Just This Once

(UNO)

Just This Once

(UNO)

His hands tighten against my wrists as his lips smash down onto mine. The loud music from behind his bedroom door pounds angrily and can be heard past his heavy breathing. His naked body holds me captive against his mattress as his hands loosen slightly. I feel one of his hands travel down my body to grab my bare leg and wrap it around his waist.

I bite my lip and squeeze my eyes -preparing for what will happen next.

"No one can hear your screams," he laughs almost breathlessly against my ear. "So scream as loud as you want."

I feel a tear escape from my tightly closed eyes and I attempt to yell for help but I can't quite find my voice. It instead comes out as whimpers. I try to sit up but he aggressively shoves me back down against the mattress.

Tears pour endlessly down my cheeks as I try everything I possibly can to escape his hold. If I can get away before he can cause any further damage then perhaps I'll be able to recover from all this -with time of course.

I fight against his hold, screaming as loud as I possibly can but as I grow weak and he grows angry, I start to realize this is going to happen.

"Please stop. Jesse, please!" I beg. "This isn't you."

And for the first time since he locked us in here, his dark brown eyes meet mine. I see a mixture of emotions pass through them but the one that stands out is foreign to me. It's devilish and frightening. I press my hand against his chest and try to escape his grasp in one last attempt.

Keep fighting!

I know I must but I can't find the strength in myself to do so. Then suddenly, the door swings open and a drunken couple come bustling in.

Their giggling subside when they see Jesse and I. The girl's eyes avert to mine and she immediately sees the tears that have matted my hair against my face.

The last thing I remember is red and blue lights flashing from outside the window and a comforting voice speaking with reassurance.

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"Make sure you stay with your sister, understand?" My brother rolls his eyes at our mother and dramatically swings the front door open.

"As if I would let her out of my sight." He answers with an annoyed tone. I know Chandler means this more than what he's letting on. He's become my safety net and he doesn't seem to mind it. His protective brother act makes me feel secure and allows me to understand that I'm safe now.

Chandler gives me one of his toothy grins as I follow him out the door and to his car. "Cheer up, Danielle. It's our first day of senior year! Isn't that something to celebrate?"

I smile and slide into the passenger's seat. "If it were to be my last day of my senior year I would most definitely celebrate." I reply. "But it's not so its like any other school day."

"Sucks the life out of you, eh?" He says with a chuckle. The car starts up and he backs out of our driveway. "At least we can start over now, yeah?"

After my parents had answered a phone call made by the police informing them that I had been sexually assaulted and was in the hospital all I could ever think about was how could I ever get over something like that?