly from the can. The lunches at school were almost unpalatable, but they were free and she forced them down. She sometimes wrapped part of it in a napkin and brought it home for her supper.
Jessica Smithson had just turned 18. She was a Junior in high school, the oldest in her class. She had missed so much school over the past couple of years that she could not pass her course work. She should be graduating this year. She was so withdrawn that she had lost all of her friends. The teachers had shown concern for her, but she was unwilling to admit to anyone the horrendous conditions in which she lived. She often walked a mile down the road to catch a ride to school with a neighbor, but refused to discuss the situation at home.
It had not always been this way. When Jessica was a Freshman, 3 years previously, she had been among the top students in her class. Her older brother, Nolan, had been valedictorian of his class that year and was a popular athlete in both football and basketball. He had gotten an academic scholarship and moved 200 miles away to go to college. All of that happened before anyone, including Nolan, knew that their parents, Marty and Beth Smithson, were both addicted to prescription drugs.
Shortly after Nolan moved away to college, their mother began staying out all night several times a week. Their father, Marty, drank every night. Jessica gave him a wide berth. He had been such a kind, gentle man when she was younger, but now he yelled at her and was verbally abusive in other ways, as well. He often called her names, like "bitch" and "little slut". This puzzled Jessica, for she had never even had sex, nor had she ever even come close to doing so. She had never even been kissed. She had never had a date. She had become scared of her father and tried to stay away from him.
After a few months, Beth had been arrested for breaking and entering. When the police searched her car, they found stolen property. Apparently, Beth would drive to homes in isolated areas and, if no one was home, she would break in and search for pain pills or valuables that she could pawn. Jessica was shocked, having never suspected that her sweet mother was capable of such things. Her mother was a beautiful woman and had brought her children up to go to church, to read their Bibles every day, and to practice the Golden Rule. Then, almost overnight, she had changed. They quit attending church, although Jessica sometimes got a ride from a family who attended their congregation. Jessica started noticing that her parents drank in front of her, as if they no longer cared that they might be setting a bad example. They had taught her and Nolan that drinking was a vice. Jessica couldn't understand why anyone would want to drink or do drugs.
When Jessica was in the eighth grade, her father had an accident at work, injuring his back. He had several operations, but was still in constant pain. He was put on disability and soon was addicted to pain pills. During this period of time, Beth slipped on ice and hurt her hip. The doctor gave her a prescription for pain meds, but refused to continue to refill them. She was still in pain, so used her husband's pain medicine. She soon recovered from her injury, but was addicted to the pills. Her husband's prescription was not enough to satisfy their addictions, so they started buying them from drug dealers. Her addiction became so pronounced that she lost her job. Soon, practically all their income went toward providing themselves with pain pills and alcohol. Nolan had moved away to college, leaving Jessica at home, but almost totally ignored.
Beth wrote letters to Jessica from jail. She explained to her how she had gotten addicted to pain pills and had become so desperate to feed her addiction that nothing else mattered. She had broken into homes to search for drugs and to find valuables to sell.
Marty's income consisted of a disability check. Jessica wondered if they were not eligible for other relief, but when she mentioned it to Marty he had become enraged and she was actually fearful that he might strike her - something that he had never done.
Jessica had never thought of herself as anything special. She was 5-10, and had always been lanky and thin, but she had been pretty. She had very dark, almost black, straight hair and brown eyes. Many people told her that she resembled Tina Fey, but her hair was much darker and she was a lot taller. Two years of malnutrition had changed her looks. She was now painfully thin, her hair lacked luster and her face looked shriveled. Nobody ever told her that she was cute or pretty like they once had.
As Jessica lay in her cold bed, shivering, alone in the old farmhouse, she realized that she had to act. She was hungry and cold. If there was a real cold-snap, she might actually freeze to death, she feared. She had been reluctant to tell anyone what was going on, but her clothes were ragged and it was difficult to stay clean with no electricity. She carried buckets of water from a stream that they used for drinking water and to bathe. She had asked her father to buy bottled water to drink, but he had ignored her. She was thankful that she could shower after P.E. class at school. It seemed such a luxury.
The next day she entered the office of the Guidance Counselor, Miss Watson. She was a kind, middle-aged woman that had, several times, tried to talk to Jessica about her situation. Everyone, of course, knew that Beth was in jail. Jessica was obviously depressed and looked haggard, unkempt, and had obviously lost weight.
"Hey, Jesse! Come in," Miss Watson said as she closed the door and Jessica sat down. "What's up, Honey?"
Tears began to stream down Jessica's face. She sniffled, wiped her face, blew her nose, and said, "Miss Watson, I was wondering if you would let me use your phone to call my brother?"
Miss Watson regarded her with concern. "Jessica, do you not have a phone at your house? Not a landline or a cellphone?"
Jessica ducked her head, unable to look her in the eyes. She shook her head, but offered no explanation.
Miss Watson got up and sat in a chair next to Jessica, taking her hand and stroking it kindly. "Jesse, you know that we are here to help you, don't you? We WANT to help you, Honey." Tears came into her own eyes.
Jessica suddenly looked directly in her eyes and jerked her hand away. "I just want to use the phone. Is that too much to ask?" she demanded.
Taken aback, Miss Watson paused for a minute, studying Jessica's face. "Of course you can use my phone, Honey. I'll just step out. How long do you need? Is 5 minutes enough?"
Jessica nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."
"No, it's okay, Jesse. I know you're going through a tough time. I wish you would talk to me about it. That's my job, you know," she said as she got up and walked to the door, opening it.
"Thank you," Jessica nodded. Miss Watson closed the door as she stepped out into the hall.
