Burning Embers

n, I stared at Dave sto

at somebody actual

pushing me to the wall. He wastes no time to run off, l

m, but when he saw the state that I was, he stopped dead in h

arp pain, and I winced

orehead was apparently bleeding fro

. And I saw his eyes burning with rage before he sn

rther to catch the bastard. "D-don't leave me", I

the dark alley. Definitely now whe

after the man, because the look on his on his face showed m

reaking As I hugged my arms around my shoulders. Dave bent down to me but didn't say anyth

I snapped his hand away."No!", I

The feeling of the rapist's touch wa

I was here?" I ask

ards the residence lobby when I spotted you walking down there. But then

ve hadn't appeared? The thought of it m

oom, even though he could barely touch me because I was still traumatized. And he acted as if

left from that bastard's touch on my body. I could take a bath ten times

door", Dave said. I could stil

cking the door behind me. My legs finally gave in, and I slum

ew of how wrecked I looked. My lips trembled as I saw two hickeys on m

orehead and the fr

ble to wait any longer to wash myself. When I

k of my skirt. Apre-cum, cum or whatever I

rds rang bac

uckin

p everything inside me. How can I forget the face t

it because he was so excited. It was a

sound of me vomiting echoed inside the bathroom, followed by cri

e it, but fear overcame me a

st it. "What is happening there?" Panic and urgency filled his t

. Are yo

asked, de

shaking. My stomach dropped again, and I pus

the door,I'm gonna break it!" And he meant it. A momen

pouring hard from the sink and my own coughs blocked eve

jump. He narrowed his eyes at me, and my heart thumped against my che

ent down and pulled

or me to escape. And suddenly, I had this panic attack, the images of what happened inside t

n his chest. "Don't worry. I'm here. You're safe Beverly,"

. He felt different , not like that psychopath. He felt warm, protect

t on whispering to me soothing words, and I sighed, circling my

e that being close to him like that could erase all of thos

I would need someone so bad in my life.

ollowing morning after I

ased. It felt like we spoke all day. My phone was constantly crad

ter. Did I care for football? No, I did not, but Dave invited me to wat

soccer cleats on. As we drove there, he told me that he was a striker – whatever that meant. He tried explaining the different positions to me so that I could follow the game, but it was only when I

ball was suddenly in the net. He scored. The whole place erupted. I hadn't even realized that I'd stood up to clap until his head turned toward my direction. He'd picked out this seat for me, and knew where I was seated. Our eyes met, and I flashed him a

ortons in seconds. It was new to me, but I loved the attention. I loved the attention he gave me, and I loved the tiny little butterflies I felt when he did that. I felt the same

adjusted my top, suddenly aware of how hot it was. The air was hot and dusty and I stood up, brushing off as much dust a

tened, but I was carried away by his smile and the s

the recycle bin. My mind kept replaying the goal he scor

was standing so close to him. It didn't help that he flexed his biceps as he pulled up the bottom edge of his shirt to

he said, nodding towards

abbing my hand and pull

I was going

," I said, but we were

ave to do is kick it."

o kick a ball? I had never been interested in football. We played badminton a lot at h

toward the goalpost until he got it from me and kicked it straight in. The only sounds that could be heard in the stadium were our laughter, and the lights had not come on yet, so it was a bit dark but I could see the rapid heaving of his chest as he looked at me. My chest was rising and fall

nd my neck slowly. It felt warm against my cold, sweaty skin. His hard chest against the softness of mine, and underneath, my heart was t

ab

but there was something about the way he said it – how his voic

ame way. All my life, when guys told me they liked me, I almost felt sorry for them because I never felt the same way, and I always told them so. They all considered me to be some sort of prude. This

was unsure of how things would go after admitting my feelings to him,

re passionate and bold. It was sending all kinds of spark through my body lik

obably get go

," he

put his sports duffel bag into the trunk while I got in and put on my seatbelt

, which was about a four-minute ride away, I opened the door,

u when I get

utton for me, flashed me a smile as

d, and I had the biggest smile on my face. So, are