Lucas

From that day on, I could finally call Riley my girlfriend, and I couldn't be happier. When the man, who turned out to be called Nick was hitting me, I wasn't too fazed. All I had to do was focus on the thought of Riley, or at least, for a day or so. It changed on Monday night. School that morning and afternoon was great. I had hung around Riley, we just enjoyed each other's company. We even stole a kiss or too. Although, Mr. Matthews was not too pleased with me. He kept on shooting me death glares, making me slightly uneasy. If this is what I had to endure is I wanted to date Riley, than so be it. Riley makes up for it infinite times over. Tonight though, was different. Somehow, Nick found out about Riley, and he wanted to make me pay for it. He stormed into the apartment, and started shouting, "You no good son of a bitch! Who do you think you are? Sneaking around like that! I'm willingly to bet that the girl you're dating is only with you out of pity! Who would want to be with a no good nothing like you? If anything, you're holding her back!"

That certainly hit home. Riley is better off without me. Nick began hitting me, whipping me with his belt, and kicking my limbs. During it all, he was screaming insults such as: 'worthless,' 'nothing,' 'a waste of space,' 'go kill yourself,' 'cut deeper.' Through it all, my mother just watched him, her expression stone cold, not showing any emotion what so ever. I felt cold tears slid down my cheeks, and I pretended to black out. When I did, a gruff voice grunted and I heard two pairs of footsteps fading away. Silently crying, I picked up my knife and placed the cold blade against my skin. Just as I was about to pushed it in, Riley's voice echoed in my mind, 'No! Lucas, this isn't you! This isn't the Lucas I fell in love with.' When I flashed back to this, I instantly stopped. Riley would hate me doing this, so I obviously can't. I guess she saved me. Again.

Riley

The next few days at school, I noticed something extremely off about Lucas. He had barely noticeable bruises. Only I spotted them, because as embarrassing as it is, I kind of stare at Lucas sometimes. As well, when I hugged him, he winced in pain. What's going on? Worried about him, I went to talk to him. I masked the worry in my voice, "Hey, I was thinking we could hang out today. Central Park?"

He flashed his beautiful smile, and I melted under his gaze. "Of course," He said, "Anything for my girl."

"So I'm YOUR girl now, am I?"

"Yes, you are." As he said this, he teased me by touching my nose with his finger, and yelling, "BOOP!"

"Please! Don't remind me! That was the worst day?"

"Really? BOOP! BOOP!" Together, we walked through the halls to first period, otherwise known as Daddy's class. Oh boy. Daddy has been giving Lucas a hard time ever since we started going out. He even set a ton of ground rules:

1. Curfew of 9:00, no later

2. I'm not allowed to stay at his house overnight and vice versa

3. No sex until marriage

4. No PDA in front of him or Auggie

Honestly, the only hard one to keep is number three. It's not like I want to have sex with him now, not for at least a few years, but marriage? That's too far a stretch.

Later that day, we both met at the bench, a place we designated as out spot. I guess I must have been shivering because Lucas took his jacket and placed it on my shoulders. Surprised, I spoke, "Oh, Lucas you don't have to give me your jacket."

He just smiled and replied, "But you're cold. I can't have my princess being cold now can I?" Grinning like a maniac, I hugged him again. Without his jacket, I could feel wetness seeping through the fabric and onto my hands.

Pulling away, I stared at them, and saw only blood. What's going on? I asked Lucas the same question.

Nervously he said, "Nothing. I'm alright."

With a glare, I scoffed, "Nothing? I beg to differ! Blood! Lucas, tell me what's going on. What's a relationship if there's no trust?"

Finally, he relented. "My parents got divorced a year ago, so my mom and I moved out to here from Texas. A few weeks ago, she brought home Nick, and said that he was my new step-father. Nick has been beating me for days, and he once even brought someone to help him, a man named Ethan. Yesterday, he found out that we were dating, and was harsher than ever. He punched harder, and shouted insults."

By this point, I was crying, "I didn't know that us being together would bring this!"

"No! This is not your fault. Besides, being with you this past week, is the best week I've ever lived. Despite everything, I can't live without you. You're the air that I breathe, you're everything to me. You are more than worth it."

"We need to tell someone. Live with me for a while. I'm sure that if we tell my parents they won't mind."

"We... Alright, anything for you, Riles."

Maya

Sundance was acting really weird today, and Riley was worried out of her mind. I'm so glad they're together, but what I showed Jason still haunts me. What if Riley finds out? She'd kill me! Well, at least Lucas and Riley are a couple. Although, they are a sickly type of cute. I'm also worried that I'll lose my best friend to boys. I can't lose Riley, she's my one true friend, and the only one that knows about my situation. I guess I should just watch it play out.

I'm still counting down the days until my date with Joshua. Friday just can't come soon enough, now can it?

Farkle

After dinner, I walked Smackle home. Along the way, we just talked, and made idle chit chat. One thing was on my mind the whole time, and I could tell that it was on Isadora's too. When we reached her front step, I went for it. I pressed a soft kiss on her mouth, said, "Goodnight, my love," and left. I felt like I was flying.