Unraveling (Second Chances) - By Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,110

at the guy standing on the corner, covered in dirt and wearing old clothes, and assume he’s scum. They’d never look at your mother and see her for the scum that she is,” he spat. “How can someone talk to their child that way?”

“Why did your dad do what he did to you?” I waited for him to answer and when he didn’t, I continued. “Some of the questions we ask ourselves have no answers, because they’re not meant to be answered. There are always going to be monsters out there, some are just more noticeable than others.”

Jared stopped in his tracks, forcing me to stop too. “It just makes me so angry that she thinks it’s okay to talk to you like that. It’s wrong.”

“Please, Jared,” I begged, “can we please stop talking about it?”

“Fine,” he ground his teeth together. “I won’t talk about it.”

“Thank you,” I said. I looked around, noticing that more people had arrived and a band was now playing a slow, quiet song. “Time to mingle,” I groaned.

~***~

I saw a few familiar faces but most of the people attending the brunch were strangers to me. I spoke highly of the charity the donations would go to, encouraging them to bid.

Even though my mother only had the Charity Brunch to keep up appearances, she had chosen a good place for the money to go to. Everything would be donated to a local children’s hospital, for cancer research.

After about an hour of speaking to different people, it was time to eat.

Everything was delicious, just like I knew it would be. My mom always had her events catered by the best people in town.

The plates were cleared away and the band left the stage.

Bidding was about to begin. Everyone stood, crowding towards the stage.

I took this as my cue to leave. “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered under my breath to Jared.

“Thank God,” he said, standing.

“Leaving so soon, Katyrina?” a voice spoke from behind me. All the blood drained from my body, leaving me feeling lifeless.

“Preston,” I gasped.

35

“WHAT?” JARED LOOKED AT ME, BEFORE TURNING AROUND.

I slowly turned to face the man that had raped me… body, mind, and soul.

“I can’t believe you were going to leave without saying goodbye,” Preston smirked, his blonde hair flopping in his eyes. He still looked like the cocky, preppy, high school football player. He wore kaki slacks and a pale green polo shirt, with the collar popped. I’d once thought he was good-looking; now I only saw him for the scum he was underneath the exterior. “That’s not nice, Katyrina. I’ve missed you.”

Jared stepped in front of me, blocking me from Preston’s sight.

“You need to back off,” Jared warned.

Preston smirked, looking up at Jared. He was a good four inches shorter and had to tilt his head back to meet Jared’s eyes.

“I don’t know what your problem is bud. I’m just talking to my old girlfriend,” Preston stuck his hands in his pockets.

“My problem is sicko’s like you,” Jared shoved Preston hard enough to send him back two steps.

“What the fuck?” Preston growled.

“Stay away from her,” Jared warned. “I know what you did and I won’t hesitate to put you in the hospital.”

For the first time since Preston had appeared behind me, I looked around.

Everyone was silent, the bidding forgotten, as they watched us.

Preston put both his hands up in front of his chest. “I don’t know what she’s told you, she’s a pathological liar. You can’t believe a thing she says. I can’t help it that her first time wasn’t what she imagined and she cried rape.”

“That’s it!” Jared yelled, pulling his suit jacket off and throwing it on a table.

Before I knew what was happening, his sleeves were rolled up and he was punching Preston in the face. I heard a crunching sound and blood spewed across Jared’s shirt.

Preston tried to fight back, he certainly wasn’t a scrawny guy, but he had nothing on Jared’s size and MMA skills.

I watched Jared continue to beat Preston. People started yelling, and I could hear Jared saying something to Preston with each punch.

I wanted to stop Jared, knew I needed to, but it was like I was encased in gelatin. I was trying to move, but I couldn’t, something held me back.

I didn’t lose it until Preston’s blood splattered across my legs and the bottom of my dress.

I screamed. “Get it off! Get it off!” I didn’t want any part of Preston touching me. I reached for one of the white tablecloths,