Free Tethered by L. D. Davis Page A

of Valentine’s Day. The girls I knew had big floaty ideas about February 14 th . They get some stale chocolates and roses that die within hours and think that it’s true love. It’s not. It’s an opportunity for the guy to make out with the girl or to get into her panties.
    The painting wasn’t just about the fake holiday either. Even though I knew better, I was having silly ideas about love and relationships. I told Emmet I wasn’t ready, and I probably still wasn’t, but I secretly wished that he would try again. I secretly wished that he would wait for me. I fantasized about the day I would tell him I was ready and how he would kiss me and tell me he waited for me because he knew I was special. He had really said so himself once, and I believed it. I fantasized that I would go away and he would find me because he could always find me, and he would kiss me and bring me back. I dreamed up our lives through his college years and I dreamed that when I finished high school he would propose and we would get married before I finished college. I thought about our quaint wedding in Louisiana and the children that would follow.
    I had secretly hoped that he would come to me on that stupid fake day with candy and flowers and a kiss.
    My fantasies were shut down with a bang when I realized he had banged Stella. Me and my stupid childhood fantasies.
    I stepped away from Emmet and started to clean up my mess. After another moment of staring at the painting Emmet started to help. We cleaned up quickly and left the dark painting where it needed to be, in the dark.
    After we got into the car, Emmet started the engine but he didn’t drive. He sat there staring at the cold rain pouring on the glass. We were the only car left in the dimly lit parking lot. We were completely alone, and I hated it. I wanted to go home. I wanted to get away from him so that I would stop having the constant reminder about my stupid fantasies.
    “I’m sorry, Donya,” he said quietly and looked at me.
    “I don’t know why you’re apologizing,” I said quickly. I reached over and turned on the radio. “I’m starving. Are you going to drive or are we going to sit here?”
    Emmet growled with annoyance and turned the radio off. “Stop avoiding this.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about, so whatever it is you think you need to apologize for obviously isn’t a big deal.”
    “Are you going to make me say it?” he asked as his hands gripped the steering wheel.
    “Say what? Do you have anything to eat in here?” I asked, popping open the glove compartment.
    “Don’t open that!” Emmet shouted as he reached to close it but he was too late. The compartment door flung open and a condom dropped onto my lap.
    “That’s not food,” I said quietly as I picked up the foil packet. I put it back in the glove box and closed it. The clicking sound it made seemed to vibrate throughout the car.
    The silence was crushing. Emmet stared straight ahead again, but his hands gripped the steering wheel even tighter than before.
    I knew he wasn’t a virgin, but I didn’t want to know that he was actively screwing girls. What if that’s all he really wanted from me? What if that was his game all along? What if he was just priming me so he could fuck me?
    I hated the way my body reacted to the thought; the way heat pooled in places there shouldn’t be heat at fifteen years old. I hated the images of being under him, of him rolling on that condom I just found.
    I unbuckled my seatbelt and threw open the door. Rain pelted the right side of my body. It was so cold that it stung, but that didn’t stop me from grabbing my bag and dashing out into the terrible weather even as Emmet yelled my name.
    I only got a few yards before Emmet’s arms were around me as he tried to drag me back to the car. My backpack dropped to the ground with a splash as I struggled against him and tried to pry his arms apart, but it was pointless. He carried me kicking and