• Published 30th Sep 2020
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Help - WittyNameTFM

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Chapter 7. Getting Out

It'd been a few weeks since the friendship games, Twilight was transferred quickly, not that any of the bolts could blame her. Cinch was on a warpath and home life hadn't gotten better, the tie was taken as a failure and Indigo was to blame for not winning the motocross portion.

Indigo sat in the living room, staring at the floor as her father shouted. She sank deeper and deeper at each insult and threat. She mustered enough courage to glance up, finding herself on the roof of crystal prep. A girl stood at the edge, looking down, she loosely held onto the railing, tilting back her head and looking to the sky before-

"Wait-!" Indigo found herself calling out as she pushed herself to her feet, running forward. The girl let go, just fingertips away.

Indigo jolted up, arm extended "Don't!" She said before looking around, her room. 'A dream.' She panted, 'Of course.' With a sigh, she pulled her knees in and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 'Can't I just get some rest? Please?' She asked tiredly. The memory of the girl letting her fingers slip from the railing made her heart sink. Another sleepless night it seemed.

The girl's features were hidden by the glare of the setting sun. She had to be a student though, she had on a varsity jacket. An athlete, of course. She even pulled her hair back, similar to most of Indigo's team mates. Her eyes drooped as she contemplated.

When she snapped back awake, a concerned Sunny stood in front of her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Wha? Oh, didn't sleep." She mumbled, trudging beside her tiredly.

"Why ever not?"

"Nightmares." She slurred, wiping her eyes. She didn't remember changing or getting on and off the bus.

"That's not good. What kind of nightmares?"

"I- can't remember." She lied. "Just remember it was bad enough to keep me awake, can we not dwell on it? Maybe I can forget more and sleep tonight."

"Well, okay." Sunny said, stopping in front of her locker. She opened it and took out a few items. "Oh! I'm trying out for the next school production. We're performing Peter Pan." She said, excitedly showing the script.

"That's cool. Forgot you were a theater kid. You're a lot more normal than the bulk of them."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Sunny pouted.

"Nothing, nothing." Indigo chuckled. "So who are you going for?"

"The titular character of course."

"Doesn't Peter have to be, y'know, a boy?"

Sunny tisked. "Don't think in such an old mindset, my dear. I shall perform the role better than any of my fellow club members." She boasted. "Now, the difficulty would be in finding my Wendy." She crossed her arms. "Most girls will have issues sharing the romantic scenes with another girl, but boys wouldn't want to take the 'girl' role." She mused, looking over to Indigo. "Would you like to be my Wendy?"

"Wh-What?!" Her cheeks heated and she turned away quickly. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"I'm teasing, Indigo." She giggled. "I figured you'd be less adverse to the idea, but you're not even interested in acting. Do come by and watch the tryouts, won't you?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Why would you want to be Peter anyway?" She asked as they walked.

"Well, partially because I enjoy the story, and partially because it's more practice, especially if I get the lead role. It'll look great to colleges I apply to."

"Oh yeah, guess we gotta work twice as hard to get decent recs because of that friendship games nonsense."

"Dean Cadence has assured me that Cinch cannot hold us back, legally. Any attempt can and will be met with legal action. My uncle's a lawyer." She boasted.

"Ooh. Is he gonna take all of our cases?"

"If we asked, probably." Sunny shrugged. "How's um-"

"I'm almost back to 100%. I can bend over without any pain in my ribs."

"Small steps."

"Yeah. Thanks for asking though."

"Well, I just- I mean,"

"I know the others are coming around, but you've had my back for months now. You have no idea how good it feels to have that." She gave her a warm smile, but under the warmth Sunny could feel a tiredness. Not due to lack of sleep, either.

"Of course. We're friends now, Indigo. What are friends for?"

"I have no clue to be honest. Never really had them for long."

"Well, start with confiding." She turned to stop in front of her. "Talk to me. Are you okay?"

"By your definition, probably not." She answered with a sigh. "Look, I just-"

"Indigo, all of the sports teams were on break when you got that injury." Sunny said quietly, glancing past her to note the security of their conversation. Indigo stiffened, her eyes darting to find an escape. "Don't run, please. I only want to help." She added, taking her hand. "You said it yourself, I've got your back and if you trust me enough to say that, you can trust me to understand the truth."

"Sunny, listen-" She meekly tried to pull her hand free, though the action was more for show, no force behind it.

"I am listening. I will listen, and I will help you. No matter the circumstance."

"It's not-"

"Indigo, I had to help you off the bus after the games. You could barely walk after that bike crash, you have to give me something here, I'm worried."

"It-" Indigo stared into the girl's eyes, determination and compassion stared back.

"It?"

"It-," She exhaled. "Wasn't an accident." She admitted.

"Tell me what happened."

"Can we not do this in the hallway though?"

"If you swear you'll tell me, we can take it wherever we need to."

"Follow me." She said, ducking down one of the halls. Sunny did as she was asked, keeping pace as Indigo led her to a stairwell. With practiced ease, she forced the lock on the stairs leading to the rooftop.

"You do this often?"

"Only when I need to think. Been having a lot more of those days lately." She shrugged.

Sunny closed the door behind her, Indigo strolling to lean against the railing as she watched the morning sky.

"So..."

"My dad did it." Indigo said quietly. "He's done stuff like this my whole life." She glanced back.

"Indigo, I'm sorry-"

"I don't want your apologies. Or your pity. I just want...to finish school so I can leave this place and never come back."

"Indigo, you don't have to suffer through this for any longer. I won't allow it."

"I appreciate it, but you don't have to get involved, if he-"

"If he what? If he put his hands on me, he'd only live to regret it." She crossed her arms. "And I'm not about to let you go through two more years of this before graduation."

"You don't have a choice in the matter!" She turned to face her. "This is why I don't let people in-"

"Because they'll actually care about you?" Sunny cut her off, frowning. "You don't have to bear this alone."

"But-" Indigo's eyes darted around, as if searching for a response, an excuse to escape.

"Indigo!" She huffed, the taller girl slumping.

"Sunny, please, you don't want to get mixed up in this. Maybe we should cut ties-"

"No. I'm not going to let you." Sunny said. "I'll pester you and talk to you everyday. You're my friend and you need help."

"I DON'T-!" Her eyes widened as she caught herself, mid outburst. Her fist was raised, but she didn't remember doing it. Sunny was bracing herself. Wasn't- Wasn't this what she wanted? Someone to see? Someone to notice? Someone offering their help.

Her arm dropped as she felt tears well up. "Sunny-" She said quietly. Sunny opened an eye before quickly stepping forward to catch her as Indigo dropped to her knees.

"I'm here."

"I'm sorry."

"You're okay, it's going to be okay."

"Help…"

"I've got you, Indigo." She held her loosely as the athlete bit back tears. Her forehead rested against Sunny's shoulder as the shorter rubbed her back soothingly.

It took her a few minutes to calm down and sit up. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to-"

"I know."

"It was instinct…" She said quietly, looking at her shaking hand.

"Indigo. It's okay." She assured her, smiling softly.

The door to the roof suddenly opened, Dean Cadence stepping through. "I thought I heard yelling from up here, what are you two doing up h-" Her scolding tone faded as she took note of the girls. "Ahem. Please refrain from public displays-"

"That's not-!"

"Dean Cadence, we need to talk to you." Sunny said, looking up. "It's important."

"Of course, let's go to my office." She nodded, turning to hold the door.

"C'mon Indigo."

"Right." She said, pushing up to stand. Sunny led her down the stairs as they followed Cadence to her office. Exhaustion washed over her, as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. They both took a seat at the chairs in front of her desk.

"Alright girls, what did you need to talk about?" Cadence asked with a small smile. For the first time in a long time, someone came to her for help. At Crystal Prep, that was rare.

"Okay." Sunny said with an exhale. She glanced to Indigo, who watched the ground nervously.

"I've, uh…" Indigo cleared her throat. "Been going through some stuff at home." She said, glancing up.

"Take your time." Cadence said, a sympathetic frown crossing her features. "What kinds of 'stuff'?"

"Well, I haven't exactly gotten along well with my parents for a while." She said, rubbing her arm nervously. "They-" She froze, looking up to the concerned woman. Sunny rubbed her back.

"You can do this."

"It's been going on for a few years." She mumbled. "He's been worse and worse lately. I actually competed in the games while I was recovering from one of his fits." She said, looking down. Shame and anger overtook embarrassment. She was the top athlete here. Things like this shouldn't happen to her.

"Would you like me to intervene?" She said, reaching back to open her top drawer, and digging out a card. The question pulled her from her thoughts.

"What can you do? Wouldn't you need proof or build a case or something?"

"I have to make a call and we go from there." She said. "One moment," She picked up her phone.

"W-Wait, it can't be that easy-"

"I don't think it will be easy. But you're not facing it alone." Cadence said as she dialed.

Minutes passed, Indigo was torn. She went through all of that for so long when all she had to do was say something? 'How fucking stupid am I?' She asked herself as she fought the urge to tear up. She was tired, hurt and ashamed. She was a fool to leave it for this long.

"Hey, it's okay." Sunny assured her from her side. "I've got your back, remember?"

She sniffled, glancing over to Sunny. "Right. I just- I feel so stupid."

"Don't blame yourself, Indigo. The first step can be one of the most difficult. You reached out." Cadence explained before returning to the conversation. "I need to make a report with Child Protective Services." She said. "This is Principal Cadenza Mi Amore from Crystal Preparatory Academy."

"Principal?" They both asked.

She gave them a smile in response. "Yes, I have a student living in an unsafe home." She explained on the phone. "Yes, sir I will make a statement if you need one. Thank you, I'll let her know. Thank you so much. Goodbye."

"So what happens now?"

"They are on their way to speak with you in person, you'll be taken home with police protection to speak to your father and gather your things. Do you have somewhere you can stay?"

"She does." Sunny said "is there anything we'd need to do to make it official?"

"I'll get the forms from the social workers and pass them onto your parents." Cadence smiled softly. "I'm relieved you came to me about this, I'm so sorry that I couldn't do anything for you sooner."

"That's my own fault…" She sighed. "Thank you de-...principal?" Indigo asked.

"Cinch was fired for her hostility. Perhaps a few rants directed towards her students found their way to the board of education." The woman shrugged with a wry smirk. "It was quite sudden."

"You- Damn, that's pretty good." Indigo chuckled, holding her side. "Okay. Laughing still hurts."

"You're going to have to show them where he hit you. Also, it's not your fault this happened. I would suggest speaking to someone, you're not at fault for any of this." She assured her.

"Things are going to get better from here on out. I promise." Sunny said with a smile.

"Thanks, I owe you." Indigo stared down at the floor. "I'm really tired, and I don't know how I should be feeling right now." She admitted.

"And that's okay." Sunny smiled softly. "It's okay to not know."

Indigo slumped in her chair. "Ugh, I'm ready to just conk out, right here."

"Try not to, we've got to talk to the officer."

"We?"

"You think I'm leaving now?" She asked. "I'm making sure you're okay before anything."

"Anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't stick your nose into other people's business?"

"You'd be the first." She shrugged.

"And just how do you expect your family to drop everything to help me?"

"Because I know them." She said. "Mom already wants to meet you."

"Meeting and housing are different."

The principal watched the girls argue for a few minutes, the students of this school were never this lively. Time passed and Sunny got in contact with her parents as Indigo gave her statement. The police escort brought them both to the now empty home. After gathering her things, she found herself in Sunny's home.

Her mother greeted her with a smile as they entered. "Hello dear, this is your friend?"

"Yes. This is Indigo Zap, Indigo, this is my mother, Cerise Flare.

"It's uh, nice to meet you." She said, not moving from her spot behind Sunny.

"Oh, it's just a joy to meet my little girl's friends!" She said happily. "Just wait until Solar gets home."

"Solar..?"

"My dad." Sunny said, walking toward the hallway past the living room.

Indigo visibly tensed at the word, but took a breath to calm herself. "Right."

"Oh, honey, you don't have to be nervous. You're safe here." The woman spoke, giving a warm smile.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"Follow me, we have a spare room you can set up in." Sunny said, heading down the hall, Indigo following after her. She led her to a decently sized room, not too big, with plenty of room for her things. She stood in the doorway, looking ahead, but seemingly zoning out.

"Indigo?"

"Is-Is this for real?" She asked, glancing at Sunny. "I'm not about to wake up for school, am I?"

Sunny smiled sadly, reaching to take her hand. "It's real, Indigo." She assured her, tugging her to enter the room. The taller girl quickly reached up to wipe her eyes. "Let it out." Sunny said, taking a step closer, keeping a hand on her helping to assure her.

Indigo pulled her into a hug, Sunny feeling the girl's body shiver as she held her. The one person who was there.

Her safety net.

Her help.

Author's Note:

Finally some good is coming to Indigo, I'm happy with how this is turning out. I hope you all enjoyed!

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