Nathaniel and I used to be really close friends when we were younger, but once we hit high school things started to change. We slowly grew apart as he became more popular around the school and even began bullying me. He knew all of my secrets from our childhood together, including embarrassing moments that I'd rather forget. He would use these against me in order to make me feel like nothing and turn all of my other friends against me. Now they are all head over heels for Nathaniel, leaving me feeling alone and betrayed by someone who was supposed to be a good friend. Over time, the way Nathaniel has treated me has gotten worse and worse. It started with him calling me a loser but eventually escalated to destroying my stuff, cutting my hair, and even trying to kill me. I have tried to call the police on him multiple times but they all think it's a joke since we used to prank call them; nobody believes me, not even my mother. She still invites Nathaniel over for dinner and he acts kind towards me in front of her - like nothing ever happened - which makes it feel like I'm living in an alternate reality where none of this is happening. I can't help but miss when Nathaniel was actually nice to me; those were much better days than what I'm experiencing now. The bullying has been relentless, and it's taken a severe toll on my mental health. I've had to go to the hospital multiple times due to the emotional pain I was feeling, and now I'm in therapy trying to cope with everything that has happened. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try or how much help I get from others, nothing seems to be able to stop it; it's been going on for three years now and every day brings more hurtful words and actions. It feels like all hope is lost at this point - all I want is someone who will support me through this difficult time so that maybe things can start looking up again. Every day when I walk to school, I see a lot of people staring at me as if I'm a monster. It's like they can sense how different I am from them, and it makes me feel so alone. They don't understand me and they never will because of Nathaniel's words—it's all his fault and he has ruined my life. Yesterday he pulled on my hair and tried to cut it off, but then in an act of self-defense, I punched him by accident; I didn't mean to hurt him, but he was being so annoying and aggressive that all I wanted was for him to stop. This gave him a bloody nose which got me suspended for a week.He is coming over tonight for dinner since it's the weekend - something that fills me with dread every time we have these family dinners together - no matter what happens between us during the week prior. When I went to the office yesterday after getting suspended from school, he gave me an intimidating stare which only made things worse between us; now something tells me something bad will happen when he comes into my room tonight - especially given how hostile our relationship has become lately. Mom looks away and Nathaniel does a menacing hand signal to me, like he's about to throw a punch. I try my best not to show that I'm scared, pretending as if I don't know what he's doing even though deep down inside I'm terrified of how much it will hurt when he finally makes his move.I hurry to the bathroom, my heart pounding in anticipation. I can hear a faint knocking on the door and when I open it, I see Nathaniel standing there with an intense expression on his face. He mumbles something that sounds like "be prepared" before pushing me out of the way and entering the room himself. I'm left standing there wondering what he meant by his cryptic words as he closes the door behind him.I run upstairs and try to barricade my room with my gaming chair since I don't have a lock, but Nathaniel unlocks it easily. He grins evilly at me and says, "You know what I want." Whenever I ask him what that means, he just rolls his eyes, but this time he demands: "I want you to come here right now!"Fearful of ending up with 1,000 bruises on myself, I do as he says. He grabs my shirt and carries me downstairs then throws me down the stairs - so hard that all goes blurry before blacking out completely. The next thing I see is being in hospital with Mom and Nathaniel next to me on the bedside. My head hurts terribly; all I want is go home! Mom explains how "I fell" down the stairs which was obviously a lie; I know that Nathaniel pushed me. i can tell my mother loves nathaniel more then me, This is probarly why she let him take me home with HIM at his house.
