A Summer Romance

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Skylar

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Skylar

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

-Perks of Being A Wallflower

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Skylar

Five years ago

"What more do you want from me?" I screamed,

"All I want is for you to stop being such a sensitive little bitch about everything!"

My eyes widened and I shook my head, "A sensitive bitch? What do you expect me to do? Sit around and let you do this to me?" I pointed the the bruise on my neck that he had given me the other day from holding me a little too hard.

Caleb stood up, "Come on babe, you know I didn't mean it." He reached his hand up and I flinched away out of habit. His eyes softened and I saw him, the old him, the Caleb I knew and went out with before he turned into the monster he is today.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Caleb, I think that I just need some time." I put my hand on the handle to leave, to get away from him, but he didn't want me to leave.

He spun me around, but he kept the hurtful grasp on my arm, squeezing as hard as he could, "You don't leave until I want you gone."

A few tears fell from my eyes, and my breathing became laboured the longer that Caleb squeezed. How am I going to cover this bruise from Luke? He's already suspicious and I can barely cover the bruise on my neck, cover up doesn't work as well as I thought it would.

"Caleb, stop. Caleb, you're hurting me."

I yanked my arm from his grasp, his fingers leaving dark red marks on my skin. My eyes met his, and the old Caleb was gone. It was the new one. The one with dark eyes, dark touch, and dark thoughts. The one that made me afraid.

I opened the door and ran down the stairs and out the front door, forgetting about my shoes and jacket. I was just happy that I didn't put down my keys and phone. 

I heard Caleb bounding down the stairs behind me, "Skylar!" he yelled, "You come back here now."

I unlocked my car and yanked the door open and closed it, quickly locking the doors so Caleb couldn't get in. On the passenger side, he yanked on the door handle and I thought that he was going to break it off.

The engine revved to life and I backed out of the driveway, hoping that I would run over his foot so he would feel a glimmer of the pain that he caused me.

I was done. I was done with all his bullshit, all his problems and issues. I was done with his lies and the bruises he caused me. I was done with everything.

I was done with him.

***

Two months later, I stood in the court room in front of the jury. 

"I conclude the victim...not guilty."

I closed my eyes and my heart hammered in my chest. 

There wasn't enough evidence against Caleb to press any charges. I used soccer as my excuses, saying that I would get hit with the ball and get a bruise, and I covered them up decently enough, so they couldn't prove that Caleb did it. 

So, instead, I had to settle on a restraining order. He wasn't allowed within 100 yards of me. School was a small exception, we had some classes together, so we had to be sat across the room from each other and he wasn't allowed to speak to me. We went out separate doors in separate directions. If he came close to me, he would get arrested and thrown in jail.