Chapter 10 now up! Yeah we made it to cahpter 10. (Throws up streamers and balloons)
Thanks for all who reviewed and took the poll, so I have decided to write a one-shot series! I'm excited! But don't worry; this story is my top priority.
So look out for my new story entitled "First Times". Thanks and on with the story!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When Gar got home he was completely confused. He didn't know what to feel. He knew that he wanted to be with Rachel, but he wasn't sure how much she wanted to be with him.
He also didn't know if he should be with someone who doesn't trust him. He was a nice honest guy right? Plus that little stunt at the book store wasn't a real lie. He just wanted to talk to her.
He was totally confused. That is until he walked through the door.
"I want to watch the sports channel Karen! You always take control of the remote and I'm tired of it!"
"There are a bunch of other TVs in the house, why don't you watch your stupid race cars in another room!"
"Because this is the living room, a guy has to watch what he wants in the living room right next to the kitchen and the bathroom. That's every man's dream, but you wouldn't know anything about that now would you?! Plus they're not stupid racecars!"
"Please, a bunch of guys driving around in a circle two hundred times is not a sport! And maybe you could enjoy having a TV next to the kitchen and bathroom if you were ever at your house and not at Gar's all the time!"
"Karen, you know my house is being exterminated!"
"Maybe if you didn't have so much meat lying around the house bugs wouldn't want to make your house the hang out place!"
"You leave my meat out of this!"
Gar had now walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch.
"Hey what's up man?" Victor asked stopping the argument he and his girl friend were having.
"I talked to Terra."
"And? What did she say? How did it go?" Karen said edging him on.
"Honestly I don't know how it went. At first I thought I had her right where I wanted her. She was all over me acting as if nothing happened. Then she did was she always does. She turned on me!"
He was starting to get angry again. But he just kept telling himself to calm down.
"She said I was never there for her, and I never made her happy. I can't believe her! How can she be so, I don't know heartless?!"
"Dude calm down, you're getting yourself worked up over nothing." Victor said sitting down next to his friend.
"How is this nothing?! We're not even together and she's still ruining my life!"
"Gar" Karen said chipping in. "She's only ruining your life if you let her."
"Karen's right. You got to move on and let her go. She's only hurting you even more." It pained Victor to see his friend hurting so much.
They had been friends for who knows how long and Gar was always the type to put a smile on everyone's face and always had a smile on his.
When he met Terra they seemed perfect, but there love was toxic. Looked good on the outside but was eating away at them both of them. Soon Gar was always moping around. She hurt him bad.
But Vic's heart felt lighter when he saw Gar smiling.
"If you guys are agreeing on something that means it has to be right."
"You know what you have to do right Gar?" Vic asked. He only knew Rachel for a small amount of time and she didn't even speak that much.
But the way Garfield talks about her and just seeing the way she presents herself. He could tell Gar needed her. Even if she turned out to be just a friend he needed her to make him a better person. But he preferred them together as a couple.
"Yeah, I talked to Steve and Rita and they said I should talk to Rachel. And I will, I just need some time to think you know."
"Yeah I know."
Karen just watched as Gar slowly got up and made his way to the stairs that lead up to the bedrooms.
"Oh and Vic…"
"Yeah dude"
"The last thing Terra said to me was 'thanks for the house'. Do you know what that means?"
Vic thought the words over in his head a couple times to see if he figured out what se meant.
"Sorry man, I don't know what she means."
"Oh well thanks. Good night. Good night Karen."
"Good night." They said in unison.
"Karen, what are we going to do with him? I don't know who this guy is. The Gar I know is always happy, and makes other people happy. Now it seems his life is just one big ball of confusion. What happened to him?"
"The one thing that can break down any man."
"What?"
"Women."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rachel was surprised to see Michael of all people to be standing in her doorway. Surprised and a little bit scared. Of course she would never admit it, but she did feel it.
"What are you doing here?" She asked a little more shakily then she wanted.
"I came to see you. Is that okay?" He let himself in. He had a knack for making questions sound more like demands.
He stepped around her and sat on her couch.
"Michael, I had a long day and the last thing I need is your drama." She could feel her inner strength rising.
"I remember when you used to love getting caught up in my drama."
At first Rachel would have denied it. But after meeting Michael she started to realize something. She unconsciously drew drama to herself.
'Maybe this is why I went out with Garfield.' She banished the thought from her mind and concentrated on the real issue here.
"I remember kicking you out years ago."
"Rachel don't lie to yourself. You were a scared little girl then and you still are today."
"Michael get out or I'll…"
"You'll what!" He was standing now and screaming at the top of his lungs. It has been such a long time that she almost forgot the reason she was scared of him in the first place. His temper.
"I don't know what's gotten into you Rachel but you better remember who you're talking to!" He took her by the wrists and forced her to look him in the eyes.
"Now I'm gonna be staying here for awhile until I'm ready to go back to my girlfriend. Until then I'll just have to stay with you okay baby?"
She closed her eyes and waited for him to let go. He released her wrists and put one hand under her chin tilting her head upwards.
She heard him talk in that sweet voice again. That was the voice she had fallen in love with, but now it just makes her cringe.
"Don't worry baby, you and me are going to get along just fine okay. Just as long as you don't try anything stupid like last time. Is that clear?" She only kept her eyes closed and breathed slowly. But felt his grip tighten on her chin.
"I said is that clear?" His voice growing angry again. She nodded her head in response but said nothing.
"Good." He kissed her on the fore head and made his way to her bedroom leaving the door open to hear if she tried anything funny.
Rachel just stood there for a moment trying to hold back tears. She thought all she had to do was stay strong and stand up for herself. She thought that's how you get rid of guys like these.
But Michael didn't like it when his girls stood up to him. He didn't like it one bit.
She made her way to the bathroom down the same hall as the bedroom. This was of course risky, but she needed a small quiet place. She reached the bathroom and sat down on the toilet seat.
She had gotten used to taking this abuse from Michael and she knew it only gets worse from this point. This was enough to make her cry. But she was careful not to let Michael hear.
Michael didn't like it when his girls cried. He didn't like it one bit.
She had grabbed some toilet tissue and dabbed her eyes with it and saw as the mascara wiped away on it. She quickly grew alarmed. If he saw the make up running down her face he would know she was crying.
She took some more and ran it under the water. She started scrubbing her eyes with it wiping away all the evidence. She couldn't remember how many times she had to do it.
"Rachel!"
Rachel was growing scared. She mustered up as much courage as she could to make sure that all the sobbing wouldn't show in her voice.
"Yes." She called out proud of herself that she was still able to sound like she wasn't crying.
"Get out of there and make me something to eat! I'm starving!"
"What would you like?" She called through the bathroom door.
"I don't care just hurry up! And get out of the bathroom, I need to piss!"
She followed his commands and quickly ran to the kitchen to make him a sandwich. She still remembered his favorite. Bologna and cheese on rye with lettuce and tomato with a pickle on the side.
She couldn't tell if this was a blessing that she could keep him calm or a curse that she would always remember his favorite snack.
She made the sandwich and thanked God that she had just one pickle left that she refused to eat a couple of days ago. She poured him some coke and pt it all on a tray.
She walked with the tray in her hand and made her way to the bedroom where he was lying on her bed with his pants off and his shirt unbuttoned. His shoes were kicked off to the side and his eyes were closed.
He sat up when he heard the door open.
She placed the tray on the night stand and tried to exit s fast as she could without looking like she was running away.
Michael doesn't like it when his girls run away. He doesn't like it one bit.
"Where do you think you're going?" She had her back to him so she couldn't tell if he was angry, or just using his sickening sweet voice again.
She stood there and didn't answer. She didn't know what answer he wanted to hear. So she gave none at all.
"Come here." In no way did she like where this was going. She turned around and walked over to the side of the bed.
He sat up with his legs crossed and waved his hand for her to join him. Rachel did everything she was told. She sat on in his lap facing him but kept her head low. She felt his lips touch her forehead again and felt as the kisses trailed down her cheek to her neck.
She could feel the lump in her throat rising again threatening to pour tears down her cheeks. But she wouldn't let that happen. She learned long ago how to stop yourself from crying.
The thing that hurt Rachel the most was the fact that she tried so hard to keep this from happening again. She couldn't count how many guys she turned down.
And now it all blew up in her face.
She was snapped back to reality when she felt his lips touch hers. The kiss was rough and it was cold. The first time she kissed him, he was soft and loving. But always controlling.
Everything they did when they were dating was controlled by him. Looking back now, she sees that maybe that would have been a warning sign.
She hated kissing him more then anything he ever did to her because she had to kiss him back. She wouldn't dare sit there non responsive
Michael didn't like it when his girls didn't kiss him back. He didn't like it one bit.
So she swallowed her pride and whatever dignity she had left and kissed him back. She didn't wrap her arms around him; she didn't try to move closer. She just sat there and gave him what he wanted.
This didn't stop Michael from pushing her boundaries. He pushed her on her back and climbed on top of her. She was trapped now.
Rachel was never raped by Michael. There were times she had to sleep with him just to keep him from getting angry or worse. But not something that can be classified as rape.
But she feared this time he was going to have her no matter what she did or how much she objected. Fear was rising in the pit of her stomach and she felt utterly helpless.
Surprisingly the first thing that came to her mind was Garfield. Even though she was on her back and had an abusive man trying to get what he wanted, she only wanted Garfield to show up and save the day.
This of course was not going to happen; she needed to wake up from her fantasy. This is life. Some people don't have happily ever afters.
Michael was now getting restless and wanted to get this thing over with all ready. When Michael was angry or stressed he needed to find any girl to have his way with to calm himself down.
He started to unzip her pants and Rachel was just about to let out a whimper when he remembered.
He bent down and whispered in her ear. "No, not tonight. The football game is on and I made a bet on the home team."
With a smile on his face he got off of her and pulled her into his arms. He sat up with his back against the head board and Rachel in his arms. She didn't make a sound only watched the game.
It was amazing how football could turn any mans head around. And she was thankful for it.
She watched as he cheered when his team made a touchdown, and yelled when the other team made an interception. She watched him grow tired and finally fell asleep.
She remembered this situation very clearly when they were dating. If you can call it that. She would remember that day for the rest of her life. The day she escaped.
She had finally decided to make a run for it. She knew he was a light sleeper, but she was a light stepper. If that's a word.
She managed to get out and run to the nearest police station. It was a long run. But worth it. He had figured it out before the cops could arrest him but he never left town.
That was what she couldn't figure out. Why didn't he leave town? But more importantly, why didn't she leave?
She looked to her night stand and saw the tray now empty and the alarm clock. It was two in the morning. Way to early for her taste.
Then she saw the necklace. The beautiful one Gar gave her. She needed him and now. No matter what stupid accusations were held against him.
Rachel was afraid she was leaving one woman beater to go to another. But when she looked in Gar's eyes and looked in Michael's she could see the difference.
It wouldn't make sense to anyone else but it did to her. And that's good enough for her. She looked once more at Michael and saw he was asleep drooling on her pillow. Disgusting.
She grabbed the necklace and ever so slowly climbed out of bed. She was already in her street clothes so that wouldn't be a problem. She threw on her slippers which were right near the bed.
She couldn't afford to put on her shoes because they were in the closet. And that would cause too much noise.
She ever so quietly opened the door just enough to slip through making sure not too much of the hallway light come in.
When she was in the living room she grabbed her keys and her wallet. And headed out the door. She didn't bother locking the front door. She just didn't care right now.
She ran down the block and to the bus stop. She could only hope that there would be a bus out this late at night. And she was blessed. Because it was coming around now.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rachel was once again at the front door of Garfield's house. She banged on the door repeatedly. She called out his and his friends names hoping to get someone to come to the door.
Finally she saw a light go on and saw as the door opened to reveal Garfield standing there. He looked extremely tired and half asleep but snapped his eyes open when he saw Rachel.
She looked at her face and saw it was red and puffy. She had been crying.
He felt her lunge at him and engulf him in a hug and felt her tears seep into his shirt. He brought her inside and they both sat on the couch as Rachel cried and Garfield held her for a long time. Finally he spoke.
"Rae what's the matter? If this is about that fight we had…"
"No it's not that. I'm sorry to wake you up so late but I really needed your help."
"It's no problem but what's the mater?"
"You remember I told you about Michael, me ex?"
"Yeah."
"Well he's back. But I didn't tell you the whole story." Gar listened as Rachel told him about the abuse and the other girlfriends he had and how he's back and forcibly living in her house. But most of all, she told him about his temper.
A few times Rachel broke down crying and stopped to take her breath. Gar had never seen her like this. So broken and fragile. But he didn't interrupt. H just held her and listened to what she had to say.
"I know his is sudden, but Gar can I stay over here?"
"Of course Rachel, you didn't think I would let you go back there now would you?"
"No but I know Michael's not going to like this."
"I don't care what he likes or doesn't like. You're going to stay here until we can figure out what we're going to do."
She said nothing but nodded against his chest until she fell asleep. Gar didn't know much about Michael but he knew one thing.
Gar didn't like Michael. He didn't like him one bit.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
So glad I finally wrote this chapter. A lot of stuff is going on here. Let's just hope these two make it out okay.
1. Once again, I'm going to write a one shot series entitled "First times" so look out for it! Thanks for all who reviewed and took the poll. You rock!
2. Thanks for all who review this story and even though I don't get back to you right away, I do try and reply to your reviews. But there is just so many of them!
3. Please point out any mistakes so I can fix them. If you do I'll give you a cookie!
4. Not really much to say so until next time. Peace, love and animals!
