"Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive."

- Josephine Hart –

Marley looked out her car window at the dark house in front of her. She'd parked here before, in this same exact spot, but this time it felt different. It was different. Normally she had a smile on her face and pep in her step. This time, she had an apology planned out masked with a lot of begging. She'd originally planned on blaming Ryder because he was the one who caught her off guard. But now as she thought back to their conversation, she realized she couldn't do that.

With a sigh, she climbed out of her car and made her way up the familiar walkway being careful not to step on anything that may break. Toys littered the path and she felt like a soldier trying to avoid landmines. When she reached the door, she tapped on it gently. He was going to answer. He had to answer. His mom was at work and his dad was off somewhere else trying his best to avoid child support payments. The only other person old enough to answer the door was Jake.

Within seconds the door opened and a groan escaped his lips. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"I'm really sorry." Marley mumbled, pulling a little tub of his favorite ice cream from her purse. Chowing down on ice cream was their thing and had been since the night she fainted on stage. He wanted to show her that it didn't matter if she was fat even if at the moment she was skinny. She'd always be beautiful to him. So he bought her ice cream and put on a movie and now it was tradition. "I know you don't believe me but it's true."

His eyes scanned her being and she felt herself shiver under his gaze. A smirk played at his lips before he finally broke into a grin. Reaching forward, he grabbed her hand and dragged her into the house. Before she knew it, she was being pushed up against a wall and his lips were on hers.

It was spontaneous, like the kiss with Ryder had been, and she loved it. Although Ryder's kiss had been far less forceful and it didn't hurt as much as Jake's, it made her smile that Jake cared enough to surprise her this way. Ryder had put his hand on her neck to support her head. Jake's hands were currently wandering her body as if he was looking for gold. Maybe he was. Either way, it made Marley uncomfortable and she had to push him away, much to his disappointment.

"Come on, Marley." Jake groaned, rolling his head back as if she had just caused him the deepest pain he'd ever felt. She wasn't sure why but to her he seemed far more disappointed now than he did when she told him Ryder had kissed her. "How long are we going to have to wait for this?"

She hated how complicated she seemed to make things. First she led Ryder on. Then she broke Jake's heart and now she seemed to be breaking it all over again. Why was she so selfish? Why couldn't she just give in to instincts and let Jake explore her body? She wasn't sure why but the thought alone made her shiver and she began rubbing her arms slightly.

"I just- I want to wait a little longer." She mumbled biting her lip as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Marley," Jake sighed, reaching out to cup her face lovingly. She relaxed into his touch and smiled against his palm. "You love me, don't you?" When she nodded, he continued. "Kissing Ryder doesn't prove that."

Marley rolled her eyes and sighed, throwing one of her hands on the top of her head so she could rub her hair to avoid screaming. "I've apologized for that."

He approached her again and bent down so his lips were almost touching hers. "Show me how sorry you are."

"Jake, I-I…" She started to protest but his lips were already attacking hers. At first she managed to convince herself that she was just being stubborn. This is normal. Feeling nervous is normal. Jake loved her; he wouldn't hurt her. But as his hands started to roam her body and find their way to the button of her pants, her nerves got the best of her. She twisted her face to the side so his lips were no longer on her lips, but instead on her neck. "Jake, stop. I don't want to do this right now."

"Sh..." He whispered against her skin. She was relieved when one of his hands stopped playing at her jeans, but instead of backing away from her, he used it to turn her face back towards him. "It'll be over soon."

She lost the ability to breathe. She couldn't even scream. The only thing she could do was cry as his fingers managed to force her jeans towards he ankles. As he refocused on her underwear this time, she tried one last time to get him off of her. Her arms were weak and he didn't listen to her words, so there was only one thing left to do. With one swift kick of her legs, he keeled over giving her the room to pull her pants back up to her waist.

"Fucking bitch." Jake spat as he glared up at her from the floor. Her face softened and she instantly felt bad for the position she put him in. Was she just being stubborn? Overreacting? But before she could apologize, he was up on his feet with a look of pure anger on his face. "You think that's funny?"

"N-no. I-I was just… I asked you to stop." She whispered helplessly as he pinned her to the wall again. "You wouldn't.. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" He repeated, his tone dry and dangerously low. "I'll show you how it feels to be sorry."

She barely had enough time to scrunch her eyebrows in confusion before his palm collided with her cheek. Instinctively, she moved her hand to her face in an attempt to cool her skin down. It was burning. As she looked at him with wide eyes, she watched his face transform from that of anger to that of regret. But before she could hear his apologies, she was out the door and running towards her car.

She didn't know what had happened, but she didn't like it. What had she done to deserve that?

X X X

The chapters will get a little longer than this one; I just thought that this was a good place to stop. Thanks for reading and please keep reviewing!

Love, Kaylie