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ONE; SIGNS OF ABUSE

     "HOW MANY THIS TIME?" Leah Clearwater asked, sipping on her frozen lemonade. She watched as Jasmine closed her eyes, pressing her cheek against her knees, which were pulled up to her chest.

     "Four bruises on her legs, and a couple of scars on her hands. No face injuries this time."

     "Still sounds awful," Leah commented, eyes gazing over at the beach waves. Her little brother, Seth, was kicking around a football with a couple of his moronic friends. "Did you say anything?"

     "What's there to say?" Jasmine shrugged, playing around with the straw of her drink. "I try to comfort her, she tells me I'm a narcissistic bitch. I try to call for help, and my mother always stops me. I've reached a dead end."

     Leah pursed her lips. "If my father knew-"

     "He would contact my mother first. Then she would say that I was acting jealous, and Amelie and Eli are in love."

     "I don't understand," Jasmine's best friend grunted in frustration. "Can no one else see the signs but us? Amelie literally comes to school everyday with a face full of makeup."

     The abuse Amelie Jones received began after her father died. Jasmine didn't recognize the signs at first — she was too preoccupied with funeral arrangements for her father and accompanying her wailing mother for most of the meetings. However, the night before the funeral, Jasmine caught her younger sibling covering scars upon her face with makeup she bought from the local store. There was a brief fight consisting of yelling and swearing before Jasmine reached for the phone to call for Chief Swan. Amelie was begging her not to, insisting what was happening with her and her boyfriend, Eli, would never occur again.

     That was when their mother came home, face telling that she already knew about Amelie's bruises. She tore the phone away from Jasmine's grasp and told her daughter to mind her own business. In some twisted, sick way, Madeline Jones thought that her daughter being abused was just a sign of love. She tried to hang onto any form of the feeling after her husband passed away.

     So here they were, a year later, and Amelie still came home every now and then with fresh bruises.

     Leah thought it was tyrannical that Madeline refused to say anything, but she also believed it was idiotic of Amelie to keep quiet about this.

     "I don't know, Leah. Maybe we're just observant."

     Complying to her mother's orders, Jasmine never spoke one word of Amelie's abuse to anyone. Luckily for her, Leah was smart enough to figure it out. The Clearwater girl always wanted to do something about it, but Jasmine knew it wouldn't work. Madeline had thought of everything.

     Seth came jogging over, lips spread into a wide smile. "Hey, Jasmine!"

     "Hi, Seth," the girl smiled back, although she was sure she didn't show as much enthusiasm.

     "You want to kick the ball around with us?"

     Leah smirked, leaning back in her plastic chair to witness the scene unfold. It was no secret that Seth possessed a big crush on Jasmine, but given that the girl was five years older than him, there was no chance that Jasmine would throw him a bone.

     At that moment, one of Seth's friends threw the ball at him, hitting the back of his head. He groaned in pain. "C'mon, Seth!" They hollered. Jasmine offered him a small smile.

     "Maybe next time, Seth."

     Seth chucked awkwardly. "Oh, don't mind them. They're being idiots. I'll send them home if you want."

     "Try hard," Leah coughed. Seth glared at her.

     Jasmine laughed, standing up. For a second, Seth's heart raced at the thought of her interacting with him without his sister around. "No, Seth, I should really get going. Homework to do before the end of senior year."

     Leah scoffed, throwing her head back. "Don't remind me."

     Jasmine smiled and wished the siblings goodbye before she walked to her car. Before she could even reach the door handle, Seth had caught up with her.

     "Hey," he mumbled. "Were you uncomfortable back there? Didn't mean to make it so awkward."

     Seth knew that Jasmine knew about his crush. He didn't exactly hide it well and after all, Jasmine was one of the smartest girls around the reservation. And it wasn't as if she was one of those girls who were oblivious to everything — if you liked her, she probably knew before you even did.

     It came as a surprise to many that Jasmine never had a boyfriend before. She never really desired one, especially after seeing what her sister's boyfriend was capable of. She believed that relationships only caused drama, and more drama was something Jasmine couldn't afford in her life.

     "I'm fine, Seth," she laughed under her breath. "You know, you don't have to worry about me so much."

     His cheeks grew red. "Yeah," he stuttered. "I know. I just wanted to make sure."

     Jasmine twisted the car keys in her hand. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell me, Seth?"

     It was a rhetorical question. She knew there had been one specific question looming around in Seth's mind, but he never had the courage to say it out loud. Jasmine secretly hoped he wouldn't, for breaking his heart was not something that gave her joy. Although it was a silly reason, she didn't want her first boyfriend to be someone five years younger than her. Seth was a cute kid, she had to admit, but Jasmine was leaving for college in October and it wouldn't be fair to him. She wouldn't allow his first relationship to be for only mere months.

     He cleared his throat. "Nope, nothing at all. Just to have a safe drive."

     Jasmine offered a small smile. She stepped forward, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Seth jolted at the touch. "See you at dinner tomorrow."

     Seth watched as she drove away, fingers still grazing over the spot where she had kissed him.

     When Jasmine arrived home, there was no greeting for her. She had gotten used to coming home and her dad shouting a sarcastic comment, but she supposed those were all memories now. Her father was just a mere memory of her childhood, and the thought made her sad.

     She was about to head to her room when her mother's voice interrupted her. She was lounging on the couch, sipping beer. "Mail came in for you today."

     Jasmine paused in her tracks, feet leading her over to the kitchen island. Madeline stared straight into the television screen, refusing to acknowledge her daughter properly.

     She picked up a crisp white envelope laying there with her name written neatly. She sighed when she saw the two names at the top. It was Emily and Sam's wedding invitation, of course.

     Jasmine grew close to the woman when Leah and Sam were still dating. Emily would drive down every now and then, and she, Leah, and Jasmine would find themselves arm in arm at Port Angeles. Leah had stated that she agreed to be a bridesmaid, but Jasmine knew that it took a lot of persuading from Sue to get her to that point.

     She took the letter and envelope with her down the hall, pondering over her decision on whether or not to check the box stating she would be attending. Emily used to be her friend, after all, but Jasmine still held a grudge over the fact that Emily would marry the man who Leah swore was her soulmate. It all seemed sick and twisted to her.

     Not as sick and twisted as Amelie coming home the second day in a row with purplish marks scattered across her arms.

     Jasmine caught her before she could retreat to her room. "Are you alright?" She asked, being careful around her words. Anything could set Amelie off at this point.

     "Fine, Jas," her sister muttered, moving past her.

     "Please stop letting him do this to you."

     Amelie stopped in her tracks. Her head twisted, lips pressed into a thin line. "Don't talk about things you have no business being in, Jasmine."

     "You're my sister and you're getting abused by some narcissistic asshole! I have every right for it to be my business," Jasmine argued back.

      "Jasmine, leave it alone," her mother's voice drifted down the hallway. "Amelie's right — don't stick your nose into your sister's business."

     Jasmine's fists tightened. She swiveled around to face her mother, who was now up and off the couch, looking to insert herself into her daughters' conversation. Jasmine could say many words to her at that moment, but she decided to stick with the ones that would hurt the most.

     "You're a horrible mother."

     Madeline did nothing but narrow her eyes, retreating back to her spot on the couch.

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     "Talk to her."

     It was one of Seth's old friends, a person Seth could trust. Seth didn't even see him approach.

     "What?" He responded, dazed.

     His friend laughed, opening up his locker, which Seth was standing next to. He nodded over to Jasmine, who was conversing quietly with her sister. Although, from Seth's point of view, it looked more like a bitter fight occurring between the siblings.

     "Seth, you've been watching her for ten minutes. Little creepy now, don't you think?"

     Seth's cheeks grew red. "I haven't been looking at her for that long."

     It was the day where prospective middle schoolers took a tour of the La Push High campus, but that wasn't the reason why Seth was nervous. He was afraid because he was now in the same proximity as Jasmine. He had only encountered Jasmine when she came over to his house, ready to speak with Leah. Sometimes, Sue would invite her to stay for dinner and Seth would thank his mother for being the best mother in the world.

     "Alright, freshmen!" A senior said, approaching them. She was wearing a student ambassador lanyard and a smile that looked like it hurt. Seth excused himself from his sophomore friend, and made his way over to his group. "We'll be taking a tour of the classrooms next."

     The senior's eyes flitted over to Jasmine's figure, and her forehead creased in frustration. "Jasmine, we're supposed to be showing freshmen around, not having conversations with friends."

     Jasmine's eyes narrowed as she left Amelie and marched over to the group. "A little correction, August. That was my sister, not my friend. It would be a little considerate of you to be polite," she spat at the girl, removing the clipboard from her hands.

     Seth wanted to applaud.

     When Jasmine turned to face the group, a beautiful smile replaced her menacing frown. "Shall we?" The group began following her footsteps, and Seth smirked at August's loss of words.

     The tour went fine, but Seth hardly noticed anything the teachers were saying. His gaze was solely fixed upon the senior girl who had her head buried in her elbow during most of the classroom sessions. He couldn't believe that next year, Jasmine would be at the University of Washington — a college that was almost four hours away.

     When the group was dismissed of the day, Seth made sure to fall into step with Jasmine. He greeted her with an impish grin.

     "Hi, Seth," she responded. She had, of course, noticed Seth's strong gaze from across the classroom. It made her a bit nervous. "Did you enjoy the tour today?"

     If he was being perfectly honest, Seth didn't really need the tour. Leah didn't join when she was an eighth grader, and Sue was perfectly fine with her son being absent from it. However, any chance to see Jasmine before her years at La Push dwindled was an opportunity for him. Seth could take the long and boring lectures if it meant that Jasmine was always near him.

     "Yeah, it was great. You did an amazing job, especially when you told off that other girl."

     Jasmine smirked. "Who, August? She's a little bit on the annoying side. You know, she always has to be extremely perfect. Annoys the hell out of me."

     Seth chuckled. "So, are you coming over for dinner tonight?" It was better to approach the question, considering the pair were only standing a few feet from Jasmine's car. "I think mom's making your favorite."

     Jasmine thought about how nice it would be to get out of her house, and she sighed in relief. "That sounds spectacular, Seth. I think I'll drop by."

     The boy was mentally fist-pumping in the air, but on the outside, he simply smiled. "Great!" He exclaimed, nerves starting to eat him up. "I'll see you there."

     "Seth!" Leah called from the other side of the parking lot. "Did you want a ride home or not?"

     Seth silently cursed his sister for ruining their moment. Jasmine wished him a goodbye, but this time, there was no kiss on his cheek. Seth lamented at the fact, but left and piled into the passenger seat of Leah's car.

     The siblings were about to drive away when Leah suddenly gasped, foot slamming on the brakes. Seth groaned when he felt the jolt. "What the hell, Leah?"

     But then he heard it. It was louder than any of the useless chatter coming from the high school kids exiting the school. Seth couldn't believe what he saw, nor could he believe seeing Jasmine's figure rush towards the tall man with curses spewing out of her mouth.

     Amelie had just been hit by her boyfriend, Eli, and the whole population of La Push High had just witnessed the terror.

that cute gif of seth and jasmine is my fav

IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC ABUSE/VIOLENCE, PLEASE CALL 1-800-799-SAFE!!