Grenade

Joe carried me back to the group as I was calmly thrown over his shoulder. I had fought with him for five minutes, but it was pointless. He was stronger than me, end of story.

He walked over to the group as Bill and Skylar emerged from the woods as well. I watched them as Joe set me down gently. I looked at her then at Zoey. I could easily tell them both, but Skylar would get me more. We were so similar like that, but also so different.

It was like she liked being dramatic. But then again, so did I. Drama followed us. And I really had no right to judge her. No one did. And no one had the right to judge me.

Judging someone was a waste of breath. It does nothing for either of the people. And it certainly wasn't going to make me feel better.

I pulled my arm away from Joe gently and walked over to Skylar. Her cheeks were slightly red and she looked embarrassed. "Can we talk?" I muttered quietly. She looked at me, her eyes scanning my face.

Finally, she nodded. "Yeah. Let's go over there." She nodded towards a swingset. I chewed my lip as we walked over to it in silence.

I sat on the blue swing beside her, and swung gently. My feet stayed on the ground. "So..." I said awkwardly. I didn't know how to say it. It was something that couldn't be blurted.

"Is it a secret?" She asked, looking at me. I watched the gravel rocks as I nodded. "I guess if we're telling secrets, I might as well share mine too. But if you tell anyone, I blab!" The last sentence was a joke; you could tell by her tone.

I just nodded again and took a deep breath. "The reason I didn't accept any visits is because," I paused and looked at her. "I couldn't handle the human contact."

"The... Human contact?" She asked. I licked my lips and nodded again.

"After about two months, this new guy came in. And we talked and got to know each other... And I started to feel comfortable around him and then... He molested me." I sighed.

"What? Why wouldn't you tell anyone?" Skylar was shocked. I think anyone that knew would be.

"I tried telling Joe over the phone, but before I could, he told me that if I said something just to get out of there, we were done. And he wouldn't let me out." I bit my lip.

"He would have believed you." She put her hand on my shoulder when I looked at her so I wouldn't freak out.

"He would have thought I was lying. And I didn't want to tell Zoey because she seemed so happy and I couldn't ruin that." I said. "But you and I have some of the same problems, so I thought you would understand."

She nodded, quiet for a minute. "I'm glad you told me. On the tour I thought we wouldn't get along and it seemed like that was the truth. But I think that's changed."

I smiled a little, nodding. "I'm glad to get that off my chest, but I still feel bad cause I can't tell Joe. I've just been pushing him away, and when he tried kissing me in the woods..." I looked over at Joe. "I kneed him."

Skylar laughed after trying to hold it in. "You kneed him?" She smirked. I nodded for the millionth time. "Wow."

"I miss him but I'm scared to let others touch me now." I groaned.

"It's gonna get better." She promised. I smiled gently.

"Thanks." I bit my lip. "What did you wanna tell me?"

"Well uh, you know how I'm dating Jackson? Well... Bill and I kissed." She said, watching for my reaction. I just stared.

"Him? But he's like... A girl!" I said. She laughed again.

"His accent is, insane. And he's actually nice. Really nice." She smiled to herself.

"Do you still like Jackson?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I think I do, but..." She tried thinking of an answer, which wasn't working.

I just waited calmly as Zoey jogged over to us. I knew our conversation was over for the moment, but it would continue later.