An Atom Of Life

Joey's Past

I parked my car and got out, just then I saw Joey entering the building. I jogged towards her.

“Hey.” – I said as soon as I caught up to her

“Hi.” – She replied smiling and I walked beside her

“Are you alright?” – I asked

“Yes.” – She replied, her voice shaking

I stopped, held her and looked in her eyes and said,

“What’s wrong? Tell me.”

She looked down and said,

“Nothing. It’s just that I don’t know how I will tell you about my past.”

I held her chin and pulled her face closer to me and kissed her. After breaking the kiss I said,

“If you don’t want to then you don’t need to.”

She looked at me with her warm eyes and said,

“I want to.” Then she held my hand and we climbed the stairs to her apartment.

I opened the door and held the door for her to enter, she entered and I entered behind her closing the door. Joey walked straight to her room, I sat on the couch. After some time she appeared, carrying a photograph album. She sat on my lap and I cupped my arms around her, she opened the album. The album contained many of her childhood photos as well as her family’s. She showed me her mom and dad; they both had died on a plane crash. She was the only child so she had no siblings. Suddenly she stopped on a photograph of her and some guy, it looked to me like it was prom’s.

“It was my senior year prom’s.” – She said

I remained silent, looking at the picture. Thinking that whatever that past was it must be affiliated with this guy. Just then Joey spoke,

“His name was Max, we dated in high school.”

I listened, not intending to interrupt and controlling my curiosity.

“I thought I was in love with him, well it was high school. Everyone thinks they are in love in high school, and so was I. A love struck teenager, as people call it. I was like those other girls, dating the boy on the football team. Never realizing that how impatient Max was… I think I did realize how impatient he was; I just paid no heed to it. And one day this caused me the ultimate pain.” – She said

I sat there listening carefully. So this was where I was going to know how she got hurt. I listened more intently as she continued,

“It was the night, a week after prom. I knew Max wanted to get intimate and wanted me in bed but I was a little afraid. I thought I loved him and as I wasn’t granting his wishes that it made me a bad girlfriend. But later I came to realize that it was my entire mistake, not even a tiny bit of what happened at that night was his mistake. I trusted him, I thought I was in love with him, it all was my fault. I, fully aware of his lustful nature, still let that relationship get far to the point of pain. And that’s what happened that night.”

She took a deep breath and I looked at her face, there were tears streaming down her face.

“You don’t need to.” – I said wiping her tears, but she continued

“As I was leaving the grocery store, I saw Max on the other side. He was signaling me to come, and I crossed over to him. He held my hand so tight that it hurt and he dragged me into a dark alleyway. There were other guys there, his friends. And then he started to take my clothes off by force and I resisted and then…” – She broke into tears once again sobbing, her face dug into my chest and my hand on her head, trying to console her.

And I knew what had happened to her that night. That sonovabitch had crossed all the lines between a man and an animal and had turned into an animal.

Just then Joey lifted her face and again started speaking while sobbing, telling me that she was found by that grocer whose shop she had left. She was in a coma for three weeks, those a******** had completely mutilated her insides and she had to be put in a medically induced coma to stabilize her. When she woke up, she refused to tell the police their names. She said that God will punish them.

My blood was boiling after hearing her story; I wanted to kill those guys. She sensed this and said,

“They don’t deserve it.”

I turned my face away, just then her soft hand pulled my face towards her and I looked directly into her eyes.

“Promise me; promise me that you won’t go looking for them.” – She said

And again those eyes stared right into mine, but no word came out of my mouth. I so much wanted to thrash those guys.

“Please Aaron, please.” – She pleaded again and this time I couldn’t help but nod in approval