Dear Future Husband

February 22, 2019

Dear Future Husband,

Grant went to the guidance office with me the other day and I told them everything.

I told them about the incident in the parking lot and the hallway and the stairwell, and the counselor looked mortified and a little embarrassed, and I thought that maybe she thought I was lying.

"Brad Nyles?" Mrs. Staedtler asked. "Are you sure it was him?"

Grant looked around, like he was searching for evidence there might be another Brad Nyles at the school. "Uh, yeah, I mean she isn't blind and I'm pretty sure she knows the guy who hurt her all of those times."

"But he's such a good kid, and a great athlete."

I was appalled at her attitude towards the situation. "Obviously not, and I don't think a few touchdowns are worth girls getting sexually harassed repeatedly."

Mrs. Staedtler sighed. "Yes, well I suppose I should call the principal."

Grant scoffed. "You suppose?"

I gave him a look like "It's not worth it" and while he didn't like it, he shut up.

The principal got involved and he wasn't any more help, he even suggested me and Brad should meet to talk it out, and that time I let Grant go off on how a direct confrontation with him would probably just stick an even bigger red target on my face, and that talking wouldn't do anything to help the problem, and what Brad has done qualifies for expulsion.

I was glad Grant came with me, I could never speak to the teachers like that. If I had gone alone, I would've been scared and would've given into their questioning and it might make me look like I was lying. Grant had the guts to be upfront with them and lay it out plainly for them with just enough attitude to get the message across. Whenever I couldn't make a point, he would lay it down hard for them.

They eventually agreed that they would investigate it more, and assured me he would not be a problem anymore. I still wasn't happy with the way they treated the situation and can't imagine how many other girls (or guys) have come in complaining about sexual assault and have been turned away or been told they were wrong. I dared those counselors to go through what I did and receive the same treatment they gave me.

I haven't seen Brad at all, and word has been going around that he got expelled because he was caught smoking in the bathroom or something stupid like that. Good, as long as no one knew it was about me.

I had to tell my parents too, and I wasn't sure how they were going to react at first, but I had to tell them. My dad cried when I told him and my mom had already dialed the school but I explained to her that I fixed it. They were angry and upset and feeling guilty because they hadn't known, but I explained my reasons for not telling and apologized, but they didn't hold it against me. Clarissa was shocked to hear that he attacked me again and felt even worse than my parents combined. She cried for so long and I ended up being the one who could console her. She ended up telling my parents everything she had done, explaining how this was all her fault. They waited until she stopped crying to talk about her behavior, and I didn't hear it, but I have a feeling the next boyfriend she has will have to go through a lot of dinners to pass the test.

Now that I can finally put that behind me, I can focus on my main project: Grant.

Going through all of this with him made me like him even more and I go to bed every night with him on my mind and woke up every morning still thinking about him. It was getting a little ridiculous.

Plus he had finally broken up with Vanessa, making him a single man and even more frustrating now that I didn't know when or how to make a move.

Today I was waiting outside the school for Clarissa when he came up to me. "How are you doing?"

I smiled. "I'm doing good, how about you?"

He smiled, staring up at the cloudy February sun with squinted eyes, sighing. Ughhh why did God have to test me with his gorgeousness!!! "It's been pretty good, but my chem grades are steadily slipping and I didn't want to ask but-"

"You want to start our sessions again?" I asked, surprised. I thought he legitimately did not want to be tutored, and I had finally began to understand why, but this didn't make sense.

"Well, technically we only had one session but yeah," He looked down at the ground. "I didn't want to ask because I screamed at you-- which was completely wrong of me-- and I didn't want you to think-"

"Yes," I said quickly, almost too quickly. "Yes, I would be more than happy to tutor you again, especially after all you did for me-"

"No, Alina," He looked up at me. "I don't want you to think you owe me something just because I stuck up for you. What happened was just you doing your thing and me being your cheerleader. You don't owe me anything so if you don't want to do this you don't have to. You know what, you don't need to tutor me, it's fine you've done so much and you don't need me hogging all of your time-"

"Grant," I laughed. "I'll see you Monday, ok? Don't try to be humble, it's not going to work."

His eyes lit up a little with an emotion I couldn't quite place and he grinned at me. "Ok then, I'll see you Monday."

The world needs more Grants.

Xoxo, Alina