“Stay away from me, JT,” I demanded, looking at him in disgust.
He chuckled and twirled a piece of my hair before leaning down to sniff it. “I don’t think I will,” he whispered.
What in the world is wrong with this guy? That’s it! No more! I made a decision and just needed to bide my time until Seth got back from the bathroom. Then I’d tell him all about his best bud. I knew he wouldn’t take it very well, and JT might get hurt but all I was worried about was getting out of there.
“Katie, what are you doing?” Seth’s voice boomed behind me, making me jump.
I turned to look at him. “Fighting off your best friend. He sniffed my hair.” I said, my voice rising with every word.
Seth’s face darkened and his eyes narrowed as he turned his harsh gaze to JT. “Don’t look at me, bro. It was her. She was hitting on me,” JT insisted, hands up in front of him.
“You’re a liar! I would never hit on you,” I yelled, leaning away from him.
Seth reached over the back of the couch and grabbed me by the hair. I screamed, my hands flying to his wrist as he yanked me back against the couch, pulling my face close to his.
“Don’t ever talk to my friend like that again. Do you understand?” he growled.
I heard JT’s laughter as I nodded as best I could with my hair pulled so tightly. He finally released me, and I slumped into the corner of the couch and began to cry. He came around, sat down beside me and pulled me against him. I tried to resist, but he held me even tighter.
“I’m sorry I hurt you. I just get so mad when I think of another guy touching you. Please forgive me.” I couldn’t answer him as my tears soaked his shirt.
He took me home later that night and kissed me gently before I climbed out of the jeep. “I love you,” he said, and looked at me expectantly.
I tried to smile, but my cheeks felt frozen in place. “I love you too,” I whispered but wasn’t sure if I meant it. I didn’t know this new Seth at all.
***
The next week things got worse for me. Seth decided to inform me in front of all his friends that I was getting fat. I knew that wasn’t true. My weight hadn’t changed, but it hurt so much for him to embarrass me like that. I simply stared at him, mouth open, as he chuckled along with his friends. I happened a glance over at JT; he wasn’t laughing.
A few days later, I caught Seth talking to a cheerleader at her locker when he was supposed to be meeting me in the parking lot. They stood a little too close and he reached up, brushing her hair off her shoulder in a way that told me they were more than friends. I saw red and marched right up to him, grabbing his arm before I thought better of it. “What are you doing?” I hissed.
He glared at me and pulled his arm from my hand. He turned his attention back to the cheerleader, ignoring me. I was at a complete loss as to what to do, so after a minute of listening to him brag about himself, I cleared my throat. He glared at me. “Are you still here?”
My eyes filled with tears. I turned and fled to the parking lot, not wanting him to see that he’d made me cry, yet again.
As I stood by his jeep waiting for him, JT strolled over. He ran his fingers down my arm before I could scoot away. “Poor girl, is Seth not what you thought he was?”
I glared at him, before looking away as if he wasn’t even there. He leaned in close to me, causing me to get a whiff of his mint gum. My stomach churned at the sickly, sweet smell.
“Look, I like you. I always have. Why don’t you give me a chance? I can make you forget all about Seth.” His voice actually sounded sincere, but when I glanced at his face, I saw the sneer.
“What is wrong with you, JT? Why won’t you leave me alone?” I yelled, not caring who heard me.
He gave me a huge grin that lit up his eyes. “Now that’s what I want to see. Get mad. Let me see the real Katie.”
I turned away from him, my whole body shaking. I took several deep breaths, trying to suppress this unknown feeling. This was more than anger. This was rage, and it scared me. I felt I could easily lash out at JT. Part of me wanted to just hit him, scratch him, kick him, anything to cause him pain like he and Seth had caused me, but amidst all these feelings swirling in my head, a realization dawned on me. This was what JT wanted, what he’d been working towards all this time. I had always kept my cool around him and managed, for the most part, not to show him any emotion, and he couldn’t stand it. He wanted me to get all worked up, get scared, angry or upset. Well, I had news for him, that one little outburst was all he was getting out of me.
I turned back to him but made sure my expression and voice were cool. “What do you want, JT?”
He smiled wickedly. “You’ll see,” he whispered.
An involuntary shuddered ran through my entire body. I closed my eyes to steady myself and when I opened them, I spotted Seth coming towards us.
“Hey, are you two playing nice?” he asked as he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.
“We sure are,” JT replied, glancing over at me. I swallowed and kept quiet. Something in his eyes told me not to disagree.
“Good. I like to see my girl and my best bro getting along. You ready to go, babe?”
I silently walked over and got in the jeep. JT leaned over and spoke to Seth. I heard their laughter and just wanted to go home.
On the drive there, I asked him about the girl he’d been talking to. “Oh, that’s a girl JT wanted to know about, so he had me talk to her.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrows. “Why can’t he talk to her himself?” I asked, not believing a word he’d said.
“Because he’s seeing that other girl you met at his house, and she’d flip if she saw him talking to another girl.” I didn’t argue. I simply turned my head and stared out the window. “You believe me, don’t you?” he asked.
I knew better than to say no. “Yes, I believe you,” I lied.
I continued to watch the world pass by through the window. I wondered how I’d gotten to this place, so far from the girl I was only a short while ago. His voice in my ear broke my inner musings. “Good. You know you can trust me, Katie.”
Yeah right! I’d stopped trusting him after our two month anniversary.
***
Between the insults and heartbreak, the next few days ran together. I didn’t even recognize myself in the mirror anymore. My parents knew something was up by the end of the week and began to ask if I was okay. I kept assuring them I was just tired or that I had too much homework. I didn’t want them to know that Seth was the real reason. I kept hoping he’d snap out of it and go back to the sweet Seth he once was.
I made the mistake of talking to a guy that was in my American Lit class. I had a question about an upcoming test, and he had the highest grade in the class. It was completely innocent, but not knowing better, he reached out and touched my arm. I pulled away as fast as I could, but it was too late. Seth had already seen it.
When the guy walked away, Seth pulled me into a classroom that had a few students in it. He got in my face, accusing me of flirting and doing other things behind his back. I pleaded with him to calm down, and tried to assure him that I would never do any of those things, but it only made him angrier. Without warning, he shoved me into a nearby table causing my back to hit the corner hard. It knocked the wind out of me, and I crumpled to the floor gasping for air. I glanced up as Hallie ran into the room.
“Get away from her,” she screamed at Seth and crouched down next to me. He stared at us for a second before stomping out of the room.
“Hey, let’s get you to the bathroom,” she murmured, helping me to my feet.
Once safely inside the bathroom and away from prying eyes, she gently pulled my shirt up high on my back. She gasped at what she saw. “Pull it all the way off,” she demanded.
I slowly tugged my shirt over my head as tears streamed down both of our faces. She shook her head when she noticed another lighter bruise on my shoulder. It was from Seth push
ing me into a brick wall because I’d worn a shirt he thought was too tight.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was doing this? You have got to get away from him,” she said, as she helped me put my shirt back on.
“Please, Hallie, don’t tell anyone. He’s not always like that. I just have to be more careful about what I say and do.”
“How can you still love him?”
I shrugged. “I love the Seth I used to know, and I’m waiting for him to come back,” I said, trying to believe my own words.
She shook her head. “I think this is the real Seth. All that in the beginning was just an act.”
She pulled me into her arms for a gentle hug. I made her swear that she would keep this a secret and reluctantly, she agreed. She walked me to my next class, giving me a sad smile as she walked away to hers.
Seth was waiting on me at his jeep after school with another apology and an “I love you”. He drove me home and reminded me of the New Year’s party at JT’s house that night. He informed me that he would pick me up at eight. He kissed me, and I went into the house with my usual fake smile plastered on my face.
Chapter Eight
JT was having a huge New Year’s party at his house and a ton of people were invited. His parents let him do whatever he wanted, so I knew there would be alcohol available and no adult supervision. I didn’t want to go but knew Seth would be seriously angry if I blew it off. I told Mom that I wouldn’t be home until 1 am and after some discussion with Dad, they gave me permission to go. I was a senior now and had never given them a reason not to trust me, or so they thought. They knew JT’s parents and were fooled like most other adults and thought they were responsible parents. I didn’t tell them any different. They made sure I had my phone and when Seth arrived at eight, Dad sat him down for a long conversation. Once again, he worked his magic and had my parents believing he was a great guy.
I almost snorted when he said, “She’ll be safe with me, Mr. Crane.”
The word safe and Seth do not belong in the same sentence. I knew I should break up with him. I didn’t love him anymore, but I was scared of him. I figured I could just wait it out until summer. We would go off to different colleges, he would meet somebody else, and I could get on with my life without him.
We arrived at the party, and it was already crowded. I spotted a group of kids gathered around a keg, but we walked past them without stopping. I let out a sigh of relief, glad to not have to deal with that. We found a spot on the couch and sat down. JT spied us and hustled over, smiling at me. I gave him a tight smile before looking away.
“Your girl needs to loosen up,” JT said, impatience obvious in his voice.
Seth caught my face in his hand, turning me to meet his gaze. I gave him the best smile I could muster up. “I’m good,” I replied sweetly.
His eyes narrowed as he studied my face. “It’s a party, Katie. I know that you don’t drink, but you need to try it at least once.”
“No thanks,” I answered, squirming out of his grasp.
He flicked JT on the arm. “Go get her something girly to drink. She won’t be able to handle anything too strong,” he said with a laugh.
As Seth was distracted watching a couple of guys doing keg stands, JT spoke in a low voice intended for my ears only, “You’ll like it. I promise.” He gave me a wink before heading off to the kitchen. He made my skin crawl, but I tried not to show it in front of Seth. I knew whose back he had, and it would never be mine.
JT brought back a plastic cup and held it out to me. I took it from him, eyeing the red liquid warily before lowering my nose and sniffing it. It smelled like berries. I took a hesitant sip and almost gagged. It tasted terrible. It might have smelled like berries, but it didn’t taste like them. Both guys laughed and urged me to take another drink. I choked down a few more swallows, barely resisting the urge to hold my nose as I did. I hoped it was enough to satisfy them so they would stop badgering me about it.
“I’m going to get a drink. I’ll be back in a minute,” Seth said and looked at JT. “Don’t let anybody mess with her, okay?”
“Man, I’ve got this. Nobody’s going to bother your precious Katie,” he replied, waving him off.
I started to freak out a little. I didn’t want to be stuck on the couch with JT. I tried to get up, but he slapped his hand against my leg and using his elbow, pressed me back into the couch.
“Nope, you’re on my watch for a while, princess,” he said and squeezed my leg, before slowing sliding his hand away. He picked up my half empty cup, holding it in front of my face. “I suggest you drink the rest of this before he comes back, or I’ll tell him you tried to kiss me.”
I glared at him, wanting to slap the smug look from his face, but instead I calmly replied, “He wouldn’t believe you.”
“He might or he might not. That doesn’t really matter. He would still be mad, maybe mad enough to do more than pull your hair,” he said, lightly tugging my ponytail. I watched in horror as he closed his eyes and smiled, as if he were enjoying the memory.
I began to shake uncontrollably as my eyes darted around the room for Seth. Where is he? What’s taking him so long? I attempted to swat the cup out of JT’s hand, but he pulled it from my reach before I could make contact. “Uh uh, careful. You wouldn’t want to waste any.” After a few seconds, he sighed and held the cup in front of me once again, “Just drink it, Katie. For once, can you not be such a loser? I mean, the whole school knows that’s what you are. Why do think you only have that Hallie girl as your friend? She’s a loser too and losers stick together.”
I gasped at his words, and felt a blush of embarrassment creep up my neck and into my cheeks. Hallie isn’t a loser! Seth had told me once before that I wasn’t a loser either, but then he wanted me to change. Is this really how he and everyone else sees me? It had never bothered me to think it, but to actually hear it from someone was a different matter. I looked at the cup and with determination in my voice, I replied, “I am not a loser.” I took the cup from his hand and chugged the contents. It tasted terrible, but I managed to keep it down.
He smiled and reached over, patting me on the head. “Good girl,” he said, like I was a puppy. I ignored him and scanned the room for Seth, but he was nowhere to be found. My nose began to tingle, and I couldn’t resist the urge to rub it. Close to my ear, JT’s voice startled me. “It’s already working, huh?” I just shrugged my shoulders and went back to my main goal of finding Seth.
The longer I sat there, the heavier my eyes became. I tried to stifle a yawn, but it was no use. I heard JT chuckle beside me and looked up at his face but it seemed blurry, almost like my eyes were out of focus. “I need to go to the restroom,” I said, my words sounding slurred. I shook my head and spoke again, but the words sounded the same.
“Okay, I’ll help you up,” JT replied, and even though I knew he was right beside me, his voice sounded far away. I tried to stand but fell back on the couch. He pulled me to my feet, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Come on, pretty girl. I’ve got you.”
The room was spinning, and I fought to keep my heavy eyelids open. I knew something was wrong but couldn’t figure out what. My brain was too fuzzy. I tried pulling away from him, but his grip only tightened as he dragged me down the hall to what looked like a bedroom. I dug my heels into the carpet, trying to slow us down. I knew better than to go into a bedroom with him.
“Katie, stop fighting me! The bathroom is right through my parents’ room,” he insisted, dragging me the last few feet until I was inside.
He closed the door behind us but struggled with the lock as I continued to push against him. With one final shove, I was free but the momentum had me crashing to the floor at his feet. He leaned over, a victorious smile on his face, and picked me up. He carried me to the bed as my mind drifted off. I rolled over onto my side and closed my eyes, thankful that I was safe in my bed at home.
I felt the heavy weight of someone on top of me and opened my eyes. JT’s face was
too close to mine and when he noticed I was awake, he smiled. I felt what he was doing and wanted to push him off but with my battle against unconsciousness failing, I finally gave up and everything went black.
***
I woke up feeling too warm and struggled to open my eyes. I was on my stomach with my face pressed into a guy’s bare chest. I swallowed back my hysteria for a second and tried to focus on the person I was smashed against. I could feel his arms around me, touching my bare skin. I squirmed and lifted my head, afraid to see whoever it was. Before a scream could leave my lips, JT clamped his hand tightly over my mouth.
“Don’t scream, or I’ll have to hurt you. Do you understand me?” I nodded my head. “Now, I’m going to move my hand but if you scream, you will regret it!” he snapped.
He slipped his hand away from my mouth. “Wh-what did you do to me?” I asked, as my tears began to flow.
“What I’ve wanted to do since you started dating Seth,” he stated plainly, his face showing no remorse. He loosened his arms at my waist a bit, and I took this as an opportunity to escape. I tried to roll away from him, but he yanked me back by my arm. He tried to snuggle me to him again, but I kept my face held off his chest. He ran his nose along my cheek and through my tears before forcing my head against him.
He spoke in my ear, his voice calm and steady, “You are so beautiful, but if you ever tell anyone about this, you might not stay that way. Did you know that my family has so much money that I could get away with anything? Probably even murder.”
I froze at his words. Murder? Did he just threaten to kill me?
Panic and fear overtook my body, and I began to shake uncontrollably. I could no longer hold back the sobs that had been building ever since I woke up in his arms. I played his threat in my mind over and over, believing every word he’d said.
He rubbed my back tenderly as he shushed me and told me I was okay. My mind was reeling. One minute he says he’s going to kill me and the next he’s being gentle. I pulled myself together and decided the best chance I had at getting away safely depended on me doing whatever he told me to.
Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) Page 7
