Fun fact: The seventh Linkin Park album came out mid May (19th), called One More Light.
WARNING: Molestation/slight rape
Word count: 3,049
Chapter 9
"A Place For My Head"
It scared her.
Making her chest tighten in fear, rising to her constricting throat. Her mind ran a million miles a minute, tears springing up in her eyes. She squirmed under his grasp, trying to tug herself away from him. It served her no good.
He smiled, "I always get what I want, Ree," he leaned back, knees keeping her hips in place. His belt buckle slipped off, making the girl's heart stop, "And besides, you won't remember any of it, so you don't have to worry your pretty little mind!"
"No!" she screamed, continuing to fight his grip. Her hands were free, but Ree was not one for throwing punches. Instead, her hands landed on his chest, trying to push him off of her, but his legs held a strong hold on her.
Trent showed his teeth, whether it be a wicked cruel smile, or a snarl, Ree didn't know. She couldn't ponder on it for too long before he grabbed both her wrists in his large hand and placed them above her head. His other hand traveled down her side in a light stroke, eyes following.
Ree sucked in a gasp when his fingers met her pants, her lungs burned for the air she so desperately needed.
Before the jock could get farther than placing his hand on her waist, another man had come up behind him, calmly grabbing his shoulder to gain his attention. Trent turned to him, Ree still pinned down, "The fuck you want?"
"When a woman says no," he looked to her, continuing with his British accent, "She means no."
The senior snorted, "Says who?"
"Her," the man stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder ripping him off Ree, where he was thrown to the ground, far from the two. He stood protectively in front of the girl as she shakily sat up, rubbing her wrists, especially where her cuts were. "I want you to stay away from her. You got that?"
Trent scoffed, "I don't have to listen to you."
"No," he frowned, "But you'll listen to your parents when you're taken in for sexual assault."
The jock froze at that, standing and backing away, holding his hands up in surrender, nodding, "Aight, man. Whatever you say."
Ree placed a hand over her chest to calm her heart, lungs still trying to catch oxygen and her throat unconstricting itself. She stared at her feet until she felt herself calm down, mostly. Someone crouched in her vision, "Hey," he softly began, "You alright?"
She took this moment to take in his appearance; blond hair, blue eyes. She knew this man. But from where?
Realizing she hadn't answered, Ree snapped herself back into reality and nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay. Th-thank you."
"Okay," he nodded, looking down at the ground before meeting her eyes again, "I don't see why men do that," he stood, "If the woman isn't willing, you shouldn't force it."
"Yeah," she looked off to the parking lot. Her heart was still racing. This man had just saved her, and she knew him from somewhere, she just couldn't remember where. Turning her head back to him, she spoke, "Um... I don't think I got your name."
He smiled, "Ah, right. Brian, but everyone calls me Bee. I'm Sam's friend."
"Oh, right," she wrote about him before in her journal. The blond man began to make his leave, "Thanks again."
"It was no problem," he waved, his back turning. He headed into the school, where he disappeared between the two blue doors. Where was he going?
Ree sighed and stared at her hands, which began shaking. Her vision blurred and her lip quivered as she sucked in a breath. A tear streamed down her cheek as she pulled up her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and setting her chin atop.
Lunch was over in five minutes, the girl straightened. She had to be presentable. No tears.
Wiping them away, she looked around. Where was Jazz?
"Right 'ere, baby girl," he said behind her, dismay in his tone and disturbance written all over his face. Ree frowned, tearing up again. She wanted to hug him, throw herself in his arms, seek comfort. But he was a spirit, and spirits couldn't be touched.
Sensing her distress, Jazz tried his best to make physical contact, the same way that Megatron had done. The Decepticon had tried to get to her multiple times, whether that be physically or mentally.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, Ree stood and slipped her journal into the black backpack. She did not want to return to class after what had just happened. Maybe Uncle Ron could pick her up?
No, she stood on shaky legs, he'd surely question it.
The girl's eyes found themselves staring at the road, down the street where there is an intersection that turns into the next street around the corner, which leads down to the park, a place Ree likes to go to to clear her head.
Her legs were wobbling as she took her first few steps towards the park, still trying to calm her breathing and recover from her recent scare. She only had a couple classes left, curfew was now five and her aunt and uncle would believe any excuse she had. There has been a couple times where her teachers accidentally marked her absent or tardy; she was quiet and usually sat in the back or to the side, depending on if there's a window in the classroom.
Ree figured that it's been at least half an hour since she left the school, the park now in sight. All she had to do was cross two streets before she enters the grassy area.
Once the girl reached a park bench, she set her backpack down and leaned back. Her heart was still beating fast, whether that be from the walk, Trent or the fact that she's skipping school and could get into some serious trouble, she didn't know.
Jazz trailed her from far behind, now standing a distance away from her; leaning on the tree across from her and the path. He was still silent and hadn't made any eye contact with her since she began making her way to the park previously. A disturbed visage was still present.
The whispers in her head had died down, now barely audible in her head. Ree frowned and took out her pen recorder, quietly mumbling into its microphone.
"They're more frequent, louder. The voices. And just like how I remember Jazz in the mornings, I wake up already knowing they're there, but pay no mind to them. They rose in volume when the... lunch incident happened. ...Should I ever return to school? Rumors will spread, and I will not remember why they're there. They will all find out, and either pity me, or bully me. Is it even possible to graduate with memory loss?" The girl furrowed her eyebrows, rage washing over her formerly calm and bland eyes, "Dammit, I wish I didn't have this."
She stopped recording and slipped the pen into her pocket, hands curling into fists and tears threatened to fall as her vision blurred. As her anger rose, Jazz began fading from her thoughts and the voices grew louder, muttering little curses and taking pleasure in her frustration.
And for a reason she does not remember, her wrist started up an itching sensation.
Curiosity clouding her thoughts next to her rage, Ree slowly pulled back her sleeve, revealing the twenty and a half cuts on her skin, the flesh slightly discolored from its healing.
She had done this, the girl had no doubt.
"Do it again..." one of the whispers quipped, overpowering the rest and coming up clear in her head.
Others joined in, wickedly echoing the sentence with cruel mirth, saying "Do it!" or "Yes, do it again!" or something of that variety.
The sensation only grew on her wrist, she resisted the urge to scratch the itchy skin, knowing all too well that she'd start scratching, then won't stop until the skin breaks.
Ree wasn't that stupid, right?
It was silent for a long while, with the exception of passing vehicles' engines and the breeze rustling leaves. The girl was lost in her thoughts, mind racing at a steady pace as she stared at the path.
Something stinging on her arm brought Ree's attention down to her wrist, where her over hand hovered over like a claw. White scratch marks from her nails have since turned it red, the skin beginning to break.
Finally out of her daze, Ree took note of how her thoughts had changed depending on what the voices were saying.
Megatron was getting to her.
It's what he wants, and what he'll get. Ree will submiss to him... Wait, since when did she-?
"Obey me..." Oh, that's why. He was whispering to her. This is exactly what she feared.
Her mind traveled to one of the spirits... Megatron. He always did this. He always did this to her.
But only he did. Only he can.
His thoughts were feeding into hers. He's taken possession of the girl.
Was Ree really that oblivious? Was Megatron finally taking over her mind? The only one stopping the Decepticons from getting what they want, is Jazz.
Speaking of, the kind-hearted spirit had disappeared just before she entered her thoughts again. What was going on? Is he being outnumbered by the bad spirits, losing the war unbeknownst to her?
Burying her face in her hands and harshly rubbing her eyes, Ree cursed herself for being so foolish, stress catching up to her, what the hell happened to cause this?
The girl had to of spent a long time thinking about it, judging by the slight change in weather; it becoming more cloudy.
Ree wanted to get out of this park. It was too wide open and made her feel... vulnerable.
Huffing, she stood and began walking out, the dew from grass catching onto her shoes.
Ree walked aimlessly through town, paying no mind to anything or anyone around her. She had no idea what time it was, but figured a couple more minutes outside wouldn't hurt. The girl took the long way back to the Witwicky's residence. Only the passing of cars had drawn her attention away from the sidewalk.
A red sedan, a silver sedan, a gray SUV, a blue sedan, a black pickup, another silver sedan, a white seda-
Wait, what was that symbol on the back of the pickup? Ree looked to the road again, hoping for it to still be there. It wasn't. Only the last car, the white sedan, was stopped at the traffic light.
Odd, the symbol on the truck looked familiar to Ree. Had she seen it before?
The girl hadn't pondered on it for too long, her eyes traveled back down to the sidewalk, staring at the bland color of the faded cement.
She took small steps, placing both of her feet in the squares of the sidewalk, avoiding the cracks, bumps and breaks. It was something she always seemed to do; fit two steps on a sidewalk or tiles. It had to be even. Of course, this habit wore off with other things, such as having food in both her cheeks or scratching both sides of some part of her body, such as her arms or head.
She always hated it, but had no control. And now had other things to worry about.
The rumble of a deep engine redirected her attention to the road, where a large black pickup slowly passed by, its engine vibrating the groun-
This was the same truck as before! The girl realized once she saw the back of it, there was the logo. Knitting her brows together, Ree stared after the behemoth's symbol.
It was a square face, almost looking like a robot.
She shook her head, it's probably just some custom made logo that's trending, because she swears she's seen it before.
Again, the truck passed and disappeared.
The smell of bread and cinnamon rushed into her nose, the sweet scents had her looking up to see the source; the town's bakery. In the display window, was a variety of pastries, some had jelly, powder or chocolate. Suddenly having a craving, Ree took out her pen recorder, "Ask Judy to make crepes for breakfast."
Putting the pen away, the girl watched as a woman walked up to her, looking just past her middle ages and nearing in on senior years, she held a small platter in her hand, and smiled, "Would you like a sample of our cinnamon buns?"
Ree returned the smile, plucking a piece off the plate and stated her gratitude. Taking a small bite, she expressed her thoughts, "It's really good. Dry, is it gluten-free?"
"Yes, a new recipe without gluten," she nodded, eyes crinkling with a kind smile, "My daughter can't have gluten, so we made these."
Once the girl was done with the cinnamon bun, she politely made her leave, throwing out her trash and continuing her walk. The smell of freshly baked goods was carried by the wind's drift, lingering with Ree until she rounded a corner, and again, watching the cars pass by.
Another deep engine told Ree it was the same truck as before. As she guessed, the black pickup truck drove beside her.
Ree frowned, what is it doing? Whoever is driving is either lost, stalking her or coincidentally driving down the same road she walks on. Using a subconscious process of elimination, she figured that it definitely wasn't the last. The whole stalking her gig is highly unlikely, but possible. Lost would be her guess, but not many new people come around, from what she knows.
The girl was just about ready to turn into the nearest alleyway when the truck passed again, this time slower and with... a police cruiser tailing it, which made her almost stop, instead just subtly stumbling on her feet.
The black and white vehicle pulled over at the curb, Ree slowed her walk when the driver's door opened and an officer stepped onto the curb, having to slip out and duck his head due to his lowered car.
The man looked familiar.
"Ree?" he looked stern, hiding the curiosity in his blue eyes, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
And he was familiar with her.
"Um," the girl stopped, hoping he wasn't talking to her, that there was another Ree in town, but he was staring her dead in the eye, "W-what time is it?"
He sighed, checking his G-Shock watch, "1:16."
She was busted. School isn't over for another hour.
"Well..." no excuse formed in her mind. And this officer seemed to know a lie when he sees one. Instead, she just closed her mouth and looked down.
After waiting for a moment, he reached out to her, "Alright," the girl stepped forward and allowed him to put his arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you home."
The man lead her into the Acura police cruiser, closing the door after she was situated and climbed into the driver's seat. He leaned into his collar, holding up a communications device.
"This is Prowl, I'm taking Ree to her residence," he said, glancinf at said girl, "If her relatives are there, I'll say she had a stomach ache and that Bee called me to pick her up. Out."
"This is Iro- Airon, I'll be right behind you. Out," the truck in front of them started its engine. Ree didn't even realize it had also parked at the curb.
The ride was quiet, up until they reached the neighborhood, where Prowl began speaking, "So what really happened to cause you to skip?"
He sounded like a parent scolding their child; with a firm, calm tone. Ree frowned, shaking her head and looking out the window.
"If you don't tell me, I'll have no choice but to say that you skipped."
Weighing her options, the girl sighed, her breath coming out a little shaky, "C-... Can we talk about it when we get inside?" she noted, seeing that Uncle Ron's car was gone, Aunt Judy might have gone with him.
The black truck, Airon's, was parked on the curb, but made no move to get out.
Silently stepping out of the car, Ree felt queasy all over again, but ignored the weak feeling in her knees and the lightheadedness starting.
Prowl walked forward and opened the door for the girl.
She stepped in and wrapped her arms around herself, scrunching her shoulders as she listened for any noise in the house. None. A note was left on the fridge, confirming that Ron and Judy had indeed, gone out.
Ree turned to Prowl, "What do you wanna know?"
He leaned on the kitchen counter, "Why you skipped school."
The girl sighed, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet and pouring water into it. She offered it to him, which he took and sipped as he listened, "Someone was picking on me."
"Liar," he said in between a swig.
Groaning in frustration, she buried her head in her hands, "Okay! Jeez! Alright, so some guy tried to..." Ree stopped, frowning at the floor and listening to the whispers in her head. Closing her eyes, she continued, "He harassed me during lunch."
"In what way?"
The girl gulped, tucking herself in her arms again, and whispered, "Sexually."
Prowl set down the glass in interest, then he switched into something she would call, officer mode, "How far did he get?"
"Not far... What was his name... Right, Bee cut in before he could, like, get in my pants?" Ree used hand gestures, such as snapping her fingers. She was nervous.
"Who was this kid?"
Eyeing him, she answered, "Trent DeMarco."
