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RYLEE HANSON (narrative)
I laid in the dim light of my dorm room, Nika's steady presence beside me. I could feel her gaze, soft and searching, but I didn't meet it. Instead, I traced the edge of my sleeve, my fingers skimming over the scars I'd long learned to hide. I wanted to explain. I knew I had to, but the words felt heavy, lodged in my throat.
"Nika, I... I need to tell you something," I said, my voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. I didn't know how to say this without crumbling. "The scars—" I swallowed hard, not trusting myself to continue.
She gently placed a hand on my arm, guiding me to face her. "You don't have to say anything if you're not ready. But you know you can always talk to me, right?"
I shook my head. "No. I have to tell you. You deserve the truth." The air around us seemed to grow thicker, like the weight of everything I hadn't said was pressing in on us both.
I took a deep breath, feeling the familiar wave of anxiety and shame building in my chest. "The scars... They're from my dad," I finally managed to say, my voice quivering slightly. "He gave them to me. When I was younger."
Nika's face went still, her eyes widening in shock. "Rylee... What do you mean?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
I felt my throat tighten, the words threatening to suffocate me. I had never told anyone this before—not in full, not with the truth of it all. "He—after my mom died... he started... changing. He wasn't the same person anymore. He was grieving, and I—" I paused, trying to find the right way to explain the unexplainable. "I was there, but he took out all his pain on me. He'd drink, and... I don't know. It's like he couldn't stop, couldn't deal with it. And I was the only one left."
The silence between us stretched, thick and suffocating. Nika's hands were trembling as she cupped my face, her touch warm and gentle. "Rylee..." she whispered, as if saying my name would somehow make it all hurt less. "I... I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," I muttered quickly, embarrassed. "I just... I need you to know. But, it's not his fault. He was just... lost. I was the only one there for him, and when it was too much—he just... he'd lash out. But it wasn't always like that. There were moments when he'd apologize, and I'd think... maybe he was just grieving. But then it would happen again." My voice faltered, and I quickly wiped away the tears that I hadn't realized had started falling.
Nika didn't say anything at first, just held me close. Her arms wrapped around me tightly, like she wanted to absorb my pain, to carry some of it for me. "You didn't deserve any of that, Rylee. None of it," she murmured, pressing her forehead against mine.
"I know," I whispered back, but there was a part of me that still couldn't fully believe it. "But... it's just... what happens when someone loses someone they love, right? They change. They act out."
