Against Her Will - Part 2
"You were what?" John questioned incredulously.
Trish sighed as two tears fell down her face. "I… I was raped, John."
"Who did it?"
"My mom's ex-boyfriend, Richard."
The shocked look on John's face explained his silence.
Trish wiped away more tears and stood, walking to the window. "I'm sorry."
Trish spoke so quietly that John wasn't sure she'd actually said anything. "Sorry for what?"
"For dumping this on you. I don't like telling people about it."
"No, no don't apologize. I wanted to know. I'm just so sorry for what you've been through."
"It's okay, John. It really is. I've dealt with it for almost twenty years. I just don't like to rehash often. I just like to leave the past in the past."
"Yeah, I gotcha. But now that I know, what ever happened to Richard?"
"He, uhm, he got ten years in prison."
"Only ten?"
"Yep, only ten. My mom's lawyer tried to fight for more, but ten was the maximum they'd give him."
John combed through his short hair with his fingers. "Wow, so he's out now?"
"Yeah, he's been out for over eight years now."
"Bastard."
"Tell me about it."
"How'd your mom take it?"
Trish sighed and more tears started to sting her eyes. "She, uhm… it took me almost four months to tell her because I didn't think she'd believe me." Finally, Trish broke down. The memories were just way too painful.
In a split second, John was at Trish's side to comfort her. "Shhh, it's okay. He can't hurt you anymore."
"Yes, he can," Trish protested in between sobs. "Everyday that I live in fear, he's hurting me. He's repeatedly raping me every single day of my life. I'm never safe."
"You're safe with me."
"Go on, Trish. Richard's going to watch you and your sister while Mommy does some work."
"But Mommy, I don't wanna."
Richard grabbed her hand. "Come on, sweetie. You're safe with me."
"No!" Trish screamed and John quickly backed away. "No, don't touch me!"
"Trish, it's just me…"
"No! Get out! Get out now!"
With tears stinging his blue eyes, John turned and left a sobbing Trish all alone.
Gasping for breaths, Trish reached out for her phone and pressed the redial button.
"Hello?"
"AJ, thank God you're home."
"Trish, babe, are you okay? Are you crying?"
"Can you please come here? I need you."
"Of course, I'll be there in a few hours."
Once she hung up the phone, Trish grabbed a blanket from her bed and curled up in a ball on the couch.
AJ knocked twice on the door to Trish's house. When there was no answer, he pulled her house key out of his pocket - thankful that she'd give him a copy – and opened the door.
"Trish? Trish are you here?" There was no answer, so AJ headed towards the living room. That was were he found her, sound asleep. There were still tears on her face. She must of cried herself to sleep. "Trish, honey, wake up."
Trish jumped up and protectively wrapped her arms around herself.
"Hey, hey, it's only me."
"AJ?"
"Yeah, are you okay? You sounded terrified on the phone."
"AJ, he's gonna find me and hurt me again."
"Who?"
"Richard."
"No, Trish, he won't. I won't let him, and John won't let him."
"John…"
"Did you tell him?"
Trish nodded and wiped at her eyes.
"How'd it go?"
"He was so nice about it. So perfect. He tried to comfort me and everything."
AJ looked confused. "So why isn't he here instead of me?"
"Because, he said something that reminded me of Richard and I lost it. I can't do this, AJ. I can't get close to anyone. Especially John."
"You got close to me."
"You're different. You're like my brother, and we both know that we're never gonna date. You're the best person in my life, and probably the only one I can trust."
"You got close to Jericho, Christian, and even Jeff Hardy."
"And they all ended up hurting me. I let my guard down those three times, thinking that I had found someone who truly loved me. But did I? No. Jericho just wanted to sleep with me. Christian was crazy. And Jeff ran away before anything too serious could happen. I'm just not meant to settle down with anyone. I can't do it."
"You can do it, Trish. You just need to trust a little more."
"I can't, AJ," Trish sighed. "I don't know how."
"Let John teach you. He cares about you, and you care about him too. You can't deny those feelings or you're gonna be lonely and depressed for the rest of your life."
"I've got you?"
AJ nodded. "Sweetie, you've always got me, but I'm not enough. You need love. You need John Cena."
"Randy, I don't know what to do."
Randy Orton eyed his best friend and shrugged. "Dude, if you really care about her, you'll figure out what to do. Just don't give up."
"I don't plan on it."
The two men continued walking, until John stopped short. "Yo, Randy, look."
"Well there you go. Go talk to her."
John left his best friend behind and rushed to catch up to Trish. He tapped her on the shoulder, and Trish jumped.
"Hi, John."
"Hey. Hey, AJ."
AJ nodded and gave Trish a look. "I'm gonna let you guys talk. Trish, I'll meet up with you later."
Trish looked nervous, but AJ patted her on the back and walked away.
"Uhm, could we go somewhere and talk."
Trish nodded and pointed to a coffee shop across the street. They both crossed the street and walked inside, sitting down at the nearest table.
"Look, John, I'm sorry about yesterday. You just said something that made me think of Richard, and it triggered something in my mind, and I just got so scared. I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. I wish I could help you through this."
"You're great, and I really appreciate it. Thank you. I'm going to try and get through this so I can trust people more, but it's so difficult."
"I understand, I really do. I wanna help you."
Trish smiled and reached over, grabbing John's hand. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until Trish's smiled suddenly faded.
"Trish, what's the matter?"
"I, uh… it's him."
"Him who?"
"Richard."