I awoke in my bedroom, the sun bursting through the windows and Sebastian lying next to me. I sat up and blinked the sleep out of my eyes. Suddenly fear struck my chest, the memories had come rushing back, the horrible memories of last night. I brought my knees to my chest and slowly rocked myself back and forth, crying. This had caused Sebastian to stur but he did not wake. I looked down at the sleeping boy, his hair was messy and covered his eyes, his hand was under his head and the other was outstretched to where I was laying. I slowly rose off the bed and walked over to the dresser closest to the window, this was where William had attacked. I lifted up the sleeve of my shirt, well Sebastian's shirt. It was a little big for me but it covered almost my entire body which now made me feel safe. My arm was covered in bruises, handprints and teeth marks. I fell to my knees and wept, the tears hit the wooden floor with small thuds. Suddenly Shakespear's head pops out from under the bed. His bright orange fur was shinning in the morning sunlight. His pupils had dilated and his tail was sticking up, I guess he was there to witness what happened last night. I grabbed the cat and brought him to the bed and laid down with him purring softly in my arms. I laid him down gently at my feet once his tail had stopped twitching and his pupils had gone back down to their normal size. I rolled over and put my head on Sebastian's shoulder, the movement did not wake him at all. He really had stayed, just like he said. While he slept I trace the shadows the overgrown bushes outside my window had cast on Sebastian's arm gently making sure not to wake him. The sun brought out the colour of Sebastian's hair, it made it look fluffy, I had to touch it. His hair was soft under the touch of my fingers, it was as light as a feather. Sebastian sturred under my touch. He turned over, his head still resting on his hand, his eyes pointed up at me.
"Good morning Darling, how did you sleep?" He said, his voice was croaky and rough from sleep.
"I slept well, better than I ever have before" I smiled and tousled his hair.
"And why is that?" His accent was very strong there, it was like he had been around for years, practising his English accent for centuries.
"Because you were by my side" I rolled over ontop of Sebastian and kissed him gently. Sebastian chuckled and sat upright, wrapping his arms around my waist being careful of the bruises. I placed my head in the crook of Sebastian's neck as he rubbed his thumb up and down my back. Sebastian let out a long sigh, I looked up to see what was wrong, but to my surprise, he was smiling like a crazy person. His teeth were bared but they were so perfect yet they seemed frightening. Suddenly Shakespeare jumps onto the bed and curls up at the foot of the bed. Sebastian laughed at the cat and then turned his attention back to me. He frowned and touched my neck. I flinched at the pain as he poked at it.
"What is it?" I asked
"It's just another bruise" He sighed. I could see the same anger he had in his eyes last night in his eyes now. I wonder where William is now and what he is doing.
"You should tell your mother about this"
"But she's madly in love with William, she's probably so in love she won't listen to me" I scoffed.
"Oh come on, surely she would listen to you, especially if William did this" He gestured to the bruises on my arms and legs.
"But what if she doesn't?" Sebastian hesitated at the question, unsure of what to say. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could his head snapped toward the noises coming from downstairs. He had heard William's voice, he was speaking to Mother.
"Your daughter, Anne, she came onto me last night," William said. He kept his voice low hoping I wouldn't hear.
"Oh really, well I would never think my daughter would come onto a man" Mother had replied, uncertain and definitely not convinced.
"But she did, she beckoned me to come forth to her while she lay in bed then climbed on top of me bringing me to the floor"
"She would never do that, she knows better"
"Well I guess you're wrong" William snickered. Before I could register what was happening Sebastian had gotten out of bed and was heading toward the door. I leapt from where I sat and grabbed for his bare wrists. Sebastian's chest was bare, he had strong biceps and abdominal, it was as if he were carved from stone by a sculpture.
"Sebastian, don't go out there, you'll only get me into more trouble"
"And he will keep telling more lies!" He protested.
"We'll figure out another way to prove that what he said isn't true" Sebastian stared at me with his big brown eyes, they dug deep into my soul. Finally, he let go of the door handle and sat down on the bed next to the cat. He stroked Shakespeare's head for a while before speaking again.
"What do you suppose we do?" He asked.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure but I can maybe show Mother the bruises before they fade"
"But what if she thinks they're your handprints or you got him to do it?"
"They're too big to be my handprints and if she really believed William and if he really loved my mother he wouldn't have done it"
"Right, but he did it anyway"
"Ugh!" I threw my hands up in protest and flopped on my back and landed next to Sebastian. I reached for his hand, our fingers interlocked. It sent shivers up my spine. I shuffled over a bit, resting my head on his lap. I felt like my world was slowly crumbling and the only thing holding it together was Sebastian and the cat and of course Phillis but I was losing Mother to William's horrible lies.
"Well there has to be a way, some way to prove you're innocent," Sebastian said glumly.
"I can talk to Mother once William leaves" I suggested.
"Yes, but what if he doesn't leave?"
"Well he has to, he has to go to work"
"Right, well, in that case, should I stay or should I go?"
"I'd rather you stay please" I puffed out my lip like a child and squeezed his hand gently. Sebastian squeezed my hand back and kissed my forehead.
"Of course I will stay, your wish is my command"
When William had left for work, I got out of Sebastian's T-shirt and handed it back to him and ducked into the same white dress I had worn when I first met Sebastian, which really was only two days ago but it felt like years. Sebastian smiled at the dress and walked toward me and put his finger under my chin.
"Do you remember this" He leaned in close to my ear and whispered, with a deep and soothing voice.
"I will see you tonight darling" I blushed at the memory and smiled up at Sebastian. I got onto my toes and kissed him quickly and dashed out of the bedroom door. As I headed down the stairs I could hear Mother and Phillis talking.
"William said Anne came onto him," Mother said, she sounded doubtful but the doubt was very faint as if it was just a trick of the brain.
"I don't believe it, she's only a child, what kind of child would do such a thing?" Phillis protested.
"That's what I keep thinking, and the way William smiled when he talked about-" Mother paused at the sight of me standing at the end of the staircase.
"Good morning Mother, Phillis"
"Good morning Anne" They both chimed. Phillis gave Mother a slight nod and headed off to the laundry room. Mother was seated at the table with an empty bowl in front of her.
"Sit down honey," Mother said, patting the seat next to her.
"Yes, Mother" I quickly rushed over to the seat, lifting my dress up and sitting down.
"Anne honey, is it true that, you came onto William while we were gone last night?"
"No of course not!" I shouted but quickly turned it to a soft whisper.
"Anne, you can tell me the truth, I won't be mad" Mother looked at me with disappointment in her eyes. She put her hand to my shoulder but I flinched at the pain. Mother's expression changed, she now had a confused look on her face. She slowly pulled down the top of the dress just to see my shoulder, and there it was. A big blue and purple handprint with nail indents. Mother gasped and shook her head.
"Mother, I swear, I would never come onto him," I said. Mother just stared at me in disgust and horror. She didn't believe me, she didn't believe I was the one attacked. I started rolling my sleeves up revealing more bruises and cuts but the more I showed her the more she became disgusted. How could she not see that it was William's handprint? Yes, I have long nails but I would never harm myself or lie.
"Please Mother, I didn't make him do this to me if that is what you're thinking and I didn't do it myself" I reached for her hand but she pulled away, she did not want to touch me.
"Please, Please believe me" I begged. Tears had started to roll down the side of my face and Mother was backing away. As I tried to tell Mother my words became less and less and suddenly there was absolutely nothing I could do to convince her. Suddenly the vase from the table hits the wall behind me, Mother was furious.
"JUST BECAUSE YOU MISS YOUR FATHER DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN COME ONTO SOMEONE I LOVE! I KNOW HE WON'T REPLACE YOUR FATHER BUT IT'S THE BEST WE'VE GOT!"
"I DIDN'T COME ONTO HIM! I WOULD NEVER COME ONTO HIM! I KNOW YOU LOVE HIM SO WHY WOULD I!?" I shouted and ran up the stairs and closed my bedroom door behind me. I curled up into a ball on the bed and cried to my heart's content. My cheeks were flushed with anger and my hands were clenched in fists of rage. Sebastian was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of my room, he too was very angry. Sebastian stood up from where he sat and slumped down on the foot of the bed with his feet dangling and his back turned to me. He reached a hand out behind his back for me to take. I was too flustered to take it, I didn't want to be touched. Sebastian turned around to face me, his eyebrows furrowed and the small V shape between his eyebrows was very clear. He brushed a strand of hair away from my eyes and wipe the tears off of my face. His hands were warm but his fingertips were cold.
"Don't worry darling, we'll find a way"
"Sebastian please, there's no hope" I turned my head up toward Sebastian, he looked hopeful but doubt was slowly creeping in. Sebastian laid down next to me, his head resting on my chest. He kissed my cheek and then wrapped his arms around me. Suddenly there were footsteps at my door. I pushed Sebastian off the bed and mouthed sorry as he fell to the floor with a loud thud. The door opened and Phillis' head popped through the crack.
"Are you alright?" Phillis asked.
"Yes I'm fine thank you" I laughed. Phillis smiled and walked over and sat down on the bed next to me.
"I just wanted you to know, I believe you" She whispered.
"Thank you" I could feel tears swelling up in my eyes again. I quickly hugged Phillis, crashing my body into hers. Phillis chuckled and lifted the bed sheet under her feet. At first, I thought she had found the cat but instead she had found Sebastian. Phillis just smiled at Sebastian and then laughed again and helped him up. Phillis got up off the bed and paused at the door.
"I won't tell your Mother" She whispered pointing between Sebastian and me. I gave her a grateful nod and out the door, she went.