Yes, It's Another Cliché Love Story

Twenty Six

A/N: Mention of sexual abuse and domestic violence. Proceed with caution.

"Ma, you didn't mean what you told Joey, did you?" I heard Lee ask my mom. It was late at night and I thought they'd be asleep only to hear them talking in the kitchen.

"I did,"

"Why? Is it because of what happened? It's obvious he's not in his right mind,"

"That is not an excuse to hurt anyone,"

"He'll come around and it's the first time I've seen him reacting like that. I'm sure he already regrets it. Joey is a sweetheart. He wouldn't hurt anyone, not intentionally. I'm sure there's something wrong that made him act out like that,"

"He doesn't regret it. They never do. I was always scared he'd turn out like his father and I was right,"

"What happened with his father?" there was some silence, "You can talk to me. You don't always have to be there for us, we can also be here for you,"

"He and my brother were peas of the same pod, a bunch of manipulative fools.

You know, I've never understood why my brother hates me so much. Since we were kids, he'd always do things that he knew would hurt me and then gaslight me, making me look bad infront of others. Like the time he knowingly threw my ball on an ants' nest and told me to get it. I've never forgotten how hard I cried when the ants attacked me. He then told my parents that I had knowingly done it just for attention. Do you know what that does to a child's esteem? That was the last time he and I ever played together,"

"You still haven't told me what happened with Joey's father,"

"I don't know how they found out about my other account. I never used any of my photos on there and neither did I use my real name but the two of them came to me and told me that they knew I was a lesbian. Of course, I denied it but Paul said he'd tell my parents about it and that was the last thing I needed.

Back then, I always thought Paul and I would get along better if we saw eye to eye. I thought that we simply misunderstood each other so when he said he wouldn't tell but I had to prove it to him that I wasn't a lesbian, I thought I was right. To prove it to him, I got together with his best friend,"

"Was this after Leila left the country?"

"Yeah, Frank had a crush on me and even if every part of me told me not to be with him, I still agreed. I should have listened to my gut. I should have run when I could. He was too aggressive for my taste. He would man-handle me especially in the bedroom.

He was the first guy I was ever with so I thought that's how it was supposed to be. The relationship went very fast. I moved in with him a month after we'd started dating and we lived as husband and wife,"

"How old were you?"

"I had just turned twenty. I would get an infection every time we had sex so I started coming up with excuses not to have sex with him.

Every time I would refuse, he would get angry and leave the house. I got an anonymous text telling me that 'my husband' was in a relationship with a sixteen year old. I asked him about it and he said that he had a lot of enemies and it was one of them that had sent the message.

Frank was from a very well to do family. The house we lived in was in his name. He'd gotten it as a birthday gift after he graduated high school. Neither of us worked back then but we ate and drank whatever we wanted,"

"How old was Frank?"

"He was twenty five. He'd just graduated from college when we moved in together. He was supposed to go work in the family company but was taking 'time off' to 'find himself'.