NaNoWriMo Day 10
February 4th, 93 total days till graduation, 74 days left of school
“Mom, it’s from cheer earlier today. I took a really hard fall from the top of the pyramid.”
Mom looks at me skeptically. I understand why to a certain extent. I do end up with a lot of bruises. And while I know she knows what they’re really from I keep insisting that they’re from cheer. Tyler is always really sorry for hurting me. He always apologizes and buys me gifts to show me just how sorry he is.
“Melissa, you have a giant bruise all across your eye,” she grabs my face and I flinch at the touch. “And your actual eye is all red.”
“I told you, I fell.” It’s not that I’m ashamed that Tyler hits me. I understand that if I didn’t do things to piss him off then he wouldn’t have to do those things in the first place. But I love him so much and I know that I’ll never be able to find anyone that loves me as much as him so I always forgive him.
He didn’t hit me when we first started dating. But once, about eight months into our relationship, he saw one of his football friends talking to me after cheer practice and he thought that I was cheating on him. I guess I was acting suspicious too, secretive with some of my calls and such. Of course I wasn’t cheating. I would never cheat on Tyler. But he thought I was lying and so he had hit me.
But when I started to cry and adamantly continued to deny it he told me that he was sorry and he believed me. We kissed and made love and afterward he held me tight and told me that he was so sorry he didn’t believe me. He’s always been sort of jealous though so he’s thought that I was cheating on more than one occasion.
I head up the stairs wanting to escape the look on her face. I know what she thinks. She thinks I’m a victim. But I’m not. I’m just in love. In my health class last semester they talked about battered women. My best friend at the time tried talking to me about it but she wouldn’t listen to my explanation. I hate being looked at as the victim and so the two of us are no longer on speaking terms. Ever since then Tyler has literally been my entire life.
Mom ends up calling me down to dinner about half an hour later. I walk into the kitchen and my younger sister Tess immediately gasps. “Mel, what happened to your face?”
I cringe. It can’t really be that obvious, can it? I haven’t looked at myself in the mirror yet but I’m going to have to do quite a lot of fancy make up work tomorrow.
“Go on, lie to your sister,” my mom hisses setting a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table.
I ignore her. “I fell off the top of your pyramid and hit my eye on a girl’s elbow.”
“It looks really bad.”
“Yeah, I’m well aware,” I reply.
After helping Mom with the dishes I head straight to my bathroom and look at the mirror. Fuck. This one’s going to be hard to cover. The bridge of my nose has turned a deep purple and the skin underneath my eye is a sickly yellow closest to my eye and farther from my eye is that same deep purple. My actual eye is bright red. A blood vessel must have burst or something. It hurts but it looks worse than it really is.
As if on cue I receive a text message from Tyler. I’m so sorry baby. You okay?
Im ok. Moms asking questions though.
Shes always asking questions.
I don’t want to go against Tyler exactly but I do want to defend my mom. It does look bad.
I know baby. And Im so sorry. Make it up 2 u?
How?
He doesn’t respond and I decide not to press the subject. Even if he does nothing, I’ve already forgiven him.
February 5th, 92 total days till graduation, 73 days left of school
I hear something knocking on my window very early morning and I groggily roll over so I can see the window. Tyler’s squatting in the planter box just outside the window. He smiles and motions for me to open the window. I climb out of bed, open the window and unlatch the screen so that he can climb in. He clambers in knocking the lamp off my nightstand in the process. It clatters to the floor.
“Shhhh!” I immediately say scooping my lamp off of the floor. We both stand silently for a moment waiting to make sure that it hasn’t woken anyone else in the house up. “What are you doing here?” I finally hiss.
“Making it up to you,” he whispers back. He runs his fingers along the edge of my bruise that is apparently highly visible even in moonlight. “I’m so sorry, Melissa. Forgive me?”
“Of course!” I breathe.
He kisses me on the forehead, down my right temple and cheek then across my jaw line. “I love you Mellissa. I promise I won’t hurt you again.” He lays down on the bed and pats the spot next to him.
“Tyler, my parents are home,” I protest.
He pulls me down on the bed beside him. “Not sex, baby. I just want to spend the night with you.”
“But my parents are home,” I repeat.
“We’ll set your alarm and I’ll be out of here before your parents even wake up.” He nuzzles my neck. “Please baby. I want to spend the night with you to show you how sorry I am.” This is a new one. Normally he just buys me a gift. Maybe he really does mean that he’s going to stop this time.
I snuggle into him. “What time should I set the alarm for?”
“Your parents usually let you sleep in right? So they won’t check on you early?”
I shake my head.
“Then seven should be fine.”
“But is it even worth it?” I ask glancing at the clock. It’s already almost 3 am. He leans over me to set the alarm before realizing that he has to climb out of bed to strip. He motions for me to do the same. I shimmy out of my night shirt but decide to leave on m panties. He smiles at my modesty then climbs into bed and pulls me close to him.
We fall asleep spooning; one of his hands wrapped behind my neck the other resting on my left boob. He traces small circles around my nipples until we both finally drift into sleep.
I wake up to the glaring sun through my window and my dad calling my name. Tyler’s body is still draped over mine. “Shit,” I say as I shove his arm off of me and rush to get dressed.
“Melissa!” I hear my dad shout again and I can tell it’s from the stairs this time.
I glance at the clock. It’s almost nine. I’m not sure why we didn’t wake up to the alarm but clearly it didn’t work. I shake Tyler to wake him up. He groans but doesn’t make any real movement. So I throw on my night shirt and run to the door.
“Yeah Dad?” I ask opening the door enough to squeeze through and then quickly shut it behind me.
Dad is in his golf outfit, he usually goes golfing on Saturdays with some of his office buddies. His face is bright red and he looks as though he’s about to blow a gasket. “Why is Tyler’s car out front?”
Shit. I stare blankly for a second before deciding that I should just pretend that I don’t know what she’s talking about, “What?”
“You heard me. Tyler’s car is parked in the driveway. Your dumbass boyfriend blocked me in so I couldn’t go golfing,” he says very loudly, then much quieter but far more threatening, “Melissa, tell me why Tyler’s car is in the driveway. Now.”
“He came to visit?” I don’t mean to phrase it like a question but it sure sounds like one. My dad jumps on that right away.
“Is that a question or an answer?”
“An answer,” I barely whisper.
Dad pushes past me and throws open the door. There’s Tyler, butt naked digging through a pile of clothes for his boxers. Dad screams and charges into the room. I can’t even understand most of what he’s saying but I’m sure he’s threatening his life and possibly the lives of his future children.
“Dad!” I rush after him and grab his arm but he just shakes me off and I fall into the door frame.
“What the fuck are you doing in my house?” he rages grabbing hold of Tyler and shoving him onto the bed. “You think you can just use my daughter any fucking time you want? You think she’s just some common slut? I swear to God you’ll never be able to violate another girl again you little son of a bitch.”
“Daddy, no!” And then I think of it, the only thing that could possibly be a good explanation for this. “We’re getting married!” I shout above him.
Dad falls silent and for a moment I think it’s worked. He gets quiet and stands still. Tyler scrambles off the bed and grabs hold of his jeans and pulls them on even though he’s still boxerless. “Excuse me?” Dad says in barely a whisper. He turns slowly to look at me. “What did you say?”
“We’re getting married!” The look on my Dad’s face frightens me and so I start to ramble. “He already bought me a ring. And we’re going to wait until we’re both done with school…” but nothing other than my initial statement seems to sink in.
The color is completely gone from his face and he’s shaking harder than he was before he entered the room.
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