Warning! Mention of rape that may be a trigger please don't read if you cant handle it.
Chapter 20: From an Enemy to possible Friendship
Piper was ready to pounce on the cashier but Alex held her back while Jessica was so ashamed and looked down on his lap.
"Why are you a cashier? Do you own the bowling alley now? And where are your minions?" Alex was not mocking her and she was actually interested in knowing what happened because last time she checked Jessica was from a wealthy family.
Her family was of Christians. Yep better, believe it, thee HBIC bully was the reverend's daughter.
"Well no I don't own it, I am only the cashier. I …"
"Guys you are holding the line there. Some of us came here to bowl and not chitty chat. Come on now move it."
"Sorry" Piper replied curtly.
"That will be four dollars. You guys can go to lane 6." Alex paid with a 100-dollar bill and said they will come again.
"Maybe we could catch-up later. When is your break?" Alex asked kindly because she actually felt sorry for the blond.
"Well my shift actually ends in half an hour's time."
"Okay cool see you then."
They left to their lane and were settled down by the bunk and table before they could start.
"Why are you being nice to the girl that bullied you Al?" Piper was not mad but curious as to what Alex was thinking.
"I don't know Pipes but I actually feel sorry for her. I feel like there is something wrong with her and this is not the Jessica I know. I am sorry I just invited her without consulting with you if it's okay." Alex held onto Piper's hand and drew circular patterns.
"I understand Al and I admire you for the way that you are. You have a big heart Al and I love you so much." Piper leaned into Alex.
"I love you too Pipes." Alex met Piper halfway, their lips met in a sweet kiss, and Jessica could not keep her eyes off the two but not in a bad way.
The couple kept bowling with Alex getting strikes and Piper was actually terrible at bowling.
"Pipes you have to do it like this…" Alex stood behind Piper, flush on her back and held the hand with the ball to guide it. She made them lean forward so Piper's ass was against her crotch and Piper's breath hitched a bit.
"And now let the ball roll." Alex said with a husky, raspiest voice from the lust she felt. Piper hit strike and she was so happy that she jumped around and into Alex's open arms and nearly knocked them both on the ground. Her legs were wrapped around Alex's waist.
"I did it all thanks to you. I guess I should reward the coach," Piper said with a teasing smirk. She leaned in and kissed Alex.
"I knew you would do it Pipes." They kissed one more time before someone cleared their throats. The duo turned and saw Jessica blushing besides them. Piper got off Alex and stood next to her lover as Alex put a hand behind Piper's lower back.
"Jessica, this is Piper my girlfriend. Piper this is Jessica" things were bit awkward but Piper came to the aid.
"Nice to meet you Jessica." She extended her hand for Jessica to shake and she did.
"You too"
"So should we go somewhere to catch-up or here is fine?" Alex asked no one in particular.
"Babe lets go find a diner somewhere I am starving." Piper said in her sweet innocent smile with her bambi eyes.
"Okay then I know just the place if it's still open. Shall we go Jessica, that fine with you?"
"Yes of course." Alex led Piper out the bowling alley with her hand on the small back.
They reached 'Secrecy diner 'and went on to seat in a booth by the corner where they would have a bit of some privacy. The diner was very cosy with dimmed lights to allow for some privacy. The booths were c shaped and raised a bit high. Alex sat next to Piper and Jessica was seated opposite them.
"So how is working at the alley?" Alex was just trying to make small talks because they could not just dive right into the deeper end.
"It's okay. It usually gets crazy during recess but I got used to it."
"For how long?" Piper asked trying to make an input into the conversation but she knows that this is between her lover and Jessica.
"I have been working there for three years now," She said and Alex could not even mask her surprise. The waiter came and took their order for drinks while they wait for their meal. It was a bit awkward and there was a bit of some tension after the waiter left.
"I am really sorry for what I had done to you for all those years Alex. I never meant to do it I swear to you." Jessica figured she should just get straight to the point if she wanted to make things less awkward.
"I just want to understand why you did it?" Alex asked, not angry but eager to know because she suffered throughout her high school to a point that she may have thought about changing schools but the other one was far and her mom could not afford the transport fee. Jessica had her hands in her lap and casted her eyes on her hands as she spoke.
"I was jealous of you …" This statement alone shocked Alex to say the least because Jessica always had whatever she wanted in life but she said nothing so Jessica continued.
"You were always so confident and had a mother who was always there for you and loved you no matter what. Even though you had nothing, you still held your head up high because you knew your mother had your back. I never had any of that."
The waiter interrupted Jessica as she brought their drinks and this gave Alex time to process everything the blonde-haired woman had said to her. They said their thanks to the waiter. Piper drew comforting patterns on her lover's thigh.
"My parents, although they were church leaders never made time for me. They always travelled and left me with a nanny, the only thing I got closer to a mother. The church thing was just a mask because my father was cheating on my mother and my mom an alcoholic. There was money but no love. I came out to my parent's right after high school graduation as a lesbian" Alex nearly spilled her drink at this. Alex's eyes popped out of her head and Piper stopped what she was doing and looked at Jessica incredulously.
"Shocker right? Yeah I know. Which is why I was jealous that you were out and proud and still had your mother's support but I was hiding because of the fear of being disowned and no longer be feared at school. All I did to you Alex was just to try to bring you down because you always had what I wanted and could not have. I am still sorry for that. Anyway when I came out I did not know what to expect from my parents but I never expected the worst."
Jessica started to tear up a bit and the couple did not know what to do. Piper offered her a tissue, which she accepted and dried her eyes but more tears just kept flowing. The waiter came with their food but it seemed like no one the appetite now but the couple did not know what to say.
"My graduation day was the only time I got to see both my parents in one place at the same time because they had to show face. I told them I was gay during dinner celebration and they grew quiet for a bit as if they didn't hear me, so I repeated a bit lounder and my father told me no daughter of his will be a dyke. He told me to pack my staff and leave whilst my mother just kept quiet and I thought that maybe she would stand up for me but nothing. I had help from our maids to pack and my parents were both at the door waiting to make sure I left."
…..…..…..flashback….…..…
"So this is it huh, you are kicking me out. What will you tell our neighbours and people at your church?" Jessica tried to manipulate her parents into letting her stay.
"We will just tell them you decided to travel before going to college and that you moved to live with your grandparents in Manhattan or something." His Father Bob said with so much anger and a look of disgust. His statement shattered all the hope Jessica had and she turned to her mother for help.
"Mom please, I am your daughter" Jessica was crying and begging right now and before she knew it her mother's back of hand came into contact with her cheek and her mother's ring opened a gush there.
"No daughter of mine will be a fag. You are no longer my daughter, now leave this instant." Her mother, Marjorie said without even looking at her and Jessica cried with her hand holding onto the cut on the cheek. Jessica left and they closed the door behind her. She had nowhere to go and was still trying to process what happened to her so she sat in front of her house for a while.
"Miss Jessica, please let me attend to your wound." The house cleaner that helped her pack came behind the back of the house, which meant she snuck out of the backdoor.
"Mrs Audette thanks but I don't want to get you into trouble." Jessica was concerned about her helper because she had been around for longer and she was like a mother to her. She would not want her to lose her job on her account.
"Nonsense, Miss Jessica. You know you are like my daughter and I would do anything. "Mrs Audette attended to Jessica's wounds and took out something in her pocket and handed it to Jessica.
"Please take this and go to the address written there. You will find a key under a flowerpot by the door. Here is some money for the bus. Now go quickly."
"Thank you so much Mrs Audette." Jessica did as told and went to the furthest part of Connecticut where the streets looked so scary and dangerous for someone who always spent their lives in mansions and safe neighbourhoods but she had no choice.
She found a decent size house with the address she got and it looked modest and well managed. She got inside and looked around a bit and that is when she saw Mrs Audette with her late husband in the pictures. She got herself some water, settled on the couch, and fell asleep without intending to.
….end of flashback…..
"I lived with Mrs Audette for two years before I moved out after I could afford an apartment closer to where I work, which is the bowling alley"
"I am really sorry that all this happened to you Jessica. I would not wish for such thing to happen to anyone." Alex's voice was hoarse because she was emotional and her girlfriend had silent tears flowing down her beautiful face.
"Yes that is really an unfortunate thing to ever happen to anyone." Piper added.
"Thank you guys but I should be the one who is apologising. I would not wish for what I did to you Alex to happen to my daughter or any girl for that matter."
"You have a daughter? But I thought you said you are a …" Alex did not mean to shout but she was caught off guard.
"Lesbian? Yes I am. Well the thing is …"
….…..flashback….…..
"Bye Johnnie, I will see you tomorrow and thanks for locking up for me." Jessica said as she grabbed her coat and bag from her locker in the staff locker-room.
"You are welcome Jess. Are you sure, you don't want me to walk you home? I mean tonight we knocked off very late and a lot of people were drunk." John said while waiting for Jessica to grab her staff so he could lock up and head home too.
"I am sure Johnnie but thanks for your offer. I mean I have been walking for over a year now and besides I don't live far from here." Jessica said as she exited the door and already had half her body outside while waiting for John's last respond.
"Okay then I will see you tomorrow then Jess. Goodnight."
"Night Johnnie" and with that Jessica carried on the usual route that was burned at the back of her mind that she could even walk there blind.
Jessica was passing through the dark alley when she felt like someone was following her but she shook it off and continued walking because when she looked around she saw no one. While in the middle of the alley, someone pounced at Jessica and covered her mouth with his hand while the other hand held a knife at her throat.
"Well hello there Princess! Do you still remember me?" the man asked even though he had his hand around her mouth. Jessica just shook her head no.
"I came to bowl with my friends last week and I made a move on you but you didn't accept and made a mockery of me when you said you were gay and I was not your type even if you were to have a man. You made me a laughing stock to my friends and now I am going to show you what you missed out and that I can be your type."
Jessica started to shake with fear and cry but she was trapped and no one could be seen around late at this hour usually.
"I am going to move my hand from your mouth and if you scream I am going to slice your throat before you can even say ah. You hear me?" the guy asked as he pressed the knife deeper into her neck that it cut through her skin a bit and Jessica nodded.
Unfortunately, for Jessica she was working as a waiter that night in the restaurant by the bowling alley so she had her uniform on which was a short tunic and she did not get time to change. She just threw her big coat, which was long enough at least.
"Well, well, well, what have we hear? Is it not just my lucky day." The guy snarked and unzipped his pants. Jessica tried to fight him off while he was distracted with his zipper but it was not easy with a knife piercing her throat.
She tried to kick his groin but unfortunately, the hand that was fighting the zipper protected him. She tried to push him off but she was slammed into the wall behind her so hard that she thought she was going to have a concussion.
"You thought you are too clever princess and for that you will be punished in a way that you will always remember me." He cut her just below her just and she screamed out in pain but was quickly covered on the mouth.
"No, no, no princess. Remember that if you make a noise I will not end ell for you. Last warning." Jessica just closed her eyes and cried while she waited for everything to be all over. She woke up in the hospital with John by her side.
"Jessica you're awake! Oh, thank good ness I was so worried about you. I am so sorry I did not walk you home because if I did none of this would have happened. It is my entire fault. Let me go get the nurse." Jessica held onto his arm so he could turn and face her.
"It's not your fault Johnnie. It's that guys fault and you should not blame yourself for all this." Jessica said in a groggy and hoarse voice for not being used for over 48 hours. She was soon out of the hospital and about a week later, the guy was arrested. His name was Robin. Mrs Audette came to stay with her and look after her and nursing her back to health. A month later she noticed some changes with her appetite, eating habits, her diet and she had skipped a month, which never happened before. She panicked and bought ten pregnancy tests. She found out that she was pregnant and decided to keep it because the baby was innocent throughout this whole ordeal and just wanted to be born and live.
…..end of flashback…
"Now my baby is two years old and I would not trade her for anything in the world. She is my word. I named her Alexa, after you because you are such a strong person and I wish the same just for her." There was no dry eye on the table, Alex stood up, and hugged Jessica and Piper followed suit.
"I am so sorry that you had to go through all that alone Jessica. You are strong too you know, what you went through most people would have gave up and probably aborted or gave the child away and you didn't."
"Thank Alex, and you too Piper. This means the world to me. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Please forgive me for all I had done to you."
"I forgive you. It's a pity we have to go back tomorrow but I would like to catch-up with you again when we are back for a visit." Alex hugged Jessica again, she pulled back, and sat down next to her girlfriend and tried to comfort her because she knows how such issues affects her, even from movies.
"I would really like that so much and maybe you guys could get to meet Alexa." Jessica said with a small smile.
"Who does she stay with when you are working?" Piper asked kindly after a few moments passed by.
"Mrs Audette. She retired from my parent's home and she wanted to look after Alex and she is the only grandparent Alex has or will ever know and I could not have asked for anyone else." Jessica said with a loving and grateful look in her eyes as she thought about the two most important people in her life.
"Maybe you could give us your number and we will let you know when we are this side and should you also find yourself that side then you will give us a call?" Piper said while looking at her girlfriend for permission.
"Yes that would be great actually." Alex added. They exchanged numbers and asked the waiter for takeaways for their food they never even touched. Piper paid for the whole dinner even though there was a few protests from Jessica but she heard none of it. They called a cab and dropped off Jessica before they went home.