Flashback:
I was walking towards the bus stop, by book bag over my shoulder, and earbuds for my IPod in my ears. I was subconsciously walking which isn't very good for me knowing I would probably fall. I was almost at the bus stop when someone tapped my shoulder. My heart skipped a beat. I turned around to face Preston. We had been going out for six months now. He still hit me after the party. Nothing changed at all, except that on special occasions he hit me longer. He was just a sick, sadistic, hormonal bastard. I pulled my earbud out so I could hear him.
"Let's go to dinner tonight. Then you can come over to my house. My dad's going to be home. You should meet him. I'm sure he'll love you."
Okay. So he was being Mr. Nice Guy today.
"Well I kinda have to make supper for my mom tonight," I said, hoping he wouldn't get mad.
"Okay, well, we can go to your house and you can make supper then we can go out," he stated.
"All right. What time will you be over?" I questioned.
"You could just come with me right now," he suggested.
"Sure," I said. I liked Preston when he was like this. But it doesn't happen often. I got into his black Lamborghini and sat my book bag on the floor.
After I made supper for my mom, we headed off to eat somewhere. Preston asked what I wanted, but I thought since he was in a good mood I would let him decide. He decided to go to Red Robins. I didn't complain because it was one of my favorites.
Once we got there, we started talking. The subject ranged between school, sports, T.V. shows, and my favorite… music. His favorite was Screamo/Emo/Hard core music (whichever you want to call it), while my favorite is a mix of everything from soft rock, pop, a little bit of country, and a little bit of classic rock. The thing we both agreed on was that rap sucked. I mean what's the point in rapping? It's not that great. They don't go on tour or anything.
It's weird how much I'm enjoying myself, especially with Preston.
"Okay, so what's your favorite T.V. show?" I questioned him.
"Um… wow this is hard. But, I guess I'd have to say… um... Lost, I guess," he replied. "I mean, I don't watch a lot of T.V. It's mostly sports. What about you?"
"Well, probably Supernatural," I answered back.
"What in the world is that?"
"You would laugh at me."
"Oh, come on," he prodded.
"Fine. Two brothers go around the U.S. hunting these supernatural creatures. One brother keeps dying and coming back to life though," I said, giving in.
"Wow," was all he said as he chuckled a bit.
I put on my best sad face and looked away. He leaned over the table and grabbed my chin. I flinched at his touch. I guess he felt it because his hand dropped. His eyes fell downcast as he said sorry. Wow. Something changed him. If he was always like this I think I could actually like him.
I grabbed his hand on the table and held it in mine. This is something new. He gave my hand a squeeze, but dropped it once our food came. My stomach growled whenever I saw my food, so I grabbed my fork and dug into my Caesar Salad. Preston watched me eat for a minute then laughed and grabbed his fork.
"What?" I questioned.
"Nothing," he replied with a smirk.
"I don't believe you," I stated with a sarcastic smile.
The check came an hour later and Preston gladly paid for it. I stood up to leave, put my jacket on, and headed towards the door before Preston. He quickly caught up, and grabbed my hand. For once, I didn't refuse. We walked hand and hand to his car. Once we were about six feet away from the car he broke our hands apart. He ran and opened my door bowing saying, "My Lady." I laughed with a joyous smile on my face.
"Thank you, Romeo. I couldn't survive without you," I said in a sarcastic way.
"I know," was his cocky reply.
My phone started vibrating in my pocket.
"Hello," I answered. "Oh,hey Kenzie. No I can't. I'm going to Preston's house tonight," I replied after she asked if I wanted to come over. "Maybe some other day. Okay, love you, bye." I quickly hung up.
We got out of the car and made our way up the front porch steps toward the door. Preston led the way and opened the door.
"Dad, we're home!" Preston yelled throughout the house.
"Whose we?" a husky voice replied.
"Bella, dad, don't you remember me talking about her? She's my girlfriend," he questioned.
"Oh, yeah," the voice replied coming closer towards the kitchen. His body finally emerged through the door. He was tall, about 6'4. He had a blondish-gray hair color. Now I know where Preston got his blonde hair.
"Hello. I'm James Blake," he said [politely, but for some reason it freaked me out.
"Hi… Bella," I introduced myself.
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you," he replied.
"Yes, you too."
As he walked towards the door he stumbled a bit before he fell.
"Oh, goodness, are you okay?" I asked him as I went by his side.
"Let me get up on my own, you poor, condescending bitch!" he roared.
I could smell the alcohol on his breath. As he stood up he pushed me back a bit. I didn't notice, but my eyes were wide open because of the shock. I watched him leave the room before I heard a voice behind me.
"Breathe, Bella," he demanded. I let out a huge gust of air that I had been holding in.
"Look, Bellsys, I'm sorry about that. I should have warned you about him."
"It's okay."
"Why don't we go upstairs? I have another living room up there," he suggested. I just shrugged my shoulders.
After we were settled and watching 'The Real World', he started telling me a story.
"You know, Bella, my dad wasn't always like that. An alcoholic, I meant. The reason behind it is that when my mom died in a car wreck my dad was devastated. He turned to the bottle as his only option. About seven months later, on my mom's birthday, he went to work drunk. His boss could tell. My dad was a lawyer and he wasn't winning any of his cases. So the guy fired him. He didn't get a job until about two years ago. So our only income was from me. I worked two different jobs: I cut grass and worked at Barnes and Noble. But that wasn't much It was hard to live with him during those years. You know he used to hit me if the team lost a game. He would say the only way I could go to college is if it was from a sports scholarship. That's why I'm in so many sports."
It broke my heart to listen to his story, but I was still confused why, if he knows what it's like to be abused, he still hits me. I guess I'll never know.