Soul Swap: Straight-A Student or Bad Boy?

CHAPTER 6: JUST A GIRL

LEXI

Pacing up and down the music room, I couldn’t even sit down. And I prayed that the bastard would show with my body. I kept looking over at the door, even though it was still closed.

Last night was one of the most terrifying of my life. I stayed up all night curled in the corner of the disgusting bed, staring at the door as if Mr. Ward was about to kick it down, and my fear grew worse when I heard him come back.

I couldn't believe that the sweet, caring, responsible man was a ruse and that he was actually a disgusting drunk who beat his wife and stepson.

After the terrifying incident with Mr. Ward, I went to River's room and lifted the shirt to see what was burning in my ribs; I could not believe it.

River's body was black and blue, and I did not have to wonder what had happened to him. Despite my fear, my heart broke for him.

I couldn’t believe that was how his life was, that he had to put up with that. No wonder he was always grumpy at school and bullied others. He was in hell, and he was taking it out on everyone.

I realized right then that no matter how angry I was with him for not backing me up when I went home, for simply sitting there and taking my place, I needed to talk to him. We needed to figure this out.

I wouldn’t last a week in his house. And he was ruining my life.

The schoolyard was filled with rumors of how he handed in a blank paper during the math test and that was hurting me, not him. I realized the meteor had done this to me, and I wanted to know if he had made a wish as well, and how we could reverse it.

It had spent the day checking SkySafari to see when the next shower would be, and it said it would be next month. Perhaps if we got together and made wishes to return to our bodies, everything would be back to normal.

The sound of the door opening finally broke through my thoughts, and I remembered I had promised to remain calm. I said it over and over: stay calm, Lexi, just talk, do not scream, and do not lose it.

But the moment I saw him, all of that flew out the window. There he was... standing there like he had no care in the world... in my clothes... in my body. And I looked like I’d been living on the streets for weeks. My hair was a mess, my shirt was wrinkled and stained, and my pants were halfway down, as if he had no idea what zippers were. My throat tightened and everything within me snapped.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" I screamed, and he flinched, as if he had not expected it, which made me even angrier. Then he reached to pull down the shirt and smooth it or whatever he thought he was doing, and something clicked.

My body had been with him for two days.

A sick wave of horror rippled through me and I saw red.

I stormed toward him. “Don’t you dare touch my body! Don’t you dare!” I snarled, shaking with rage. “You better not have done anything to my body.”

He raised both hands, backing up. “I had to clean it-”

I shrieked, cutting him off. “Oh my god! You had your hands all over my body?” He looked stunned, maybe even guilty, and I couldn’t breathe. The thought of it, of him touching me like that, made me want to vomit.

“I don’t care what your excuse is! Leave it dirty! Rotting, for all I care! Don’t. Touch. My. Body!” My voice shook, and so did the rest of me.

He opened his mouth, probably to defend himself, but I was not finished.

I spat. “I have to walk around in this—” I jabbed a finger toward his body. “This disgusting body. Do you think I want this? I don’t want it!" He stepped back again, and I saw something in his eyes. Fear, maybe. Or shame. “Did you make a wish two nights ago?” I asked, breathless, and he hesitated.

“Did you!?” I screamed.

“…Yeah,” he admitted quietly and that was it. That confirmed it. He did this. I didn't wish to be him. But it was clear from the way he had taken over my life that he wished to be me.

“You,” I whispered, shaking my head as tears burned the backs of my eyes. “You did this. You ruined my life.”

"I ruined your life?" River's voice rose. “I never wished to be you!”

I shook my head, my laugh cold and disbelieving. “You did,” I snapped. “You did. Don’t lie to me.” He looked stunned, like he couldn’t believe I wouldn’t take his word for it. But I was not stupid.

“You looked happy today,” I said, pointing a trembling finger at him. “You were glowing in my body. If you hated this so much, why didn’t you go home? Why didn’t you try to tell your parents what happened?”

He opened his mouth, but I did not let him respond.

"And yesterday," I hissed as my voice broke. “Why did you just sit there? When I cried and begged my mother to believe me, you just sat there and said nothing."

My voice cracked and the fury drained out like it had burst through a hole in my chest, leaving only exhaustion. "I was so scared," I said quietly, folding forward until my hands touched my knees. I couldn’t stand up straight anymore.

“Being in your house… it was unbearable. I couldn’t breathe there. That man, your stepfather… he terrifies me.”

River didn’t say anything for a moment before his voice came still loud. “Fine!” he barked. “I’ll go home. I’ll tell them I’m not you.” He turned and walked toward the door. But then something clicked, I couldn’t let him do that.

“No!” I gasped, stumbling up from my bent position. “Wait!”

He didn’t stop.

“Please!” I shouted. “That man scares me!”

River froze mid-step and I took a deep breath and walked toward him slowly. “I can’t have you take my body there. It’s too vulnerable. What if your mother believes you? What if she decides to keep my body?” I paused horrified. “Or worse, what if that horrible man keeps my body? I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. I’m just a girl, River.”

He finally turned around, and our gazes met, mine wide with fear and his full of an unreadable emotion. “We need a plan,” I said quietly. “The night it happened... I was on the roof. What about you? What did you say when you got onto yours?”

He looked away for a second, like he didn’t want to answer, but then he did. “I said I wished for my life to be better.”

My brows knit together. “You didn’t mention my name?”

He shook his head. “No. Just as I’m sure you didn’t mention mine,” he added softly, and I opened my mouth to finally say what I’d been thinking... the plan, the one chance we might have to fix this, but just then the doorknob to the room twisted and we froze.

We weren’t supposed to be here and without a single word, we both bolted and dove under the piano, our knees knocking together as we tried to stay quiet.

The door creaked open right then, and the sharp buzz of a radio echoed throughout the room. "I'm checking the east wing now. Copy that," said the security guard, stepping inside with heavy boots thudding against the polished floor.

I held my breath, attempting to maintain the awkward position, but my already sore back became strained, and I lost my balance. My shoulder slipped, and I tumbled sideways with a soft gasp.

My eyes widened, panic gripping my throat, but before I could hit the floor properly, an arm snaked quickly around my waist. He pulled me back, but the motion threw him off balance as well because his body was too heavy for mine, and he stumbled, landing half on top of me as I caught myself on one elbow, the other still gripped by him.

Our gazes met, our faces inches apart. His breath tickled my cheek, and mine got caught in my chest as the air between us thickened. The guard's voice faded into a muffled hum in the background, and something in me shifted as my heart stuttered and raced as if it had heard a secret it wasn't supposed to.