What's so Hype about SwayLa

Chapter 21

A few days have went by since Tony and I had our fight. It pretty much broke the internet. He had an interview with TikToktea and spun it into a fight with a friend gone wrong. He claimed that I was trying to use him for clout and that we were definitely not dating or involved with each other. I knew it was him trying to get away from the title bad boyfriend, but everyone saw through it. They were all raving about me. People couldn't stop talking about how empowering it was to see a girl stand up for herself. It got me to thinking that I was ready finally tell our sway team the whole story about my past.

So the next morning I woke up and decided today was the day. I knew I needed someone there to help me through this. It's never an easy thing to open up about everything but I was going to do my best. I went in to Jaden's room and sat on his bed.

Jaden "You know I think you're in my bed more now as friends then when we were actually sleeping together."

Me "Oh hush, I need you.."

Jaden "Need me? For what?"

Me "I'm going to do it today. I'm going to tell our security and legal team about everything. But I cant do it alone."

Jaden "I really think we should all be there. Not just because we should know what is going on but because we all care about you Katie. It wouldn't hurt for us to fully understand what happened to you."

I thought about it for a minute. He's right, I'm finding out that I have flashbacks that are triggered by the way people touch me so maybe them hearing about everything will help them understand why I am the way I am.

Me "Okay, lets do it."

Once we got everyone together it was time to open up. We were all sitting around a table in a conference room and Jaden was on one side on me, Bryce was on the other.  My heart was pounding through my chest. As everyone was waiting and watching me I started to freeze. Maybe I couldn't do this. I felt a hand down on my leg, it was Bryce's. I saw his open palm offering to hold my hand through this. I grabbed his hand and started.

Me "Nate and I met when I was in college. He was super sweet and quite the smooth talker. I was swept off my feet before I even knew it. We moved in together shortly after we starting dating, but as time went on I noticed changes in him. I noticed the typical signs of cheating. One day I caught him and his reaction was one I was not expecting. He blamed me for his cheating. Told me that if I wasn't so busy with nursing school that maybe he wouldn't have to find other girls to sleep with. I accepted the blame without even blinking. I thought I was in love with him so I would do what ever it would take to keep him in my life. Then the money troubles started. I could barely work because of school and he resented me for that. He held the fact that he was paying for everything over my head. He used to come home drunk and demand all types of sexual things from me and I would comply. One time I came back from clinicals and there he was with one of his friends just getting drunk off their asses. I remember him telling me that I was sleeping with both of them that night and I freaked out. Thats when he hit me for the first time. He slapped me so hard that I fell to the ground and he pinned me there. He told me to be a good little bitch and get undressed and lay on the bed. I was so scared at that point that I just did what he said."

I felt Bryce's muscles tense up in his arm. I knew this was going to be hard for all of them to hear, but I needed to keep going.

Me "I dont even remember the details of what happened after that. I think my mind has tried to block it out for my sanity. I got pregnant that night. And his words to me were that no child deserved to have a whore mother like me and then he persisted to beat me till I had a miscarriage. I wanted to leave but every time I tried I saw this little glimpse of light in Nate and he would become the man I fell in love with again. Then he would remind me that I had nothing to my name and couldn't survive with out him. I felt like he spoke the truth. I have no family to fall back on, my parents both passed away when I was a teenager, and I wasn't allowed to have friends so I was all alone. I only had him. Then things got really weird. Nate was this like computer genius and was really good with hacking, well I noticed shady people start coming around. He would always hint to me that he had connections in high places if I ever tried anything stupid on him. So I did as I was told. One thing led to another and he started distancing himself from me. It was almost a relief, so I started to plan my escape. I had it all set up and that night he came home and saw my bags packed he snapped. He hit me so hard and then threw me down the steps. I woke up the next day in the hospital with him sitting there holding my hand. I noticed a ring on my finger. He looked at me and told me I was stuck with him for the rest of my life, and I just nodded my head. The nurses had called the police for suspected abuse and he threatened my future medial career and told me he could have me committed for life. I had no fight left in me after that. I missed a semester of school while trying to recover from all of my injuries. But I guess he didnt like me being home all of the time. He stopped coming home most nights and then one night he came home and told me we were done. He wanted something better than me. He told me I was trash and would never amount to anything. He kicked me out that night and it was the best thing he ever did for me. I finished my degree and started getting texts from him tell me I had to come back. That's when I decided to run and never look back. And thats when I met you boys and somehow ended up here in LA."

The legal team took down all of the information and said they would start working on it from there.

It was like I could breathe for the first time in years. I had never told anyone the full truth and now I didnt have to keep it bottled up anymore. I could finally fully take control of myself again. I expected tears or something but nothing, just relief. I looked around and saw the other guys just staring in awe at me. No one knew what to say.

Me "I'm okay now guys, I have you and thats all I will ever need."

We sat there for quite sometime. Still no words from any of them. I think I may have broke the boys. Finally Josh broke the silence

Josh "Holy fuuuckk Katie. I think you just shattered my heart into pieces. I dont know how someone could ever do that to another person."

I glanced over at Bryce and noticed tears in his eyes. I could tell his emotions were running wild. His grip on my hand was tight like he was afraid I was about to be ripped away from him. Then all of the sudden he let go and rushed out of the room. I followed him.

Me "Bryce where are you going?"

Bryce "I need to hit something."  There was nothing but anger in his eyes now. He was losing control. "I want to fucking murder this dude for everything he ever did to you. I want to make him wish he never met you."

Bryce was pacing all over the house and I was trying to keep up. He made his way outside.

Me "Bryce stop. You're scaring me." I had never seen his anger consume him like this.

Bryce "I just cant handle the fact that someone ever touched you like that..."

I grabbed his shirt and tried to stop him. I finally got ahold of him and got him to stop. I stood infront of him and grabbed his face.

Me "Then show me how I should be treated.."

I pulled myself into him and kissed him hard. He instantly kissed me back. I felt his anger turn to passion. I felt his body melt into mine, we fit together like two puzzle pieces.

We slowly released our kiss and I stared into his eyes. I cant explain what I felt at that moment but all I knew was I never wanted to let it go. I broke our eye contact and saw everyone staring at us, or maybe just staring at me. Griff, Jaden and Anthony still hadn't said a word to me. I think they may have been in shock. I watch Jaden walk over to me and pulled me into his arms. He placed his hand on the back of my head and brought my face into his chest. He held me there for a few seconds.

Jaden and I still had this unexplainable connection. It's like he had this ability to tear down my walls with out even trying. The tears started pouring from my eyes. I felt like I was going to fall but before I knew it I was cradled in Jadens arms sitting on the ground together. I pulled my head back and positioned myself that I could see everyone, while Jaden still held me in his arms.

Me "I've never told anyone about all of that. I've never processed all of these emotions. I've just always buried them deep inside of me. But you guys came along and have saved my life. I'm not talking about from him either, I'm talking about how you saved my life from myself. I dont know how I can ever repay you."

Griffin "There is no repayment required Katie. You're family to us and we protect our family at all costs."

FAMILY... that is a concept that I hadn't dealt with since I lost my parents. I guess I just couldn't believe that I didnt have to be on my own anymore. I now have a family.