The Truth

one

October 1, 2012

*Alexia*

The sunlight crept in through the blinds and pulled me from my pleasant early morning dreams. Out of instinct, I turn to my right to give my boyfriend a good morning kiss, but my hands touches the cold bed instead of his body. It is very odd for him to be up so early, especially on a Saturday. He may have just fallen asleep downstairs. I decide against searching the house for him, and begin my morning routine, which involves a quick shower, putting on a sweater and jeans, and styling my messy curls. Within the hour, I am prepared for whatever today may hold for me. Strangely enough, while I descend the staircase, I hear Niall and Liam talking. It's only 7:30 so why are they up? The first few sentences are cut off by distance and their low level of speaking. On the bottom stair, I am able to hear them clearly.

"It just feels wrong kind of stringing her along as my girlfriend," Niall sighs.

"What do you mean?" Liam asks.

"A relationship like that isn't what I want," Niall answers.

"I think you're rushing into this. What if you're making a mistake?" Liam questions.

"I know I'm not it's just....." he hesitates "I don't want to be the one to break her heart," Niall replies.

With that I walk quickly towards mine and Niall's shared room. The tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but my anger won't let them escape. Stringing me along?! I've been with him for two years! He gave me a promise ring less than a week ago and now he's been "stringing me along?" This just hurts so much. I need him. He saved me. Literally.

When I first came here, I got involved with some bad people. I tried to get away, but they came after me. One of them was chasing me through this park, and he had pinned me on the ground. I was screaming for help, his weight crushing me. I remember those words that snake hissed in my ear:

"Badgirlsgetpunished."

I don't remember much of what happened after that. Just some flashes of him on top of me, the horrible feeling of him inside me. Although I was fully conscious of the situation, it was like I had numbed myself. I wasn't there. My mind searched for a happy memory, a safe place. I barely noticed the screams of my savior, him pulling my attacker away. The next few minutes are still a blur, but the next clear memory was waking up in the hospital. That was the first time I saw his face.

He was beautiful. Pale, cherub face, blonde hair, and eyes the color of the ocean after the storm has calmed. His arm was in a sling, and he had a few bruises on his bare arms. At first, he hadn't noticed that I had awaken. His eyes met mine and his good arm supported his tired head.

"Hey, you're awake," he began. I opened my mouth to speak but only a hoarse sound emerged,and he shushed me. "Don't strain yourself," he soothed in an Irish accent. "Your windpipe was damaged by the choking, and you can't talk for a bit. I'll have the doctor explain everything," he finished and left the room. The doctor walked in and told me the details of my injuries. Basically, I had been chocked, raped, and severely malnourished. And Niall had been hurt fighting my attacker.

"We can call a next of kin, and put you in touch with local law enforcement-" he was cut off by me shaking my head.

"No family, no police." I stated hoarsely and he nodded.

"You have no family?" He asked. I shook my head in response. "Well we can't force you to file a report. You'll be here a day or two more. If you change your mind, just let me know, okay?"

The next two days Niall never left the hospital. He said he felt responsible for me,and that he was scared for me. I learned a lot about him in those two days, but after them we went our separate ways. We met up again by chance, but that's another story.