Kathryn has found herself in a toxic relationship with a man who has manipulated her to believe that his controlling behavior is out of love for her. When he finally crosses the line she decides to leave him, which makes Jake spiral. He quickly goes...
"Babe, Jess and Trey are going to be here in an hour" He leaned on the door frame, staring into the room I had become obsessed with. I've been in here all morning, drawing and scanning pictures into my new laptop; planning for what I want to do and how I want to do it.
I had forgotten that we invited Jess and Trey over for Dinner tonight, I really wanted them to meet Michael. I know Jess will love him, and vice versa, but a formal meeting is needed. I remember when she first met Jake, she was sold on him too. We really thought he was perfect, it wasn't until a few months into our relationship that Jess started noticing little things that pointed to toxic, but I didn't catch them right away
"You know you're still in a t-shirt and have no pants on right?" he snickered
I placed my pencil down next to my tablet and stood from the chair I had been glued to until just now
"I'm sorry" I walked towards him "I'm just so happy doing this, I don't want to stop" I wrapped my arms around his torso and looked up at him with a smile on my face; he returned the gesture
"I'm glad you love it, but you should probably get dressed" he placed a kiss on my forehead "the food's already here" he gestured towards the kitchen
I was supposed to make something but obviously got caught up, so he just ordered chinese for us to eat. Thankfully he has been very nice to me about being so hooked on this
"Thank you, I'll go change" I made my way over to our bedroom, walking into the bathroom knowing that I have very limited time until Jess and Trey arrive. I quickly washed my body and left my hair for later. I jumped out of the shower and walked into the closet to grab an outfit, Michael is right, I haven't worn clothes all morning.
Since we're staying in I went with a casual outfit, a somewhat loose white t-shirt with some jeans and red flats
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I brushed my hair out, applied some mascara and finished up with some body mist; and as if on que, a knock on the door signaled my best friends arrival.
I practically ran out to the living room in excitement for this moment that I was so anxious for. I saw Michael open up the door and the smile that was plastered on his face turned into confusion.
"Hey Matt what are you doing here?" I froze in my path, not knowing whether this was a good or bad visit
"Hey man, sorry to interrupt" he turned and saw me standing here "I just figured I should tell you in person"
that's a good way to make my stomach drop
"C'mon in" Michael gestured towards the living room, he looked at me with a concerned look; which I'm sure I returned. We walked into the living room and took a seat, Michael sat next to me. "What's up man?"
"Well I got news from the judge about Jacob" I could tell he was hesitant
"and?" I pushed
"Apparently he has been doing well in there" he cleared his throat before continuing "really well, enough to get his sentence shortened"
"Shortened!?" I couldn't help it, the shout came out "He only got sixty days and he got it shortened? to what?" Michael put his arm around my waist as a way to hold me back from going insane
"thirty with thirty days probation" my heart sank, my fear and suffering was only worth 30 measly days; I couldn't stop the tears from falling and the anger inside me from growing "I'm so sorry Katie"
"It's not your fault" I whimpered, Michael pulled me onto his chest to comfort me
"Thanks for letting us know man" he spoke for me
"Of course, let me know if you need anything" Matt stood up and showed himself out, leaving Michael and I to sulk in the news we just received
"How is that possible?" Jess sat beside me, Michael on my other side, trying to comfort me
"Beats me" I responded "I'm sorry, this night was supposed to be better than this" I wiped my eyes realizing that I can't let this ruin our evening
"Katie it's fine, it's not your fault" they had only just walked in, we didn't even get to show them around the small condo yet
"I'm not letting him control me from jail" I stood up off the couch "let me show you around"
"are you sure babe?" Michael reached out for my hand, tugging on it a bit to get my attention
"positive" I smiled down at him, he stood up next to me
"Let us show you around" He smiled; Jess and Trey got up from the couch
"Obviously this is the living room" I snickered, "and dining area is here" I pointed behind the couch to where our table was at.
We showed them the kitchen, which was huge compared to anything I've had before; I walked them into our bedroom, which was all cleaned up, and lastly walked them to my new work room.
"Now this is the best part of the place" I paused in front of the door
"Why is that?" Jess looked really confused, I'm sure she just expected a spare bedroom as anyone else would
"Let me give you the backstory" I smiled with excitement, I know Jess is going to love this as much as I do "I finally told Michael about my fashion design dream, and how you know who ruined it for me"
"okay.." a grin appeared on her face, knowing this was going to end well
"Well I got home yesterday, and Michael had this all set up for me" I opened the door and stepped inside, allowing them to walk in after me
"shut up" Jess's face lit up, the way I'm sure mine did. She quickly turned around and hugged me, tears in her eyes as she pulled away. She walked over to Michael and engulfed him in a hug as well "Thank you for doing this for her, all I've ever wanted for her was someone who truly loves and supports her"
my eyes began to fill with tears again, I hadn't realized how much it hurt her to see me in that situation. I know that if Trey treated her badly it would pain me to see it happen; I mean we've been in each other's lives since we were in diapers, we're practically sisters at this point.
"You know how they say you just 'know' when you've met your person?" Michael asked as they pulled away from their hug
