Last Chapter: I was shocked, because on her arms where scars, and not just on her wrists.
Default: I don't own That 70's show or anything else said in this story.
(Back in the
basement)(One month later)
They weren't deep. They weren't really noticeable, and most of all, they weren't on someone else. Jackie had scars. It proved that she was abused. Eric and Donna, being the oblivious couple they were, didn't notice. Jackie didn't seem to know that I had seen her arms and wrists. The hostility, fear of adults and the fact that it's been a month and I've never seen her eat anything was proof enough.
In the course of one month, Jackie had been kicked off the cheerleading squad, changed her clothing style, and had been left alone at home numerous times. How did I know this? Kelso told me. How did Kelso know? He knew because he was dating Jackie. Yep. She had been hostile for a few days at first when he asked her. Like scooting away from him on the couch and closer to me, and standing next me when he seemed too annoying to be near. Did I let off some sort of 'I'll protect you' smell? Why didn't she move closer to Donna or Eric? They were trustworthy. Heck, even Fez was better than me.
Nope. She had always come to me when Kelso or anyone else annoyed or scared her. I never objected to it. Let alone brought any attention to it. I just silently let her slip closer to me on the couch, in a room, or in the car. I think we developed this sense of 'safety' when we first met and she fell onto my lap in the basement. The eye contact we made said a lot of things, but I guess mine had said 'Let me protect you.'
She stopped coming to me though after Kelso had said to her "I love you." I remember the whole basement had gotten quiet, waiting for her remark. I was about to break the silence with some lame ass comment, but Jackie interrupted before I could. She whispered it, like it was some unspeakable word, but after she said, "I love you too," nothing could tear them apart. It was sickening to see them make out, so I turned on Charlies Angels and Kelso sat up to watch it, leaving Jackie in a shocked state beside him. She nestled into his side, and sighed. It was like she was a lovesick puppy.
Sickening, yes, scary, yes, depressing…no. I was oddly okay with it. The side of myself that thought reasonably had said, 'at least she's with someone who will protect her.' Of course, then the smarter part had said back, 'he's too stupid to notice stuff like that.' It was true, because when he first saw her scars, he seemed outraged. He kept asking her all these unreasonable questions. Jackie told him they were cheerleading accidents and Kelso believed her. He had followed up with the words, "I love you."
The words "I love you" always brought happiness into Jackie's eyes. They lit up when someone said them to her. Didn't matter who, but she would always thank them afterwards. It came out whispered and unsure. I was guessing Jackie didn't hear those three words very often. Fez had tried numerous times to say them to her, but it seemed that whenever the words escaped his mouth, she wasn't listening. Kelso had 80 percent of her attention.
What about the other twenty percent? While 10 of it belonged to her home life, which I was trying really hard to stay out of, the other 10 percent belonged to me. Jackie had been kicked off the cheerleading squad about two weeks into dating Kelso. He never knew. In fact, no one else knew except for me. I had found her sitting in the park one day after school reading a book on a swing. No one else was around, so I walked up to her. I, myself, was confused as to why she wasn't at cheerleading. I was going to be nice and polite with her today. It seemed like every other day I was nagging on her about Kelso or about her cheerleading, so I owed it to Jackie.
"Hey," I said. She jumped and looked at me with wide eyes. The same eyes I remembered so well. "H-Hi." Jackie looked around, confused, trying to see if I'd brought anyone else along. "Why aren't you at death practice?" I asked. Mentally, I slapped myself for the rude comment that slipped out. "I got kicked off," she whispered, dog-earing her book and setting it in her lap. "Why, were you too good?" I asked as I sat on the tire swing cross-legged. It spun and momentarily I lost sight of her face. "No, I'm failing a class so I got kicked off," she informed me. The tire-swing stopped spinning and slowly swung sideways in front of her.
"What class? If it's math, then let me tell you, that teacher is out to get everyone." I tried to seem uninterested, but I couldn't help but be intrigued. Jackie was one of the smartest people I knew. Heck, smarter than me. I had watched Jackie do her homework, and before I knew it she was done. Jackie liked school. "No, not in math, but that might explain my grade." I felt her stare and looked into her eyes. They were captivating. "You're a smart-ass in school, so why are you failing?" I said. Easy, because she was being abused, which wasn't her answer, but seemed correct.
We talked for what seemed like hours about anything that came to mind. At 6:15 PM I decided to go home. I hopped in my El Camino and nodded my head to the passenger side door. Jackie slid in and buckled up, smiling at me. I drove out of the park and took a left. We passed by Jackie's house, and then Fez's host parent's house, and took a right. Nearing Kelso's house, Jackie seemed restless. I came to a screeching halt as she yelled out "STOP." Outside on the porch, Kelso was making out with Eric's sister.