I look at her with confusion and then it all clicked. I should've known when I saw her friends Emmah, Sonia and Jackie all here but she looked so different from that night. Her hair was straightened into a ponytail so a few strands were in her face, she had on no makeup except some pinkish-blush color on her lips, she wore a simple black tee with slits on the side, some grey leggings and all white hi-top vans. I think she finally sensed my confusion because she started talking again.

"You don't remember, that night at the -" she starts saying but I cut her off.

"I remember. You um, you just look a little different. But it's no problem, I wasn't gonna let you be out there by yourself. You seemed like you didn't want me there at the end though," I say with a laugh.

"I was just confused on what you were doing, that's all," she responds as I walked by her into the pantry and grabbed a popcorn packet to put in the microwave. I sat down at high-chair in front of the island. "But how do you know the host?"

"I'm a close family friend. And you?"

"I've been good friends with Nate since we were in high school so I had to come see his new place."

"So what you been up too for last couple of months?" As soon as she asked, the microwave went off and she grabbed the popcorn out. What I didn't expect was for her to start eating my popcorn. I gave her a confused look while having a smile on my face and she just laughed at me. She finally gave it back to me and stood on the other side of the island.

"Nothing much, just studying hard in school really and playing soccer. Just trying to finish up my last year."

"What's your major?"

"Business. I want to follow in my dad's footsteps and become CEO of the family company."

"So no soccer in the future huh?" she said while she smiled. It was so gentle and carefree like she didn't even know she was doing it.

"I thought about it but I decided not to. It's the reason I got a full scholarship to school actually. My dad would have supported me either way but the business is a guaranteed job with a good pay. Plus I like the business side of things. But what are you majoring in?"

"Psychology with a minor in family science. I know, people always look at me like I'm weird but I want to help kids who don't have the easiest life, you know?" It starts to get silent, borderline awkward. I look at her and she's just fidgeting with her hands but she finally looks back up at me. "So tell me about your dad and the rest of your family."

"Well I'm the oldest of four. I have a twin sister, a younger sister and a younger brother but I'm closest to my younger sister due to our more similar personalities. My brother is kind of a douche, he used to dated Jackie actually but that didn't turn out well."

"Ooh, what happened?" she asked all curiously. It was so cute how interested she was but I couldn't put Jackie out there like that.

"You're going to have to ask her. That is top secret," I say with my fake stern face.

"Fine," she responds in a defeated tone. "Tell me about everyone else then."

"I don't exactly get along with my twin sister but she's cool. You already know my dad is a CEO but he supports all of us in the future we decide. You would think he want us all to be in the business but he didn't really care. I mean he wanted one of us to be in it at least. And I'm really close with my mom. She taught me almost everything I know. But most importantly, she taught me to never treat someone with respect if they don't deserve it." I look up at her and she just sat there, looking happy for me that I had my whole life in track. "Sorry I'm saying a lot. Well what about your family?"

"I don't like talking about them. My parents are nowhere near as great as yours. But I should probably get back out there to the party. It was nice talking to you again though," she said with a smile. But this one wasn't as carefree, it was forced.

We walk into the living room and the party is actually over because someone got food poisoning. Everybody's walking out to the hallway except for me cause I left some of my shoes and jacket in Nate's room. Then I realized I didn't even get this girl's number. I couldn't strike out twice. I look out in the hallway and see her with her friends waiting for the elevator to come. I slightly jog to catch up to her and lightly grab her arm. She turns around and her friends follow once they see her talking to me.

"I don't mean to be forward but can I at least get your number?" I ask nervously.

"Oh sure. Just past me your phone." She hands me her phone so I can put in my contact info. "My name's Courtney but some just call me Court.

"My name's Duncan. No nicknames or anything. But see you later I guess."

"Alright, bye Duncan." She starts to walk away and turns around and waves at me. I looked down at my phone to see she put her name as Courtney with the rose emoji next to it.

I texted her the next morning, I didn't want to seem too pressed even though I was. We ended up texting all the time and started to hang out. After realizing I didn't want Angie anymore, I dropped her after a month and half after my friend's get together.

"Why are you doing this? I thought everything was going good like you're breaking my heart here." She was just crying and her mascara was running. I'm so confused to why this girl was overreacting, she didn't even know I cut other girls off.

"Look, we don't even go out. All I'm saying is, I don't want to meet up with you anymore. If I see you somewhere, I'll say hi but that's it. I mean all we were doing was having sex, nothing else. We don't talk to each other. It's not even like we even cuddle after sex. I don't know why you thought we were a couple but we're not. But I'll see you around maybe."

I just walk off and get in my car. I start driving to go meet Rosie. She became the best friend I could ever ask for. We both were very similar but very different. We both hated confrontation but when it comes down to it, she won't get physical but I may. We love our siblings but I talk to my parents and she only talks to her brother out of her whole family. We both like going out but she enjoys staying in more while I'm used to the party scene. We both like going to the movies but she hates all the scary movies I like because they give her nightmares. And the list goes on. But we did everything together. We went to the movies, bowling, out to lunch, anything you could name.

Our friends started to say we looked a little cozy together but I don't think she wanted a relationship so I kept how I felt to myself. And it was so hard cause she was so amazing. She told me I was the light in her darkness, her shoulder to lean on… her safe haven. Well that's how I translated. In her words, I became one of the few people she actually gave a fuck about. Over the months, I realized she had this whole other side to her that she showed to no one. She's one of the sweetest girls I know but has a large wall that she puts up so she comes off tough. Anyone who has a tough exterior is usually fragile on the inside.

She cried about three times in a year and I mean full on waterworks. She didn't try to say anything; she just let the tears fall. I just combed through her hair with my hand and held on to her. Everyday after it happened, she would act like she didn't just break down in my arms the day before. I would give her a questioning face but she would brush it off. She was one of the strongest people I knew, she didn't let anything get to her. So seeing her cry was so hard for me. I didn't know why she was crying and I chose not to ask. She would tell me if she wanted to.

One day, we were out at the pond, one of our spots in the park. We would come out here, eat some snacks, and just talk about life. She said she liked coming her because her mom would bring her to the pond around her house and they would feed bread to the ducks. So sometimes she would do the same. She said everyone needs a little help every now and then. I had my arm up around my neck as we just sat there and watch the scenery. There weren't many trees around so you could see most of the park. There were kids running around playing tag, a mom throwing the frisbee with her son while the dad set up the picnic, a guy running in workout clothes, this girl walking her dog and a bunch of other people. One time, she told me how she always felt safe here because it was so peaceful. She was right but not for long. This time we didn't talk, we were just enjoying each other's company. She threw the bread out to the duck, she said everyone deserves some help in life. It was one our places where we could see all of the world and just be content with our surroundings but she couldn't handle it. She just looked at me with her big brown eyes looking so empty like there was nothing left in her. She just cracked.

"I was raped."