I wake up with drool all over the better part of my face and dents the shape of the keyboard she apparently used as a pillow going diagonally across my cheek. Fairly quickly I realize I am indeed a female for the day and a lonely one at that. No close friends, estranged family, and nothing presenting itself as a love interest from what I can see in her memories. First things first though.

This bitch is having a shower.

I’m sent to different bodies everyday to save them from themselves and sometimes other things and I have a hunch that today I’m saving Johanna from her personal hygiene habits. l can smell the hermit radiating from my temporary skin and taste the abandonment that was a bit more than reminiscent of peach schnapps. I’m not quite sure how this girl needs saving but a 19 year old with the means to support herself in any city was a feet. Nevermind LA.

While in the shower, I’m shocked to see expensive shampoo given the lack of upkeep in the hygiene department, but I’m grateful. The amount of grease in my hair is actually amassing some semblance of weight on my head. I wrap myself in a towel and pull out the comb and blow dryer ready to get down and dirty when her phone rings from the bed by her laptop.

I’m quick to answer not sure why exactly I’m here and hoping this’ll let me in on it. Her memories seemed to have shut that out for better or worse.

“Where are you?” A man’s voice demands sounding pinched as if he’s trying to control his temper.
“Y’know what nevermind. Get dressed and get your ass outside.” Before I could ask for what he hung up and for some reason -probably life preservation- I decided not to call back and ask.

I pulled on worn jeans and some indie band t-shirt before shoving a beanie on my damp hair and sliding on some sandals. I glance at the mirror on the way out stuffing her phone in my pocket. Dark curly hair, freckles, blue eyes.

I slide into the car humming in the driveway and fiddle with my hands accessing all I could from her memories and having unusual difficulty. The man beside me was called Mark Hollan.
“Look at me” He says and so I do. “I was lenient Johanna. I was good to you and better than you deserved. Don’t disappoint me today.” He handed me a small burgundy dress. “Put this on. You’ve got people paying good money waitin” I reach for the door handle not sure how to save her from this man, he locks the doors “ In here” It’s awkward but possible and for some reason I only now realize doing what he says is kind of a reflex, like she wouldn’t dream of saying “no”.
He then hands me a pair of heels, black and simple and I put those on too.

He surprises me then, handing me a coffee. I’m hesitant to take it not sure exactly what his motive is, but sure already that his character is not a kind one. I drink the whole coffee on our way to wherever relishing the taste.

---

I come to sometime at night with the burgundy dress somewhere further than I can see and some creep standing over me. We’re in a kind of green room that has two locks on the door and no windows.

“Hey pretty” He crouches and strokes the hair out of my face in a way that made me want to shrink in on myself, but when I tried to recoil the ground was firm against my back. “How about we see if you’re just as generous sober.” He drew closer still I felt numb all over. So they drugged me and he’s the paying people. (At least I hope it was just him. The whole teleporting from the car to the pervert was unsettling enough.) I had hoped I was going to be some kind of expensive arm candy.

“Get off me you creep” I spat. He chuckled and punched me harder than I could’ve possibly expected. My cheek throbbed and I tasted blood. It surely didn't help that I clamped down on my tongue.Wasn’t there some sort of don’t bruise the merchandise agreement. He advances on me again and goes for my neck.

“Stop” I muster all the confidence I have in me. If he thinks he’s supposed to listen to me, he will. He ignores me all together and continues as he was, adding his hands on my thighs to the situation. “Please stop. Please just stop.” I whimper before I remember the reason I’m here.

I grab a nearby heel and wack him with is repeatedly wherever I can and with all the force Johanna has in her before running to the door and undoing the locks. While he’s apparently knocked out I slide on the dress (actually thankful it's strapless), ditching the gifted heels.

I feel drowsy and remember my time constraint. I have to be asleep before midnight or it'll hurt like hell until I make the switch.

I order a plane ticket online via her phone and write a note telling her to go to the airport in the morning before deciding I had time to get home catching a taxi to her house (getting the address from her phone info) and pack her necessities. I put the note on her morning alarm on her phone and tape the handwritten one to her coffee maker before passing out on her kitchen floor.

Notes

Thanks for reading!
Comment Rate Subscribe

(or don't it wouldn't do you any harm not to)