The Traitor

Chapter Eighteen: Some Things Are Best Kept Secrets

Jackie grabbed my arm and led me down the dark alleyway, and into the street. I yanked at my hood as we ran, trying to mask my face from anyone possibly walking the streets this late at night, though I didn't know why anyone would be. Then again, Jackie was, for reasons unbeknownst to me, but I decided my questions could wait till later.

I recognized the street she was dragging me down as the short-cut to her house. All you had to do was jump a few fences and cross a couple random peoples' backyards in order to arrive at her back porch. I gladly did all of these things because 1) it reminded me of before I had decided to join the Daines when she and I would have sleepovers and would sneak out to go night shopping at the mall and 2) after being locked up in a 10 ft by 10 ft cell for three days, I was ready to break loose and get all of my exploding energy out.

We jumped the last fence and sprinted up to the back porch of her house, where she quietly unlocked the door and we crept inside, careful to remain silent. She mouthed the words, 'Stay here,' and disappeared up the stairs and into her bedroom. It had been such a long time since I had been to her house and I realized just how much I missed it, along with her and her whole family. Jackie's house had been like a second home to me, and I was convinced I had spent the same amount of my childhood at her house with her family, that I did with my family at my own home. I had always considered Jackie's house to be my getaway place, my personal sanctuary for whenever one of my family members and I had a fight and I needed a place to go to cool down. It was always there.

After a few short moments, Jackie reappeared at the bottom of the stairs, clutching something in her hand, and we re-exited her house through the garage. I didn't ask what was in her hand since I didn't want to waste time getting there, though that didn't mean I was any less curious. Jackie didn't hesitate as she grabbed a pair of car keys from the purse she was now holding and walked over to the shiny silver Audi, unlocking it with a blink of the headlights.

"Get in," she instructed and I quickly obeyed, climbing into the passenger seat next to her as she twisted the keys into the ignition and opened the garage door. 

I quickly shut my door and turned toward her. "Okay, so what are we doing?"

Jackie turned around in her seat and watched the back window as she put the car in reverse and began backing out. I was surprised at how good a driver she was since I had never actually gone anywhere with her driving. Her tendency to get excited and distracted over little things caused me to not to trust her driving, but she proved me wrong as she made a perfect two-point turn out of the driveway and down the street. "Well, Tey, fortunately for you, I happen to work at the Wen Head Quarters," she filled me in as she tossed me the object that she retrieved from her room. It was a white lanyard hooked to a photo badge of Jackie on the front, with the title, 'Computer Tech Assistant,' written underneath.

"Wait? You work at the Wen Head Quarters? The place where Daine prisoners are held? Jackie, do you even know what goes on inside there?" I knew my best friend was a tech wiz, but I had no idea she worked at the exact place where I could very well end up spending the rest of my life. Jackie didn't say anything and instead focused on the road ahead of her. "Jackie, if I get caught, I'll end up there as a prisoner. You do know that right?"

This time, she jumped to defend herself. "Teya, of course I know what goes on in there, I work there! And you're not going to get caught, okay?"

"And if I do? Then what? Jackie, have you actually been where the prisoners are kept?" She avoided my gaze as she took a left turn down a long road lit up on both sides by 24/7 shops and blinking lamp posts. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, waiting impatiently for her response as we sat there in silence.

Finally, Jackie reluctantly replied, "No," then snapped, "but what do you care? Have you ever been in a prison before?" I could tell by the way she said it that 1) she was really upset at what I had said and 2) she didn't expect me to say yes. So when I did, she slammed on her breaks, sending us both flying toward the dashboard, then rebounding back against our seats.

"You what?" Though the anger and defense were still evident in her voice, she seemed to have calmed down a little when she heard my reply. "You've been inside a prison before?" This time, her tone was filled with disbelief. I inhaled a large breath, then sighed and nodded. It hadn't occurred to me that she might want to hear the story, but I was in no mood nor time-frame, to talk about it and explain everything that had happened. The thing is, I can't just tell one bit of the story without getting questions about previous events or the aftermath of the situation, so I decided to save the long story time for later when I wasn't on a time crunch. As if mirroring my thoughts in the exact opposite way, Jackie asked, "When? And what were you doing in the Prison? You didn't get sent there because you were being bad, did you?" There was her normal, teasing self that I'd missed for the last week.

I laughed, but then my tone got serious. I needed her to understand that I couldn't explain everything right now and that it would have to wait. How long? I wasn't sure. I wasn't about to risk her freedom and reputation by allowing her to help me rescue Jasper, and after I had gotten inside, I couldn't be sure when the next time I would see her again would be, if ever. "Jac, I really can't talk about this right now. I know you're helping me blindly, but if anyone found out you helped me or knew something that they didn't, then you could get locked up for treason. Please, just trust that I will tell you everything when I get the chance. Just not right now."

She glanced over at me, and I was relieved to see an understanding expression written across her face. "Okay, and I do trust you." Her black eyes penetrated the dark as she spoke, relieving the tension and the pressure from my off shoulders. I hated not telling Jackie everything right then and there, because for as long as I could remember, we've never held any secrets from each other, but I knew I had to keep this one from her in order to protect her. If she got punished for this, I could never forgive myself. "We're here," she interrupted my train of thought as she pushed the car into park and yanked the keys out of the ignition. She took a deep breath as she leaned back in her seat, and I considered making her stay there. But I needed her to get inside. Just get in and get her out, she doesn't have to become part of this. I turned toward her and nodded, signifying that it was now or never. And for a split-second, a small, but dominant thought ran through my mind, pleading, 'never.'

Here goes nothing.