We're Not Perfect

Nobody at the club knew about my connections, so I decided to play a few songs by Escape the Fate. Johnson let me play a few extra songs due to the audience’s excitement. For me, it was longer until I had to meet Tony. But that time came all too quickly.

“Hurry up,” Tony said as I came down the hall. I’d already had a few drinks before my performance, so Tony’s comment didn’t bother me much. He grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me down the hall after him. How did I know this was coming?

Tony pulled me into a room, where I saw a strange guy sitting on the couch, leering at me.

“Tony, what’s going on?” I demanded.

“You owe me for the pills you’re leaving here with tonight, and I owe Tad here a favor,” Tony said.

“What do I have to do with him? The deal we made was between us, not us and other people,” I said.

Tad got up, coming closer to me. “Sorry darling, but that’s not how it works tonight,” he said before shoving his lips against mine.

I tried pushing away, but Tony grabbed my arms, holding me where I was. “I told you she’d be fun,” he said, laughing. My eyes widened when he said that, and I fought harder to get free. Tad finally pulled away from me and started undressing. “You know what to do,” Tony said, releasing me. I stood where I was, afraid to move. I hated doing this for the pills, but I’d always know who I was going to have sex with. This was the first time anyone had done something like this to me.

I never saw Tad coming closer. I never saw him raise his fist. All I felt was the force of it against my cheek, knocking me to the ground. Someone kicked me in the stomach. “Get up bitch,” I heard Tony say. I knew I wasn’t getting away until the deed was done.

I slowly raised myself up, pulling off my clothes before either of the two men could strike me again. “That’s better,” Tad said, shoving me backwards to the couch. “Quit your crying,” he said, climbing on top of me. I couldn’t stop the tears, not even when I heard Tony approaching.

Tad had his way with me, punching me when I didn’t do as he wanted. After what felt like hours, he got off me.

I started to get up, only to be shoved back down by Tony. “Not so fast girl, you’re not done yet,” he said, taking Tad’s place.

I couldn’t stop crying as they took turns raping and abusing me. Finally, they shoved me to the floor so they could relax on the couch. “Get out of here,” Tad said. “The bag’s with your shit.”

I ran, dressing as fast as I could. Apparently, I wasn’t fast enough, as one of them threw a bottle in my direction. It shattered against the wall behind me, sending small pieces of glass into my back. The men laughed as I winced at the pain. I grabbed the rest of my things before they could throw another bottle.

The hall was deserted, giving me the opportunity to finish dressing. I shoved the bag into my pocket before leaving through the back door. I didn’t know what time it was; all I wanted was to get home. I could feel parts of my face beginning to swell, and blood was running from several places,

When I got home, I could see the light from the tv flashing in the living room. I hoped the band wasn’t there, or if they were, asleep. I stood in the hall, just behind the doorway, trying to determine who was in the living room. I heard someone shifting on the couch.

“Rylii, is that you?” It was Max. I stepped back, farther from the light as I heard him getting up. “Ry?”

“Yeah, it’s just me,” I said finally, hoping he’d leave, or go back to watching the tv. “Why are you still up?” I’d backed myself to the wall; there was no where else to go as Max came up the hall towards me.

“I was waiting for you,” he said. “Where are you?”

“Right here,” I said softly. I heard Max fumbling along the wall. I shut my eyes against the sudden light.

“Rylii, what happened?” Max asked, running to me. I collapsed in his arms. “You’re covered in blood!” He led me to my bathroom, where he helped me undress. I trusted Max, and I knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.

In the mirror, I could see Max. We were both looking at my body, covered in cuts and bruises. He put his hand on my back as he examined the shards of glass still embedded in my skin. “Let’s clean up the rest of you, so you can get something cleaner on, then we’ll have to get these out,” he said, grabbing a towel.

We got the bleeding to stop, and I ran into my room and pulled on a pair of shorts before returning to sit on the edge of the tub. Max had a fresh towel, which he put around my waist, under the glass. “This is going to hurt, but we’ve gotta get this out,” he warned. One by one, Max pulled the shards out with a pair of tweezers. This pain was nothing compared to what I had experienced earlier. It took some time, but my back was finally clean, and I finished dressing.

I found Max waiting for me, back on the couch. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?” he asked as I curled up next to him.

I looked down, not ready to tell everything yet. “I got in a fight with some chick at the club,” I said. I saw Max’s eyes widen. “Don’t worry, she looks worse than me.”

Max smiled. “Good,” he said. “If you came out the worst, I’d have to go find her and mess her up for you.”

I rested my head on his shoulder. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course!” he said, smiling down at me.

I lifted my head so I could see him better. We stared into each others eyes. Max reached hand up to the back of my head, pulling me towards him gently until our lips met. He was gentle, not like the guys before him. Everyone I’d ever kissed had been rough, only wanting one thing. But Max wasn’t like them at all; he really cared about me. I reached up my hand, tangling it in his hair, keeping him from pulling away. I could feel him smiling.

We eventually pulled apart, and I laid my head back on his shoulder. Max kept one arm around me, while entwining the fingers of his other hand with mine. We sat there for a while watching the tv, before I told Max I needed to sleep. We turned off the tv, and Max walked with me to my room. “Will you stay with me?” I asked. I didn’t want to be alone tonight.

Max nodded. “I’ll stay as long as you like,” he said, climbing into bed next to me. Max laid on his back, wrapping his arms around me as I rested my head in his chest. I’d never felt so safe before.

I held onto Max tightly. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. Just, please promise me you won’t leave,” I pleaded.

“I’ll promise I’ll be here when you wake up,” he replied, kissing the top of my head. “Now get some sleep, you need it.”

Within moments, I was lulled to sleep by the steady beating of Max’s heart.