Old Flame Part II

When I was 12 years old, my best friend and I took her mother's car out for a spin after she fell asleep for the night. After driving around for a while, we decided it was time to head back. My friend asked if I wanted to drive back home. I was ecstatic. I'd been observing my parents drive for a while, and I was confident I had the technique down to do it in real life.

We were halfway there when I turned a corner, and a dog ran out in front of me. I panicked and swerved to miss the dog, hitting the curb of the sidewalk. And instead of hitting the brake, I accidently pushed the gas pedal, driving us right into the front of someone's house.

That was the last time I'd been scared out of my wits. Life was so much simpler then. Never in a million years would I expect to be held captive by my crazy ex-boyfriend. Yet here I was, sitting on the hotel bed with my knees to my chest, arms wrapped around them while I silently cried as he paced the room with his phone in his hand.

He followed me across the country and demanded that I break up with my new boyfriend, Sully. I'd moved on with my life, and he wasn't accepting it very well. He insisted that I was his. Only his. Like I was his property. That, my friends, is Nathaniel Pierce. Possessive, manipulative, and now frightening.

He had taken my phone from my pocket so I couldn't call anyone. He finally stopped in front of me after setting it on the table. "Look at me."

I did as he commanded. His eyes that were once furious and angry with me were now soft. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I lost my temper." He sat in front of me and brought his hand up to caress my cheek that he had slapped a half hour ago. He looked hurt when I flinched. "Don't be scared of me, Princess. It will never happen again. I promise." He stared directly into my eyes, and he seemed so sincere that I think he truly believed he would never hurt me again.

"Nathan, why are you doing this?" I said in a low voice that I didn't know if he could hear me.

He dropped his hand and rested it on my knee. "I want you to give us another chance. I never cheated on you, Brooke."

This was true. Before I moved across the states, I thought he'd had sex with my enemy, Katie Mathis. But he'd proved his innocence with a recording of her admitting it was only to get to me. It had been two months since I moved away and was already dating a wonderful guy when Nathan returned. I couldn't just break up with Sully. The situation was hard, and I chose to stay with Sully because I'd moved on. But Nathan wasn't taking no for an answer. Hence, why I was locked in his hotel room.

"I know. But things are different now."

"Things can go back to how they were. I even have my dad working on my school transfer."

My eyes went wide. "You're going to stay here?"

"Yeah. I can rent an apartment and finish out school with you."

He had the means to do it. He'd turned 18 in May, so he could legally live by himself.

"And leave your friends?"

"You're more important to me." He had a heartfelt look. And I believed him. I knew how much he loved me. Or maybe it was obsession? "What do you say?"

I knew what he wanted me to say. And if I told him I didn't want to, I was afraid it would provoke him again. But I couldn't say yes if I didn't mean it. I started to shake my head side to side. "Nathan, this is crazy. You can't expect me to do what you're asking."

His expression changed. The longer it took for him to respond, the more frightened I got. Finally, he said, "I'm not asking."

My heart started thumping loudly. I knew I was playing with fire. He continued, "Let me remind you what I'm capable of, Brooke. Your dad can lose his job. Your brother can become the victim of bullying at his new school. Your little boyfriend can get beat to a pulp. And your mother? Well, she loves me, so I won't do anything to her directly. Watching her family fall apart is enough."

My blood ran cold. A silent tear rolled down my cheek. How could he go from sweet to cruel so suddenly? He gazed into my eyes waiting for my reply. I had no choice. "Okay," I whispered.

His face instantly grew a smile. He leaned in and kissed my lips. "What happened today will be our little secret. Always remember what I'm capable of, Princess."

I was able to convince Nathan to let me text Sully instead of taking me to his house to break up with him. I was very vague, only telling him I decided to make things work with Nathan and that I was sorry. He tried to call me several times until Nathan turned off my phone. My heart ached at the fact I hurt Sully. He was such a sweet person and didn't deserve this. But I needed to protect him and my family. Nathan called my mother and told her the news we were back together and asked if it was okay if I stayed there with him since it was getting late. Of course, my mother adoring him, said yes. Don't get me wrong, she liked Sully too. But Nathan had grown on her over the years.

I barely slept a wink that night. Nathan held me close to him all night long. It was strange being in his arms again, yet I felt betrayed by my own mind when I felt that I had missed it.

I did everything I could to avoid Sully. He'd come to the house multiple times, but I refused to go to the door. I couldn't face him. Nathan was at our house every day. It somewhat felt like things had gone back to the way they were before I moved away. Except the gut-wrenching guilt I felt. I had to just keep reminding myself why I was doing it.

School started before I knew it. I dreaded the first day. I knew I would see Sully and all his friends that I had become friends with too over the summer. Nathan commanded I stay away and don't even talk to Sully...or else.

As Nathan and I walked down the hall, hand in hand, the people I'd befriended over the summer stared. No doubt wondering why another guy was by my side instead of Sully. Nathan didn't seem to notice. Or didn't care, either one. When we got our schedules, we had 5 out of 8 classes together. The first class for me was Economics while Nathan had Calculus. He helped me find my classroom and gave my lips a peck before he walked off.

I went inside the classroom. Only a handful of people were there already. I chose a seat over by the window on the back row. I got a notebook and pen out of my bag and got ready to take notes. Just as I looked up, Sully walked through the door, and we made eye contact. He didn't have his usual bright smile, his eyes were dull and emotionless, and he didn't even put much effort into his appearance. His hair was disheveled, and he wore jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt. He had slowly come to a stop while we stared at each other. I couldn't take it anymore and finally looked down to my desk. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move to a seat on the opposite side of the room.

First period seemed to drag on. It was only the rules of the classroom and what was to be expected from this course. When the bell finally rang, I gathered my stuff and put it in my bag. I walked out with the crowd, and after walking a few feet, I was abruptly pulled into a dim, empty classroom. My heart raced, and then I saw it was Sully.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"Sully, I can't..." I trailed off.

"Can't what? What is going on?"

I took a deep breath. As much as it hurt me to say it, I told him, "You know what's going on. I told Nathan I'd give him another chance. He came all this way and is staying here for me. I'm sorry."

Sully had come to know me very well over the summer. He shook his head. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not. I have to go." I started to leave, but he lightly grabbed my arm.

"Did he threaten you?"

I pulled on my arm and repeated, "I have to go." He let go, and I walked out of the classroom. When I did, I saw Nathan walking right towards me. When he saw Sully come out of the empty classroom behind me, his face hardened. Sully walked past us, his eyes on Nathan the whole time. Once Sully passed, Nathan turned his gaze to me.

"I thought I made myself clear when I told you not to talk to him?" He was furious and trying his hardest to keep it in control. It scared me.

"He just-" I started.

"I don't care. I better not see you near him again." He roughly grabbed my hand and led me to find our next class. No one had been around to hear our conversation. My classes up until lunch had both Nathan and Sully. Talk about super awkward. They exchanged a few glares, and I just did my best to focus on the teacher instead of either of them.

At lunch, Nathan led me to a table that was empty. I was quiet while we ate, because I wasn't sure if he was still mad at me. I didn't want to provoke him. Nathan spoke first. "If that asshole looks at me like that one more time, I swear I'm going to punch him in the face."

"Please don't do that."

That was the wrong thing to say. His eyes narrowed at me. "Because you care about him? Do you care more about him than you do me?"

"I didn't say that." I said in a low voice.

"Then why are you so worried about him?" His voice wasn't quiet, and people had started to look over at us.

I didn't know exactly what to reply. He was already pissed off. "I just don't want there to be trouble."

He stared at me for a few seconds and stood up. "Let's go."

"But I'm not done eating."

He leaned down closer to me. "Does it look like I care? I said let's go."

With my heart racing, I stood up with my tray. I felt like bursting into tears. Nathan had never been so bluntly rude to me like this before. It was like something in him changed. We threw away our trash, and I followed him out of the cafeteria.

My next class, Chemistry, didn't include Nathan. But Sully was in the class. I had sat at the two-person workstation by myself since I was early to class. When Sully came in, I expected him to sit far away from me like in the previous classes. I was shocked when he sat in the chair beside me. At first, he didn't look at me as he sat and got his notebook out. My stomach was in knots sitting this close to him when I knew Nathan forbid me to even be near him.

When everyone was in class, the teacher still hadn't arrived. Sully finally turned to me. "Talk to me. Please."

I took a deep shaky breath. "I can't."

"Why? Because he says you can't?"

I pleaded with him with my eyes. When I didn't respond, he continued. "I don't understand what happened, Brooke. Please, tell me." He put his hand softly on my arm.

I felt tears come to my eyes, so I turned from him, looking straight ahead.

"Sweetheart..." he whispered. Hearing that made the tears fall. With his free hand, he wiped them off my cheek.

I turned to him. "I'm sorry."

"He's forcing you, isn't he?"

I couldn't confirm or deny verbally, so I just turned my head away from him. "I thought so. We can fix this."

I swiftly turned my head back to him. "No!" He gave me a puzzled look at my sudden outburst. "It's better for everyone that I do this. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it is."

"What did he threaten you with?" I just shook my head indicating I couldn't say.

The teacher came in then, explaining he was caught up talking with the principal. The person we sat with became our lab partner for the whole school year. How was I going to explain that to Nathan? He's going to assume I did it on purpose.

The next class was an elective art class which neither Nathan nor Sully shared with me. I had a little time to myself to think. Then the last class of the day was athletics. The boys and girls both shared a class, so both were there.

While in the locker room, all the girls were chatting while I stayed quiet. One of the girls addressed me. "Hey, Brooke." She was Amberly, a girl I met this summer, and I didn't really care too much for her. She seemed to not like the fact I had been with Sully, making me think she had a crush on him or something. "What's with the sudden change from Sully to the new hot guy? Do you just get tired of one and move onto the next?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about. It's not your business."

She seemed taken aback at my bluntness. "Sully is my friend. It is my business. How do you even get these guys anyway? You're not even that pretty."

I was a different breed than her and her snotty friends. I didn't wear globs of make up or revealing clothes. Her beauty was all fake. I wondered what she would look like with no makeup, brush, and in a baggy t-shirt. "If you must know, the 'new hot guy' is my boyfriend from Nevada where I lived before. He came all the way here for me. We'd been dating a little over three years. So, I may not be pretty to you, but I guess that doesn't really matter, does it?"

She didn't know what to say. She came up with, "Whatever. I'm just glad you're away from Sully now. He deserves better than you anyway."

"Like who? You?" She gave me a smug look. "If he thought anything about you, don't you think he would have been with you instead of me? Wonder why that is?" Her face dropped to a scowl.

The female coach came in, "Let's go, ladies!" With that, we all went out to the gym. The boys were already in the gym talking to another coach.

A while later, I heard shouting coming from the other side of the gym. When I looked over, I saw Nathan and Sully grabbing onto each other. The coach and some other boys tore them apart. They were sent to opposite sides of the gym to cool off and stay away from each other. Both looked over at me. From behind me, I heard Amberly say, "I don't know why they would be fighting over her."

I ignored them and continued with what we were doing. When I got out of the locker room, Nathan was waiting for me. The scowl on his face told me he was still angry. And I wasn't sure if it was because of Sully, or because of what Sully managed to get out of me in Chemistry that he may have relayed to Nathan. Athletics was the last class of the day. "Let's go," Nathan mumbled.

We drove away from the school in silence. Instead of going to my house or his new apartment, we went down an old, dirt road and stopped on the side. My heart was hammering against my chest. He turned to me and said, "Look at me."

I obeyed and out of nowhere, a slap hit my face. The sound was so loud, I heard it before I felt it. I brought my hand up to caress the sting. Nathan leaned over and roughly grabbed a handful of my hair. I yelped in surprise and pain. He leaned towards my tear-streaked face as he yelled, "How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from him?! What did you say to him?!"

"Nothing," I mumble.

He jerked me closer to him. "Bullshit!"

"I swear! He sat by me in Chemistry all on his own and kept questioning me. I didn't tell him anything, Nathan. I promise."

He stared into my eyes, analyzing if I was lying to him. "You're hurting me," I whispered softly. He let go and faced forward. He took in a deep breath, let it out, then started the car again.

He drove us to his apartment. Once inside, we set our bags down in the living room, and I followed him into the kitchen. He handed me a cold water bottle from the fridge. As I took a sip, I stood there timorously. When I put the cap back on the bottle, he came around to me. He gently pulled my arm to pull me into a hug, stroking the back of my head. My hands sat lightly on his sides.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to hurt you." He pulled back and inspected my cheek. He grazed it with his thumb. He switched to peer into my eyes, and then he started to kiss me. The kiss was light and simple at first. Then he became more passionate. I had no choice but to kiss back. I surely didn't want to make him angrier than he already was.

During the kiss, he slowly started backing me up until my back hit the wall. His chest was against mine as he leaned in close. One hand stayed on my face, the other moving to the hem of my shirt. When he put his hand underneath and started to graze upwards, I stopped him with my hand, and broke the kiss. "Nathan, stop."

"It's okay, Princess. I'm not going to hurt you." He tried to push his hand up further until I stopped him again.

"Please, stop." He reached down to kiss me, but I turned my face. Suddenly, he struck the wall by my head with his fist, crumbling the dry wall. I screamed when I thought he was aiming for me, and covered my head, dropping to the floor.

His face morphed from anger to regret. He squatted down in front of me. "I'm sorry. Let's take you home." His voice was soft and low. He grabbed my hand and helped me up.

I was silent in the car, looking away from him out the window. He finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Princess. Sometimes I just want you so bad. All of you. I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just been a really bad day." He reached for my hand and picked it up. He brought it to his lips, and he kissed my knuckles. The gesture was so sweet, it was hard to believe this is the same man from twenty minutes ago. "Do you forgive me?" His sweet puppy dog eyes were staring into mine. I nodded. What else could I do? Say no and risk getting hit again? No thanks.

At home, I laid on the couch while Nathan played the XBOX with Jamie. Jamie didn't know about Nathan threatening me. I played along just like Nathan told me to. I drifted off to sleep while they played.

Nathan gently shook me awake for dinner. Mom had invited him to stay, just like every night. As usual, I was quiet while I ate. Mom seemed to notice. "Are you okay, honey?"

I looked up at her, and said, "Yeah. I'm fine." I looked back down and started eating again. I could see Nathan staring at me from the corner of my eye. After dinner, Nathan wanted to go to my room to watch movies until he went home.

When he finally left, Jamie came into my room just as I had lied down to sleep. "I've been waiting for him to leave." I gave him a questioning look as I sat back up. Jamie reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper. "Sully told me to wait until Nathan wasn't here to give you this."

He handed me the paper. "When did he give this to you?"

"He caught me in the hallway after last period. If there's something going on, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"I know," I nodded. "Thanks Jamie."

When Jamie shut my door, I unfolded the note.

Brooke,

I really need to talk to you. I know something isn't right. I can feel it. I know you love me as much as I love you. Please meet me at the park down the street at 1am. I hope you will come to see me.

With all my love,

Sully

I looked at the clock, and it was just past midnight. My parents were asleep, and Jamie wouldn't be coming out of his room again for the night. I contemplated whether I should go. What would I say to him? I couldn't tell him what Nathan held over me. But I longed to talk to him without an audience. I could slip out unnoticed, go talk to him for a bit, and come back. What would be the harm in that?

After arguing in my head, I made up my mind. I got out of bed and changed back into my jeans. At 12:45am, I slipped on my shoes and quietly slipped out the front door. It didn't take long to get to the park. I saw Sully sitting on the swings. Coming up from behind, I sat beside him.

"Hey," I said.

He turned to me. "Hey. I'm glad you came." I gave him a week smile. "How have you been. Really been?"

"Okay," I lied.

He shook his head to disagree with me. "I can tell by looking at you something is wrong." I looked away from him. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. Why do you think being with him is better for everyone?"

I looked back at him. "Sully...you don't know Nathan. He gets what he wants."

"By intimidating people? He doesn't scare me."

"Because you don't know him. His family is very powerful."

"I don't care."

I sighed. I knew he wouldn't listen. "I just wanted to come to see you." I'm not sure why I voiced that thought.

He stood up from the swing and took my hand, pulling me up. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I let myself hug him back. Tears came to my eye as I inhaled his familiar scent.

We were so caught up in our embrace when we heard, "Look what we have here." My body stiffened at the sound of Nathan's voice. Sully looked over, but I was too terrified to look at him. He let go of me and took a step forward. Without warning, Nathan's fist met Sully's face. And this time, nobody was around to break them up.