Learning To Love Again...

Chapter 1🦋

Alana(August 3rd, 1988)...

I Was In My Bathroom Covering My Bruises On My Face With Makeup. I Was Good With Making Them Invisible. I Sighed To Myself, Wondering Why I Still Deal With His Shit? Derrick Wasn't Always Like This. I Was By His Side When He Had Nothing- Well He Still Has Nothing. I'm The One With The Money. He's Just A Bum Ass Nigga. But One Day, He Just Changed And Started To Treat Me Like Shit. I Was Just His Punching Bag For When Things Didn't Go His Way. I Finished My Makeup And Left My Hair Down And Did A Side Part. I Got Dressed In A Long Sleeve Red Shirt, Grey Leggings And White Nike Air Forces. I Grabbed My Bag And Books Walking Downstairs.

"Where You Going?" He Asked.

"To My Classes." I Told Him.

He Looked At My Books And Frowned. I Huffed And Got Ready For His Fit.

"Didn't I Tell You I Don't Want You Being A Lawyer? Why Don't You Do Something Else Like A Pharmacist?" He Asked.

"Because I Don't Want To. I Want To Be A Lawyer. I Was In School Before I Met You. And You're Not Paying My Tuition My Father Is. So What You Say Don't Matte-" I Started Before He Slapped Me Down.

I Held My Face And He Bent Down To My Level. He Grabbed My Hair And Yanked Me Up Making Me Hiss.

"Don't You Ever Talk Back To Me Again. Understand?" He Asked.

"Yes." I Nodded.

"Good. Now Come On So I Can Take You To These Dumb Ass Classes. You Don't Have Time To Fix Your Make Up So Just Wear Some Shades." He Let Me Go.

I Stood Up And We Walked To My Rolls Royce My Father Gifted Me For Christmas. I Put On My Dark Shades And He Drove Me To Campus. I Attended Clark Atlanta University.

"You Better Not Talk To No Dudes. And What Time Classes Over?" He Asked.

"1:30." I Answered.

"Alright. I'll Be Here At 1:30. If You Not Out Here At 1:31 I'm Leaving You And Theres Gonna Be Consequences When You Get Home." He Told Me.

"Okay." I Mumbled Getting Out The Truck.

I Walked To My Class And Started On My Notes.

Later...

Derrick Had Just Picked Me Up From My Classes So We Were Now At This Restaurant Called Southern City Kitchen Midtown. It Was A Southern Food Place. I Looked At The Menu And Seen What I Wanted.

"What Can I Get For You Guys Today?" The Waitress Asked.

"I'll Have The Collard Greens, Hot Water Bread, Fried Chicken And Macaroni. She'll Have A Caesar Salad With Grilled Chicken." He Ordered For The Both Of Us.

I Didn't Really Want That. What I Wanted Was A Carolina Trout With The Side Of New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp. I Knew Better Than To Argue With Him Though. I Handed Her My Menu And Pushed My Shades Up.

He Started To Talk And I Listened. I Threw In A Few Words Of Agreement To What He Was Saying. Our Food Soon Came And I Started To Eat Slowly. My Jaw Was Hurting Me So Bad While I Ate. I Soon Just Sat My Fork Down And Stopped Eating. I Grabbed My Water And Took A Sip.

"Eat Your Food." He Commanded.

"I Tried. It Hurts To Open My Mouth And Chew. I Can't Do It." I Shook My Head.

"I Said Eat." He Repeated.

"I Can't. I Tried. I Can't Do It." I Told Him.

"You Know What. You Wanna Be Disrespectful Find Your Own Way Home." He Stood Up.

He Grabbed The Water And Dashed It On Me And Left. I Stood Up And Looked At My Outfit.

"Derrick!" I Yelled Causing People To Look At Me.

The Waitress Came Over And Handed Me A Towel. I Took It And Thanked Her.

"Just Go. Don't Worry About The Food. It's Free. Im Sorry You Have To Deal With That." She Told Me.

"Thank You." I Told Her.

I Walked Out The Restaurant And Started To Walk Home. I Started To Cry A Little And Wondered Why  This Happened To Me. It Started Raining And I Huffed. I Had No Jacket Or Umbrella So I Had No Choice But Get Soaking Wet. He Took My Wallet So I Couldn't Get A Taxi. I Walked With My Head Down And Bumped Into Someone. I Fell Flat On My Ass And My Shades Fell On The Ground Getting Stepped On. I Stood Up And Looked Up At The Tall Dark Skinned Man In The Suit And Umbrella. He Looked Familiar. Like I've Seen Him Somewhere Before.

"Shit. I'm So Sorry." I Apologized.

"Its Okay. Why Don't  You Have A Jacket Or Umbrella In This Weather?" He Asked.

"My Boyfriend Left Me And Didn't Bother Letting Me Grab My Things." I Told Him.

He Looked At My Face And Seen The Black Eye. I Hurried And Covered It Up With My Hair.

"Are You Getting Abused?" AwHe Asked.

"I'm Fine. I Better Get Going." I Tried To Walk Away.

He Gently Grabbed My Waist And Stopped Me.

"Let Me Take You Home. You Shouldn't Be Walking In The Rain." He Smiled.

"No. I'm Fine. Thanks Though." I Declined.

"Well At Least Take My Umbrella." He Said.

"No. I Don't Want You Getting Your Suit Wet." I Shook My Head.

"Either I Take You Home Or You Take My Umbrella. Choose One." He Said.

"I'll Take The Umbrella." I Gave In.

He Smiled And Handed It To Me.

"Thank You." I Smiled.

"You're Welcome. And If You Ever Want To Get Away From The Crazy Man Who's Doing This To You, Give Me A Call." He Handed Me A Card.

I Looked At It And Nodded. Thats Where I Knew Him From, TV. He's The Singer Babyface.

"Yes Sir." I Smiled.

I Put The Card In My Pocket And We Went Our Separate Ways. I Walked For A Hour Til I Made It To My House. I Laid The Umbrella On The Porch. I Tried To Open The Door And It Was Locked. I Knocked And He Opened The Door.

"I See You Finally Made It Home." He Smirked.

I Walked In The House Shivering When The Cold Air Hit Me. I Walked Upstairs And Took A Hot Shower And Washed My Hair. I Got Out And Dried Off. I Put On A Pair Of Jogging Pants And Long Sleeve Shirt. I Put Leave In Conditioner In My Hair And Blow Dried It. I Pulled It Into A High Ponytail And Washed My Face. I Got All My Makeup Off, Revealing My Many Bruises. I Walked Downstairs And Seen Derrick Drinking Hennessy.

"So Who Was You Fucking?" He Asked Me.

"What?" I Asked.

"Who Was You Fucking? Why It Take You A Hour To Come Home? And Why When You Came In You Go Take A Shower?" He Asked.

"Derrick You Made Me Walk Home From The Restaurant. You Know We Stay 35 Minutes Out Of City Limits. The Restaurant Is In The Heart Of Town. Which Is A 24 Minute Walk Within Itself. 35+24 Is 59. Surely If I Was Fucking Someone I'd Need More Than A Minute. And It Was Raining. I Needed A Hot Bath And To Wash My Hair. I Haven't Been With Anyone But You." I Explained.

"You Think I'm Stupid?!" He Yelled.

"No." I Shook My Head.

"Yes You Do." He Nodded.

He Came Over To Me And Bent Me Over. He Took Off My Pants And Slid Inside Me. Derrick's Dick Was Small And He Would Nut Quick.

3 Minutes Later...

"Fuck." He Huffed.

I Stood Up And Went To The Bathroom And Cleaned Myself Up. I Wish He Knew He Didn't Do Anything Good. I Walked Back Into The Living Room And Sat On The Couch So I Could Study.

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