**Jacqueline's POV**
...
I quit trying to struggle against what was in ten folds stronger than me.. I quit crying like a helpless child.. I quit trying to plead a worthless plea.. And for the second time, with the tears brimming at corner of my eyes and itching them, Allan had his way with me forcefully.
.
.
After he was done, he slid himself from my body, grabbed his unfinished bottle of beer and took chugs from it. I sniffed, wrapped my pajamas on my bare self and with a slight striking pain on my below, I limped to my bedroom.
"You!" His grunts stopping me and with a quick sniff, I turned. He pointed to the floor. I walked to it, grabbed my undies and limped to my room.
I locked the door behind me and moved to my bed, I stood there.. Watching anything and everything as if the room was a place I've never been to, I just needed to get my miserable tears away. I shook the thoughts off and rid the cloth off my body, I wrapped a towel in its place and walked to my bathroom. I turned the shower and let the water sooth me, the pain I felt couldn't be explained.. After hours in the bathroom, just standing and letting the water pour without a stop on me and getting Allan body off me in the little way I could. I got out of shower, stuff my pajamas into the basket that had my other dirty clothes.. I pulled myself into my nightdress, wound a jacket around it and carefully laid on my bed like a sack of bones..
Drifting my mind to anything that popped into my head and wasn't Allan. I tossed on my bed, trying to get some sleep but I couldn't, I tossed and turned but slumber was far away from me.. I sighed and gave up trying to force my unwanted, patsy self to sleep.
Tonight will be a pretty long one.
...
..
I started the morning the next day with first a splitting headache .. After pulling into a baggy short, a shirt with no undergarment and packing my hair up with a bandana. I walked to the living room, picked up the list of chores Allan left for me and sighing in relief after realizing he already left for work.. I started by clearing up last night's mess. I packed up the pieces of broken bottles, vacuumed and mopped the blood stain and other part of the floor.. I started dusting the chairs and when I got to the couch, the same couch where Allan had forced himself on me. I gradually breathed out the memory off, I continued with the cleaning. Dabbing sweat off with the back of my palm.
I was moving to the next chair when my legs kicked a metallic object, I faced down, bent and picked it up.
A locket!
It had a picture of my parent in it, they had toothy smiles and without you knowing you'd figure it held happiness and so much peace. I squeezed it gently in my palm, a smile crossing my lips.. Going down into the beautiful and ugly memory lane.
One harmless want had taken their lives.
Allan must've dropped it. I tucked it into my short, planning to return it to his room.
I took the bucket and mop to Allan's room, after cleaning the necessities and keeping the locket on his drawer table, close to his bed; I walked out and quickly did the rest of the work. I did the laundry; both Allan's and mine. packed up the groceries and old boxes that had mostly, old school paper works and old uniforms. It was far past school time when I finished, so I decided to skip school for the day. I walked to my room, ran a bath, dressed up and went down to make breakfast for myself. I took it in a plate to the living room, sat on a chair, turned on the television and switched channels to a movie sitcom before relaxing to watch; something I haven't done in ages.
I took my phone beside me when it buzzed a message in.. From Martha.
*.. And you're not in school because?*
I smiled, settled the phone on both palm and started to reply..
..
. Nicholas POV
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I slid into the driver's when I heard the sound of my phone ringing, I took it from my pocket and checked the caller.. Dad!
The old man really knows how to call at the wrong time.
"Yes dad" I said into the phone, using my free hand to close the car door and start the car.
"Morning son. I got your call, how've you been?"
He's just getting my call? Classic dad.
"Good. I called to inform you that I've gotten a house help..
"Oh really. That's good! So is she staying full time or--
"Who said it's a 'she'?" I asked, driving out of the gate. The phone stuck now between my shoulder and ear.
"Isn't it? Wait did you get some girlie housekeeper!?" His sharp voice pricked my ear and I endured it with a closed eye. Good thing there was no oncoming vehicle, I would've ran into it.
"Bring it down old man," I joked "I was only pulling your legs. I got a girl," I said and I heard him sigh..
"So tell me, how's she.. I mean her working capabilities"
"Manageable. For her age you'd say she's doing a good job and yeah she's working part time "
"Okay but you have to make her improve or you could get someone else.. like a nanny?"
"No, I'm satisfied with this one and you promised to let me handle it, so let me"
"It's just an opinion.. anyways do a good job, okay? I have to go now"
"Yeah sure" I said and he hung up. I took the phone down and concentrated fully on getting to school.
I parked and got down, slung my backpack to my back and walked to the class.
I found a note underneath my desk, I first put down my book before pulling it out. I scanned the class and met Jason gaze on me, he had a smirk on and I needed no soothsayer to tell me he ks the culprit. I gave him a disgusted expression and tore the paper into shreds without seeing its content..
His countenance twitched to a frown and I gratefully pulled a smirk on and turned my attention and gaze to the board. It totally felt like dèja vu.
...
We had practicals after lunch break and I pulled my lab coat over my uniform and grabbed my lab note.. I bang my locker close and walked down the hall to the biology lab.. As I walked my eyes scanned around for her.
Last night I had stayed out late, not because I was expecting her though but because I couldn't get some sleep..I got so bored, I had to use her to get some of those steam off, She happens to know how to do it. She's the first girl I've been this interactive and grouchy too and honestly, being that way to a girl like her lightens my mood.
I arrived at the stairs and walked alongside my classmates to the lab. I tilt my head again but didn't see her.
"Excuse me" I walked past a guy who was beginning to walk like his legs were made of jelly. I walked into the laboratory.. Went to my seat and sat, the teams joined me and Mrs Brown joined us later. She introduced the topic to us and instructed us on how the experiment would go. After a brief practical she let us do it teamwork and pen down our different observations. She gave each group a different type of specimen.
"Miss Shelton, please get the notes" she instructed a girl after the practical and she went round, collecting all our notes. "Diana, assist her with the specimens" another girl took the trays which had dead insects on them from our table.
"So guys, there's a new post on the bulletin board outside, you all are to check it before going to class and for those thinking it's not important, it is, because your grade for this session depends on it. That's all. Have a nice day" she said and walk out.. The two girls following her. As everyone gathered in small groups to talk about it, I took off my magnifying glass, pocketed it and walked out of the laboratory..
I walked to where the stairs was located, moved to the bulletin board and peered into it. True enough there was a new post and the important stuff Mrs Brown talked about is a test.
Ah! Thought it was a new list of high school projects.
I used the stairs down to my locker, opened it and folded my lab coat in it, I put the glass in the right place and closed it. Fishing out my phone and walking down the hall to class, I operated it and just as I started swiping through my applications, a message buzzed in. I checked and it was from an unknown ID.. I deleted it without checking and clicked on her name.