The rest of the day proved uneventful. Ma'am continued in her usual routine. There was no screaming, no willow switch, and no stones. The lack of expression on Ma'am's face at the sight of the bag of money made Jackie more afraid than ever before. She grew more uncomfortable by the hour.

The day passed in silence, and Jackie nervously waited for the proverbial other shoe to drop. At eight-thirty, without even saying her usual stiff "good night,” Ma'am left the living room and climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Jackie held her breath until she heard her door close, then she exhaled profoundly and sagged deeper into the sofa cushions.

The television no longer held her interest. Her mind whirled with a million crazy thoughts. If her aunt would just explode, drag her to the garage and make her kneel on the stones until morning, it would make Jackie feel better to see some kind of emotion from her. At least she would know to expect that. But the stony silence of the evening grew on her nerves until she finally gave up, clicked off the television, and went to bed herself.

The old grandfather clock chimed the hours relentlessly in the downstairs foyer. Jackie tossed and turned, made several futile attempts to get up, get dressed, and flee. She shivered under the covers. It felt frigid in the bed, and even her warm pajamas would not keep the heat in her body.

Each time she flung back the covers to leave the bed and get dressed, she thought she heard movement in the hallway and would quickly lie back down and cover her shivering body again.

She nearly fell asleep when the clock chimed four. Her eyes flew open at the sound, her breath catching in her throat. What was she doing? Was she going to lay here the rest of the night and wait for morning? Wait to see just what Ma'am had dished up in her sick little dreams? Jackie knew there was no choice to be made. With or without the bag of money, she had to leave this house, leave her aunt behind her.

She forced herself from the bed and quietly slipped into a pair of jeans, a blouse, warm socks, and tennis shoes. She pulled the suitcase she had already packed from the top of the closet and grabbed her coat. It had to be now or never, and Jackie knew that never was no longer an option.

Silently, she closed her bedroom door behind her and tiptoed down the stairs. She made no sound as she got to the bottom and stole through the dining room toward the kitchen. She thought to take some food with her since the money was gone, and she planned on packing something that she could eat on the run.

She didn’t turn any lights on as she edged in the dark toward the refrigerator. She didn't need lights. She knew this room without them. With one hand, she opened the fridge, then glanced behind her, used that light to make sure she was still alone.

Jackie blinked twice at the brown paper bag that sat in the glare of the refrigerator light on the kitchen table.

Silently, she closed the fridge and slowly approached the table. Her hand brushed the bag to see if it was empty. The coins clinked loud against each other.

She pressed a hand to her throat. It can’t be, the thought seemed very loud in her ears, and she winced.

Glancing back the way she came, she made sure her aunt was not trying to trick her into taking the money, but there was no one behind her.

Once she was satisfied this was not one of Ma'am's sick tricks, she picked up the bag, tucked it into her suitcase, closed the lid with a snap, and fled the house for the last time.

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