There's Only You ✔

Bonus Chapter 1 | How It Happened (prt. 1)

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Bonus chapter 1 |How It Happened (prt. 1)

5 years ago...

He was driving steadily within the lane. He wasn't groping me. His eyes were not bloodshot. That was good. That meant he was sober. For now. Until he got home and dug through his liquor cabinet, downing vodka shots like they were water.

The air between us was still uncomfortable because I knew where we were going and what was going to happen. I threw on a thick hoodie with fur on the inside as an attempt to not show too much skin. Hopefully, that would turn him off from not wanting to rape me this time.

I told my parents I was going shopping with 'Cece', a fictitious friend I made up so they wouldn't suspect I was seeing Gray. The same fake friend I told the boys I was hanging out with before I told them the truth. Mom and dad sometimes confronted me about smelling like smoke. I placed the blame on 'Cece' and said that her and her friends would always smoke around me.

They questioned why I still hung around them despite their poisonous habit, to which I'd reply saying that they were still my best friends. It felt wrong lying to my parents like that. I never lied. I was a good girl. However, that all changed.

Zach texted me saying to check in with him every hour when I got there. He and Kayden worry themselves to death every time I tell them I was going to Gray's. I come over with a new batch of bruises on my cheek, they squeeze me in their arms and we stay like that for what feels like a lifetime.

When we first met him at the coffee shop, the boys were instantly skeptical of him. Gray had a cigarette between his fingers which made the boys concerned I would develop lung cancer just by breathing in his space for thirty seconds. Everything about his features screamed that he was older than us. At least ten.

His smoking habit certainly played a big role in how yellow his teeth were, but he had broad shoulders and muscled biceps. His jawline was sharp enough that if I dared to reach for it, I would prick my finger.

The vibe that he brought in with him wasn't that good. And by 'that good', I meant all bad. The boys had every right to be hesitant when they saw him at our table. That oblivious, blushing little girl who was more focused on the idea of a hot, older man flirting with an insecure girl like me. Not listening to them was a colossal mistake. However, before he left my house for the first time, he punched me.

Despite my parents demanding me to never see him again, I felt trapped. He threatened to kill me if I ever dared to leave him. He also threatened any loved ones I told he hit me. That was why I made the boys swear to secrecy. There was no way I could live with myself if something happened to them or my parents all because I was weak.

At the same time, the relationship was unbearable. The sexual innuendos, the harassment, the blood and bruises littering my face. The smell of alcohol was the first thing to greet me when I stepped foot through the door. Bottles of scotch and beer were scattered across the coffee table, most of them almost empty.

His friends, Troy, Owen, Joshua and Devon were hibernating in the living room. Troy was rocking back and forth on the armchair with his eyes on the TV, Owen was sprawled out on the couch with his phone in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other, Joshua was passed out on the floor with a pungent smell of alcohol floating around him and Devon was staring into space with a cigarette between his fingers.

It was either alcohol or drugs in this group. Today, alcohol was winning by a long shot. As nurses, my parents warned me about the dangers that come with excess alcohol and the smoking habit. Dad would drag me away if he knew I was here.