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(tw; abuse)

Hunter

I sat patiently waiting for her to answer my question. I wasn't sure if I should even have asked, but I could tell there was more to her story and I wanted to know it all.

"It is a long story, one that I haven't told anyone, and I don't want to ruin what we have by bringing in this part of my life. I don't want you to look at me any different."

The pleading in her voice nearly broke my heart. I reached across the table, placing my hand over hers, and looked her in the eyes, "Baby I promise that nothing you say will change anything. I know we have only known each other for a month but I have never had the feelings that I have for you, and I want you to know that you can trust me. Nothing you say will ever change that."

It was a lot to confess, especially considering this was our first official date, but I needed her to know where I was at so she would feel more comfortable opening up. It seemingly worked because after taking a deep breath she gave my hand a light squeeze and continued.

"Growing up I had the perfect family, almost like those ones you see in the movies. We did everything together, and I always thought I was so lucky. The day of my thirteenth birthday my parents took me to the beach by our house for a picnic and I insisted that we get into the water for a swim. My mom was the one who offered to go in with me but the water was rougher than usual that day and the current was stronger than we realized. She got pulled under by the current and she couldn't get back to me. I remember her screams for help and she was being pulled farther and farther away from me. I tried to get the attention of my dad or a lifeguard but it was too loud and I was too little to yell over the noise. By the time that help came to rescue her, it was too late, the water had filled her lungs and she drowned."

By now there were tears streaming down Mel's face as told the story, and I myself was feeling water start to build up in my eyes. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like going through something like that, especially at such a young age, and I had no idea what to say to help make her feel better. I knew there really was nothing to say, so I stood up and walked around to her to pull her into a hug. I rubbed her back lightly and then pulled away slightly so I could look her in the eyes, encouraging her to continue when she was ready.

"It was like something broke in my dad after that. He lost the love of his life, his best friend, and he began becoming distant. It was at a time when I needed him the most, but I couldn't blame him for the way he grieved. Or at least that was what I told myself to help cope with the fact that my dad was slipping away. After a few months, I had to go back to school which helped me get back into a routine, get back to my life. Everyone told me that I would get used to my 'new normal' which I thought was bullshit, like how the hell would I get used to a world without my mother in it, but I just smiled and pretended I was okay. And after awhile it was less and less pretending and fake smiles, they became real again."

"Dad wasn't handling it well. Eventually, he lost his job when after a year he still wasn't showing up regularly and he began going to bars to occupy his time. He would come home late at night drunk and belligerent. He was never an aggressive or rude person, especially not to me, but he was no longer the man that I knew. He changed and began getting mad at everything and I was his favorite punching bag. It started as just yelling and throwing things around but soon that wasn't enough to get out his aggression and he began to grab me and hit me. I would always scream and say anything I could in an effort to get him to realize what he was doing, to realize he was hurting his little girl and come back to me, but it never worked. It usually just fueled his anger and made things worse. So I went to school as far away as possible from everything I have ever known and I am doing everything in my power to never have to go back to that place because I don't know if I could survive it again."

I pulled her into another hug as I tried to process everything she had just said to me. I was so angry at her father for hurting her in any way, she was a bright light in this world and the fact that anyone would lay a hand on her had me seeing red. But I fought the anger in an effort to not scare her.

She needed me to be there for her. She had been going through this alone for so long and I vowed to myself in that moment as I held her in my arms that I would never let her face her pain alone again.

"Mel I am so sorry," I whisper into her ear before I pulled away. We both knew that there wasn't anything I could say in this moment to change what had happened, but the small smile she offered me assured me that just listening and holding her was enough.

"I can't change what happened but I can be there for you now. I never want you to face something like that alone again. Know that I am always here for you, no matter what." I leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Thank you, Hunter, for listening and for being there for me. I know we haven't known each other long but I feel like I can trust you, like I can tell you anything."

It felt great knowing that despite our beginning and my initial lies, I had gained her trust. I wouldn't do anything again to break it.

"Come home with me for Thanksgiving." It was more of a statement than a question and I was silently pleading that she didn't object. Honestly, the thought of a week without seeing her was growing increasingly impossible to imagine, and the thought of showing her around my hometown brought an immediate smile to my face. Although my parents might have a slight heart attack, I have never actually brought a girl home before. But I was getting ahead of myself, she hadn't even said yes yet.

"I don't know, are you sure? You don't have to feel obligated or anything. I really don't mind staying alone for the week." She tried to reassure me.

"I'm not doing it because I feel like I have to, I genuinely want you to come home with me. You could meet my sister and some of the guys I used to play ball with back in high school." I would love to show her off, she was gorgeous and all of the guys would surely be jealous, but of course, I left that part out. "And we would have a whole week away from all of the school and sports and frat bullshit that is here. Just a week of you and me."

I hoped it sounded as good to her as it did to me, and after a moment of thought, she responded confirming just that, "It does sound pretty nice. I guess I'm in."

thank you all so much for the support so far! please make sure to continue to vote and comment your thoughts, i would love to know what you all think! i also just published the prologue of my new book so please please please go check it out, it would truly mean the world to me!!