I woke up from a loud noise coming from my room. My eyes widened from the sound. Still in a sleepy state i rubbed my eyes and looked around to see what had woken me up. I saw that my books had fallen down from my nightstand. I shrugged. I probably knocked them over in my sleep.

I glanced around my room, not really sure where Ava was. I stepped out of bed and quickly put shorts and a t-shirt on before making my way to the living room.

As I walked into the living room I could feel a cool breeze pleasantly hitting my face. Rays of sun greeting me as i slowly started to really wake up.

I didn't take me long to notice Ava sitting on my balcony. Her hair was messy and she was wearing the t-shirt i had given her the night before. A tingly sensation entered my stomach at the sight of her on my balcony. Her glasses were sat on the tip of her nose as she was reading the book I had accidentally left on the kitchen counter yesterday. With a cigarette in one hand and a book in the other she finally noticed my presence.

I walked up to the balcony and a sweet smile greeted me.

"Good morning sunshine." She said.

"Good morning." I replied, trying to sound alive when in fact I was still way too tired to function.

Her hand reached for mine and she tapped on her lap, ordering me to sit down.

I threw one leg over hers so I could sit down on her lap facing her. She put her hands around my waist and leaned in for a kiss. My tiredness instantly faded away when her lips pressed against mine.

"Better?" She asked. "Much better." I grinned.

Waking up to Ava felt comfortable. It felt so natural it almost made me forget she is my teacher. I looked at her in awe, not being able to take my eyes off of her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing, you're just so beautiful."

Her cheeks colored pink and a slight smile appeared on her face. "Don't be silly."

I laughed and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "What time do you have to leave for school?" I asked her.

"In 20 minutes." She said, sounding annoyed. "I'd rather stay here with you, but duty calls. When do you start?"

"I start at 10 today so I get to hang out here a little longer." I replied.

"Lucky bastard." She stood up from the chair. "I'm gonna quickly get ready."

I took her place as she walked inside. I lit up a cigarette and stared at the flower field underneath me. It was a beautiful day and right now I couldn't help but feel on top of the world. I had everything I wanted and nothing was going to stop me.

An hour went by and Ava had already left for school. I couldn't wait to see Sam and David later. I couldn't wait to tell them all about what had happened yesterday, they were gonna love it and I knew I could trust them with my life. I decided to text Sam if she wanted to ride to school together.

R: Hi babe, wanna ride to school together? It's been a while i miss you

Almost immediately my phone buzzed.

S: Yessss! I'll come pick you up in 30.

I smiled and made my way to the bathroom. I did my hair and put on some make-up and called it a day. I couldn't be bothered to put too much effort in my appearance today.

The bell rang. I checked my phone to check the time. That must be Sam, I thought to myself. It was a little too early but i wasn't expecting anyone else.

I opened the door. "Hi S-" I immediately stopped talking when i saw who was standing in front of me. My heart sank to my stomach and my heart beat sped up. I gulped and it took everything in me to find the courage to get a word out.

"Why are you here, James?"

"Aren't you happy to see me?" He asked with a grin on his face.

"James, please lea-"

"It's rude not to invite your guests in Rachel." He pushed me to the side and walked inside without a word. My whole body froze, not knowing what to do. Why was he here?

I slowly followed him to the living room. "Why are you here?" I asked.

He grinned. "So you've got a girlfriend now huh?"

"What? No." I replied.

"Don't lie to me." He said in a snarky tone. "I saw you two last night. How old even is she?"

"None of your business." I softly said, hoping he wouldn't hear what came out of my mouth.

He raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"I-i don't know why you're here but Sam is coming to pick me up in a bit, so you have to leave."

He laughed. "You're not going anywhere. Text Sam you're sick."

"I can't do that."

"Sure you can." He said. He grabbed my phone from the counter and texted Sam. I looked at him

in disbelief. I was scared. I didn't know why he was here and why he was acting this way. I looked up to him still trying to work my phone. My eyes drifted to his eyes and then I saw it. His pupils were dilated, I could barely see his original eye color, it was just black. Tears filled my eyes. He was on drugs, and God knows what he was capable of now.

He put my phone down and turned his attention back to me. "I spend a week in prison you know, I just got out." He moved closer to me.

I held my breath. "What did you do?"

"Nothing serious, I beat someone up."

I couldn't bring myself to form a sentence. "Oh."

He moved even closer to me and put his hand on my thigh. "You want to know why I did it?"

I just looked at him, unable to say something, too scared to upset him.

"Because of you. You're cheating on me Rachel. You're breaking my heart. You belong to me and no one else." He looked sad. "I'm not the same without you. I need you. Don't you remember how good I was to you? The good times we had? I love you so much and I know you want to be with me."

"James, i've moved on and you need to-"

He held his finger to my lips. "Shhh, don't speak."

I gulped. Fear had taken over.

"You need to come home with me and ditch that girlfriend of yours. She's no good for you."

"But I love her."

"You love me, not her."

"James, please go, I'm not gonna leave her."

He abruptly stood up, making me jump. He looked angry, evil, I couldn't tell. Without saying a word he grabbed his phone from his pocket.

"I really hoped i didn't have to do this Rachel. I love you but you're leaving me no choice."

My eyes widened and my heart rate went up as he turned his phone so i could see what was displayed.

He showed me a bunch of pictures and videos of me naked and us having sex. My face turned red. It was beyond embarrassing to see myself like that. I was creeped out to my very core. Not only did i not know these videos were taken, I also didn't know why he even had those to begin with.

"Why do you have these and what are you gonna do with them?" I asked with a shaky voice.

He laughed. "That's up to you baby. Ditch that girlfriend of yours and come with me, or you can soon find those videos and pictures online. It's your choice."

I couldn't help but cry. Why was he doing this to me? After months of enduring abuse from him i had finally gathered the courage to leave. It took everything I had in me to leave and now we were back at square one. He still had power over me and now I had to choose between him or Ava. I didn't know what to do. I wanted nothing more than to be with Ava and we were finally getting there, but I couldn't risk those videos getting posted online. It would ruin everything.

"If I come with you, you won't leak those videos?" I asked.

"Of course not baby." He replied.

I sighed and took a deep breath. I didn't want to have to make this decision, but i knew for my own safety I had no choice.

"Ok, I'll come with you."

"Good girl." He replied. "I'm doing this because I love you. I don't want to hurt you, you know that right?"

I nodded. "I know."

He pulled me in for a kiss. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something else. I tried to picture Ava kissing me. Her soft lips on mine, her warm hands on my body, her touch meaning no harm. It worked because for a second I forgot I was kissing James.

"I need you to do one thing for me." James said.

"What is it?"

"Delete the girls number."

I gulped. "What girl?" I asked, knowing all too well who he was talking about.

"The girl you were fucking last night."

"Is that really necessary?"

He pointed to his phone, reminding me of everything he has against me. "Yes."

"Okay, I'll delete the number." I said, holding out my hand, waiting for him to give me my phone.

"I'll do it for you, what's her name?"

"Oh, it's fine, I can-"

"Rachel, what's her name?"

I sighed. "Ava."

He opened my phone and looked for her name. "Oh, I see she texted you asking where you are."

My cheeks turned pink. "Can I reply one last time?" I asked.

"Oh don't worry, her number is already deleted." He said with a smile on his face.

My heart sank to my stomach. Just like that, the person I was so madly in love with was removed from my life. I had no choice, i felt completely powerless. I didn't know how I was gonna face her at school tomorrow.

"Grab some clothes, I've booked us a hotel for a few days." James said.

"But I have school this week, exams are coming up."

He smiled. "You're a smart girl, you can miss a few days of school."

Without talking back I just nodded. There was no way I was going to get out of this, so I obeyed him and grabbed some clothes from my room and put them in a bag. I stared at myself in the mirror. As happy and lively I looked this morning, as empty and miserable I looked now. Every time I experienced some sort of happiness it got taken away from me just as quickly. Maybe happiness just wasn't for me, I thought to myself. Maybe I didn't deserve to be happy.

"I'm ready." I said to James. I stood in front of the living room, feeling smaller than ever.

"Good." He said

"Can I have my phone?" I asked him.

"You don't need it now." He just said in a firm tone.

I sighed. "Okay."

"Grab your car keys." He said. "I don't have a car yet."

"Right." I said. I got my keys and gave them to him.

"Do I have to drive?" I asked.

"No I got it." He said.

I nodded. I didn't remember him even having a drivers license but I couldn't care enough anymore.

I sat down in the passenger seat of my own car. He started the car and drove off. I turned my head to the side, resting against the window. I watched as we passed trees, animals, people, flowers, buildings, hoping for something, anything to get me out of this situation. But nothing. I closed my eyes, hoping this was just a bad dream. Please, I thought to myself, let this be a bad dream.

There was a time he loved her.

Now it's clear there's nothing there.

He walks around so flippantly

With no interest or a care.

He's a narcissistic bully

Who rubs her wounds with salt.

He degrades, destroys and disregards

Without a guilty thought.

But she fears he'll never let her go

And she knows he'll never change.

Promises are made and broken

But his cruelty still remains.

(Poem NOT written by me)

—————————————————————

as always, thanks for the support!!!! make sure to vote and comment (if you want ofcourse, it just helps me a lot) 💗💗 much love