Free That Summer (Part One) by Lauren Crossley

believe
someone as smart and intelligent as yourself could be so naive!”
    “It
was a mistake, alright?! One which I have more than paid for since it
happened.” I sob, tugging on the ends of my hair in anguish. “You don’t know
what it was like! I had to go into school every single day with the knowledge
that everyone who went there had seen my picture. The guys still treat me like
a piece of meat and the girls despise me. You don’t understand how miserable
I’ve been or how close I came to giving in to it all. The only one who stuck by
me was Lisa and for that I will always be her best friend.”
    “Shh,
baby. It’s ok. It’s all going to be ok, come here.” He grabs hold of me once more,
crushing my fragile body against his solid chest. “No one will hurt you now. I swear
to you I will never let that happen. I’ll protect you, Serena. You’re mine now
and I’m going to make damn sure everyone at that school knows it. They won’t
say anything to you, baby. Not now…”
    “Cole,
you can’t make those kind of promises. You can’t be with me every second of
every day.”
    “You’re
right.” He sighs heavily. “I can’t be with you all the time but the threat of
what I will do to anyone who is anything but kind and respectful towards you
will be enough to keep them quiet.” He assures me, reluctant to relinquish his
hold on me as I start to pull away from him.
    “Really?”
I ask, staring up at him with tear-filled eyes.
    “I
promise. It’s you and me now, ok? I won’t turn my back on you and I won’t let
you deal with any of this by yourself.”
    “But
what about you? Even if you managed to convince Jonathan to drop the charges
against you, you’re still going to be in major trouble at college.”
    “I
don’t give a shit about any of that. All I care about is being honest with you.
Before I came here tonight I knew I had to explain myself to you. I didn’t want
you to hear anything bad about me tomorrow when everyone will be talking about
what happened.”
    “What
if they kick you out of school?” I ask suddenly, prising myself from him and
his relentless grasp.
    “I’m
powerless to stop them if they decide to do that.”
    “But…
but they can’t! They can’t chuck you out of school for defending me! Not when
Jonathan says he won’t press charges against you, right? They can’t do it, I
won’t let them!” I cry helplessly, mirroring Cole’s frustration from earlier by
pacing back and forth in agitation.
    “Serena,
it’s ok. Stop. Look at me and calm down.”
    He
tugs on my wrist, pulling me backwards against him. His chest is pressing
against my back, allowing me to feel the violent hammering of his heart through
his clothing.
    “No
matter what happens… this is it. You and me, ok? Whether I get kicked out of
school or not, I don’t regret what I did. I would do it all again without a
second thought because I would sacrifice anything in this world to protect you.
You do believe me, don’t you?”
    He
forces me to look up at him, penetrating my soul with his scorching gaze. It’s
as though he can see right through me, he can access the inside of my soul with
just one look and this is nothing short of unsettling for me. No one has ever
understood me, not my mum and certainly not my dad who I barely even see these
days. That’s the reason I now refer to my father as ‘Him’ in my phone. I
decided that I will no longer call him my dad until he starts behaving like one
again.
    “Serena?
You do believe me, don’t you?”
    Cole’s
question pulls me out of my deep contemplation. I’m almost surprised to find
that we’re still standing in my living room, I was so lost in my own thoughts.
    “Yes.
Yes, I do believe you. All of this is crazy, Cole. Its absolute madness but I really
don’t care. Ever since we first spoke… I felt this indescribable pull towards
you. I’ve tried to ignore it and I’ve tried to escape it but now… I’m done
fighting