I couldn’t believe that I was sitting there spilling my heart out and telling my life story to the man who was holding me captive. Even more, I couldn’t believe how good it felt to tell my story. I was telling him things that I had never told anyone, not even my father.

“So you were the shy, quiet girl and he was the school’s golden boy,” Reed said. “Did you stay with him after the verbal abuse or did you leave him?”

“I stayed with him because I was an idiot who thought I was so in love. There was also a part of me that was starting to believe what he told me. He brainwashed me and I honestly thought that without him, I’d have no friends. Plus, Summer vacation was coming and I was going to be traveling a bit, so I figured that the time apart would be good for us and make us a stronger couple when I returned.”

“I’m going to guess things didn’t work out the way you expected?”

“No, things got much, much worse. I got back in town the night before school started, so I didn’t have a chance to see him. He was super busy with football and other senior activities so we didn’t get to really see each other until this big back to School party one of his friends was having. As soon as we got there, he disappeared with some of his friends so I was mingling while I was waiting for him.

When Jake came back, I was talking to a group of people about our class schedules. There were three girls in the group, but Jake was focused on the one boy. The fact that there was even a boy around me sent him into a rage. He pulled me outside, yelling at me the whole way. Once he knew there was nobody around us, he slapped me across my face and told me he was taking me home.”

I stood up and walked over to the window. Reed had already seen me cry and I didn’t want him to think I was some weak girl. I knew I was stronger than that, but I was having some real difficulty keeping my emotions in check.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Do you need me to get you anything?”

“No, I’m fine,” I responded, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. “Anyway, as soon as we got in his car for him to take me home, he started apologizing profusely and begging me for forgiveness.”

“I can already see where this is going.”

“Yeah, I listened to all his excuses while he explained away why he did what he did. He told me that he was all worked up with football season starting. His coach had told him that he was being scouted by a number of different colleges, so the pressure was going to be on him to perform. He said that the pressure had gotten to him and he took it out on me. He felt terrible and promised that it would never happen again.”

“Did things get better between the two of you?”

As I told him the rest of the story, I closed my eyes and I could see the events unfolding as clear as day. It was as if I was actually there, reliving the entire experience,

I’m incredibly proud of Jake and everything he’s accomplished. He’s broken many school records and has done a great job impressing the scouts. Unfortunately, he’s got a bit of a reputation among the scouts of buckling under pressure and not getting the job done when it matters the most.

He’s excited to finally prove all the scouts wrong. He’s lead the team all the way to the state championship game and with the way the team as performed, everyone is expecting the game to be a blowout in our favor.

When game time rolls around, Jake is a nervous wreck. He’s usually excited and bouncing off the walls, but he’s not doing any of those things. He’s quiet and keeping to himself. He knows that this game is his last chance to showcase his skills.

He has the worst game in his high school career. He only completes 6 passes out of 37 attempts and is intercepted 4 times. We end up losing the game 31-3. Before the game is even over, there are whispers of colleges changing their minds on scholarship offers.  

I know that he’s going to be disappointed. I go home and make a big sign to hold up so it’s the first thing he sees when the team bus pulls up. The sign says #1 in my heart and I can’t wait to see his face when he sees it.

When the bus pulls up, I’m standing there with a big group of supporters, the sign I made front and center for everyone to see. Jake doesn’t pay any attention to the sign I made for him, though. Instead, he only pays attention to the fact that I’m standing next to a boy, even though I don’t have a clue who this guy is.

I can see in his eyes that he’s itching for a fight, which scares the shit out of me. He gets off the bus, drops his bag, and without saying a word, walks up to the guy standing next to me and knocks him out with one punch.

I’ve never seen him this angry and the only thing I can think about is getting away as fast as I can. I walk briskly to my car, trying not to draw any suspicion, but he sees me and runs after me, yelling for me to wait up.

I pretend as though I don’t hear him and keep making my way to my car, but that only makes him angrier. As I’m fumbling with my keys, trying to unlock my door, he catches up to me and grabs my arm, pulling it hard behind my back.

“I know you heard me calling you,” he scowls.

“Jake, let me go, you’re scaring me.”

“You will never, ever disrespect me like that again. Do you hear me?”

He twists my arm even harder until we could both hear a snap. He lets go, knowing that he’s just broken my arm. I fall onto the ground crying, the pain becoming intense quickly. I figure he’s going to start apologizing again, but he begins to mock me instead.

“You know you had this coming. What are you going to do now? You gonna go home and tell your daddy on me? Go ahead and do that. I dare you. I dare you to tell your dad what I did to you. I’ve got something for him too.”

I think this is the end of his coldness, but he threw one more shot at me.

“You and me, Hannah? This is the end of us. I’ll be the last boyfriend you have in high school. I’ll see to that.”

Jake spits on me before walking away back towards the bus. As soon as he’s gone, I pull myself up, get into my car and drive away.

My shoulder is burning and the pain is intense as I try to focus on driving one handed. Eventually, I make it home and burst through the front door crying, my shoulder feeling like it’s hanging on by a thread.

“Hannah, what in the world happened?” My dad asks.

“I fell at school and hurt myself badly. Can you take me to the hospital?”

He doesn’t hesitate and helps me to the car. As soon as we get to the hospital, I’m taken back for x-rays, where I am found to have a clavicle fracture.

My dad is skeptical about whether or not I really fell. He’s had some intuitions about Jake for a while, but I’ve gone out of my way to defend him. I decide to stick to my story about falling because I don’t want my dad to have to deal with his craziness. If he would knock some guy out just for standing next to me, who knows what he’s willing to do to my father.

When I opened my eyes, Reed was standing right in front of me, about to wrap his arms around me. I accepted his embrace, but was caught off guard by the feelings his hug brought on.

For the first time in a long time, I felt safe and secure in a man’s arms. His touch gave me chills that ran over the entire length of my body. Being close to him gave me the feeling of butterflies in my stomach. I had no idea what was happening, but I was starting to think I wanted more of it.