Love Me | Series Book #1

FIFTEEN

I woke up the next morning feeling drained and empty. As I sat up in my covers, I fought the urge to reach for my phone, fearing the messages that might be staring back at me. In attempt to settle my nerves, I grabbed my bathrobe and towel off the hook and started towards the bathroom. In the shower, I thought that my mind would become clearer under the steam, but I was gravely mistaken. It was simply a reminder of an outlet that I'd use to cleanse my wounds.

I got out after five minutes, enough time to wash and rinse my hair. Then, I proceeded to get dressed and turn on my computer. As it started up, I glanced out the window in front of me. Although the weather wasn't considerably cold in comparison to other areas, the wind was harsh enough to lock away all the neighborhood kids indoors. The empty streets were a reflection of the cloudy sky above. Gray and depressing. The Christmas wreath hanging on the door of the house across the street looked lost and out of place. Yet, the holiday was officially less than two weeks away.

Aly had already left for Colorado. She'd taken a half-day on Friday to go home for last-minute packing. By Saturday, in other words, yesterday, she was snap-chatting me in the airport, making a dramatic goodbye just in case she didn't land in one piece. Apparently I'm first in line for the Volkswagen, but Rachel doesn't need to know that. Speaking of Rachel, I'd at least have her for the next week. Her family wouldn't be leaving until the coming weekend, right before the holiday. For the time being, I had to prepare myself for all of her stories leading up to the event. The holidays are always a special occurrence in the Madza household due to differing parental backgrounds. While Rachel's father was Jewish, her mother was Catholic, so they did their best to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. But, this year they were traveling to her father's hometown, and his mother isn't the most embracing when it comes to altering tradition. I'd been wishing her good luck since we got out of classes, but I don't think it will do much.

For a second I thought about calling a three-way to tell the both of them about my night, but then I remembered why I couldn't. They'd want to know my reasons, and I wouldn't be able formulate a story credible enough to break up a two year relationship. It would be a while before they found out anything. After break for sure.

I put in the password for my computer, and opened Safari. Scanning through my bookmarks, I clicked on the link to Common App. I'd managed to finish my two safe school applications, but the one for State was still showing me an unfinished progress bar. I looked at the question with the red asterisk. After a month, the answers were finally becoming clear. I re-read the prompt as I aligned my fingers on the keyboard.

Briefly recount an incident where you stood up for yourself in a difficult situation. How has this influenced your life? What lessons did you learn?

I still wasn't sure that I'd really stood up for myself. I didn't feel any braver. It wasn't like I'd taken a true courageous stand. I'd lacked confidence and couldn't correctly voice the words I desperately wanted to say. But, I'd done something. With this in mind, I started typing my first line.

Two months ago, my boyfriend hit me for the very first time.

My bedroom door suddenly came open, forcing me to minimize the window.

"Kaya, Mom wants you downstairs."

I glared at Aaron, over my shoulder. "Jeez, you scared the crap out of me. Didn't I tell you to knock first!"

A silly smirk climbed onto his face. "Were you looking at bad websites?" he asked in an accusatory tone.

"What? No, would you get out of here-"

"Oooh! I bet you were. I'm telling Mom."

"Oh my gosh Aaron, shut up!" Usually we got a long, but he could be a little demon when he wanted to be. I cut the computer off altogether.  "What does Mom want anyway?"