Hi, my name is Emma Skylar Rose. I'm seventeen years old, and my life has been turned upside down. It's sad really, how happy I am in my current situation. I never thought this could actually happen to me.. Or anyone I know, but the world works in mysterious ways. I sat in the room of my best friend, Melissa's, apartment. I watched as cars drove by the front window while Melissa made tea in the kitchen. I had been staying at my boyfriend, David's, house, but recently things had been different. The beginning of the relationship was great, we were inseparable. David was always a great person. We were head over heels in love with each other.. Meant to be together for the rest of our lives. We were both just normal kids with fairly good grades. Normal lives. But over the past month or so things have been.. different. I don't really know what happened. It started out with simply arguing all the time. I would always back down.. I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize our little dream relationship we had. Slowly.. things went downhill. The small arguments turned into shouting and screaming at each other every night. The screams soon led to him never being home, and if he was home he was normally drunk. David had turned into the outcast citizen in our small town.
David used to be very popular, captain of the football team, basketball, baseball, and not to mention on every board possible in school.
I was the same, cheer captain, on the dance team, in choir. We tried very hard to keep up our reputation. But when David's parents got a divorce he became a different person. He just snapped. That once loving, caring, affectionate boyfriend picked a bottle of booze and became someone I barely knew. He started being aggressive. Taking his anger out on things. Punching walls, throwing things, just angry all the time. One day, he decided to take his anger out on me.. I had just been sitting in the living room reading and he had come home from another party with his friends. He came in yelling getting louder every step he took. I was getting off the sofa when he turned the corner. I stood still as I felt his fist throw me to the ground. Once I was there he just started kicking me. I felt the pain running through my body for days. I screamed for him to stop.. At least.. I think I screamed. I don't know how long it went on. I just knew the pain. After that, I cried for days. I couldn't believe this. When I barely moved, it hurt. I couldn't tell anyone. I was too scared of him. Every time he moved, I cringed in fear, scared that it would happen again. The day after, he saw me crying. He came to me and hugged me and swore that he loved me. I believed him of course. He said he'd never do it again. He lied... This went on for weeks. Weeks soon turned into months..and all I could do was put up with it. I recently started feeling really sick and I was late. I decided that I might want to take a pregnancy test and it came out positive.
So here I was, sitting at my best friends house, about to tell her my picture perfect relationship had gone completely upside down and now I was pregnant and couldn't deal with it anymore. I rolled up the sleeve of my long black sweater to uncover the evidence of my lover's anger. The long sleeved, covering clothes are the only thing that would cover up the bruises and cuts. I softly touched the semi-healing black and blue marks on my arm. God.. I could barely stand to look at my body anymore.. Under the clothes, it is barely recognizable compared to the once beautiful, sexy cheerleading body. I stayed looking out the window until my friend came into my view. She looked at me and slowly nodded her head for me to take a seat on the couch. I walked over ad sat down as she handed me my cup of tea. "You wanted to talk?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied. I looked down trying to hide the tears.
"What's wrong baby?" She asked wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I couldn't bare the pain any longer. I told her everything from the first night the beatings started until now, sitting in her living room. She looked pissed and scared and sad all at the same time.
"Please talk?" I asked her. She shook her head and stood up.
"Why didn't you tell me when it started?"
"I was afraid..."
We sat there in silence again until my phone went off. I answered it and of course it was David, a very drunk and horny David I might add... "H-hello?" I hesitated, paranoid that he knew I had told someone.
"Where the hell are you Ssskyy?" he asked slurring my name.
"I-uh. I'm with a friend."
"You're with that b-bitch.. uh what's her face? Well whatever. Ya-you need to come home. We need to talk," he informed me. I could hear the lust in his voice.
I knew exactly what his "talking" involved.. More pain for me.
"I'll uh.. I'll be home soon," I said, knowing that I really didn't want to go and not really knowing when I'd be there.
"You better be. Soon as p-possible."
"Ok.."
"Lovvve you Ssskyy," he told me slurring again.
"I love you too David.." I whispered.
I heard the receiver click and I stuffed the phone back in my pocket. Melissa glared at me.
"You CAN'T go back there Sky. Please tell me that you're not even considering it!" my friend raised her voice at me.
I stared down at my cup of tea as if it had become the most interesting thing in the world.
"I've got to.." I mumbled.
"NO you don't! You're better than this Sky. It's not only YOUR life that you have to protect now. Why have you even stayed with him?" she asked curiously.
I could have lied, but I told her half of the full truth.
"I love him Mel.." I told her in a very low voice.
"Baby..I know you love him. But it's obvious he doesn't love you back...," she told me slowly and quietly while wrapping her arm around my shoulders.
"But he does...he just doesn't know how to show it," I told her in all seriousness. I hugged her and got up from her couch and went towards the door. "Thanks Mel." She nodded as I left to go to my car and head towards the waiting arms of the man I loved...