Chapter 6 Jo
six
Jo
Brooks gives me a look of distaste over his glasses. “I can’t say I’m happy with you, Jo.”
“The feelin’ is mutual, Doc,” I deadpan, blood dried on the front of my straitjacket and on my mouth. They didn’t even bother cleaning me up before tossing me back in my room. Now here’s Brooks, sitting in a chair in the corner while I wear a muzzle and sit on my bed.
I swear, you bite the ear off one guy…
“Are you ready to tell me who gave you that bite mark?” he asks, tapping his clipboard with a pen. His black walnut scent still makes me want to vomit, but at least I’m getting a little used to it now.
“Are you ready to go fuck yourself?” My voice is sweet as honey, but that doesn’t stop him from glaring at me. There’s no way Hayden is getting dragged into this if I have anything to say about it. Too bad I effectively burned all my bridges earlier with Jonesy and Steve.
Not that I’d be able to look at the two orderlies without wanting to murder them now anyhow.
“Jo.” Brooks sighs. “Let’s circle back. On a scale of one to ten, how much has the bond sickness started to take effect? Are you feeling more irritable? Any headaches? Lightheadedness?”
Am I feeling irritable?
A bitter, slightly unhinged laugh leaves me. “I was feelin’ rather irritable when I bit the ear off ol’ Ash-hole out there, Doc, but that might just be due to the fact that your orderlies were about to let him rape and bond me.”
“Nobody would have bonded you, Josephine.” Brooks tuts, making me scowl.
“Oh, but rape was completely on the table, was it?”
“This all could be avoided if you would just confirm who bonded you!” he nearly shouts, his face going red.
My blood chills as a sickening realization occurs to me.
“You…you knew this would happen?” I ask, blinking in shock. I shouldn’t be surprised. Obviously he knows just who he has doped up in there, and he clearly told the orderlies to bring me into that room. “No…you…you wanted this to happen, you sick son of a bitch!”
Brooks doesn’t even look chagrined. He shrugs. “It’s the reality of the choice you made, Josephine.”
“What choice?” I grit out. “I didn’t make a single damn choice.”
“You’re right. It was more than one choice. More like a…culmination of every choice you’ve made since you got here. Your violent outbursts. Your…relationships. It all added up, and now the price is too high. You don’t want to pay it. But it’s my job, Josephine, to make sure you do.”
Anger thrums in my veins. I’ve accepted that I’m going to be here until Declan finds a way to get me out, but this?
“This is fucked up.” As the snarl leaves me, I lurch forward, and a wave of dizziness takes over. I sway slightly, still sitting on the bed, blinking rapidly.
“Oh, good.” The bastard sounds absolutely delighted.
“Light-headedness.” He scribbles a quick note on his clipboard.
“Would you say it’s more of a vertigo-type feeling?
Or nauseous?” When I stick out my tongue, he shakes his head before standing up.
“We’ll get the answer out of you one way or another, Josephine.
You’re lucky the shift just changed, because otherwise it would be Jones spoon-feeding you gruel through a muzzle.
” He pauses, looking almost regretful. “If you confirm who bonded you, Jo, this all goes away.”
“I’d rather rot in hell, Doc.” I fall backwards, still in my straitjacket and muzzle, letting myself stare at the ceiling.
“Soon, that’ll be the only option you have left.”
Lucky me.
After the sniveling, shaky beta man they sent in spoon-feeds me literal gruel through the bars of my muzzle, I’m feeling pretty shitty. I don’t know if that’s because the bond sickness is taking hold, or because apparently in the Cathedral, we only get two meals a day. Breakfast and dinner.
Because they never took the straitjacket off, using the toilet was an experience. At least the lack of undergarments is good for something. Not looking forward to the UTI that’s sure to come from me shaking myself dry after though.
I’m also glad that my hospital gown covered all the important bits, so the sneaky camera in the corner couldn’t catch me in all my glory. They’ve seen me naked before, I know, but there’s just something so demeaning about having to pee in front of others.
I managed to only go once today, which is a new record for me. It’s possible it’s been longer though, since I have no clue how many days I’ve been here.
There are no clocks or anything either. I only know that my meal was considered dinner because the pathetic man said, “I’m here with your dinner, please don’t try to bite me.”
To which I replied, “As long as you don’t try to rape me, we’re good.”
He looked horrified at the suggestion, which tells me he’s either new here, or really needs to find a new job because they’ll turn him bad soon if he doesn’t.
Anyway. The point is, it’s after dinner, and all I know is I’m going to go even crazier if I have to look at these four walls another damn minute.
My head has started to pound, and my fingers are itching for some blankets.
Cutting an omega off from her bondmate two days after bonding really is a form of torture. And not the fun kind.
I’m sure some of my symptoms might ease up if I opened the bond back up with Hayden.
I’m probably making it worse by keeping him cut off from my emotions, but it’s bad enough that one of us has to go through this.
Besides, even just feeling his presence in my chest gives me the comfort I need to focus.
I’m pacing across the room for what has to be the hundredth time when the lights get cut off.
Shit.
Suddenly, a voice echoes throughout the room, coming from speakers that must be hidden.
“Goodnight, inmates of the Thornfield Asylum for the Criminally Insane. It is seven thirty, which means lights out for the evening. As usual, the lights will turn on at five in the morning. Try to get some sleep.”
Encapsulated in complete darkness, a cold sweat breaks out over my skin and I fumble, nearly tripping when my knees hit the edge of the bed.
I can’t get under the covers, but given how scratchy they are, it might be for the best. Even as goosebumps start prickling up my legs, I refuse to call out for help.
It’s not like anyone would come, even if I did.
No. I need to survive until Declan can get to me. So I settle back on the threadbare mattress like a mummy, and close my eyes, forcing myself to relax. If I’m gonna get the fuck out of here, I need to be as rested as possible.
The world spins rather unpleasantly, but soon sleep overtakes me as I slip into a dream.
“I warned you, Seth!” I shout, drawing my fist back again as my other hand grips the neck of the beta asshole’s shirt. Mabel sniffles next to me, the strap of her dress broken and her makeup smeared.
I connect with his face this time, the crunch of bone under my fist doing very little to quell my anger. “Jojo, it’s okay!” Mabel pulls at my arm, trying to drag me away from the beta that just tried to assault my better half.
“It’s not fuckin’ okay, Mabel!” I snap, shaking her off as I shove the prick back down and kicking his stomach again. “You told him no!”
“But you got him, right?” she asks, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and pressing her face into my shoulder blades. “He’s done, Jojo. Let’s go home. You were right, I’m sorry.”
The pathetic asshole looks up at us with watery eyes. “I’m…sorry!” he chokes out, gripping his stomach.
When I followed this dickhead up to Lookout Point on my bike after he picked Mabel up for a date, I knew he was up to no good. I told Mabel I didn’t feel right about him. But she insisted he was “sweet”.
Sweet my ass.
She was screaming at him to stop when I yanked his driver’s side door open and held my switchblade to his throat, pulling him out of the car.
And when I saw the way the strap of her dress was broken?
The one that we got from the thrift store so she could sew it up nice and pretty for her date? I saw red.
“What does ‘no’ mean, dickwad?” I snarl, winding my foot back like I’m going to kick him again.
“NO!” he shouts, blood dripping from his nose. “No means no! I know that, I’m sorry! I just wanted to win the bet!”
I stiffen, and Mabel freezes behind me.
“What. Bet.” My voice is deadly quiet as I drop down to a crouch next to him.
He pales, like he knows he’s fucked up, and quickly tries to backtrack. “It’s nothin’. Nothin’ at all—”
My hand grips his hair as my switchblade comes back out, and I hold the blade to his neck. “Tell me. Now.”
“Jo!” Mabel gasps, her hands flying to her neck.
Seth’s brown eyes widen in horror. “The guys at school,” he chokes out. “They all have a bet as to who can get around Mabel’s guard dog to fuck her first—ah!” he shouts out as my hand unintentionally tightens in his hair.
“What else?” I snap.
His eyes screw shut tight, and he shakes his head. “Nothin’. I swear—”
“Don’t lie to me, Seth,” I hiss.
Mabel shuffles her feet. “Jo, maybe that’s all—”
“Double braggin’ rights if we can bag both Mabel and the guard dog at the same time!” he yelps when I press the knife harder against his throat.
“The guard dog…” I muse, loosening my hold slightly. “That’s me?” He nods, his eyes still shut. “Names.”
“Everyone. Except maybe the freshman.”
“Guess we’ll have to make a school-wide notice then, huh?” I reach into his back pocket to grab his phone. I flip it towards his face to unlock it, then open the camera app.
“What…what are you doin’?” His voice is shaky, but I grin as I stand, and hit the record button.
“What are you, Seth?” I ask, my voice deathly calm as the flash lights up the boy on the ground.
“I…what are you doin’?” He asks again as he tries to stand, but my boot quickly meets his chest, forcing him to stay down.