Spaghetti sound good? ;-) –Karen

I laughed as I read her text around lunch time. We luckily had the day off and were staying at a hotel near the beach, which meant I was allowed to see Karen. Wesley, Keaton, and I went surfing at the beach for a while, then had lunch on the boardwalk. I called a local car rental place, and explained the situation, and they gave me a car to use for the night.

I headed to Karen's place around five thirty, seeing as how she lived in Orlando. I got there a little after six, and climbed the stairs to her door. I knocked three times, and heard feet walking towards the door and a chain sliding out of place.

"Hey Drew!" Karen smiled, hugging me. She was wearing a green, cotton tank top with ripped jeans, her hair back in a ponytail. I hugged her back, and followed her inside.

"Nice place," I commented, taking off my shoes and putting them by the door. Her place had tan carpet with a brown suede sofa and armchair, each adorned with a few green pillows. There was a dark wooden coffee table in front of the couch, followed by a tv on a stand, a collection of DVDs and a DVD player below it. The walls were decorated with family photos.

As she led me to the kitchen, I took in the surroundings. The appliances were green, stacked on white counters with light wooden cabinets. A pot of pasta and sauce was cooking on the stove, and I could smell garlic bread, which I guessed was in the oven.

"So I'm guessing your favorite color is green?" I chuckled, picking up the green oven mitt. She stuck her tongue out at me and snatched the mitt from my hand.

"Dinner's ready. Will you set out the TV trays in front of the couch? They're by the front door." I nodded and went to set them up while she made our plates. "What would you like to drink?" she hollered.

"Water's fine," I said, coming back into the kitchen. She handed me my plate and glass, and followed me with her own, the silverware sticking out of her pocket. Once we sat down, she handed me my fork and knife, then got up to pick a movie.

"What should we watch?" she asked me with a raised eyebrow. I scanned her DVDs briefly.

"Thor?" I suggested. She smiled and nodded, placing the disc into the player. She settled back onto the couch with me, and we dug into our spaghetti. She was a really good cook, and I told her so, which caused her to giggle and blush before thanking me. After we ate, she cleared the dishes, and I took the opportunity to try something daring. I stretched out on the couch, one leg on the cushions and one on the floor. She came back, saw me, and laughed.

"And where exactly am I supposed to sit?" I opened my arms, and she laughed again.

"Right here," I grinned. "Don't you wanna cuddle?" She nodded slowly, and crawled into my arms. I pulled us up so she was leaning back against my chest, my hands clasped over her stomach. As the movie went on, she turned so her side was pressed against me, and her head was under my chin. I had one hand on her hip, the other brushing her hair back from her forehead. When Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman kissed, she wiggled in my arms.

"You ok?" I whispered, looking down at her.

"Yeah, I just…" she looked up at me, and that's when she saw how close my face was. I stroked her cheek with my thumb, my thumb slowly moving down to her lips. I brushed over them with it, and her mouth parted. I looked into her eyes, and tilted her head up. "Drew, I…"

"Shh…" I whispered. Then I leaned down and captured her lips in a soft, sweet kiss. For a moment, she kissed me back. But then she stopped and jumped off of me.

"No, I can't," she said, crossing her arms over herself and pacing up and down in front of the couch. I sat up, looking at her with concern.

"Hun, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to catch her elbow with my hand, but she flinched away from me.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time." I patted the spot next to me on the couch. I could see the hesitation in her eyes, and the way she was positioning her body. But she finally sat down, and sighed.

"When I was in high school, I dated this guy, Dave," she started. "We'd been friends for a long time, but lost touch. We met up again in Spanish class, and it was just like old times. I started to fall for him, and he asked me out shortly before Valentine's Day. I said yes, and it was perfect.

Or seemed perfect I should say. I really should've broken up with him after my birthday five months later. My family took me on a cruise for my birthday, and I thought the boat might've had internet so I could email him, but it didn't, so I just enjoyed my time. When I got back, I checked Facebook, and he was bashing me like crazy, saying what a horrible girlfriend I was and things like that. I called him, and we got into a huge fight, and he told me he went out and got drunk one night with his friends, which he knows I hate. But we kept dating.

The day before our year and three month anniversary, he broke up with me because I told him we couldn't go back to McDonald's and get our right order because we were going to be late for class, because we had left during lunch break. But by that time, we had already broken up and gotten back together, like, three times. We fought the whole way to my locker and then to my class, and soon, everyone in school knew we'd broken up. Nobody…" I heard her breath catch, and saw tears forming in her eyes. "Nobody knew, though, that I was secretly relieved. I was heartbroken, but at the same time I was so glad I wasn't attached to him anymore. He…" At this point, she started crying, tears dripping down her face.

"He abused me. Not physically, really, though. He'd hold himself back from hitting me, I could see it. He was more of a mental and emotional abuser. I was afraid of what he'd say or do about everything. I'd avoid talking about certain things because I knew it'd make him angry if I did. I felt like I couldn't do anything right for him. He would humiliate me in front of people by degrading me or yelling at me. I was embarrassed sometimes to bring him around people. He completely ignored anything that made me happy. He'd make me…" she was sobbing at this point. "He'd make me be sexual when I didn't want to. He'd call me at night and demand phone sex, and when I would say no, he'd start bullying me, saying I didn't really love him and would threaten to break up with me if I didn't do it. He didn't want me to spend time with my dad because he didn't like him. He would limit my access to food when we'd go out to eat. Like, we'd go to McDonald's, and he'd only let me get so much. Not that I ate a lot, but he would remind me every time that I could only get a certain amount of money. He always wanted to know what I was doing. I got so fed up; I started believing the things he told me about myself, and I felt helpless. If I threatened to leave, he said he'd commit suicide, and I didn't want to be responsible for his death if he did.

But, I finally got away from him. We had this whole thing about having to have a school restraining order, but he got them to take it away because he wanted to control me again. I wouldn't let him though. I finally was able to distance myself from him.

He left me broken and bruised inside, though. I felt unworthy, like I was just damaged goods. I thought 'How could anyone ever want a girl like me? An overweight weird girl?' I jumped at any chance of love I saw. And kept getting heartbroken. Over and over and over again." She turned and looked at me.

"That's why I can't do this with you. I like you, I really do, and I can tell you like me too. But I promised myself I wouldn't get into any kind of relationship until after college, that I would just focus on school and work and building up myself again." I took a moment to collect myself. I was feeling so many different emotions. For one, I felt sorry for her. Nobody should ever have to go through that. Two, I was furious. If I ever met this guy, I was going to have to hold myself back from punching his lights out. I sighed, running my hand through my hair. I finally got up and crouched down in front of Karen, taking her hands in mine.

"Karen, I am so, so sorry. Nobody, especially someone as beautiful as you, should ever have to go through something like that. I'm sorry you've had to go through hell and back, but I'm here now. I'm here to protect you and care for you. I would never, ever hurt you. I would never do what he did to you. If he ever shows up again, I'll keep you safe from him, and if anybody else tries to hurt you, I'll protect you from them as well. You are a special girl, and you deserve to be loved just as much as the next girl." Karen sniffled, and wiped her eyes quickly.

"Thank you, Drew," she mumbled. She looked up at me and smiled. "You're sweet." I laughed softly and grinned.

"Thanks, babe. Now I just have one question for you."

"What's that?"

"Will you be my Chloe?" She laughed out loud, and I couldn't help but laugh too, it was so infectious.

"Thank you for the cheesy pun," she giggled. Then she leaned over and hugged me. "And of course I'll be your Chloe." I picked her up in a tight hug and spun her around. "Drew!" she screeched. "Put me down!" I laughed as I set her down on her feet, then cupped her face and kissed her sweetly. This time, she did kiss me back, and for a good, long minute I might add.

"And by the way," I whispered against her lips. "That spaghetti was delicious."