Damaged Together

Chapter Three

As I walked down the street with my phone pressed up against my ear I began to start shivering. Of course, I forgot a jacket.

“Hello?” His voice answered and suddenly I felt stupid for calling. We hadn’t even known each other for a full day and I’m running to him with my issues. I have been able to handle my own issues my entire life but suddenly I felt reliant on Jesse.

“Um, it’s Alyssia” my voice was shaking, “I was just seeing what’s up?”

“Alyssia, are you okay? What’s wrong? You sound upset?

“I’m fine…” Which was partially true. Part of me wanted to believe that I was fine, that I didn’t need help. But the other part of me knew I was broken. I just couldn’t resort back to cutting. I have to be stronger than that.

“Hey, you can talk to me. What’s going on?” His voice was gentle and suddenly I felt a little less alone.

“I got into a huge fight with my family and I walked out and I don’t know where to go and I just didn’t know who to call and I was just so upset and I’m sorry I can hang up now...” My sentence had no end. I had begun rambling and finally Jesse interrupted me, “Lysa, I’m going to come find you. Explain where you are from your house.”

I told him how to get where I was and he told me he’d be here in a minute so I sat on the curb and began waiting. I pulled up the grass by where I was sitting just to do something with my hands which were never still. I saw headlights coming down the street and I stood up knowing it was Jesse.

He pulled up next to me and I walked around his car to get to the passenger side, I sat down and got settled. “Thank you so much Jesse. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry about it. I promise. It was probably best I got out of my house too.”

“Well thank you.” I said with a weak smile. I couldn’t find the strength in myself to put on a full smile and I think Jesse understood that.

His hand reached mine and quickly gave it a reassuring grip. He put his hand back on the steering wheel and began driving the car. I looked down at my hand. I still felt tingles from when he grabbed it.

The car ride was a comfortable silence. I would sneak glances at Jesse and I felt him doing the same to me when I wasn’t looking.

I began looking at him again and he then turned his head. He’d caught me looking before I was able to look away. Shit. I turned bright red and looked down. He then grabbed my hand the same way as before and held it for a moment and in that moment I felt something I had never felt before. I felt like someone was there for me.

I had always felt alone in my life. I was always being put down by my sister, my parents didn’t care about me, I never had true friends but in the moment that Jesse held my hand all of that vanished and I felt as if I was invincible, purely from the touch of his skin on mine.

Jesse’s POV:

I had to pull my hand away. I felt too much too fast. There is no way I could be falling for this girl. I haven’t even known her for a full day. But when I grabbed her hand for the second time it was like every single moment of happiness I’ve ever had was combined and amplified by a hundred.

I got the cliché “butterflies” too.

I had to have more but at the same time I was terrified. I am falling in love with a girl who probably isn’t falling in love with me.

I pulled into an alleyway between a hardware store and a music store and put the car in park.

“Do you wanna talk?” I asked Alyssia.

She looked at me with tears on the edge of her eyes.  She nodded.

She let out a shaky breath. “My family hates me. They blame me for my sister’s death.”

I was still so confused on what had happened. All I knew is that almost everyone in the town that knew who Alyssia was blamed her for the death of her sister. But I don’t believe it. There’s a story behind her eyes.

“We were in the car. She was driving me to cheerleading practice. We began arguing” she started.

*Flashback*

“Ellie, stop it. You are hurting me” She was pinching the fat on my stomach.

“Oh common, fatty. Are you a wimp too?” My sister taunted.

“Ellie! I said stop it!” I yelled and pushed her arm away. Ellie suddenly lost control and we swerved into the other lane and were driving into a black truck.

We then swerved back into our lane but the truck driver also went into our lane assuming we weren’t going to.

I realized we were going to crash. I pushed against the dashboard as we hit. It seemed everything was in slow motion. I looked to my right and saw my sister. Her perfect face etched with terror and I noticed she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.

 The airbag deployed into my face and body and everything went black.

*End flashback*

I sat and listened as Alyssia told me her story and all I wanted to do was make her pain go away. She needed to know it wasn’t her fault. I wanted to be there for her so bad but I didn’t know what to say so I held her face in my hand and wipped the tear that had escaped with my thumb, “I’m here for you. Forever.” I leaned in and I kissed her.

Alyssia’s POV:

I forgot about my sister, I forgot about the abuse, I forgot about the crash. I forgot what alone felt like.

Butterflies swarmed my stomach as Jesse’s lips were on mine.

I grabbed his shirt and kissed him back. The entire world faded away and it was just Jesse and I.

He pulled away but the butterflies were still swarming in my stomach.

I told that story over and over again to cops and my parents but I had never told someone it because I wanted to. It was always because I had to or I was being ordered to.

I left out the part about wanting to die from the crash as I always did when I told the story.

Nobody knew about how my sister abused me and how it made me feel. Nor would they ever.

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Sorry this took so long!

I was busy all weekend!

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Have a good week y’all.~