Unraveling (Second Chances) - By Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,55

you don’t, baby. You want this, I know you do,” he kissed my belly button.

I gripped his hair and pulled.

“Stop! I said stop!” I shouted.

“What did you think we were coming up to your room for? Huh, Katyrina?” He asked, his lips swollen and his eyes glassy.

“I don’t know! To make-out like we always do!” I cried.

He licked his lips. “Not today, Katyrina. Today, I’m going to make you mine. You’ll never be anyone else’s, Katyrina, do you hear me? You will be mine.” He slipped my panties off and tossed them onto the floor.

I couldn’t stop sobbing.

“Preston! Stop! Please! Stop!” I wept uncontrollably.

He unbuckled his belt and let his jeans drop, but not before grabbing a condom.

“Preston!” I screamed, crawling back.

He put his hand down on my stomach, pressing hard and taking the breath from me.

“Bitch! You’re not going anywhere!” he growled, spittle flying.

He grabbed me by the hips and pulled me back to him.

In one swift move, he was inside me. I screamed at the pain and pulled his hair again.

“Oh baby, you feel so good,” he moaned.

He started to move inside me and panic coursed through me.

Preston was raping me.

Oh, God.

I bit his shoulder, I kicked, I screamed, I begged, I pleaded…

But nothing worked.

Spent, he rolled off of me and lay there, breathing heavily. “Baby, that was amazing.”

“I want you to leave,” I cried, suddenly feeling very small.

“What?” he sat up.

My lower lip trembled and I punched his shoulder. “Get out!”

His brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Katyrina-”

“Get out! Get away from me! I never want to see you again!” I screamed for so long, I didn’t even know when he’d gotten dressed and left.

I screamed and cried some more, not moving from my bed. I felt so violated.

Shaking, I tiptoed into my bathroom and started a shower. I scrubbed my body until every inch of my skin was pink and raw.

Preston had taken something from me, more than just my virginity; he had taken my faith in humanity.

~***~

“Katy! Katy! Wake up!” someone shook me.

“Get off of me! Don’t touch me!” I screamed.

The hands left but I kept screaming.

“Katy? What’s wrong? Tell me, please!” the voice pleaded.

Sobbing, I opened my eyes. Jared and Karlie’s brown eyes stared back at me.

“Oh, God,” I scooted back away from them. “I’m so sorry!”

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. “Katy, what’ going on?” Jared asked, softly.

I shook my head, unable to talk.

I heard Jared say something to Karlie and then Jared and I were alone.

Jared sat down on the edge of the bed, careful to keep distance between us.

“Katy, what’s wrong? You can tell me,” he said softly.

I continued to cry, too emotional to speak.

I felt the bed rise as he stood and for a moment I panicked at the thought of him leaving. But a second later, he was back, handing me a tissue.

“Please, Katy, you have to open up to me, sometime. Let me in,” he pleaded.

“I- I- can’t,” I sobbed.

“You can, Katy. You’re stronger than you think. Let me in, you can do it, let me see all of you.”

I wiped at my face with the tissue.

“How about we start with, why were you screaming? It scared the crap out of me, Katy. I thought you were hurt.”

“Nightmare,” I wiped my face.

“How often do you have these nightmares?” he asked, softly.

My lip trembled. “Every night.”

“Are they… nightmares or are you reliving something?” His dark eyes were serious and full of understanding.

Somehow, I knew if I confessed everything to Jared he’d understand, but I still feared he’d never look at me the same.

“Answer me, Katy,” he prompted when I kept quiet.

“Reliving something,” I hiccupped like a small child.

“Katy,” he reached out but then dropped his hand. “Tell me. Please, tell me who hurt you.”

I drew my legs up, wrapping my arms around them and resting my chin on top. “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can, Katy. You know why?” Those big brown eyes of Jared’s met mine and never wavered. “Because you’re strong, Katy, you are stronger than whoever hurt you and I promise,” he put his hand to his chest, “that I will be here for you. I’m not going to run away, or think of you differently. I know you think I will, but I won’t.”

I closed my eyes and braced myself to share my story with Jared. No one knew the whole story, I’d never been able to tell it after I had been ridiculed by my mother and called a liar, but with