Free Rewind by H.M. Montes

you.  Or do you prefer to have a man that fucks other men?”
    Tears streamed down my face, “Ronnie, please just don’t…”  I turned my head and looked away.  My face was stinging and I could taste the metallic of blood in my mouth.
    He roughly grabbed my face to make me look at him, “Your fucking parents need to cut your umbilical cord little girl.  This is the real world; I don’t have to prove shit to them.” He yelled in my face then released me and stormed out of his room slamming the door behind him.
    I pushed myself up on the bed, walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.  “Oh my god!”  I said when I seen the red slap mark, the red finger marks on each side of my jaw, then when I lifted my shirt and looked at my back there was a large rectangle shaped red spot between my shoulders.  The bathroom door flew open and Ronnie stormed in, he stopped when he looked at my face .
    “Christ Sydney, I’m so sorry.” He had tears running down his cheeks and pulled me against him.  “So sorry.”  He sobbed and rubbed my hair. 
    “I…I need to go to the dorm.  I, really, I can’t stay here.”  I said. 
    “No…stay.  I’ll go get you some ice.  Take a shower I’ll be waiting when you get out.  Okay babe?”  he lightly cupped his hands on my face and kissed me but I didn’t return the kiss.  When he walked out I pulled my clothes off and turned the shower on as hot as I could stand the water.  I sank to the floor and cried.  I had never ever been hit by a man, my heart broke no my heart shattered with each sob that I released under the water.  “Babe come here, fuck.”  Ronnie said and shut the water off, wrapped me in a towel and carried me over to the bed. 
    ~~~~
    I missed three days of school and so did Ronnie, no matter how much I tried to stop crying—I couldn’t.  He held me and apologized over and over.  Theresa was starting to worry but luckily she believed the whole stomach flu because it was going around campus really bad.  Our cheer coach told me to get myself healthy before I came back because four of the other team mates were sick as well and she sure as hell didn’t want it. 
    ~~~~
    When I finally decided that my face wasn’t bruised too bad anymore I went back to school.  Ronnie and I hadn’t talked at all about what he had done, I knew that the first person I wanted to talk to was Shelby his ex-girlfriend.  I found her number in the very bottom of my cheer bag and called her on my way to class.  We agreed to meet at lunch, I would have to think of a lie to tell Ronnie so he wouldn’t get suspicious.  So, I told him that my mom was in town and wanted to take me out for lunch.  He hugged me and kissed me then went to the cafeteria. 
    I met Shelby across town at a small diner that wasn’t full of college students.  She was nervously folding and unfolding her napkin as I approached the table. 
    “Hi.”  She gave me a weak smile. 
    “Hey.”  I sat down.  We both stared at each other for a few seconds. 
    “Has it happened to you yet?”  she asked with a shake to her voice.
    “Sunday night he hit me, if that’s what you’re asking.”  I picked up my glass of ice water and took a drink. 
    “It’ll get worse if you don’t stop it now, and I’m not saying that because I want him back or anything.  He still calls and text me you know.”  She slid her phone across the table and let me read numerous messages from him; the most recent one was this morning.
    Ronnie :  Shelby please just drop the fucking charges babe.  I don’t know how much more I can apologize.  I love you.
    I pushed her phone away, “Charges?” my voice shook.
    “He uhm,” she took a drink of her water with shaky hands, “He shot at my car one night after he raped me in the bed his pickup.”
    My eyes about popped out of my head and my mouth went dry, “He…raped you?”
    She nodded her head, then told me, “I went home one weekend, he