Disclaimer: Trigger warning: abuse and rape.
As soon as I tell Wren and Finn what happened with Kenton, Finn pulls the knife off of the table at the café we're at and starts to stand.
"Finn!" I laugh, pulling him back down by the sleeve and he growls, but sits back down.
"I'll kill him," Finn growls, his fingers gripping on the knife again.
I drop my head to my hands, "Trust me, Finn, there's already someone on that."
Wren's eyes widen and she smirks. "Is it..."
"Stop," I groan, glancing up Wren as she continues to smirk.
"I'm telling you, Madge, this guy likes you."
I groan as Finn looks between the two of us, utterly confused. "Who?!" He nearly shouts and I cower in the restaurant in case someone heard.
"No one, Finn. Just my neighbor." I glower at him and he smirks.
Wren starts to laugh as Finn questions everything. "It's not important," I finally mumble, standing to go refill my water. Wren snickers at me and I roll my eyes and hurry to the water dispenser, trying to ignore them completely. I'm already in a relationship, I don't want to have to deal with another one. Sure, it hasn't been a very happy relationship as of late, but it's a relationship.
When I tell them this, Finn's immediate reaction is, "Break up with him and date the other guy instead." Wren swats him and he smirks at her, something that gets Wren to blush deeply. I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling.
"Finn, it's not that easy." I sigh, looking down at my fingers.
"Whoa, something going on?" He asks slowly, and I nod very slowly.
"Yeah." I start fiddling with my fork. "He's just... I'm worried that if I break up with him he'll hurt me because he's gotten pretty... demanding." Kenton's brows furrow and he glances at Wren who's sighing.
"What is he doing?"
I sigh, and grumble a little bit. "He's trying to get me to do stuff that I don't want to do."
"Kill him," Finn suggests and I choke on my salad.
"Excuse me?" I laugh and Wren forces back a laugh.
Finn chortles at our reactions and leans back in his chair and shrugs. "I mean if there's no other solution then I guess we could kill him, but," Wren throws a napkin at him and he chuckles, winking at her. I don't miss the interaction.
Next week is when things plummet downhill.
It was a good Friday, I didn't have work or anything. Then, Kenton called. He asked if I wanted to go on a date, and naturally, I said yes. I can't resist him; I have too strong of feelings for him.
At first it was nice. We went to dinner and had a great time just talking and joking around throughout the entire dinner, no appearance of the recent demanding Kenton. Then, he took me to a bar. Then things went really downhill.
And honestly, I don't remember anything after Kenton handing me some sort of drink that tasted nasty going down.
My head pounds when I wake. Hangover, I guess, though I don't really know how I got it. There's no sunlight streaming through the window, so I guess it must still be night? I really don't know. I feel like shit. My body hurts. My mouth is dry.
That's about the time I realize I'm naked.
Immediately, I shoot straight up in bed, the covers pooling around my waist. The sudden movement causes my head to pound even more. I'm alone. I'm not at my apartment.
I swallow thickly and look around the small room I'm in. I don't know where I am. My clothing is in a pile on the carpeted floor and I swallow again, quickly falling out of the bed to grab my clothes.
With shaking fingers, I pull my clothing back on and wonder exactly what happened. The digital clock on the bedside table tells me that it's close to 3:00 AM. Seeing that worries me. I won't be able to get home this early, no matter where I am.
Glancing in the mirror in the connected bathroom, I find that I look like a mess. My hair is mused up completely, and I look like death.
Once I pad out into the hallway, ice settles in my veins as I realize where I am. Kenton's. What the hell happened? I keep walking through the hallway towards the light streaming from the kitchen.
Kenton's sitting on one of the barstools, smiling wickedly at me. "Well hello there," he smirks, "and how did you sleep?"
My mouth is so dry I can't speak, until all I see is red. "What the hell happened Kenton? I don't remember anything." I run my fingers through my messy hair and stare at him while his smirk grows wider.
"You were blackout drunk and I couldn't just leave you in the bar, so I brought you back here and you can see what happened." His eyes trail down my clothed body and I feel myself fidget. No, this is not what I wanted.
"If I was drunk how was I supposed to know what I was doing?" His smile falters for a second but then he smiles even wider. That's when I get it. I didn't know what I was doing. I was out, because he kept giving me drinks that had something in them. He knew exactly what he was doing. He got me drunk, so much that I was completely out, and then he took me home and... finally got what he wanted.
The realization hits me with a pang in the chest. I stumble backwards and hit the wall while Kenton keeps smiling wickedly at me, not moving from his seat. "I," I force out, my body falling weak, "I'm going home."
"Oh no," Kenton growls, finally hopping off of the barstool and crossing towards me, "you're not going anywhere. You can't leave me now, especially not after I have control of you." He hisses, his body pressing against mine up against the wall.
"No," I force out, pushing him away, "stay away from me. Please." After much struggling, I'm able to knee him where it hurts and I slink out from under his arms, tears falling down my face. Kenton grabs after me, finally managing to grip my arm.
What happens next completely kills me.
His palm makes contact with my cheek and I stumble away from Kenton. His chest heaves and his eyes flash with anger. "Stay away from me. Don't ever come near me again." I force out at him, before grabbing my bag and running out of his apartment.
Kenton doesn't even try to follow me.
I stumble around the district for what feels like forever. Tears have made tracks down my face and my cheek stings, as does my heart. That's about when the flashbacks start and I fall against a wall.
"You're mine," Kenton tells me, tugging me into his apartment, "and I'll do whatever I want to you."
More tears fall down my face and I slide to the ground, my legs giving out from beneath me.
I struggle against him, attempting to force myself away from him, but Kenton's too strong. I can't get away. I'm trapped. I can feel my clothing being removed from my body but I don't have the strength to stop it. The alcohol has pushed my body to the limit, and I can't do anything.
I clutch my head and try to force the thoughts out of my head as I slowly and shakily stand back up.
When I somehow end up back in my neighborhood, I find that I don't want to return home. Gale's light is off, but he's the only person I want right now. He's the only one I want to talk to, the only one I want to comfort me.
My feet struggle up the steps and I weakly knock on his door before I realize he's not going to hear it if he's asleep. But, to my surprise, the door swings open and a rumpled Gale comes to the door, scowling. The second his eyes land on me, his face turns from annoyed, then a bit happy, and then concerned. "Madge?"
"Gale," I croak, and his eyes land on my cheek. He growls and gently pulls me into the apartment, immediately heading to the freezer. Gale pulls an ice pack out and presses it against my cheek, with tears fall down my face. I choke back a sob when Gale gently sets me on the couch and adjusts the ice pack. I fall onto his chest, sobbing, and Gale awkwardly wraps his arms around me.
I cry for a few more minutes, until my tears finally turn to sniffles. Gale pulls back from me and gently pries the ice pack from my grip, examining my cheek. "Wanna tell me what happened? It's four in the morning."
I sniffle again and push some of my hair from my face. This crying has caused my head to pound even more. "I," I try to fofce something out, and then swallow. "Kenton got me drunk." I start, and Gale sighs loudly, glancing at my cheek again. "And... I don't... I don't remember what happened after that." I whisper and Gale sighs again, pressing the ice pack against my cheek again.
"And then I woke up earlier and found out what had happened." I explain to Gale my morning and he progressively gets angrier and angrier as I go on. At some point, he stands up and starts to pace.
"I'll kill him. Madge, this isn't okay." I choke back another sob, and Gale comes back towards me. "Hey, don't cry. It's okay." He looks at the clock on the wall. "Here, do you want to go to bed? You can stay in the guest room tonight."
"I don't want go home." I choke, nodding. Gale helps me stand up and then lets me into the guest room, gesturing to the bed. I crawl onto it and curl into a ball, wiping my face. "I feel so awful."
"Nothing is your fault, Madge." Gale murmurs, sitting on the edge of the bed, forcing me to look at him. "He's an asshole, and has no right to do that to you." I look up at him and choke back another sob. He brushes some hair from my face and the gesture startles me, but I don't say anything. "Just get some sleep. We'll deal with this in the morning, okay?" Gale says gently and I nod.
"Gale," I murmur, looking up at him as he starts to leave. "Can you stay with me? I... I don't wanna be alone." Gale hesitates for a moment, but then nods, crossing the room again. He rests up against the headboard and looks down at me.
He sighs. "Get some sleep." I finally nod and pretend to be asleep.
I don't sleep the entire night.
Waking up later is a nightmare. Literally. I wake shaking and shivering. Gale's gone, but I figured that would happen. He wouldn't stay the whole night. My body and heart hurts.
Slowly, I pad into the kitchen, the blanket that was placed around me dragging on the floor.
Gale's reading something in a magazine. When he hears me enter the room, he quickly turns and hides the magazine. Gale sees my face and immediately grimaces. "What?" I ask and he shakes his head.
"Your cheek..." he starts, grabbing another ice pack. "It, it bruised a bit." Just by his voice I know it's bad. Worse than what he thinks. Quickly, I go back to the bathroom and find that it has bruised.
I slump against the wall and wipe my face again. Gale's quick to follow me. "What am I going to do, Gale?"
He shakes his head. " I don't know, Madge. I really don't.
A/N: Don't hate me, or kill me, or anything, because this has been in the plan forever. This will only lead to Gadge, I promise! Thoughts on the chapter and things that happened?
