Page 53 of Battling the Enemy
He ignored her outburst, and that’s when I knew it was over. Deke adored Roselyn and Emerson, and for him to ignore either of them said so much. Deke’s face was pure evil when he added, “I’m sure Reynolds will be happy to know I was too busy teaching you how to suck dick and be a decent fuck to take your ass. Maybe you can give him that on your honeymoon since the rest of you reeks of my cum.”
Rage was nothing in the face of pain.
Nothing.
Pain was crippling while rage was fleeting.
Hearing Deke tell everyone the private stuff we did and the fact that I was no good at it was…debilitating. I was immobile with shock at his cruelty, as was everyone else, I think.
Everyone but Ava.
“You motherfucker!” she screamed. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
There were some scuffling sounds behind me, but I was too…stuck to look back to see what was going on. My mind was processing that Ava probably charged and someone was holding her back, but the noises and screams were faded garble; like my head was underwater or something.
And just when I thought Deke couldn’t hurt me any worse…“Oh, and I almost forgot,” he sneered. “If the worst happens because you were too stupid and inexperienced to protect yourself, tell the clinic to just charge it to my tab.”
Have you ever felt your heart tear in half?
It happens, you know.
It really, truly happens.
The words he can never take back sent me into such a vortex of uncontrollable emotions, and I did the one thing I never saw myself doing.
I attacked Deke Marlow.
Fists formed, and I launched myself at Deke striking him anywhere I could make contact. “You sonofabitch!” I screamed. “You no good fucking sonofabitch!” I could hear people yelling my name, and I felt…enclosed, but I was too busy attacking Deke to take in what was going on around us. “I fuckinghateyou!”
I couldn’t see past my tears, but it didn’t take Deke any effort at all to subdue me, and I heard him say, “Not half as much as I hate you.”
I pulled back and looked up into his face not caring that he could see into my nothingness; the hollowness I felt. I looked up at him and I felt it; real, unadulteratedhate.
With all my might, I jerked out of his hold and took a step back. My face was a mess, and my voice was scratchy, but I didn’t care when I said, “Don’t ever come near me again, Deke.Ever.”
He had already humiliated me beyond comprehension, so I didn’t care if everyone saw me running away from him. I ran until I was at Ava’s car and it wasn’t seconds later when she was unlocking the doors and we were getting in, burning the tires in our haste to leave.
Everything was a blur from leaving the party to arriving at Ava’s. I couldn’t even recall getting out of the car and making my way to her bedroom. But, once I sat down on her bed, every emotion I’ve experienced in all my life came pouring out until I collapsed in tormented cries on her bed.
Ava’s arms held me as I exhausted every tear I was capable of producing, and it wasn’t until the next morning, that I told her I was going to lose everything, and I had nowhere to go.
She had driven me to the bank where we spent all morning withdrawing every damn dime from my account. I hadn’t bothered with my appearance, and since I looked like a punching bag with swollen eyes, I think the bank manager felt sorry for me, and didn’t ask any questions or give me a hard time.
After withdrawing all my money, we had driven to Manotile, one town over, and opened a new bank account in my name only with a bank my parents didn’t partner with. Once my account was all set up, Ava had driven me to a car dealership to buy a car, and for the first time in my life, price mattered. While I had a shit ton of money, I knew it wouldn’t last forever, so I had to…plan.
There was also the fact that, after a lot of arguing with Ava about staying with her, I needed to find a place to live. My parents hadn’t officially kicked me out yet, but I was still ignoring their calls and messages, along with Winston’s and his parents. It was only a matter of time before the threats started, so I needed to be one step ahead of them.
In my new, but economical little Toyota, Ava went her way back to Sands Cove as I stayed in Manotile looking for a small house or something. Originally, I had planned on staying in Sands Cove, but that was before Deke had demolished my soul. There was no way I could show my face at Windsor anymore, but that was okay. All those years of having no life and living in the library were going to finally pay off. I could miss the rest of the school year and still graduate. Not with straight-A’s, but with a solid B average. I just had to call the school on Monday, and since I was already an adult, they didn’t need my parents’ approval, and I could graduate and get my certificate without the ceremony.
After hours of looking, I finally found a small cottage style house on the outskirts of Manotile, and I contacted the realtor. The second I offered cash, the house was as good as mine.
I drove back to Ava’s, where we spent the night looking at furniture online. When I pointed out that I needed to be frugal until I got a job, Ava had announced all the furniture would be on her and she didn’t want to hear another word about it.
We avoided all talk Deke, and by the time I was wrapped up in her bed, her arms around me again, I had half convinced myself I was going to be okay.
However, lying there in the dark, I couldn’t stop my mind from doing a mental countdown. I had only one week before my period was due.
One week.
