Maggie took her spot on the bed, laying on her belly. She watched me with interest. Emma sat up and leaned back on the headboard. I sat in the middle, facing both of them. I inhaled deeply then started.
"When I was in sixth grade, I had a major crush on this one boy."
"Ooh," Maggie grinned slyly. "This is interesting."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious, Maggie. No interrupting. Do you want to listen to me or not?"
"Go on."
"Okay, so this boy, his name was Paul Hoffman. He was a bad boy, just like the Big Five. He was hot, bad, and cool. I developed my crush when I saw him on his motorcycle. I can't forget that ever. He was on a black bike. He held his helmet under one of his arms. He popped some gum then spat it out.
"It was love at first sight. He had a handsome face. His hair was brown and shaggy. He had strong features, with big eyes and a strong jaw. He had a tattoo of a dragon on his shoulder and it was the only thing I didn't like about him. At this point, I was at the top of my class. It was like a cliché bad boy good girl kind of story, but there was no real love.
"Paul had a girlfriend. Jenna Rivers. She was your classic mean girl. Pretty, blonde, and evil behind her innocent facade. He used her and broke up with her. That in itself should have sent me warning bells, but, well, it was Jenna Rivers. No boy could stand to date her for more than a month. Then, I somehow caught his attention. I was in seventh grade when he asked me out. I felt like I was floating on the clouds. I couldn't believe it.
"It was a dream come true. So I immediately said yes. We dated and I honestly thought I would be the different girl who would change the bad boy. I thought I was special."
I snorted. "But no. To Paul, I was only that one girl he never dated. So, to fill his quota, he asked me out. We went out for three months. He was patient with me. I refused any sexual intimacy with him, even my kiss. I wanted the kiss to be special. Cheesy, I know, but I am a hopeless romantic. I wanted the kiss to be made when Paul pinned me to the wall and said, 'I love you.' Don't you smirk at me, Mag. It's serious. I was a stupid naive girl who didn't understand what that boy wanted.
"I was smitten. Paul was sweet and he showed a side to me that he never showed to anyone else. I felt special. The nerdy girl and the bad boy. The cliché couple. I loved him, I honestly did."
I sighed. Maggie and Emma exchanged concerned glances. I smiled and continued.
"So, then the breakup happened. I was at his house, playing and checking out his Pokemon card collection. I had my own at home and I wanted to see if he had any rare cards. Paul came into the room and grabbed my wrist.
"It hurt and I dropped the cards. He threw me on the bed and had this really annoying smirk. At first, I smiled back. I thought something romantic was going to happen. I was ready for my first kiss. Paul leaned in and I closed my eyes, ready for it. But then, something snapped.
"He started to touch me in places I never allowed him to before. I opened my eyes and pulled away. It wasn't what I wanted. He gave me a glare and it pierced my heart. It felt like he hated me. I still remember the words he said to me: 'Come on, babe. This is the whole point of dating. Give me your body.'"
I shuddered. "I may have been a naive little girl and a hopeless romantic at the time, but I wasn't stupid. I knew the point of dating was to spend time with the one you loved. I refused to kiss him and he slapped me. I cried. Everything he did was another stab to my heart.
"He called me a....a female dog. I'm not going to say it because I think I'm going to cry if I do." I paused and swallowed. Emma put her hand on my knee comfortingly.
"You don't have to continue if you don't want to."
I shook my head. "No, I need to get this off my chest."
I took a moment to gather my thoughts then continued, "So, I ran away. He would have raped me if I didn't. I ran from him and didn't stop until I reached my house. Joey was there, playing a video game with Trey.
"I barged in, tears streaming down my face. At first, Trey was mad at me for interrupting him. Then he saw me and asked what happened. I told him everything. Joey too.
"Trey went to Paul's house and taught him a lesson. We had to bail him out of jail afterwards. Paul never talked to me again, and, like the idiot that I was, I still loved him. He must have known this because he openly kissed other girls. He got more passionate that he needed to whenever I was there to see it.
"He was a jerk. It took me a while to get over him. I managed to forget him, but the wound is still fresh. That's why I don't want to date yet. I especially don't want to date one of the Big Five. They remind me of Paul. I never want to go through something like that again."
There was a moment of silence. A long moment after I finished. Maggie and Emma were dead serious. Then, it came flooding out.
"I'm sorry," Maggie said. "If I knew, I wouldn't have told you to get it on with Eric or anyone else."
"Yeah, Nic," Emma said. She had her hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "You've been through a lot. Sorry you had to go through that."
I smiled. "It's fine. I just never want to see him again."
There was more silence. Maggie and Emma were both still soaking it all in. I didn't want to dwell in the matter anymore. It felt like a burden was lifted off my shoulders. It was time to have fun.
"So," I broke the silence with a cheerful voice. "What do you want to watch? Sleepless in Seattle or The Notebook?"
"Sleepless in Seattle," Emma said at the same time as Maggie who said, "The Notebook."
We groaned and burst out laughing. "Okay, then," I said. "How about we watch a children's film? I don't feel like romantic movies after what I told you anyways."
"Okay," Emma paused to think for a moment. "Then how about Alvin and the Chipmunks? I can dig through Amy's DVD collection and find it."
"Sure!" I said enthusiastically.
"Alright, let's set up and get on with it!" Maggie said. We cheered and made a pillow fort. We settled down and Emma set up the huge HD television in her room.
We sang along the songs and Maggie tried an impression of Alvin. She actually came pretty close. We laughed and earlier traumatic events were forgotten.
I love my girls.
****
Thanksgiving came soon after the party, so I couldn't confront Sophie about the incident yet. I wasn't going to leave it for later, though, so I decided to confront her as soon as break was over.
My cousins came over for a visit and I was already having enough of them. They weren't here for more than an hour and they managed to exhaust me by jumping on my bed, stealing my onesies, and drawing on the wall with crayons.
This was a nightmare. Aunt Josephine brought blueberry muffins, but it wasn't enough for me to take care of two annoying little boys. I couldn't imagine what she was going through back at home, especially since she was expecting another child. Uncle George was out for a business trip, so he couldn't come. I felt bad for her having to take care of these two all by herself.
"Jack!" I shouted when the older one jumped from couch to couch. "Stop that! Take off your shoes! Why can't you be more like Mikey here? He's being a good boy playing with the toys I gave him."
"Tag, you're it!" Jack rammed into me and I fell onto the ground. Oh, that boy was going to get it. I didn't care that he was only seven. He needed to be taught a lesson.
I chased after him. He hollered through the house, making monkey noises and screeching like a bird. I finally caught him, but then had to deal with his constant whining.
"You're it!" I snickered.
"No-o," he whined, dragging out the "o" in a very annoying manner. "You cheated."
"No, I did not," I said, irritated at his stubborn accusations. "I caught you three times before, but let you go. I'm not running after you again!"
"Fine," he crossed his arms and pouted. "You're mean. I'm going to tell Mom and she'll spank you!"
I rolled my eyes. "Go ahead. Like I care."
I went over to my other cousin. Mike was five, but he seemed more mature than his brother. I beamed at him. He was adorable. He had curly brown hair and his eyes were humongous. Adorable, I tell you!
"Hey, Mikey," I said. "What are you doing?"
He made a whooshing sound and made the action figures of Batman and a yellow power ranger crash. "Ahh, Batman is down! Call t-rex!"
I laughed. He was so cute. He grabbed a toy spinosaurus. It looked like a t-rex, but it had a sail on its back.
"T-rex!" Mike yelled. "Fight Yellow Ranger! Breathe fire! Roooaaaar!"
"Mikey," I said lovingly. I pointed at the dinosaur. "Is this t-rex?"
He nodded. "He can breathe fire!"
I laughed again. He was too cute. "But he's a dinosaur. Dinosaurs don't breathe fire."
He pouted stubbornly. "This one does. He's special!"
I smiled and nodded. "Okay, then who helps yellow ranger?"
"Blue and red ranger," Mike answered. "See." He pointed at two other action figures. One was of Iron Man and the other was Captain America. They weren't rangers, but who was I to rain on his parade?
"You're so cute, Mike," I said. I ruffled his hair and left him to play. Then, I stopped. Jack was being quiet. Too quiet. I checked the couch to see if he was sleeping. No sign of him. Uh oh. I smelled trouble.
I heard a clatter in my room. Oh no. No, you don't Jack! I ran to my room, calling his name.
"Jack! What are you doing?!" I dreaded what I would see in my room. I made it and saw Jack looking at me with surprise on his face. He immediately pulled his hands behind his back.
He stood next to my vanity. I saw that everything was a jumble. Pens and pencils were spread out on the floor. Oh please no. "Jack, what are you hiding behind you?"
"Nothing," he said quickly.
"What did you do?" I asked, maintaining my composure. "It's okay. I won't get mad. I promise."
"Promise?"
I nodded.
Jack lowered his gaze and guiltily brought his hands to the front. In them was my precious mug. The one Joey gave me in eighth grade after we learned how to make pottery. My name was etched onto it. Now it was broken in three. The handle had broken off and a piece of the mug had fallen off, making a gaping hole on one side.
"Oh, Jack," I couldn't get mad. I knew it was a mistake, but my patience was hanging by a thread. I gulped and took the broken mug from his hands. I gently placed it on my vanity. I put a hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Did you get cut?"
Jack seemed surprised by my question. He shook his head. I smiled. He was cute. Just like Mike.
"Just, don't ever touch my stuff, alright? If something breaks and you get hurt, Aunt Josephine will be really mad."
Jack nodded.
"Okay, then let's get out of here. Tell you what. If you promise to be a good boy, I'll let you play with my Nintendo."
He brightened up and excitedly jumped up and down. "I promise. I'll be a good boy until we go back!"
I laughed. "Okay, big boy. Let's go!" I grabbed my Nintendo DS and followed Jack outside. He sat on the couch and I gave him my game. He eagerly took it and turned it on.
"Have fun!" I said. With both Mikey and Jack occupied, I was able to take a break. I sighed and sat on the couch. I got a book and settled on the couch. I was immersed in it.
I turned page by page. It was an interesting book. For me, anyway. I'm not sure I know many people who love To Kill a Mockingbird, but I found it really interesting and suspenseful.
I was on the most interesting part when someone snatched the book from my hands.
"What?" I made a grab for the book and toppled over, falling flat on my face. The fluffy carpet did nothing to cushion my fall. I heard laughter behind me. At first, I thought it was one of the boys, but then, I heard a deep rumble. Too deep to belong to two boys whose voice didn't even change yet.
And not Joey. Joey's laugh was high pitched. That means....I lit up and jumped up.
I turned around to greet my attacker and beloved brother.
"Jumping jelly soda pops! Trey!"
"Hello, baby sis," Trey grinned and held up my book. "I see you're still the top bookworm."