lovestruck † hs

Chapter 1

Once in a while, Jacob asked me on a few dates, and after a few weeks, we considered ourselves a couple. It made my parents so happy because he was such a polite guy, and he said he came from a good, pretty wealthy family, which made them love him more. He'd never miss a chance to pull me into his arms, peck me a kiss, and hold my hand. It seemed too good to be true. Everything that was going on just seemed too perfect.

After dating for almost four months, we decided to get our own apartment right off campus and move in together. Jake had suggested it first, and I was skeptical, but once we got moved in, it felt so right. It surprised my parents, and me too. For two years, we were happy, and I was sort of falling in love with him. A love that would soon turn to regret.

Around the start of January of our sophomore year of college, it all began. He thought joining a fraternity would be good for him, but I didn't agree. We'd talk about it off and on, nearly getting into a fight until I realized that Jacob was his own person, so I didn't stop him. It wasn't my place to get into that part of his social life, it's just that he just didn't seem like a frat kind of guy. I never knew any of his friends. Every time I asked about them, Jacob would tell me they were nerdier than any one, and that I wasn't missing out on much. He always hung out with my share of friends, but I never knew a thing about his. It was the same story over and over, but him joining a fraternity was a big change from nerdy guys to completely stupid ones.

Months into the new semester, Jacob would come home from frat parties later than usual, he'd be insanely drunk, the smell of cigarettes all over his clothing, and soon after, I discovered he began to cheat on me. I saw text messages that tore me apart. My Jacob had totally changed. He even dressed differently now, looking sloppy in ripped shirts, and his hair was a mess. Not even a decent mess, just horrid.

One of the reasons he was doing all of this because I never wanted to go to the stupid parties, and I wasn't ready to...you know, do 'it'. I was always waiting for the right time, and person. So I had my reasons, and Jacob didn't meet them. Our small, manageable arguments would turn into brawls, and he was tired of me turning him down. All of this drama was affecting my sleep, studies, and my job. I couldn't handle it.

One night, I was tired of everything. It all became too much to take in. I had to confront him about this.

He came home from a party at around 2 a.m. The alcohol had him slurred, as he stumbled through the door way, entering the living room. I stood there as he came in, eyes bloodshot, explaining to me how much he had been drinking. I had been waiting all night like an idiot. This time, I wasn't going to help him sober up and lose more sleep.

"Where have you been?!" I yelled, louder than I wanted to.

He glared at me with a mean look in his caramel eyes, posture changing. "Where do you think?!" Jacob barked, trying to walk towards the kitchen. I stupidly decided to follow him.

As he tried to serve himself a glass of water, I spoke. "You need to stop coming home so late. I worry about you! You can't keep getting drunk and acting stupid!" I exclaimed with anger. If only I'd known what was about to happen.

He quickly spun around, almost losing his balance, the glass shattering to the floor next to me. Once he caught himself, he growled, "You're not my mom you bitch!"

I gasped from his comment, the tears racing to my eyes. He never, ever talked like that to me. No one had. I wasn't used to this kind of language, especially from someone like him.

"Don't talk to me that way, Jake! I'm not the one cheating and staying out too late!" I screamed with immediate regret. It was the first time I ever mentioned I knew he was cheating, and I probably shouldn't have.

Next thing I knew, I was laying on the kitchen floor, with a burning pain on my cheek and a huge pain on my head from impact on the hard tile floor, and bloody cuts all over my arms, the glass had caught my fall.

He'd hit me, he'd actually hit me.

He couldn't have done this? This wasn't the Jacob I knew and loved. The cute, nerdy guy who was just perfect for me. The one that never wanted to let me go, who'd cuddle me as we'd watch movies together, never stopped encouraging me. This was a whole new man.

I was going to leave him, but I didn't. I couldn't. Instead, I took his crap for a couple more months. Months of daily bruises, cuts, blood, broken bones, and apology after apology from him. I thought he loved me and that maybe I could have changed him back to the man he used to be, but I was completely wrong.

I was getting out of the house less and less, barely keeping up with my classes and my job at the campus library. As my scores began to decrease, my boss Monica, also my only friend, called me up and asked me to come over to her place for lunch. I hadn't been out in a week, due to my injuries and depression, but I just needed to get out.

When she saw me, she got serious, as she noticed I looked a lot different because that week, Jacob had given me a black eye. I began to not feel pain in the weeks before, so I didn't care much. It was all repetitive for me, and I was used to the sting. She begged to know what happened, and I just had to tell her. I had to let it out to someone. As soon as I was finished, it clicked to me, I was a complete mess. She tried to comfort me.

"Look. Rachel, I care about you too much to see you go through any of this. I'm letting you go. Not because you've done anything wrong, but because I want you to leave him, and California. You need to escape, somewhere that he can't find you. And when the time comes, you can have your job right back here. You have to go, before it gets even worse."

I couldn't believe what she just told me. She opened my eyes. I had to get out of there before it got any worse. Jacob had put me in a dark place, but there was still a chance for me to escape. There was no way I could change him. I loved my job and my classes, but I couldn't stay any longer.

Where could I go? Then it hit me: London. I had family there that he didn't know about.

I had to lie, telling my parents that we'd broken up and that I was just transferring to London to follow a new dream, so they wouldn't suspect. My parents loved Jacob and I together, and I knew they would be heartbroken, but they were actually more angry. I told them to never speak to him again, and when they questioned why, I was not going to tell them about what really happened, or else they probably wouldn't believe he'd do such a thing and that I was lying, so I left it at that. They didn't continue to support me morally, but luckily didn't mind helping me financially.

Quickly, I packed up that day while he was out, and left without him knowing, taking the first flight I could out. I was finally free, but I felt a little lost. What was I supposed to do now?

Now here I am. I've been living in a London flat with my twin cousins for almost a month. Today, Jake and I's three year anniversary, is the day I wish I could skip.
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A/N
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