Katy's POV
It's New Year's Eve, Anthony asked me to spend it with him and his mom. I obligated, because I didn't want to make him angry again. It seems like that's all I can do. He's beaten me a couple more times since the first time. I feel bad lyin' to Bobby Jo and my parents, but if I tell, God only knows what he'd do.
"Hey Ma," he said when we walked in. "This is Katy."
"Nice to finally meet you," she said. "My name's Carmela."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Johnson," I said, shaking her hand.
"It's Ms. Johnson," she said. "And you can call me Carmela."
"Oh, well it's really nice to meet you, Carmela," I said.
"Anthony, can you go get Katy, here, a soda from the fridge?"
"Fine," he said. He got up and left the room.
She looked back at me.
"What grade are you in, Katy?"
"I'm a sophomore," I said. "I'm sixteen."
She sighed, "He's always liked younger ones," she said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"How many girlfriends has he had, if you don't mind me asking?"
"From the age of thirteen, nine, including you," she said. "Does he treat you right?"
Nine?" I asked. "Wow."
"How does Anthony treat you?"
"Fine," I said. "Why?"
"Well, there's a reason he's had nine girlfriends in five years," she said. "I just want to know how he's treating you."
"He gets really mad a lot," I said.
"He's always had a temper," she said. "He refused to go to anger management classes when he was younger." She looked me in the eyes. "If my son is mistreating you, you should leave him." I looked down.
"What you talkin' about?" Anthony asked. We looked over, and he was standing in the entryway, holding two sodas, one of them was open.
"Nothing," I lied. He handed me the open soda. We heard the timer go off.
"Can you help me get the food out of the oven, Katy?" Carmela asked me.
"Sure."
I followed her into the kitchen.
"Get a different pop," she said.
"Why?"
"How much has he told you about himself?"
"Not much—That he's an only child, that he likes football," I said.
I got another drink, and she poured the other one down the sink.
"He's been to juvie, once," she said, taking the pizza's out of the oven.
"For what?"
"I think you may know the answer to that," she said. He hit other girls, I thought.
"The reason he's only been once is because this community believes he's an angel sent from Heaven because he helps around the town and acts polite," she said. "If he mistreats you, leave him." She started cutting the pizza. "Does he mistreat you in any way?"
Anthony appeared in the entryway. He was staring me down. He had to have heard her.
"No," I lied. He went back to the living room. "I'm going to the living room."
I walked back to the living room.
"What did she tell you?!" Anthony questioned me, taking hold of my wrist.
"What did you put in my drink?!" I questioned back at him. I know that I'll pay for it later but I need to know. "Your mom had me get a new one, what did you put in it?"
"Don't you talk to me like that!" He told me angrily. "What did that hag tell you?"
"How dare you talk about your own mother like that!" I said. He gripped my wrist tighter. "She told me that you went to juvie." I admitted. "Did you try to drug me?"
"We're leaving," he said.
"No, I want to stay," I told him. I pulled his grip away from my wrist.
"We're going back to my place," he said.
"I don't want to," I said.
"Mom, we're going to celebrate at my place," he said.
"Anthony, if Katy wants to stay, she can, whether or not you're staying."
"Thank you, Carmela, but I'll be going back with him," I said.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yes," I said, actually unsure. "I'll be fine."
"Then take some pizza with you," she said. She already had a Ziploc filled.
"Thank you," I said.
We left and went back to his place. The whole time he was driving, he was yelling at me. When we got to his place, he told me to go inside. I did and he shut the door behind us. I sat down on the couch and didn't say a word.
"Stand up," he said. I stood up. He walked up to me and looked at me with anger.
"Can you please take me home?" I asked with tears in my eyes.
"No," he said, bluntly. He shoved me to the ground. "After I'm done with you, you'll cover up everything and walk home."
"Please, Anthony," I pleaded. "I'm sorry."
He lifted up my chin, slowly, then punched me in the face.
"This is your," he kicked me in the side, "fault. You should have kept quiet when I left the room."
"You took me to meet her," I told him. "Of course I'd talk to her."
"She told you to leave me!" He said.
"Maybe…" I started, lifting myself up, "Maybe I should."
I was thrown into the wall.
"And go to who?" He asked. "No one would ever love you. I'm the best you can get!"
I started crying. He's right, I thought. I stayed there, sitting up against the wall, where there was now a dent.
"Look at me," he said. I looked up. He started punching me all over. I tried to block the blows, but eventually gave up and took it.
After he was done, he got a wet washcloth and wiped the blood off of my lip. He sat next to me.
"Come here," he said, holding his arms out for a hug. I didn't resist. "I love you," he said. "You just need to stop provoking me. We're going to be happy."
I just stared forward with a blank expression. I'm defeated, I'm stuck.