Colby pov
E- Colby... your scaring me, what's wrong?..
This is it...
C- Erin.. I think... I think I'm in love with you..
I looked into her eyes as I said it and soon I felt a mental slap in the face when she let go of my hands and covered her face a she began to sob
C- shit! I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry..
I stood up ready to leave when there was a tug at the back of my shirt
I turned around and Erin was gasping trying to calm down
E- no.. no, don't leave..
She said in between breathes, still not being able to get it under control
I walked to the bed and when I was close enough to her she grabbed my arm and pulled me into her. She was trying to move herself as close as she could possibly get to me
E- no one.. has ever..said that.. to me..
She said between gasps
I moved back and unburied her face from my stomach and bent down so we were eye to eye, and put my hand to the side of her face, she leaned into it and said
E- Colby.. I love you too..
She brought her hand up to my face and guided me closer to her. We both shut our eyes and when our lips hit for the first time I genuinely felt the happiest I've been in years.
We pulled apart after what seemed like hours and when she opened her eyes her breathing was back to normal. But then she looked down and her tears never seemed to dry
C- what why are you still crying?..was that not what you wanted?..
E- no.. it's all I've wanted since I met you Colby, but..
C- but what?
E- you wouldn't feel the same way about me if you knew everything
C- everything?
E- there are things that you don't know.. that were happening when we first met.. but no one knew
C- Erin, nothing you are going to say will push me away..
E- Colby.. you don't understand
She said beginning to sob again
C- hey look at me, breathe
It's not hard to know when she's having anxiety, or starting to fall into a panic attack, I've suffered from an anxiety disorder and panic attacks all my life. I thinks that's why I'm able to calm her down.
C- I'm not forcing you to tell me anything Erin, but understand that I'm not just going to leave you
E- you can't promise that..
C- I give you my word Erin
There was silence for 5 minutes before she spoke again
E- ..okay..Jake and I aren't biologically related.. when I was 5 I watched my father kill my mother and baby brother, then himself one night, Jake and his family were my neighbors, when his parents heard the gun go off they came over to see if everything was okay and found me trying to wake my dead mother up.. they took me out of the house and waited with me till the police arrived.. his family was always nice to me before this happened and offered to let me live with them but by law I had to live with my uncle Charles..
She stopped and started freaking out as if the name itself could harm her
C- hey, shhhh
I got up and pulled her into me until she was able to continue, 5 minutes passed then she started again
E- he.. he would push and shove me when I was around 11 and 2 years ago.. he.. he raped me..
she sobbed and I knew she was having a bad panic attack
I immediately sat as close as I could to her and held her in my arms rocking her back and forth with one hand to the back of her head and the other wrapped as far around her middle as I could.
Jake must have heard the crying because the door opened and he came in and sat in the floor next to us.
J- Erin you need to calm down.. it's okay
E- I..I can't.. I can't I can't I can't...
She sobbed into my chest
C-Shhh, it's okay.. he can't hurt you anymore I promise
Soon after repeating this a few times the cry's became muffled and she turned her head to the side to see Jake
J- my family knew she didn't like her uncle, and we didn't either so we tried to get her at our house as much as possible but he would sometimes keep her locked in her room for weeks at a time when she got older, and one night I was asleep after dropping her off back at Charles house and I get a call from her, when I answer all I hear is screaming and my name being cried into the phone.. when I got to the house she had been hit in the head with a lamp and was left unconscious.. naked.. on the floor covered in blood.. I covered her with a blanket and called 911 she started waking up..when she was in the hospital she told us everything and my parents took her in. When I was moving out here with you guys they thought it would be good to bring her with so she would get out more.
E- I..I got really depressed.. and I wasn't eating, I couldn't sleep.. I wouldn't leave the house..
There were tears just streaming down my face.
This was a lot. Taking it all in would take me a day or two but I would have never in a million years thought that she has been through all that. I was right, I knew she was struggling but I never knew it was to this extent.
She started crying again but this was a cry of pain.
C- Erin you need to talk to me, what's wrong?
E- it.. hurts...
