"Oh my gosh! I knew it! That guy has had it bad for you since freshman year and I knew that he was just waiting for you and Brian to break up so that he could swoop in. I know for a fact that Stacy Miller was hoping he would ask her but I knew that you’re the one he really wanted to go with. You guys are going to have such a good time! He’s really nice Laney, I know you don’t know him very well but Jeremy is a really good guy, not a loser like Brian.” Then she gasped and took one hand off of the steering wheel and grabbed my arm. “Oh my gosh! We should totally double date! What do you think?”
I really liked Chloe’s boyfriend David and he was good friends with Jeremy so I knew that we would all have a lot of fun together. Jeremy was really sweet and it was nice to look forward to hanging out with a guy without worrying that I would say the wrong thing and piss him off.
"I'll ask Jeremy when I see him next week but I'm sure he'll agree to it. Oh my gosh Chloe, I am so psyched, this is going to be so fun!”
Brian was a distant thought as I looked forward to prom with my friends.
Jeremy agreed that it would be fun if we all went together so we did and we all ended up having the best time at prom. It was really nice to be with someone without having to constantly be on my toes, making sure that I didn’t say the wrong thing, or be accused of flirting with someone. There was no sign of Brian that night and I was really relieved because in the back of my mind I thought he might try to pull something. It wasn’t until about halfway through prom, when I felt sure that he wasn’t there, that I was able to relax and really have a good time. Jeremy was such a nice guy and prom ended up being one of the most fun nights that I had ever had.
Graduation came and went with no contact from Brian and I realized that I was thinking about him less and less. I was relieved that he had finally gotten the message and had stopped bothering me. Jeremy and I started dating each other after prom and about two weeks after graduation he dropped me off at home after a movie and I told him I would talk to him the next day. He gave me a quick kiss before I went inside. I said goodnight to my parents to let them know I was home safely (they always wanted me to do that no matter what time it was), and I washed my face, brushed my teeth and crawled into bed. I was so happy that I had met such a nice guy and I drifted off to sleep on cloud nine.
I woke up in the middle of the night to a hand covering my mouth as Brian’s bloodshot eyes stared daggers at me. He hovered over me and pinned me to the bed. “Do you really think that you can go to prom and parade around town with your new boyfriend and make me look like a fool? I told you that we were meant to be together Laney and I’m not going to let you go!” I could smell the alcohol on his breath as I tried to wrench myself out of his grip. “I love you can’t you see that?!”
I tried to push him off of me and was finally able to get my mouth free. “What are you doing here?” I hissed at him. “Get out of here right now!” I didn’t want to raise my voice because I didn’t want to wake my parents. I just wanted him to leave.
“I’m not leaving until you say you’ll take me back! I love you Laney, I don’t know why you can’t see that!”
I struggled beneath his weight and continued to try to push him off of me. “Brian, I told you that we were over and that you need to move on! Now get off of me and get out of here! Leave me alone, I don’t love you anymore!”
His eyes filled with pure evil and he snapped. He started slapping and punching me worse than he ever had before and I could feel blood pouring into my mouth. I screamed for my dad and I heard his feet thumping on the floor as he came running. Brian quickly jumped off of me and escaped through my window, which must have been the way that he got in. By the time my dad reached me I was bloodied and crying and I could see the shock on his face.
“Oh baby! What happened, who did this to you?!”
When he found out that it was Brian who attacked me he was beyond pissed and immediately called the police and an ambulance and they were there within minutes.
I stayed in the hospital for a couple of days with bruising and a broken rib and when I was released a detective came to see me and told me that they had arrested Brian. I was able to heal physically, but the emotional scars ran deep and I wondered if I would ever be able to live without fear.
The state of Florida has zero tolerance for domestic violence and Brian got 16 years for breaking and entering our house and attacking me. At his sentencing hearing, he looked at me and mouthed the words ‘see you in 16 years’ as an evil grin spread across his face. A chill ran down my spine and I tried to shake it off telling myself that he couldn’t get to me because he was going to be locked up for a long time.
I started seeing a therapist shortly after the attack, at the insistence of my parents, and by the time I left for college I was on the road to mental recovery. She referred me to someone in my college town and I saw them once a week. No one knew that I was in therapy and I wanted to keep it that way, I didn’t want to appear to be different from anyone else.
I went off to college, occasionally keeping in touch with Jeremy but that eventually fizzled out. Chloe and I talked once a week and even visited each other at our colleges and our friendship was stronger than ever. Brian was the thorn in my side that would not go away. I knew he was locked up but that did not stop him from torturing me.
It was some time near the end of my first semester freshman year that my world changed, again. I had really tried to not think about Brian and I immersed myself in the whole college thing. I studied hard, I went to parties and I even had a steady boyfriend. I tried to stay as busy as possible and eventually it was starting to work, and then I received the letter.
It was from the Corlus County Correctional Facility and a chill ran through me when I saw the return address. The letter was 22 pages long and Brian went on and on about how he couldn’t wait to see me when he got out and that when he did get out, we would finally be together. The first time I received the letter I was terrified. I talked to my therapist about it and she really helped me reclaim my strength and helped me to not let Brian have power over me. The next month when I got the letter I was angry and I decided that I would really try to not let him affect my life.