I made to to my bathroom just as the tears spilled over. I lifted my shirt to reveal yellowing brusies and a new red patch.

I shook my head, knowing I coudn’t even tell Mara about him. No one knew Nick and I had slept together, the night he got me drunk and took me home. He said it was our little secret. Then he continued to come over. I tried to break it off but that caused him to get mad, and when he was mad he got violent.

I turned to look at the red marks on my back. More tears spilled over as I lowered my shirt over my still raw cuts and bruises. The cuts were from two nights ago. Nick was mad when he came over and took it out on me. He pushed me down the stairs and I fell into a lamp, causing it to shatter and cut me.

I chuckled quietly to myself, knowing how much I missed the way Eric treated me and how deserate I was to geet rid of Nick. I wiped my tears, and flushed the toliet so Nick would think I really had used it.

I took a calming breath to prepare myself for the wait until Nick left.