The Prospect's Girl

Opening Up

"Where the fuck were you? I told you to be home at 2:30. Not 2:35. Are you fucking some other guy? You are such a fucking whore." he shouted before shoving you into the wall. You'd gotten caught at a red light while some emergency vehicles passed you. You tried to get home on time. You knew what would happen if you didn't. Your head hit the wall and you started to feel dizzy. You slid toward the floor, and he started kicking you in the stomach and sides. You curled up in a ball and started to cry."

"Cariño? Wake up, sweetheart."

You woke up with a start. You were shaking and crying. It took you a moment to realize where you were. EZ was holding you close, rubbing your back, trying to help you calm down.

"Shhh, it's alright, bebita. You're safe. I've got you."

You tucked your head into EZ's chest and continued to cry. He just held you, letting you take whatever time you needed. Once you'd finally calmed down, you shifted so you could look at him.

"He used to hit me if I broke the rules. I was 5 minutes late getting home one day. He kept kicking me in the stomach and sides. I could barely move for days after."

"Oh, cariño. Lo siento. You don't deserve that. I won't hurt you. You're safe with me."

"He didn't like it when I spoke Spanish. He heard me speaking to a vendor at the market once, and cracked a rib when he hit me for flirting. He said the only reason I'd speak Spanish is so I could say things I shouldn't, since he didn't understand."

You didn't know why you suddenly felt like you needed to tell him all of the ways that your ex had hurt you. You just needed it off your chest.

"He wasn't like that when we were in school together. He sometimes got jealous, but never hurt me. It wasn't until we moved out of Michigan. It's like he realized nobody knew me, and he could isolate me more easily. He got drunk one night and we fought. He smacked me. I was trying to find a way to leave him. We were both hired at the hospital. I'm a pathologist. He threatened to kill me if I didn't quit. I was sure he'd do it, but I didn't want to quit. He took my phone and emailed in my resignation. He refused to give it back to me. He put a tracker in my car. If I left home without his permission, he'd hit me. If I'd known my dad was here, I could've left. I would've been safe."

"You are safe now. I'll always protect you."

"I know. I trust you. You make me feel safe."

He pulled you closer. "I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me about what happened, but I'm here to listen any time you need to talk about it."

You snuggled your head into his chest more, and pressed a soft kiss there. "Thank you, Ezekiel. It's been so long since I felt safe. There is something about you. It amazes that you want to be with someone as messed up as me."

"Cariño, you are not messed up. You are wonderful and smart and strong. It takes an incredibly strong woman to make it through that. You are a warrior."

You squeezed him a little, acknowledging what he'd said.

"Why did you choose to go to school in Michigan? Aren't you from Oakland?"

"I am from Oakland. When my mom and dad split, my mom headed back to Michigan where she's originally from. When I started looking at schools, I found that the University of Michigan had a great medical program, and since my mom was there, I decided to go."

"When did your mom leave?"

"I was 9. She didn't like that my dad was in the club. I'm sure that there was a lot more to it than that, but that's what I know. She hadn't really wanted to take care of a kid back then. She's a better mom now that I'm an adult. When they were talking about custody and visitation, she decided that she wanted my dad to have full custody, and would just have visitation a few times a year. I flew to Michigan 3 times every year. Spring break, summer, and half of Christmas break for the last 9 years of my childhood. I hated going. Sometimes it was fun, but I liked being in Oakland, and I liked the club better than I liked my mom. I was probably an annoying little shit running around the clubhouse, but my dad and mi padrino never made me feel that way."

"Well, I'm glad you are back in California. I already love being around you."

"Thank you, Ezekiel. I love being around you too."

"I like that you call me Ezekiel. Everyone calls me EZ. I don't mind it, but my full name sounds good coming from you."

"I'm glad you do. I was actually going to ask if you wanted me to call you EZ instead."

"You can call me whatever you want, cariño."

"Well I like calling you Ezekiel, and I love that you call me cariño. Nobody else has ever really called me that."

He leaned down to give you a sweet kiss. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was just after 2am.

"We should get some more sleep, cariño, but if you don't think you can, we can keep talking."

"Sleep sounds good. You'll stay with me all night?"

"Nowhere I'd rather be."