The trip to Hailey’s house was rather uneventful.
Hailey sat in the passenger seat while Jamie sat in the back seat while their father drove.
Hailey wasn’t surprised that her father hadn’t gone off on her for getting injured because it was just too public.
He was at least smart enough to wait until they were somewhere private before he’d lash out at them.
On occasion he’d leave bruises, but never where they’d be seen and never bad enough that it’d be noticeable to anyone who didn’t already know that it was there.
Hailey had gotten used to it and it barely bothered her anymore.
Though, when their father went after Jamie, she’d do whatever it took to protect her, even though he normally only used words on Jamie.
Which had caused its own kind of issues.
The drive was also quiet.
No one cared to say anything, mostly because their father was there or because it was just too public.
Regardless of the reason, Hailey was more interested in learning about being a magical girl.
She’d seen enough shows to have an idea of what kind of world she was stepping into, but at the same time, she was actually looking forward to it more than she had looked forward to anything in a long while.
The only problem was that she knew she wouldn’t be able to tell even Jamie about it.
Which meant she couldn’t tell Jamie about Dave, either.
Although, she still hadn’t come up with a reason of why the stuffed animal was called ‘Dave’ that she was certain Jamie would accept, but that was something to deal with another time.
Especially when she found it hard to focus on anything other than being a magical girl.
She also wasn’t sure why she looked more like she was twelve when she transformed, but she wasn’t going to complain.
After all, she certainly didn’t know what it was supposed to be like when she transformed, which could have rather complicated rules of why her appearance was like it was.
Such as why her hair changed colors when she had transformed.
“Hailey, we’re here,” her father’s voice startled her out of her thoughts, surprising her that they’d arrived home quicker than she’d expected.
Even Jamie looked at her with a surprised expression, given how rarely Hailey ever spaced out over anything.
Hailey got out of the car and followed her father into the house with Jamie trailing behind her.
Though, after the front door was closed behind Jamie came the first blow.
A punch to her stomach that nearly made her lose what little breakfast she’d been given by the hospital.
Though, while she didn’t throw up, she still sank to her knees, gasping for breath as her father stood over her and Jamie made a hasty retreat to her room.
A fact that Hailey didn’t blame Jamie for.
Not when it came to trying to protect herself.
Especially since if their father got too involved in beating her, he might actually lash out at Jamie just because her presence bothered him.
“Now, you’re going to find a way to repay what I spent on the hospital and all those other expenses or I’ll find a way for you, do you understand?” her father spat as he stood over her, not even trying to help her up.
Hailey gasped out a response, hoping it sounded like an acknowledgment of what he’d said.
She wasn’t sure how it sounded to him, she just didn’t want him to hit her again.
Especially since it seemed like that one hit was going to be all he was interested in unless she ‘made’ him hit her more.
Although, at the same time, she wondered if she could use this to her advantage when it came to meeting up with Himari.
As if she was ‘looking for a job’ then her father wouldn’t be able to complain if she took longer than he usually liked for her to run usual errands.
Though, first she’d need to be able to regain her ability to speak again rather than gasping out sounds that she couldn’t always be certain sounded like what she wanted it to sound like.
“Do you understand?” her father repeated, making Hailey wonder if he was waiting for her to be able to speak her response rather than gasping out something like he usually accepted.
After taking a deep, shuddering breath, Hailey nodded.
“I- I understand,” she stammered, hoping that he’d accept that.
“Alright, then once you clean yourself up, make me something to eat,” he told her.
“Uh, after that could I go searching for a job?” Hailey asked, struggling to stand up from the pain that her stomach was giving off right then.
“A job?
For what?
What could you possibly need money for?” he asked derisively, as if he didn’t even look at her like she was even human.
“Well, I need to pay you back, right?” she asked as she slowly rose to her feet.
“Getting a job would be the fastest way to do that, right?” Her father regarded her carefully, looking at her cooly as if he had already forgotten that he’d said that to her.
“Fine, but only until you pay me back.
After that, you’ll need to quit whatever job you get so you can continue your chores around here, understood?” Hailey nodded even though she knew she hardly did anything around the house.
As she let her father do the majority of the ‘cleaning’ which was likely why the house was such a mess, though the front areas were kept neatly in case of visitors, since her father certainly didn’t want social services to show up and inquire about anything regarding Hailey and Jamie.
At least when it was in regards to how he treated them.
When it came to their interactions with other kids who they were investigating, he couldn’t care less.
Hailey didn’t say anything more, even though she wanted to.
Instead, she headed towards the kitchen where she made her father a quick sandwich, as she didn’t want to lose any more time than she had, especially since she wasn’t sure how long it’d take her to get to the café that Himari had mentioned for them to meet.
Just thinking about it made her giddy with excitement.