“He’ll come,” I tell her, ignoring the glare she sends me through the tears. “Listen, he will.”
“What makes you think that? Because he said so?” she returns sarcastically.
“Hey, we’re in this together,” I reply. I’m hurt, but I know her too well. When she’s scared, she lashes out. It’s all she knows.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” her words are mumbled as the sobbing starts.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” I soothe. It feels like my face is swelling, and I have no idea if it really will be okay or if Isaac will come. But he told me he would, and I have to believe him. No matter what has happened, I know he loves me. That’s something I’m sure of.
“He’ll come? You’re sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure he’ll come,” I try to convince her, and myself.
I shuffle over next to Helena, and she immediately lays her head on my shoulder. I think back over the years without Isaac and wonder where he’s been. He said he’d tell me everything. I know one thing, when he came into that alleyway, and that guy was holding me, he was different, he wasn’t my Isaac anymore. I watched him morph in front of my eyes, and now I’m starting to piece the puzzle together. If I’m right it means we really do have a chance.
“When I was sixteen, I started dating a boy named Chris,” I tell Helena. She remains still, listening to my tale. “He was two years older than me and went to the local college. He’d gone to our school, so everyone knew him, he was Mr Popular.” I snort out a laugh. “Every week I went to the local youth group. It was mainly guys DJing and girls hanging around trying to get their attention. There were pool tables and a couple of air hockey tables. I’m not sure why my friend Tori and I started going, but after a few weeks, we bumped into Chris. He took an instant liking to me, and although I was flattered, I wasn’t interested. After all, it had always been Isaac for me, and even at sixteen, my feelings were uncontrollable.”
Helena giggles. “You don’t say.”
My chest loosens at her jesting, and I realise I’m taking her mind off everything by telling her my story.
“Uh-huh,” I confirm with a small smile. “Anyway, Tori was beside herself that Chris was into me. She practically pushed me into his arms.”
“Nice friend,” Helena drawls.
“Yeah, well she was only sixteen… although she did bail on me when I went off the rails after Isaac beat Charlie to a pulp.”
“Like I said…” Helena trails off.
“Anyway, I was pushed toward Chris, and one night, after watching a meeting of the mouths with Isaac and his latest conquest, I thought, fuck it, why not?” I bite down on my lip gently, remembering and letting the emotion wash over me like it only happened yesterday.
“We dated for about three months.”
“What happened?”
“He was very controlling. One time he accused me of trying to seduce his friend because unbeknown to me, a button on my top had popped open.” I stare down at her. “I had big boobs for my frame.”
She eyes my chest area then looks back up to me with her eyebrow raised.
“Okay, not much has changed. But still, it wasn’t done on purpose,” I tell her.
She giggles again and a rush of warmth runs through me, knowing I’m still keeping her occupied.
“Anyway, that was just one time. Another time he accused me of sleeping with one of his other friends, because we happened to bump into each other while shopping one day, and decided to go for lunch. I mean, I wasn’t even sleeping with Chris. I was a virgin back then,” I confide. “Then I met a female friend in a shop once when I was with Chris, and because he wasn’t introduced to her immediately, he was angry.”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah,” I confirm. “Those are just a few of many examples.” I sigh. “Things came to a head when one day we argued, and he told me we were over. He said he’d been offered sex by another girl at my school, and that he was going to find her.” I bite my lip, but let it go again when it stings. “We argued, and he pinned me up against the wall.” Helena gasps at my admission. “I was scared of him, Hel, he bruised my arms, threatened me, and threw me against a wall so hard that my head bounced off it.”
“Oh my God, what did you do?” she asks.
I twitch my shoulder. “Nothing. I wasn’t as strong then as I’ve become over the years,” I reply.
“Well, of course not, you were sixteen. But you told someone right?” she asks.
“No. I was too scared,” I admit.
“So what happened?”
“Isaac happened.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You know the story of how he ended up in prison?” I feel her nod against my shoulder. “I knew I was alone the moment I woke that morning, and that he’d gone after Charlie. This story is the reason I knew. Because he’d done it before.”
“Oh my God,” she murmurs.
“The day after Chris bounced my head off the wall he suddenly stopped calling me. I never saw him again. I thought I was just lucky, maybe he got bored of me… you know?”
Helena nods in response.
“After Isaac went into the Army, I bumped into a friend of his. We were chatting about Isaac, and he mentioned how protective he always was of me. That’s when I found out someone saw what Chris did to me the day he threw me into the wall. Whoever saw it was a female friend of Isaac’s, and she called him.”
“Oh fuck, what did he do?”
“I’m not sure. Isaac’s friend said that Chris
