Agnes in JackieLand

Chapter 22

This couldn't be happening! It wasn't fair that I was going to jail for what had happened to me! Thank God Jackie's grandmother's lawyer got me out on bail. The three hours I had spent in a holding cell was bad enough. I had sat on the hard bench alone because I was a minor. The only saving grace to the whole experience was that. I didn't have to be in a cell with any of the other criminals I had seen as they were leading me to what they called a solitary confinement cell.

It wasn't a big room. There was a bench-type bed, a toilet, and a sink. I was so disgusted. I shuddered as I began to strip off my clothes and run water into the bath. I had to get all the ick off of me. I was proud of myself for not crying through the whole ordeal. I think I was too in shock to cry.

I felt the sting of tears pricking my eyes and allowed them to come because now that I wasn't in the public eye, I could drown in my sorrows and misfortune. Tears burned hot and angrily down my cheeks. I wasn't sad; I was so mad at all this injustice. It wasn't like I had asked to be put into Jackie's body while I was in a coma.

I had tried the astral projection stuff but couldn't get myself back in my body. What else was I supposed to do? I didn't know, and to be honest, how was I supposed to know? I am only 17!

I got into the now full, steaming tub and hissed as I settled into its watery depths. I let the heat undo all the tension in my body. I plopped a citrus bath bomb in and watched it fizzle away as the room filled with its sweet, tangy aroma. I needed to breathe. I needed to tell someone that I wasn't Jackie.

The question is, who is going to believe me?

Maybe Graham. I mean, if anyone would, it would be him. I would have to think of something only he would know. Cliché, I know, but it might work. A sound coming from my room had me silencing my thoughts and straining to listen.

Did the cops come back? Did they decide that I had to go to jail right away? Goose bumps rose on my body... or Jackie's body. No. I couldn't go to jail again. I was still traumatized by that cell.

I lifted myself quietly out of the tub and heard a sound like sneakers on the floor. I cringed but froze with one leg out of the tub. The police didn't wear sneakers. Who was in Jackie's room?

I quickly finished getting out of the tub and grabbed the only thing besides a towel: a silky Japanese robe. I tip-toed into the room and didn't see anyone. I must be imagining things. My scared jail self is super sensitized right now.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and not long after, I realized that someone was behind me. He must have been hiding behind the bedroom door. An arm came around my neck, and a hand clamped over my mouth. Fear had me stopping any retaliation.

"Jackie, It's me," my attacker whispered. "Don't scream. I want to talk."

I nodded my head; I recognized that voice. He must have come unhinged if he was here. He must have trusted Jackie because he let go of me. I turned slowly around and confirmed who I thought it was. Quincy.

"Hey Q," I said as I inched my way backward to where Jackie's dresser was.

"Hey Q. That's all I get after everything you did to me?" he said, staring at me with wild, crazy eyes.

I needed to tread carefully here. I reached the dresser and casually turned on the phone that sat there. I had to keep him talking and distracted from what I was doing. "I am sorry for scratching you," I told him as I found the recent calls and pressed Graham's name. Fingers crossed, he picked up.

"You're sorry," he darkly laughed. "That's rich, Jackie. You owe me more than that."

I gulped. "Oh yeah, what else do I owe you?"

"You humiliated me, Jackie, in front of the whole school. You dismissed me. I had to go to Cindy, and she's no fun."

My skin crawled at the last remark, and fear skittered up my spine. "Yeah, well, you know Cindy's vapid."

Quincy stalked toward me, and I bolted to the other side of the room. He grabbed onto the post of the bed and smiled wolf-like. "Ooh, the cat-mouse game. I like this. Except I am a wolf, Jackie, not a cat."

"No game," I stammered out. The fear was real. I did not want to be raped. "I just am not into you anymore."

"Not into me." He laughs deeply. "No one tells me they aren't into me. I'm Quincy Harris, the football star. Everyone bows down to me."

I stared at him, not believing what I was hearing.

"Bow down to me, Jackie," he said.

I shook my head and backed up against the wall.

"Bow down to me, and then you will take me," he growled as he stalked toward me again.

"No," I stood my ground. I was not bowing down to this piece of shit.

"Be a good girl, Jackie. I don't want to hurt you, but I will. Nobody leaves me."

The fear had me running this time, but he caught me fast. Arms came around my waist, and I was thrown onto the bed. I scrambled backward to get into a position where I could use my legs as a weapon, but he was on top of me too fast for that to happen. His mouth crashed down on top of mine as he yanked my hands above my head.

I squirmed underneath him and shook my head from side to side so he couldn't kiss me. I tried to free my hands, but his grip was solid. He ripped my robe open with his free hand, and he lusted after Jackie's breasts, licking his lips. I knew what he intended, so with all my might, I kneed him. It didn't hit anything vital but gave him enough pause.

Or enough anger. His eyes glittered black. He smiled down at me, and I froze. I might have wet the bed. I was that scared. I don't know. Before I knew it, his hands were around my throat. I remember thinking this was it and thinking of Graham. I would miss him. Then darkness swam before my eyes, and I quit trying to get away. I knew it was for naught. My time is up.