TRAPPED

The Date

HELEN
I woke up with a smile, for the first time in 15 years I didn't have a nightmare, instead I was in a fairytale. This was unbelievable. I was a strong girl with a tough exterior, I never gave the impression of weakness or vulnerability not after all that has happened. I suffered depression and serious Post traumatic stress disorder for years but I never gave the impression not even to my mother. To everyone I was Helen with no worries but at night it all comes rushing back in my dreams.
Today was different, Mike was the last person I spoke to last night and on checking my phone I saw a notification with a message from Mike. I opened it and it read 'Good morning beautiful, hope you had a lovely night?' Call you later, Take care!
How sweet of him,  I replied his text and went to prepare breakfast. It was a Sunday and my relaxation day although I have a date oh sorry not date with Mike later in the evening. I made pancakes first and added a lot of whipped cream because I felt good. I ate, had my bath then proceeded to binge watch horror movies on Netflix. Some hours later I received a call from Mike and we agreed to meet in an hour. He offered to pick me up and I agreed and gave a description of my apartment then ended the call.
This was starting to look like a date. I called Nancy to get suggestions from her and she suggested I wore something simple but still endearing. I knew the right outfit! I thought to myself.
I finished dressing, did my make up and decided to wear a red lipstick just to look more attractive. I was ready.
Mike arrived right on time and was looking deliciously handsome, I was almost drooling by mere looking at him, he didn't need to put in much effort into dressing up. He would look gorgeous even if he wore paper bags.
You look beautiful he said to me and I couldn't hide my blush, shall we?
We went to a restaurant named Brass and Copper and we had a lovely evening, we spoke at length and discovered we had some similar interests like our love for Reading , swimming and pets. I discovered his father owned a lot of companies and he personally has several hotels in different cities. We had a lovely time and I could feel the sparks flying. I also tendered my apology about his car and we laughed over it after he said apology accepted.
What we both thought wasn't a date turned out to be a date because what date is more than this? I thought to myself. I offered to split the bills but he took responsibility like the gentleman that he is.
Mike dropped me home and I thanked him for his kindness.
I couldn't stop thinking about all the sparks and chemistry we had today. It was like my Prince Charming is finally on his way and then reality hit me. Am I ready to start a relationship again? My university experience was enough to remind me that men are the same. They are all after one thing that is my body.

(Flashback)
While I was in the university I met Andrew, I met him and Nancy during registration and we were luckily in the same department. Andrew was really smart and very talented, he loved to sing and play instruments. I wasn't really a fan of boys but Andrew seemed like a genuine person, a year later we started a relationship after so much pressure from him and Nancy I had no idea he did drugs until some months into our relationship when he started revealing his true colors. I couldn't tell Andrew about my traumatic experience so whenever he tried to get intimate with me I made up an excuse. One fateful day Andrew drugged and raped me. By the time I was conscious I knew what had happened and he shamed me for not being a virgin. He confessed that he thought I was a virgin and just wanted to 'sample' a virgin. Andrew chased me for a whole year just to 'sample' me. I felt stupid all over again.Men are terrible beings.
I was a book lover, books were very therapeutic for me so all I did was read read and read. It comforts me and makes me see positivity. That was how I got over Andrew.
(End of flashback)

I texted Mike thanking him for his kindness and the outing then I called Nancy and gave her the full gist of the date and how I felt the chemistry between us. She advised me to not push him away and just take things slow, she wasn't aware Andrew raped me she just knew we broke up. I felt she had a point and decided to just see how things go with Mike.