Retribution

Chapter 16 - The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth

"Before you start," he said, reaching inside his jacket. "I thought these might help."

He gave me the biggest, cheesiest grin I've ever seen as he handed me a bumper bag of pink and white marshmallows.

"Oh my God," I said, laughing. "I can't believe you bought these."

Opening the bag, he took a handful and started munching. "I thought it would be a comfort thing for you."

"That's really sweet. Thank you."

I took one out of the bag and popped it in my mouth, sucking on it. A couple of minutes later, after I'd eventually eaten it, I figured I couldn't drag this out any longer. I need to rip this plaster off and get it over and done with.

"Ok," I said, wringing my hands together. "Well, it's not like it all starts straight away. You don't come home one night, get punched in the face and decide to stay. By the time that happens, it's too late already. So much groundwork is already in place, you stay because you have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. You still believe that person you once loved is still in there somewhere. The punch in the face just becomes a new level to other things that have already happened. As the abuse progresses, you just accept each new thing until it worsens to the point that past events aren't even that big of a deal. Eventually, it's not just a part of life, it is your life."

He frowned. "Ok. I kind of get it but how does it start? What's this 'groundwork' they put in place?"

"Well, when you start seeing someone new, it's all fabulous isn't it?" He nodded to me, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "All you care about is making them happy and making a good impression. You like them a lot and you don't want it to go pear shaped, so you're willing to flex on things to see how they fit into your life. Then, you start seeing each other a bit more, have fun, share moments that are only between the two of you—and I don't just mean intimately. Like this now, between me and you, this is a moment only the two of us will ever have. Having serious conversations like this is where you start to understand each other on a deeper level."

Squeezing my hand, he handed me a marshmallow. He kissed my hand, his soft lips lingering over my tingling skin. When he glanced back up at me, his sapphire eyes held a flicker of hesitancy, but exuded warmth and reassurance.

I carried on. "Once you're on a deeper level, your trust grows quickly. The different points of view each of you have is a conversation point on its own, opening up the prospect for your own perspectives to change. You respect their opinions, their different views, and after a few months, you start asking their take on things because they have such a different outlook on things to you. You almost seek their answer, eager to know if you're looking at the situation correctly—are you being over dramatic or not dramatic enough. They are your number one, your confidante, your partner. You have no reason to distrust or question them."

The white marshmallow that had been hovering near his lips suddenly dropped. A distant glaze covered over his eyes. "Wow," he whispered.

Leaving him to his faraway thoughts, I gave him some more to think about. "Imagine further down the line that you're now living together. The honeymoon period has been so fantastic, it seems like the next natural thing to do. In fact, you even think you've found 'The One.' Everything is just perfect, life can't get any better. Then, one day they call you and you miss the call. You're only ten minutes from home. No big deal, right? You'll see them when you get home in a few minutes. You think nothing more of it."

Jake's attention was now entirely on me. I started to blush under his intense stare. He smiled and passed me another marshmallow. "I'm starting to see it," he said, skimming his thumb over my lips. "You're doing so well."