He's Strong. He's Hot. He's Foreign. (And He's in the Mafia?)

“Nothing happened with Gabriel, right?” Peter said, turning the radio down and leaning back in his seat. It seemed the only solace we could get from my brother was in the car.

“What do you mean?” I asked, looking over at him suspiciously.

“No…I didn't mean it like that, darashya…I just wanted to know if he hurt you” he sighed, gripping my hand in his.

I shook my head slowly, deciding not to give him any more stress, “Just the same old Gabe, y’know”

“Actually, I don’t know, you never told me about Gabriel” Peter said, looking over at me, his eyes tired.

“What? You thought I didn't have any other boyfriends before you?” I asked slyly.

He grinned and scooped me up in his arms, settling me on his lap, “I like to believe I was the first” he whispered, kissing my neck.

“Gabe means nothing to me anymore, Peter, I promise, he just likes to think he does” I mumbled, digging my head into his chest.

“Don’t worry, honey, I trust you” he murmured, stroking my hair.

“I really love hearing that” I said, my arms around his neck, “You don’t get drunk, do you?”

“I can hold my liquor, sweetie, unlike your brother” Peter smirked, kissing my hair, “It just helps me relax”

We sat there in complete silence for what could have been hours. I wouldn’t have minded, but a random excitement was boiling up inside of me and I just had to let it out. “Peter we’re getting married!” I exclaimed, jumping up in a wild frenzy, causing me to hit my head on the roof of the car.

“Ow…” I whimpered, settling back into Peter’s embrace.

“Hmm…it seems the reaction I’d hoped for is about a week overdue” he smirked, placing his hands on either side of my head and lifting my face to meet his. “Does your head hurt?”

“Mmhmm…” I nodded, tears brimming, “I guess I got a little over enthusiastic”

“We’ll have to go inside and put some ice on it…” Peter said, un-locking the door.

“No!” I exclaimed, gripping his shirt, “I’m fine really…can’t we just stay here? Jeremiah…” but Peter pressed a finger to my lips, speaking softly, “Jeremiah will never hurt my darashya, this I promise you”

“I love you, Peter” was all I could say. He smiled and kissed me, opening the door and winding his arms around me, stepping out of the car while cradling me in his arms.

“You can put me down now” I whispered, looking around self-cautiously.

“Just relax, darashya” he whispered, carrying me into the house. Jeremiah, who was sitting in the living room, looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Did Janey try and run off again?” he laughed, getting up and following us into the kitchen.

“No” Peter said gruffly, setting me on the counter. He went into the freezer, taking out some ice and putting it in a plastic bag then placing it on the sore spot on my head.

“Oh, so Jane hurt herself” he chuckled.

“At least it wasn’t you” Peter said to Jeremiah, his eyes staring down at me with a quiet sadness.

“I think I’ve done my fair share anyways” Jeremiah chuckled, going to into the refrigerator to get yet another beer.

“Jeremiah…stop it…” I mumbled, “The beer doesn't help for nothin’…”

“You hear her? ‘The beer doesn't help for nothin’” he imitated my voice as if I was a drag queen on helium, “…she ain't your perfect little city girl, ruskie, she’s a hick, always will be”

Peter, acting as if he hadn't heard Jeremiah, said, “I think Jane and I are going to go to bed”

“You and Janey sure as hell ain't sleeping in the same bed, this is my house and you go by my rules” Jeremiah growled, taking my arm and pulling me off the counter, causing the ice pack on my head to fall off, “Janey sleeps in her room, I don’t give a shit were you sleep as long as you don’t go sneakin’ into her room, I sure as hell don’t wanna wake up and hear you two going at it”

I flinched as Jeremiah tightened his grip on my wrist. Peter sighed and picked up my ice pack, tugging my wrist out of Jeremiah’s grip with ease.

“You have my word, I will say good night and that will be it” Peter promised, his clear blue eyes staring down at me, “This is your house, after all”. Peter put the ice pack against my head, smiling down at me.

“Don’t think you can win me over, pretty boy” Jeremiah muttered, stalking off into his bedroom.
“I used to stutter when I was younger, you know” I whispered, lacing my fingers with Peter’s and squeezing them tightly. Peter and I were up in my old room, still painted in pale pink, the ceiling covered with pictures of my parents, Gabe, old friends, family, and my own personal graffiti. I was in bed, under the covers, sitting up against the pillows, Peter sitting by my side, saying ‘good night’.

“Really?” he said, kissing my forehead, “I would have never guessed”

“That’s because I felt different around you…and it was like it just faded away after I met you”

“It’s funny, no matter where you go, your accent doesn't change” I said, smiling weakly, “I guess that means you’re stronger than I am, it seems I just blend in wherever I go…”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t obtain a Russian accent if I took you to Russia, so you are not completely spineless, darashya” he smirked, kissing my cheek.

“You’re still stronger than me though…and I’m not just talking about muscle…you’ve been through so much crap…and yet you take care of me and love me no matter how stupid I get” I mumbled.

“You are strong, Janey” he sighed, placing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close, “Being strong isn’t about holding back tears and pretending you’re alright when you are not, it’s about endurance, admittance, and acceptance, and you display those qualities better than I ever could”

“Mmm…I’m gonna miss you tonight” I whimpered, resting my head against his chest.

“You call me if you need anything, alright?” he whispered, moving some hair away from my face. I nodded, looking up at him dejectedly.

“Shh…it’s alright, darashya, it’s just for two weeks, and it’s not like we’ll never see each other” he said soothingly, stroking my hair.

“Yeah…I know” I sighed, “…goodnight kiss?”

“You know I can do better than that” he whispered, his mouth inches away from my ear. Before I could even giggle his lips were firmly planted against mine, pushing me down on the bed.

“I love you, Janey, you can never forget that I love you…” he growled, his eyes staring intently into mine.

“I won’t forget you…I won’t ever forget you Peter…” I promised, clinging to him tightly. I heard him sigh, as if in relief, and then he kissed me lightly on the lips.

“Goodnight, my sweet” he purred, getting up and ruffling my hair.

“I love you” I whispered as he was about to walk out the door.

“So do I, Janey” he smiled, disappearing behind the door, closing it behind him quietly.
“You better be coming down tonight” Gabe murmured. I pressed the phone closer to my ear, eager to hear more of his voice.

“I-I am” I stuttered, averting my eyes even though Gabe wasn’t even in the room.

“Great, you know I need my good luck charm” he smirked, “And don’t be late”

It almost sounded as like a threat, and I didn't want to find out what would happen if I dare be late. “I won’t” I promised, my voice soft

The Tigers won, and all thanks to Gabe’s no hitter in the 9th inning. I wasn’t particularly interested in baseball or sports in general, but I had to pretend to please Gabriel. I would sit in the bleachers; avoid the popular girls who came to bone with the players after the game, and half watch, half day dream. Baseball could be interesting, but only when someone got hurt or a manager starting cursing out the umpire.

“Hey baby, how’s my good luck charm?” Gabe growled, grabbing my waist and pulling me to him, his eyes playful. We were standing behind the bleachers while people were slowly making their way off of the field. I think I could hear Damien McNabb picking a fight with a player from the other team.

“Tired” I yawned, staring down at my beat-up Converse.

“The night’s young, Janey, you know we got a party to go to” he murmured, holding my head to his chest.

“Gabe…” I mumbled, taking a shuddering breath, “C-can we not g-go t-tonight?”

“Don’t be stupid, Jane, we’re going” he said, gripping my hand and pulling me towards his truck, “You’ll have fun, I promise”

“Jeremiah said I better be home before midnight or he’d whoop me” I mumbled as he sped down the road, pushing 80 miles per hour.

“Don’t worry baby, it’ll all work out” he said, not really paying attention to me.

I watched the speed thermometer as it surpassed 85, “Stop…Gabe please slow down” I whimpered holding my knees to my chest. I rocked back and forth slightly, silently pleading with Gabriel.

“Janey we’re here” he smirked, coming to a screeching stop, causing me to let out a surprised shriek.

“Come on, baby, don’t be a wuss” he chuckled, pulling me out of the seat. I stumbled out, falling to my knees.

“Are you okay Jane?” Another voice asked from a distance. I looked up to see Veronica, a junior who was on the cheerleading squad. She was perfect in every single way, which made many girls hate her. She had blonde hair and big brown eyes. Her blaringly white smile attracted nearly every guys’ attention, but she wasn’t a slut. I had no reason to believe she was a slut, but all of the girls loved to make up reasons.

“What? Yeah! No…I’m fine” I stuttered quickly, struggling to get up.

Gabriel sighed and winded an arm around me, looking Veronica’s extremely toned cheerleading body up and down, paying careful attention to her long legs.

“You shouldn’t be so mean, Gabe” Veronica snapped, furrowing her brow.

“I’m sorry” he whispered, a sly smile curling around his lips, “I’ll be good”

The inside of the house was just like any other wild house party; music blaring and practically vibrating against the walls, people dancing and grinding with red plastic cups in hands, and half naked baseball players running around, wearing ties as headbands and screaming like maniacs.

“I’m gonna get you a drink, babe, I’ll be right back” Gabe shouted over the music. Before I could protest, he had disappeared into the tightly bound crowd.

I made my way through the crowd being pushed and shoved out of the way. I was used to not being noticed, so I never really bothered to speak up for myself. I finally found a staircase and maneuvered around a couple sucking each other’s face off and went up the stairs. After two failed attempts at finding an empty room to hide in, I found what appeared to be the parent’s bedroom. I let out a sigh of relief and collapsed on the bed, curling up and closing my eyes, but knowing it wouldn’t be smart to fall asleep, lest those half naked baseball boys coming running in here.

“Jane, why are you always runnin’ away from me?” he growled, walking in with a big bottle full of unidentified liquid in each hand, his lips pursed.

“I didn't like it downstairs” I whimpered, sitting up quickly.

“Well we can have our own party in here, can’t we girl?” he smirked, setting the bottles down on the nightstand and sitting down next to me.

“I love you, Janey” he purred, leaning in and kissing my neck, causing me to shiver.

“Don’t worry, baby, it’s about to get hot up in here very soon” Gabe laughed, taking one of the bottles and popping the cap off. He took one long swig then held it out for me to take.

“What is that?” I asked timidly, leaning away from him.

“It’s good, baby, just drink it” he said, giving me a reassuring smile.

I continued to stare at him, unsure.

“Goddamnit Jane are you my girlfriend or not?! Just drink it!” he shouted, glaring down at me, making no point to hide his annoyance with my apprehension.

And so I accepted it, hating when he was angry with me, I did all I could to satisfy Gabriel. He was my only solace, the only one who liked me for who I was. We drank and drank until my vision became blurred and my speech was barely audible. I could only remember Gabriel whispering sweet nothings in my ear while undoing my jeans and sliding them off, his hands on my legs, rubbing and caressing them.

“Just relax baby, I’m right here” he whispered, trying to take off my shirt, but I wouldn’t move my arms.

“Stop it!” I shouted, struggling under his grasp. The whole room was spinning and I let out a shrill shriek as I felt a sharp pain across my cheek, causing my body to be hurled to the floor.

“Don’t you love me, Jane? I love you, and I want you” he purred, kneeling down before me.

“Fifteen…I’m only fifteen” I blurted out, struggling to focus on Gabriel’s face.

“I’m not here to reason with you bitch” he growled, taking my hair in a tight grip. I yelped in pain and tears began pouring down my cheeks, “Now just let me take you”

“No!” I screamed as loud as I could, hoping someone, anyone would hear me.

Suddenly, the door was burst open and someone ran over to me, pushing Gabriel against the wall and helping me stand.

"Come on, we have to get out of here" a familiar female voice said urgently. She let me use her as a crutch and helped me down the stairs and out the backway. All I could see was faces, blurry faces that paid no particular attention to me as I went by, drunk out of my mind.

It was Veronica who had saved me. She took me to a creek out back and held my hair back as I puked my guts out.

"I'm not even going to say anything about the drinking because I know you've heard it a million times, but Jane, you can't tell nobody that Gabriel Jenson tried to rape you" she warned while we were sitting in her car. I was half-asleep, trying to cope with my mind-splitting head-ache.

"Why not?" I mumbled.

"You know his father is the sheriff! It'll only cause trouble for you, I swear, and you're already late coming home as it is, just act as if nothing happened, Gabe's graduating in two weeks, he'll be going to play college ball and you won't have to worry about him no more" she said, leaning back in her seat and sighing, "I wish he could be brought down, but that's just the way it is, and we gotta live with it"

She drove me home after I swore not to tell anyone about tonight. Jeremiah and Aunt Dinah was already sound asleep when I stumbled into the house, so I crept silently into my room and collapsed, falling asleep almost instantly, knowing punishment would come in the morning. I had nightmares that night, nightmares that Gabriel had me locked in a small iron cage, dangling the key over my head and no matter how high I jumped, it was always out of reach.