Prologue
Fiery red curls fell past the petite waist of a high school girl, Molly. Standing outside her school on the last day of junior year her patience grew slim. She was waiting for someone, her senior boyfriend.
Fair-skinned, freckles sprinkled over the bridge of her nose and cheekbones, she was attractive in a simple way. The lavender-colored sundress slipped over her small curves brought out the bright green of her eyes. The thin straps showed off the sprinkle of freckles on the tops of her shoulders.
She clutched a notebook in her arms, nerves on edge. This was it. This time, no matter what, she would tell him the truth. They had been dating since her freshman year when he was a sophomore. He had approached her, asking her to homecoming.
Since then, after an amazing night, they had been inseparable. Every moment spent together had her heart pounding a mile a minute. It didn’t hurt that his southern accent was sweet as honey. Weekends together, nights spent under the stars, bit by bit their fairytale had unfolded.
She was taught to save her chastity for her soulmate. Truly she felt this man was just that. Naive? Maybe, but taking that chance had given her a bright and colorful new world to explore. Love, excitement, and passion. Her heart fluttered at the thought of him. Freckled cheeks warmed with a light blush. He was so amazing, surely she hadn’t made a mistake.
Sighing, she shook her head. Getting ahead of herself must be her favorite pastime. At the moment she just needed to focus on telling him the truth. She just needed to keep her courage close, especially because they had never brought the word “love” up in a conversation. Feeling it and saying it was two very different things. Nervous jitters had her palms feeling wet, but her heart was big and warm and ready for the future. She was sure he would say it back because she knew they were good together. Otherwise, why would they have stayed in this relationship for three years now?
The knowledge that he was going to start working for his dad in the summer, in the Sheriff’s office, had put him in a good mood the past couple of weeks. His father had planned it all out so that he would take over as Sheriff one day, keeping the law in the family. Her boyfriend was more than happy to do so. He was a good kid, one of the best in town. The “golden boy”, but not snobby or anything over the top. Everyone loved him to pieces, and she adored him like no other.
Smart, brilliant really, everyone looked up to him. He enforced the rules, but could still break loose to have fun. He played for the football team, but also played in the band. Killer on the guitar and his voice could calm down the most dangerous of beasts. He was a real people person, something she couldn’t admit to being.
When he had first approached her she almost felt like a timid rabbit facing a wolf, but he was no beast. He was a prince and the fairy tale she had been living for the past three years seemed almost too perfect. She never thought she could be this happy.
Being more of a wallflower herself she almost felt inadequate beside him. A million times over he had told her that she was no such thing. His confidence boosted her own. She had never gone to the parties he was invited to, or stayed too late at his house, or even worn makeup.
Her father hated makeup, said it was deceitful, so she wasn’t allowed to wear any. She never broke the rules or rebelled against her parents. Overall she was a boring girl, getting good grades and never really finding friends other than the ones her boyfriend hung out with. Some might say she relied too heavily on him. Hell, she might agree if she wasn’t so dang happy.
He was everything she could ever ask for and more. He was strong, honest, reliable, trustworthy, caring, and especially gentle with her. His charismatic personality was her opposite, but that was ok with her. Opposites attract, after all. In her mind he was a god, a being too perfect to be true.
After waiting thirty minutes in the heat of the afternoon sun, the school pretty much empty as the kids left for the summer, she frowned. Why wasn’t he out here yet? She loved thinking of their relationship, of how amazing he was, but she really did need to talk to him. He didn’t mention anything about needing to stay late, which made her nibble at her bottom lip in obvious worry. She wasn’t the bravest person alive. Still, she wouldn’t just stand around thinking the worst when she could go check on him and put her mind at ease.
She walked the empty halls, listening but only hearing the soft pit-pat of her own white flats. It was practically a ghost town, but all the lights remained on. They always did, until around midnight. After that the school would be dark for most of the summer, making it look like an empty shell until the new school year started up.
Her footsteps stopped when her ears caught onto an odd sound, something she couldn’t understand until she heard it once more. Those sounds, moans, were obviously from pleasure. A girl close by was doing something she probably wanted privacy for, which didn’t make much sense being that she was in a very public environment.
Flushing bright red Molly turned to rush out of the hallway, clearly embarrassed by the sounds. Suddenly her small body screeched to a halt. It was as if time stood still, she could practically hear her blood pumping. Heart-stopping.
“God, yes. Johnny fuck me. Harder!”
Frozen in a mix of horror and shock her stomach lurched. Johnny? Surely it wasn’t…
Turning back around she moved as silently as possible toward the moans and dirty talk. She felt sick, her stomach flip-flopping as she tried to calm her nerves. Surely she was mistaken, or there was another Johnny. Her boyfriend, the “golden boy”, would never do something to hurt her. He would never…
Innocent eyes grew wide as she turned a corner, facing what was supposed to be an empty band room. The door, broken since her sophomore year, was open just enough to let their voices free to echo through the barren halls. Molly felt like she was going to be sick, vision blurring as she looked in on them.
Her boyfriend, a man she thought she could trust, was cheating on her. Covering her mouth, she suffocated a sob and continued to watch the scene. It was like a train wreck she couldn’t look away from. The girl, one of those slutty cheerleaders, was bent over a desk as he stood behind her. Thrusting forward over and over again he gripped her hips like a lifeline. Molly felt dirty; like she would have to scrub herself clean for weeks to get the grime off. Still, the image was painstakingly seared into her brain.
She didn’t even have the courage to walk into the room and confront him. She was weak and cowardly, her feet moving backward as a shadow slipped into view at her side. Her eyes caught onto blueish-green irises that swirled with curiosity and worry.
Through her pain, she forgot about the notebook within her trembling fingers, the bound papers falling to land with a thud against the cold tile floor. Turning on her heel she ran for the exit, unable to focus on anything but the pain in her chest. Her heart hurt, that was all she could think. Her heart hurt.
