The Last Jeskey - Chapter 33

 

The Last Jeskey

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 33

 

(Day 7 – Wednesday)

 

Freaky

 

I felt strange.  Woozy kind of.  And every time they stuck me with that super thin knife thing it got worse again, and I fell asleep for a while.  I was so mad, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it, so I sat there every time I woke up and hugged my hair like I always did.  Except it was no longer attached to me.  I had lost…me!  I wanted to scream so bad, but I was too woozy, so I hugged my hair and rocked.

I really missed Shantel and Lisa, and I had only known them a few days.  But I had never been allowed to talk to other women before, and being with them…I liked it.  I liked…them.

And then there were more people in my room.  I looked up and saw Natalie and Pamela.  But they had Doctor Knox and Doctor Wilcox with them.  And then Natalie was there on the floor with me, hugging me, and it felt so nice.  I tried and tried to tell her how much I wanted to see Lisa and Shantel again, and amazingly, Pamela told me that if I got dressed, they would take me to them.  Shantel.  Lisa.  I miss you.  Please explain it all to me.

It felt good to get back into a dress again.  Very good.  Just putting it on made me feel a bit better.  And then we were walking out of the room, and they opened that door that was always locked, and we went through, all the way outside and into a car.  Pamela drove it, but Natalie was right there in the back seat with me, holding my hand.

“Shantel, Lisa,” I said.

“Hush Freaky.  Relax,” Natalie said softly.  “Pam.  I hate to say it, but maybe we better.”

“I was already going,” Pamela told her.

I felt a bit better by the time Pamela stopped the car again and we all got out.  I recognized the shelter.  I headed straight for it and opened the front door myself.  “Shantel!  Lisa!” I called.  But I didn’t see them.

“We’ll check with Jess Kriss,” Natalie told me, but I headed straight for the big room with all the chairs and that TV thing.

“Freaky!” Pamela called me.  “Wait.”

“I turned and she waved me to join them in Miss Kriss’s room, but I knew the place.  Even as woozy as I still was, I would be able to find Lisa and Shantel.

“Freaky?  What are you doing here?”  Miss Kriss exclaimed.  “And what happened to you?”  I turned and saw her coming toward us from another part of the building.

“I need to see Shantel and Lisa,” I told her.

“What on earth happened to your hair?” she asked.

“One of the staff members at the behavioral center took it upon herself to cut it,” Pamela explained.

“They did what?”  Miss Kriss hugged me tightly.  “Oh Freaky, I’m so sorry Honey.”  She looked up at Pamela and Natalie.  “I’m sorry, but we’re full up right now.  I’ve got no more beds.”

“It’s okay,” Pamela told her.  “We’re only here because she wanted to see her friends so much.”

“I think they’re in the lounge,” she told them.  She released me and I hurried on ahead toward the big room.  I went through the door and looked around…and saw them, together as always.  “Lisa!  Shantel!”  I ran to them.

“Freaky?” Lisa exclaimed as she stood up.  She looked so shocked.

“Honey Pie!” Shantel yelled.  “What happened to you?”

I ran to them, and they both enveloped me in a big hug.  And I cried all over again.

“It’s okay Honey Pie.  It’s okay,” Shantel kept telling me.  But I knew it would never be okay again.

“What happened?” Lisa asked once I finally stopped crying.

“This lady at the place they took me to,” I said.  “She kept yelling at me about almost everything.  And then she had some of her friends hold me down while she cut my hair off!”  My hand seemed to go straight to the back of my head again, but my hand didn’t find what it was supposed to find, and I started crying all over again.

Shantel hugged me.  “It’s okay Honey Pie.  It’s okay.  Believe it or not, it’s not the end of the world.  You just sit here with us and let us hold you.  We got you Honey Pie.  We got you.”

It felt good to be held.  I don’t know why, it just felt good.  I sat there with them and cried a bit, and they held me and kept telling me it was alright.  But it wasn’t alright.

I could hear Miss Kriss talking to Pamela and Natalie not far away.

“I had just found Lisa a job,” Miss Kriss said, “but she lost it today when the original girl she replaced decided to come back, and the company decided to go with the more experienced person, so I’m looking again for her.  Shantel is a more difficult story, but the two of them have been absolutely inseparable since Shantel arrived.  They’ve both been here long enough now that I’ve got to find some way to help them move on, but I’m afraid it’s been difficult.  They’ve both got a history of being battered and in and out of the hospital.  They’ve both been stuck in pure hell for a long time.  And like most of the women who come here, they’ve got no jobs and no safe place they can go to, other than here.  Since they arrived, I think they simply saw something in each other, and held each other together.  And now it looks like their little duo is adopting Freaky too, at least somewhat.”

“Yes,” I heard Pamela say.

I continued to sit there and relish being held.  Why was I so close to these two?  Why did I want to be with them so badly?  But just then, I was still kind of woozy, and I really just wanted to be held.

“What if…” I heard Pamela say, and then she stopped talking.

“Pamela McGregor,” Natalie said.  “What are you thinking?  And I hope it’s not what I think you’re thinking.”

“What if I had a job for them,” Pamela said.  “Both of them.  Full time.  Um…in fact, not just full time, but around the clock.  A job where all three of them could be together.  A job that included someplace for them to live and…I guess it would have to include food for them to eat as well.  More than that, I can’t guarantee.”

“Pamela,” I heard Natalie say.  “We can’t!  How?”

“It sounds like the perfect solution, for all of them,” Miss Kriss replied.

“Yeah, well there’s one big drawback,” Pamela added.  “We can’t pay them anything.”

“That’s not the only drawback!” Natalie was quick to point out.  “Don’t forget Gary!”

“Yeah.  I know,” I heard Pamela say.

“And where exactly do you expect them to live?” Natalie asked.  “Not where I think you’re thinking.”

“But you can’t pay them?” Miss Kriss asked.  “They need jobs!  They need that sense of accomplishment.”

“Yes,” Pamela said, “but this job would have plenty for them to feel a sense of accomplishment about.”

“Pam!” Natalie said sternly.  “We can’t!”

“Nat,” I heard Pamela say.  “Can you call your husband?  See if he can give them a bodyguard like he’s got for you.”

“You’re serious!” I heard Natalie say.

“What are you talking about?” Miss Kriss said.  “And if it’s a job, why can’t you pay them?”

“Ladies!” Pamela’s voice reached us, obviously wanting our attention.

Despite how much I was enjoying just being held, all three of us looked up at her.  Miss Kriss was standing there with Natalie and Pamela.

“I have a proposal for you,” Pamela said.  “For both you Shantel and you Lisa.  Together!  For Freaky’s entire life, she’s been literally locked away and has been brainwashed into believing things that simply aren’t real.  According to a doctor we just spoke with, he believes that what she needs is to get out into the world a bit more and see how life really is.  And more than that, she needs someone to start teaching her all the things that she was never allowed to learn.  What I have in mind, is for both of you to be her teachers.”

“Yeah, but there’s a catch,” Natalie added.  “A few catches actually, and they’re big ones.”

“Like what?” Lisa asked.

“Like…we can’t pay you,” Natalie explained.  “Freaky here has no money and we’ve got no budget for any of this.  Yes, we can try sending you all to the farm where she’s been living.  That would at least put a roof over your heads.  But between Pam and me, we’d have to come up with money for food and anything else you need as well, and I’m sure that neither of us have that kind of money.  And then there’s the more important issue that worries me.”

“What?” Lisa asked.

“Freaky’s Uncle Gary…although actually he’s her cousin.  But he’s sworn to kill her, and he’s been trying to kill me and my husband as well, and I’m not lying about that.  I got shot a few days ago by him.  Gary and his brothers and their father, have literally tortured Freaky there nearly to death all her life, but now that Gary is the only one left living, he wants Freaky dead too.  I can try to get the sheriff to give you some protection, but I can’t guarantee that, or even how much protection it could be.”

“You can’t pay us?” Lisa asked.

“No,” Pamela replied.  “I wish I could, but…we need money for that.”

“But we’d still be together,” Shantel stated.  “Lisa and me…and Freaky,” she added.

“That would be what the job is all about,” Pamela replied.  “Watching out for her and teaching her.”

Both Shantel and Lisa looked at me, and at each other, then Lisa turned back toward Pamela and said, “I’ve got a husband who’s tried to kill me too.  I think he’s still trying.  That’s why I’m in here.”

“And I’ve got people who’ve tried to kill me a few times as well,” Shantel added.  “I know I can’t stay here much longer, and Leese here is in the same place I am.  We got nowhere to go but back to what we came from.”

“I’ve got nowhere else to go either,” Lisa added, “and…”  She looked over at Shantel, then at me, then back at Pamela.  “If I can’t stay here, then it would be nice if I could at least be with friends I love.”

“So you’re interested?” Pamela asked.

“You got any churches up there that sing gospel music?” Shantel asked her.

“Yes,” Natalie replied.  “A few.  In fact, more than a few.”

“Then I’m in!” Shantel declared.  “And if that Gary comes around after my Freaky here, then he’s gonna have to deal with me!  Leese, get a move on.  We’s goin’ to church!”