Would You Fall Too?

Holding the two birthday cards in her hand, Emilie’s eyes began to sting, the name of her last boyfriend ringing in her ears. It had been years, almost 4 years had passed since she had last heard about him, but even the slightest mention was enough to cause her to cry, let alone a birthday card envelope adorned with the handwriting she knew to be his. Swallowing a little, she stared down at the envelope, her eyes studying the familiar script as her stomach began to turn.

“Emmy”

Emilie heard Sergio’s voice, but didn’t move, her eyes remaining stuck on the envelope which she held in her hand.

“Emilie” Sergio noted again, his footsteps pulling closer “Amor, are you coming back through?” he posed as he stopped behind her, placing a hand on her arm which caused her to flinch. “Emilie?” he posed.

Emilie sniffed a little and turned to face him, her blue eyes glassy and tearful, a sight which made Sergio’s eyes widen. “Mi querida” he murmured gently “Who was at the door?” he added.

Emilie shook her head, wordlessly offering out the two birthday cards which sat in her hands. Sergio took them and quickly pulled them out of the envelopes, his brown eyes widening fractionally as he spotted the name which was signed at the bottom of the second one. He didn’t know it well, the name Jeremy had only ever been mentioned fleetingly, but he knew enough to know that it was a big deal for Emilie. Jeremy was the last boyfriend she had had before him and he knew that he had done something terrible to her. Crumpling the card in his fist, he tossed it into a neared bin before he stepped back towards Emilie, his hands resting on the tops of her arms. “We should go and sit down, Emmy” he murmured.

Emilie nodded her head and followed him, allowing him to sit down with her in the living room. Sergio sat attentively at her side, pulling her close so that she could cry into his shoulder. “Who was at the door, Emmy?” he posed.

“His mother” Emilie swallowed, her voice snuffly and evidently upset.

Sergio nodded his head slowly. “Can I ask you what happened?” he noted as kindly as he could. He knew she didn’t want to talk about it, after 9 months for friendship and dating, he was well aware that her past was not a topic which she enjoyed discussing, but he wanted to know, even if he was fairly sure that he already did, he wanted to hear it from her.

Emilie blinked away a few tears and took in a breath. “He used to be such a good guy” she murmured shakily, a tone which made Sergio grab onto her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. “When we first started going out, he was sweet and romantic and just…wonderful” she spluttered.

“Emmy, if you don’t want to…”

“You deserve to know” Emilie interrupted.

Sergio nodded his head and placed a kiss on her cheek, mumbling soft reassurances into her ear.

“Then, about 4 months into our relationship, he started to change. My sweet and romantic boyfriend became overly protective. He used to check my phone when I wasn’t looking and demand to know where I was going when I went out with Isla or my other friends. He started to get really paranoid about me cheating on him and that was when he started to leave bruises” she murmured, swallowing down a small sob.

Sergio’s grasp on her hand tightened a little, both in an attempt to comfort her and as a sign of his anger. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea that someone would have wanted to leave marks on such a sweet girl.

“They weren’t that bad” Emilie muttered “He’s just hold onto my wrist a little too tightly or intentionally leave love bites on the side of my neck as a way of marking territory, but then that night came” she mumbled, the need to sob growing ever more “We’d been to a nice dinner with my parents and we went back to my apartment. I was tired and so I started to get ready for bed, but he didn’t want that. He stormed his way into the bathroom and then he tried…he tried to…”

“It’s ok” Sergio murmured, hugging her tighter “You don’t have to say it” he added.

Emilie sniffed. “My neighbour overheard and called the police. He served 3 years of a 6 year stretch” she murmured.

Sergio shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Emmy” he murmured as he pressed an affectionate kiss to her temple “I am so sorry that you had to go through all of that” he added.

Emilie shook her head gently, her hands wiping her eyes. “I should have got out sooner” she murmured “I should have noticed that there was something up with him, but I never did. That’s why I am so reluctant to trust people, Sese. I trusted him so much, he was my friend before he was my boyfriend and to know that he could do that to me…It’s why I was so hard on you” she murmured, her eyes peeking into his.

Sergio kissed her forehead. “It’s fine” he assured her “I understand” he added.

Emilie sniffled. “I’m sorry that I ruined our night” she noted as she peeked around the room.

“I’m sorry that that woman showed up here” Sergio muttered “If I ever have the misfortune of seeing her, or her son…”

“Sergio” Emilie murmured.

Sergio sighed gently and kissed her cheek. “You don’t have to be scared, Emmy” he noted, hugging her close to him. Emilie shifted a little, mumbling something which he didn’t quite catch. “Em?” he posed.

“He’s clearly in town” Emilie murmured “And he clearly knows where I live” she added.

“Emilie, I will spend every night with you if I have to. He can’t get to you now that you’ve got me. I won’t let him” he insisted gently.

Emilie opened her mouth to protest, but Sergio merely kissed her, cutting the words out on the tip of her tongue. “I’m not going to let him, Emmy” he assured her softly “I’ve got you” he added.

Emilie sniffed a little before she kissed him again, feeling a lot safer with him around.