Chapter 16
My eyes popped open to see my attacker, but they didn't need to; I already knew who it was. Frankie. I struggled against him as he began to drag me backwards into one of the stalls, but he was too strong for me and my feeble attempts did very little to deter him.
With his hand still over my mouth and after returning the sharp edge to my throat, he pushed my back against the wall.
"Make the tinniest peep and I'll cut your throat so fast you won't know what hit ya. Understand?"
I nodded my head carefully; the blade was already digging into my skin.
"That's a good girl." He slowly removed his hand from my mouth.
I wanted to scream out, to call for help. I wanted to fight back and defend myself, but terror had seized my heart and rendered me helpless and paralyzed.
"It's nice to see you Amelia." His lips curled up into that crooked smile showing his yellow teeth. "And was that our dear cousin you brought with you?"
"How do you know…" Frankie's hand covered my mouth before I could finish my question and he pressed the blade further into my neck. I could feel the skin give way at the increased pressure.
"You know better than to speak out of turn." He said harshly. "Or perhaps you're like our mother; she never learned to shut up either.
"Anyhow, I believe I was talking about our cousin, I think his name is Benjamin, correct? Let's see, he was born in 1983, which makes him three years older than you." My eyes widened; how did he know all of this?
"Surely you didn't think that Child Services where the only ones who could track down long lost relatives. Oh, being locked up has done me some good Amelia, but not like they thought in there. No, I've made some friends, some connections if you will, in high places."
"What do you want with me then?"
"I just wanted to make sure that our little secret was still safe." He ran his hand over my scar before lifting my shirt to look at it. "Beautiful ain't it?"
"I haven't told anyone." And it was true. I may have told Benny, Kellie, and Jackson most of the things that happened, but there was still one thing that I hadn't told anyone.
"Really?" He traced the scar with the tip of the blade, and I bit back tears at the sting.
"I swear Frankie, no one knows about…" Tears leaked out as he dug the blade into my scar. I could feel the sticky blood run down my side. "I haven't told anyone about dad."
"Hmm, good, I see that my little reminder has worked then." He ran his finger over the fresh blood before lowering my shirt.
"Don't forget about it now Amelia. I would hate for anything to happen to Aunt Suzanne."
"You stay away from her!" I spat out without thinking.
"Ah, I see I've found the sensitive subject. The Johnson family. I bet they became like family to you didn't they. But remember where you come from Amelia. You're not a Johnson, you're a Cox and you always will be. You'll never be anything better, no matter how hard you try to cover it up. You'll always be a Cox."
The tears were running unhindered down my face. He was preying on my greatest fear; that I would never be anything better than just a Cox.
"Well, I think my job here is done for now. Just don't forget out little secret." He tapped the blade against my side before pushing me down towards the toilet. My head smacked against the porcelain bowl, and everything went black.
*~*
When I came to I was still lying on the bathroom floor. My head was throbbing, my side was burning, and my throat was stinging. I tried sitting up but I went about it too quickly and before I knew it I was spewing my continental breakfast all over the floor and myself. I didn't know how long I'd been out and I didn't know when Benny would decide to come looking for me. I had to pull myself together and get out of there.
I made my way to the sinks again and cleaned up as best I could. Thankfully the cut on my throat was very minor and once I had washed the blood away you couldn't even tell it was there, unless of course you already knew. The mark on my head was a different matter; it was bruised and a lump was already beginning to form. I would need a cover story for that… easy enough. I'd just tell Benny that I got sick but I slipped and hit my head on the toilet and puked on myself instead.
Now what about my scar? The stupid bastard had opened part of it back up, and it was still bleeding steadily. I wiped away what blood I could but it continued to bleed. So I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and wrapped it around my stomach, pulling it tight enough to be a bandage but not so tight that it would tear. Luckily I was wearing a dark shirt that hung loosely around my waist so you couldn't see the blood or the bandage. Finally satisfied I hurried from the bathroom and nearly ran right into Benny.
"There you are. I was just about to come… Shit Amy, what happened?" Benny exclaimed, taking in my blood shot eyes, tear stained face, and lumpy head.
"It's nothing. I got sick and fell. I hit my head on the toilet bowl and threw up on the floor. But I'm fine now so can we just leave?"
"Yea, no problem. We can pull out the suitcase so you can find a change of clothes and then we can leave."
"No! Let's leave now! I can change later, but for now I just have to get out of here. I can't take another second in this godforsaken town."
"Ok, ok, whatever you say."
Out at the car I insisted on driving first, saying that I needed the distraction. It was about an eight and a half hour drive back to Philly and stopping for food and gas, if we made it fast, we could probably make it in a bout ten, maybe less. The sooner I could get to Jackson's arms and feel safe, the better.
I drove for nearly two hours straight before pulling into a gas station. While Benny pumped I pulled fresh clothes from the trunk and went inside. Inside the convenience store I bought some real bandages so that I could properly care for my reopened scar. The bleeding had stopped but not before it managed to seep through the toilet paper.
In the bathroom, which was only one stall and had no place to hide, and believe me I checked, I changed clothes, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. I threw the old clothes in the trashcan; they would only remind me of today anyways. Before getting back on the road, I bought some drinks and snacks and some air-freshener for the car. Benny took the wheel when we left.
We stopped again around five o'clock for dinner. I tried to convince Benny to get it to go but he insisted on having a moment to stretch his legs. We left once Benny said he was ready, and I took the wheel again. We stopped only when necessary.
Finally about a quarter to nine Benny pulled up in front of the Monkey Place. Kellie's car was there, which meant that the hotel suite was empty. Jackson was the first one to come out and greet up, and at the mere sight of him I suddenly felt calmer. I wanted to study him, to commit the way he looked that night to my memory and replace the memory of the courthouse that kept playing through my mind, but he rushed towards me with such speed that he was almost a blur. He threw his arms around me and hugged me so tight that I actually winced at the pain.
"My god Amy you had me so worried. I thought something might have happened to you." He said with a mix of relief and worry.
"What?" I was confused. Why was he so worried?
"You didn't call. You said you'd call, but you never did. I tried calling you but I never got an answer. We tried calling Ben and the same thing happened."
"Oh…"
"Yea sorry, my phone died." Benny said.
I pulled my phone out; it was still turned off. "Sorry, I turned my phone off for the hearing and I guess I forgot to turn it back on."
"You forgot?" Jackson said incredulously. He sounded a little hurt and suddenly I wanted to cry,
"I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. It's just that this trip has taken a lot out of me, and I ...."
"Shh, calm down Amy. It's ok, I'm not mad. I'm just glad that you're alright."
I nodded and wiped the tears from my face as we proceeded inside. Under the living room light the lump on my head became more visible.
"Shit Amy! What happened?" Kellie asked as she rushed forth to examine my head.
"It's nothing." I pulled back. "I fell is all."
"She got sick in the bathroom before we left the courthouse." Benny explained.
"I swear Me-Me, sometimes you can be so klutzy." Kellie said with a slight laugh.
"Yea." I agreed, before curling into Jackson's arms and tucking my head into his neck.
"So how did the hearing go?" Jerad asked. Before leaving a few days ago, I had told Jerad and Ben G the short version of my childhood. Basically I had just told them that my parents and brother were addicted to meth and that they ran a meth lab until it exploded one day. And after I testified against them I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle in Illinois.
"He was released." Benny answered.
"What?!" Kellie exclaimed, and Jackson tightened his grip on me.
"They said he changed."
I pulled my head out of Jackson's neck. "It's bullshit. It's all just a bunch of bullshit. People like Frankie don't just change. I wish he would just rot behind bars like my mother."
"Amy, you don't know…" Benny tried.
"No Benny you don't know! You didn't have to live with him! The things he's done… It's bullshit I say!" I covered my face with my hands to steady myself. "I'm sorry guys, but I really don't feel much like being social at the moment. I think I should just leave."
"Ok, I'll drive you back." Kellie offered.
"No Kells, please, I'd rather you didn't come back just yet." I leaned back into Jackson's arms and whispered to him. "Please, I do need you."
He rubbed his over my back soothingly. "Just give me a minute to pack a bag." I nodded and he kissed my forehead before leaving for his room. It was almost exactly one minute later when he returned ready to leave. I looked apologetically at Kellie before we left and she nodded in response. She knew I wasn't mad at her but that I just needed some time alone.
The drive to the hotel was a silent one, but one in which Jackson held my hand and rubbed soothing circles on the back of it all the way there. Once we got to the hotel we went straight to my room, kicked off our shoes and lay on the bed. I lay on my left side, so that I wasn't lying on my scar, and Jackson wrapped me up in his arms. I buried my head in the crook of his neck again and he rubbed my back. We didn't say anything for quite awhile, but we didn't need to.
I was the first to speak. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming here with me."
"Well I wasn't about to let you go alone. You still haven't turned on your cell phone." He smiled at me.
I smiled back weakly. "I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"It seems like we're always doing this huh?"
"Doing what exactly? Lying wrapped in each other's arms, gazing into each other's eyes, without a care or worry in the world."
"I was thinking more along the lines of me freaking out and making a fool of myself and then you cleaning up the mess afterwards."
He chuckled. "Amy, darlin' you worry too much."
"Any other guy would have left by now."
"Perhaps. And maybe if you were any other girl I would have left by now. But the truth is Amy, you do something to me. I don't know what it is exactly, but I feel less whole when we're apart."
"Oh Jackson," I gripped his shirt as my eyes misted over; I knew exactly what he meant.
My lips found his and our tongues began to glide and swirl over one another. He rolled me over on my back, and he hiked up my right leg. His hand rubbed against my thigh hungrily. I ground my hips up into his and he let out a small moan. His left hand cupped my face briefly before it began to explore the contours of my body.
I cried out in pain as his hand gripped my side.
"Oh my god Amy, what did I do?" He asked frantically.
I shook my head. "Nothing." I lied; I couldn't fight the tears that were rolling down my cheeks.
"Like hell it's nothing." He lifted my shirt and saw the bandage. "Amy what is this?"
I shook my head again and avoided his gaze; I knew I would be no match for it.
"Amy please tell me what's wrong."
"No Jackson, I don't want to lie to you. Please don't ask again."
His hands gripped my face and he forced me to look deep into his eyes. "Amy."
"It was Frankie." I blurted out. In between sobs I told him of how Frankie had attacked me in the bathroom after the hearing. I watched as his eyes narrowed in rage.
"We're calling the cops." He said through his teeth.
"What? No, no you can't Jackson. Please no."
"Amy? He assaulted you in a public bathroom. You have to tell the courts what kind of man…man ha, what kind of monster he really is."
"Jackson I can't. He threatened to hurt Benny or Aunt Suzie if I told anyone. Oh god, I shouldn't even have told you. What have I done?" My hands balled into fists in my hair.
"Amy, the cops can protect them."
"Like they protected me?" I jumped from the bed and paced around the room. "There were signs everywhere about what was going on at home. I left them! I drew pictures; I wrote notes! No one believed me. No one did anything to stop them until it was too late. Even now Frankie managed to get a knife into a courthouse packed full of police officers. He managed to get into the girl's bathroom to come after me, and to get out without anyone noticing. How do you expect them to protect two adults full time when they couldn't even protect a little girl?"
"Amy I know you're frightened but…
"Frightened? Jackson this isn't the boogieman we're talking about. This is Frankie, and I'm scared shitless. But I can't tell anybody. And maybe I don't have to; after all I have nothing he wants. He's in Hampstead and soon I'll be back in Berkeley. He's has to report in with his parole officer every day, and he has to wear a brace around his ankle that monitors everywhere he goes.
"Besides, it would do no good to tell anyone, especially Benny. I know he means well but he would try to go after him and let's face it, Benny would be no match for Frankie. And if anything happened to Benny or Aunt Suzie because of me… I don't think I could live with that. So please Jackson," I took his hands in mine and looked pleadingly into his eyes, "promise me you won't tell anyone."
Jackson shook his head slowly. "This is wrong Amy, but… I won't tell. I don't agree with it, but if that's what you want I'll do it for you. But I swear to you Amy, I won't let anything harm you, ever. And if he ever tries to lay a finger on your again, screw Benny I'll go after him myself."
"Jackson I…"
"Shh darlin', come here." He pulled me down on the bed, back into his arms, and kissed my head tenderly. "I think you should get some rest now; you've had a very trying day to say the least."
"Will you still stay with?" I asked as he lay us down.
"And just where would I go? Amy, there's no place I'd rather be than with you."
He held me close all night, avoiding my side, and we both fell asleep in our clothes.
You know I must love writting to post on my anniversary! Yup, been married for one year now. Happy One Year to me!