Chapter 20

KPOV

When the Monkey's MySpace said Ben J was "discovered in the woods of Illinois," they weren't kidding. The boy lived out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but trees as neighbors.

"Turn left." The GPS instructed. I did as it said and pulled out my phone. Now would be a good time to call since I had no other instructions but to go straight for several miles.

"Come on pick up the phone….Ben! It's Kellie…." Jackson had told me that he promised to update Ben as soon as possible, and well I had nothing else to do now, but drive of course.

"I'm taking her to the hospital now…. Frankie roughed her up pretty bad, but she's a fighter and I'm sure she'll be alright once the doctors take care of her….I don't think that's a good idea right now; she needs to save her energy….Amy's with Jackson back at the house….I couldn't get her to come with me and there's no way he'd leave her….Amy seemed to think he was still there, but I never saw him….Me? We'll I'm fine….Thank you….Yea, yea sure hang on just a sec…."

"Mrs. Johnson," I looked through my rear view mirror at Ben's mom who lay in the back seat. Her glossy eyes looked back at me. Good, she was still responsive, this was very good.

"Mrs. Johnson, I have your son on the line."

"Benjamin…"She said weakly.

"Yes Ben. He says he loves you and that he wants you to hang in there. He says he's at the airport now. He's on his way to see you."

"I…love…him…"

I smiled. "I'll pass on the message." I lifted the phone back to my ear. "Ben, she says she loves you too."

JPOV

I opened my eyes. My vision was heavily blurred and my ears were ringing loudly. My ability to move was hindered. My hands were taped behind my back, my ankles were taped together, and my mouth was taped shut.

When my vision cleared a little more I looked around. I was back inside lying on a hardwood floor. Judging by the bed that was in the room I'd say I was in a child's bedroom, and since there were dolls on the bookshelf over the bed it must have been Amy's room.

Amy! Where was she?

A man walked in. It must have been Frankie. He couldn't be much taller than I was, but he was bigger, bulkier. His clothes were dirty and his hair was shaggy. And, god I could smell his stench from here.

"Good, you're awake." He snarled. "I want ya awake when I kill her. I want ya ta watch. Would ya like to see her one more time?" He opened the closet door directly in front of me.

Amy! There she was, lying on the closet floor. She wasn't moving. She wasn't her normal peaceful self like when she usually slept. She looked helpless, defenseless. What had the bastard done to her?!

"Amy!" I called out but it came out as nothing more than a muddled cry. It worked though; she began to stir.

"Amy!" I called again and this time I was answered with a side splitting kick to the abdomen. Tears welled up in my eyes as Frankie's foot crashed into me again and again. I called for her again, weaker however. Her eyes opened and found mine. Her beautiful soft voice called out to me as Frankie's foot rammed back into me.

"Jackson! No stop it! Leave him alone Frankie!"

Frankie turned around and focused on her then. Amy ran from the closet towards me but Frankie caught her by the throat. I wriggled on the floor in protest and yelled as loudly as I could. Frankie didn't register it as he tossed Amy back into the closet like she was nothing more than a rag doll.

"What was he doing?" He moved a chair underneath the door knob. "No! That son of a bitch!" he was going to lock her in. I had to get to her, but first I had to break these bonds.

I looked around for anything that would be useful to me. On the desk next to me were pictures. If I could knock one of them off and break the glass, perhaps I could use it to cut through the tape. I began to, for lack of a better word, scoot over to the desk.

Frankie had begun to ram his body against the outside closet walls. Though he was laughing loudly and taunting, I could still hear Amy's petrified screams and they made my heart break. I wasn't sure how long she would last.

My attempts to knock off the picture frames weren't noticeable against Frankie's pounding and Amy's screaming. At lat one fell and the glass shattered. I scrambled around for a piece. Picking one up I began cutting through the tape while trying not to cut myself.

"Hang in there Amy." Her screams were beginning to fade. "I'm coming for you darlin', just hang on a little longer."

APOV

I opened my eyes to muffled screams. My vision was blurry and my head was buzzing. I heard another muffled scream and focused my eyes. Jackson! He was curled up on the floor across the room, and Frankie was standing over him kicking him repeatedly.

"Jackson." I called weakly. I had to stop Frankie. "Jackson! No stop it! Leave him alone Frankie!"

I pushed myself up and ran towards Jackson. Frankie caught me by the throat, his fingers wrapped around tightly cutting off my air way. He tossed me backwards like I weighed nothing, and I crashed into the closet floor again. I rubbed my head and looked out as Frankie slammed the door closed.

"No!" I jumped for the handle and tried to push it open but Frankie had already found a way to lock it.

"No! Let me out!" I could feel the panic taking over already. It was getting hotter by the second and every breath I took was shallower than the last. I had to get out of here.

"Let me out!" I screamed. I beat my hands against the door. I scratched and clawed until my hands were bloody and full of splinters. I screamed until my throat grew scratchy, and then I screamed louder until my voice was hoarse.

"Please…" my cries became weaker. "I can't….breath."

My mind was foggy and my limbs were growing heavy. I was on the verge of passing out. My eye lids were droopy but I knew if I closed them in this state of mind, then I would never open them. And I could never see Jackson again. Jackson! I had to hang on for him. I had to be strong for him. But how?

Somewhere in the back of my mind a song was quietly playing.

I wanna make you smile whenever you're sad
Carry you around when your arthritis is bad
All I wanna do is grow old with you

I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches
Build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growing old with you

Jackson was chasing me around the living room with nothing but a towel around his waist. I was wearing my black silk robe. We had just gotten out of the shower and I was jokingly refusing him. I enjoyed watching him beg for it. Not that I was being cruel or anything, I mean sometimes I begged him for it too. It was our little game.


I'll miss you
I'll kiss you
Give you my coat when you are cold

I'll need you
I'll feed you
Even let ya hold the remote control

His wet body slammed into mine and his hardness pressed against my stomach. Oh he really wanted me didn't he? I was going to pay for this big time, goodie.

"I've got you now my little tease." Jackson ginned.

"Hmm, and what are you going to do with me now?"

So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink
Put you to bed if you've had too much to drink
I could be the man who grows old with you


I wanna grow old with you

I lay naked in Jackson's arms and he held me tightly against his naked body. Our hearts were beating fast and our breathing was heavy. I knew I could never feel happier than when I was with him.

"I love you darlin' and I'll always be there for you."

Suddenly it became easier to breath. My breaths weren't coming as rapid and they were getting deeper. My head began to clear and I could think rationally again. I had to get out of here. I had to get to Jackson. I couldn't give up.

I looked around the closet and saw the one thing that could help me; Benny's old wooden bat. I pulled it from the corner and got on my knees. I rammed the bat into the door over and over again. After several hits a whole began to give way. I tried to make it bigger.

"You bitch!" Frankie yelled. He pushed the chair away that he had propped against the door and grabbed me by the shirt. As he pulled me through the whole my side caught on the door, tearing open my scar again and I screamed our in pain. He grabbed my shirt again and held me up. He raised his hand to hit me, but Jackson came out of nowhere and stopped him.

"Keep your hands off her you son of a bitch!" Jackson yelled as he took the bat I had used and swung it at Frankie's head. The bat made contact with a loud crack and Frankie stumbled away and collapsed on the floor moaning in agony.

Jackson held out a bloody hand and helped me up. Frankie continued writhing on the floor as we left. Without speaking, Jackson and I rushed down the stairs. Jackson went to continue out the front door but I pulled him back. I shook my head and led him down the hallway on the ground floor. I took us into my uncle's old office and locked the door behind us.

"We should be leaving Amy."

"No Jackson, not until this is over. Kellie's probably made it to the hospital now, and the cops should be on their way. All we have to do is keep him here until they arrive."

"By hiding out in a room, behind a door he can easily break down? Amy this is ridiculous. We should leave while we have the chance. I promised your cousin I would bring you back safely and that's exactly what I intend to do." He didn't exactly yell at me, but his voice was raised and there was an edge to it.

"Jackson," I walked over to him and placed my hands on his shoulders. "I know this must be difficult for you, but I can't run from him anymore. I've spent my whole life, or at least the past twelve years of it running from my past, even hiding from it. I've worked so hard to prove to the world, to prove to myself, that I am better than my family and that I'm not like any of them. Everything I have accomplished has been in spite of my past and yet I still feel inadequate and helpless when I'm reminded of it. Now I have the chance to stand down the very thing that has been the source of all my fears and insecurities, and you want me to run away from it? If I run now, I'll be running forever. And I refuse to live like that anymore."

Jackson looked ashamed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" He reached up and gently tucked my hair behind my ears. "What do we do?"

"I have a plan."