Prologue: Listen

Hate.

My mom always told me not to use it. "Hate's a strong word Chelsea. Next time, say you strongly dislike somebody, okay?" That's on the list of things my mother told me to never do or stay away from. Cole being #1 on that list.

Maybe I should have listened.

I hate him.

I'm crossing my arms, waiting for him to unlock the door. Doors are better opened, not shut. Of course, Cole begs to differ.

"You told me this boat goes from 10 AM, to 6 PM. Not the other way around." My voice is harsh. The digital clock on the nightstand reads 8 PM. Which means I'm sleeping on this ship. Which means we're sleeping on this ship. Which means Cole has something else in mind, other than sleeping.

Cole shrugs, a grin playing on his lips. "Guess I forgot." A few strands of his shoulder length dark blonde hair falls into his eyes, and he flicks them away, stepping closer to me, hands immediately snaking around my waist. His lips find my collarbone, and I regret wearing a tube top. "But I guess we'll have to make the most of our time." There's a flash of something in his green eyes, something I see often. As usual, his hands travel up my chest, under my shirt. And, as usual, I push him back, glaring.

"No." I've said this a million times. Clearly, the six months we've been together, and me saying no each time to his desires goes in one ear, out the other.

"Come on babe," Cole whines, making a face. "Why can't we-"

"Because I said no." Truth is, I'm scared about the consequences. Scared about, oh, I don't know, getting pregnant. Because I know Cole won't do anything to prevent it, or even support me later on.

Risks are one of my biggest fears.

Cole rolls his eyes, swinging his arm around me, mouth closing over mine. "Come on babe, I love you," he whispers.

Correction, you love me when you want me.

You might wonder, Chelsea, why on God's green earth are ya still with this guy if you hate him?

Wish I knew.

Oh, at first, he was charming. Met him at a bar when I was 15, bought me a drink, played the "bad-boy" look, told me some cheesy pick up lines. By the end of the night, his tongue was halfway down my throat. And, him paying attention to me, not my friends, not any other girl in the bar with skanky clothes, made me feel... special. I ignored what my friends said, ignored what my family said.

Maybe I should have listened.

He's kissing me harder now, just like that night. I'm struggling, because really, I'm sick of his lies, his wants, what he makes me do for him. I just want to curl up with my mom at home, watching "Wheel of Fortune" or whatever. I do not want to be on a boat, taking me God knows where, alone in a room, with Cole.

I jerk away from his kiss, glaring at him. "Cole, seriously, stop. I'm not doing this."

Cole just shakes his head, smiling smugly. "Who said I was asking you?" And he does something. He scoops me up into his arms, throws me on the bed, and kisses me madly, like the world depends on it.

He's never gone this far before. Usually, he just sulks, then grabs a beer, downing it in a minute, forgetting about it. But with that look in his eyes, I know he's not going to give up. He's going to get what he wants.

When I struggle, all he does is smirk, pulling my shirt completely off, leaving me only in my bra. "Cole!" I screech, trying to get him off off of me. He just kisses me, tongue trying to get entry towards my mouth, lips locked like a gate.

"Shh." He puts a finger to my lips, as if this action is supposed to calm me down, like, "hey Chelsea, hope this makes you okay with what Cole's about to do!"

Maybe I should have listened.

Now, he's trying to remove my shorts, and an anger just boils up inside me, like a kettle. And right now, this kettle is steaming and ready to scream. Which I do. I scream for help, scream 'till my lungs go out, and raise my leg, high enough to kick him in the groin. He howls with pain, toppling off the bed, off of me. I give him another kick. My breathing is so heavy I feel like some sort of demon.

He shoots up from the floor, eyes blazing. "You psycho bitch." Words don't hurt me, but his fist coming up against my face does. It's surprising, it's shocking. I yelp, falling to the ground, holding my nose as blood drips down it, plopping onto the carpet. He takes another swing at me, this time my eye injured in the process. I scream again, pain coming over me. I try to fight back, but it's no use-he seems bigger now, like nothing can hurt him, like he's the hulk.

"Now," Cole continues, snatching a lock of my brown hair, tugging on it, then slamming my head to the floor. He does this repeatedly, as if he's trying to knock sense into me. "We're continuing what we left off." It's almost like his mind is washed away from what just happened 10 seconds ago, resuming what he was doing before. One word just comes to my mind, an ugly word I never even wanted to say.

Rape.

"Cole, please." I hate begging, but it's what I have to do. He's never hit me before. Never. And I thought he'd never have it in him. Clearly the hulk just escaped.

Instead of answering, he slaps me across the face, so hard, I taste blood. And his lips against mine. It's forced, everything is forced. I can't help it, I find tears warbling down my cheeks. Cole looks disgusted, slapping me again, and again, and again, then takes a lit cigarette he's kept hidden, bringing it to my stomach several times. All I can think of is burning flesh, and I let out a strangled cry, resulting in the butt of the cigarette meeting my skin.

"Now you listen here." He spits out the words, saliva spraying my face. "You know what my boys call me? The guy who can't get a hold of his own girl. And you and I are going to-"

Everything stops. Cole's cold, angry voice. Him removing my clothes. My tears, my terror. Everything. It's all washed away, literally. Water slams open the door, flooding our room quickly. Cole looks dumbfounded, but doesn't move from his position on top of me. The water's in our whole room, salty and freezing, invading.

And then, total darkness.

'Ello people :3 I'm here for a new fanfic :D Vaughn and Chelsea. I just made Cole up... I dunno, I never really wrote about someone getting beat up, so I'm probably not good at it. That's about it, I usually have nothing to say xDDD