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A Story by Anushka

The world was spinning, the tequila finally hitting me. I needed support. I grabbed onto the person next to me and looked into his eyes. I didn’t know who he was and yet, somehow in that moment, everything seemed to make sense. I needed this. He smiled. I knew I would find myself regretting this the next day and yet, I found myself following him out the door.

His hand felt strange wrapped around mine and as I glanced into the mirror one last time, I saw her again. Tousled hair, smudged makeup, red stricken eyes, she stared back at me, following my every move. I couldn’t escape. He tugged at my hand once more, pulling me into a dark enclosed room with him.

“Hey baby,” he murmered, taking one step closer to me. The smell of stale beer engulfed me, suffocating me, I couldn’t breathe. He brought his hand up to my face, gently caressing my cheek as he leaned in close. Placing both arms on either side of me, he smiled again. “Remember me? We smoked up together a couple of months ago,” he whispered into my ear. “I’ve been wanting to do this since I first saw you,” he murmered, pressing himself against me. I needed air, he was too close, I didn’t want this anymore.

“I think I..I’m going to leave,” I mumbled, fumbling for the door knob.

“Why so soon baby? Don’t you want to have a good time? Isn’t that why you came here?” he whispered, his face centimeters away from mine. Before I had a chance to respond, he pressed his lips against mine, urging my mouth open with his tongue. I pulled away, pushing him further away from me.

“I want to go back to the party,” I slurred trying to duck out from under his arms. I stumbled, feeling the ground rising up towards me. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the blow when two strong arms grabbed hold of me, steadying me. I opened my eyes and it wasn’t dark anymore.

“Do we have a problem here?” I heard an ice-cold voice say. Oh thank god. It was Jake. He pulled me in closer, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Not at all, we were just talking,” I heard that nameless a*****e say, grinning and winking at Jake.

I could feel Jake tense and I knew what was to come. I didn’t want to create a scene, I just wanted to go home, curl up in bed and forget this ever happened. “Jake, I want to go home, please, let’s just go,” I pleaded, tugging at his arm as I did so. It worked. He glared at him one last time before practically dragging me out of the party and into the cold, night air.

The wind blew gently against my face as I closed my eyes, shuddering at the thought of what could have happened. I felt Jake let go of me. This was not over. I slowly opened my eyes and looked towards him. His back was facing me and yet, the tension that surrounded him, made its way towards me as well. He ran his hands through his hair agitatedly before taking a deep breath, turning around to face me.

“Why do you keep doing this Sam,” he whispered quietly. “Why can’t you understand that you’re better than this, that you deserve more. I can’t keep saving you like this every time.”

“I don’t need you to keep saving me,” I muttered, hearing the lie in those words even as they escaped from between my lips.

“Really?” murmered Jake drily. “And what do you propose would have happened had I not walked in there when I did?”

“This is what I want. I can’t bring myself to do better than this. It’s easier this way, you know that. You know me.”

“I don’t care whether you think this is easier Sam! Just because your parents got separated, it doesn’t mean that relationships don’t work!” He was yelling now. And I braced myself for the next blow, but he surprised me, just like he always did, and took me into his arms and held me close. I breathed in that familiar smell of cigarettes and Fierce and snuggled in closer. “You’re my best friend Sam, I don’t want to see you hurt,” he whispered into my hair, pulling me in yet closer.