Holly – Age Seventeen Years Old
I shake as I press myself up against the passenger door, my side hurting, while the stench of beer and sex, that isn’t from me, fills the car and my tears fall hard and fast.
We were supposed to be celebrating starting senior year next week, our final year of high school, before we all get to go our separate ways, and instead I’m trembling with fear while my boyfriend of six months, a guy I thought I could fall in love with, a guy I gave myself to last night, drives erratically, completely stoned off his face, looking at me every couple of minutes.
“I didn’t fucking cheat on you, Holly!” he snaps when he sees my tears, and I flinch as I look away from him, curling myself more into the door.
“Don’t fucking act like that!” he shouts as he tries to grab me, but ends up swerving, and I flinch again as my stomach tightens with fear, and he curses as he quickly grabs hold of the steering wheel with both hands.
I didn’t want to get into the car with him. He dragged me and shoved me inside despite the several people trying to stop him, locking the doors so I couldn’t get back out.
I should have listened to my mama, she said boys were nothing but trouble, that I shouldn’t be dating yet but Adam, he-he was sweet, kind and understanding and for six months, he showed me nothing but love.
Until tonight, when I turned his drunk butt down several times at the party because having drunk sex didn’t appeal to me and he decided to get some elsewhere, not caring I was at the party.
Shayne Peters, the school's new quarterback, who is taking over from Adam because he apparently failed a drug test, which I wasn’t aware of until tonight, had drunkenly told me he’d taken Missy up to the master bedroom, and said I was a cool girlfriend to allow her boyfriend to sleep with others.
I didn’t believe him, I didn’t want to, so I went to the room, hoping I was going to prove myself right, that my boyfriend wouldn’t cheat on me, especially not with the school walking, talking STD, not after yesterday when I gave him…
I was wrong.
***
Grunts echo from behind the door, and a girl's moaning, and my eyes tear up.
“Maybe it’s someone else?” I try to make myself believe, hoping and praying, and taking a deep breath, I open the door, not slowly, nope, I shove it open, not caring if it’s going to be someone else because I need to know my boyfriend wouldn’t do this, not after last night.
For the past half an hour, Adam had disappeared after I turned him down yet again when he tried to drag me into an empty room, but surely he wouldn’t.
Adam's head swings my way, anger in his eyes, which soon widen when they lock with mine while Missy gasps, “Do you mind?!” as she turns her head towards me from her position on her front, her ass in the air, his cock shoved inside her.
“Holly…” she chokes with shock, and I shake my head as my tears fall before I quickly turn around and rush towards the stairs, their shouts for me to come back echoing, but I ignore them.
***
“You wouldn’t fucking give it to me, Holly!” he shouts, “It wasn’t fucking cheating!”
My bottom lip wobbles as I try to shove myself further into the door, causing me to flinch at the sharp shooting pains coming from my ribs, and breathing becomes difficult.
He attacked me, my boyfriend, who was supposed to be sweet, hit me.
He caught up with me after I rushed out of the house, grabbed me by the hair and shoved me over the hood of his car and while I tried to fight him off, screaming for help as he told me I was his, that I made sure I was when I gave him my virginity while a crowd had formed.
He bashed my head against the hood a few times while people filmed it, laughing, believing we were playing when I cried for them to help me.
It wasn’t until Missy of all people shouted that he was hurting me, shouting that I’d just found him in bed with her and that they will hate themselves tomorrow morning when they see the proof on their phone that I was crying for help the crowd soon sobered up, and the people who I thought were my friends then tried to intervene which only angered Adam even more.
He shoved me onto the floor and kicked my ribs several times before he was dragged off me but before I could run away after stumbling to stand, he grabbed my hair and shoved me towards the passenger side of the car.
Several students tried to stop him, and I tried to run, I really did, but with him high on god knows what, he seemed stronger than he should have been. He managed to get me inside the car before hitting people when they tried to intervene.
I saw several people on their phones, all looking scared, as he successfully ran over Missy’s foot when she tried to open my door as I banged on the window, crying for help.
I should have listened to my mama when he asked me out.
“You loved me, you gave me your virginity, you know I wasn’t cheating!” he claims as he picks up speed, and I flinch again.
He’s snapped, he really has, but I won’t let him believe that I’m his, I refuse.
“You hit me,” I choke, “I was screaming for you to stop, crying for help, it’s all over their phones!”
He growls, “You’re fucking mine!” as he leans over and this time manages to grab my hair tightly, and I scream as I’m yanked over to him just as sirens blare in the distance, blue and red flashing lights filling the darkness in the car, and he shoves me back as he curses, and relief fills me.
“Pull over!” a voice echoes, and my tears fall before Adam completely loses it and growls, “You think you’ve gotten outta this, huh, Holly?” I look at him, locking eyes with his hazel ones, the pupils completely blown.
Who is this guy?
How did he pull the wool over my eyes?
“Pull over, Adam, please,” I choke, and he curls his top lip at me and confirms, “You’re going to dump me, aren’t you, huh?” and I look away from him, not willing to lie knowing the cops are here.
I’m safe, he’ll pull over…
“First football and now my perfect girlfriend who gave me her virginity,” he mumbles to himself, and I shake my head.
“I gave it to you thinking you only saw me but it was a lie, you basically stole it by pretending to be someone you are not and then you cheated on me!” I choke, and he growls again not liking the truth before the car picks up speed, and I look at him in shock and command, “Adam, don’t be stupid, pull over! ”
He chuckles as he swerves around a parked car and onto the grass causing the car to bounce high, and I scream, “Adam, pull over,” as panic hits me when I see he’s heading towards the trees, more sirens echoing.
“If I can’t have you, then no one can,” he sneers, and my eyes widen as my pulse pounds.
He swerves towards a large oak tree and I scream as I quickly put my seatbelt on and hope for the best as I yank it several times to ensure it locks itself.
The car smashes into the tree just as the seatbelt locks itself, making my whole body jolt and difficulty to breathe chokes me and as if it happens in slow motion, Adam’s body flies through the windshield, half his body jammed under the steering wheel as glass and blood go everywhere before my head bangs against the window hard, the seatbelt crushing me with the impact and I choke as dizziness takes me.
The last thing I see is Adam’s cold, dead eyes through the shattered glass before I black out.
***
“Are you sure he is the one who attacked her?!” I hear someone choke over the annoying beeping, and I squeeze my eyes tightly as a voice I don’t recognize says, “Yes, the several videos online have been shown as proof in the past few weeks.”
“No, no, my son would never!” I hear Mrs. Collins snap, “She caused this, not him!”
“My daughter did nothing!” my mama shouts, and I squeeze my eyes tightly, my head pounding, “Your son assaulted her, he said there is proof!”
“Missy Sires admitted she was sleeping with Adam, who had taken a few pills of ecstasy, the reason why he was kicked off the football team, when Ms. Robins walked in on them. She ran away as any hurt girlfriend would, and Adam followed her before roughly shoving Ms. Robins against the hood of his car,” the strange voice states.
“Several students filmed it, believing they were messing around, too drunk to notice Ms. Robins screaming for help as he beat her up. We have the evidence, Mrs. Collins, so please keep your voice down. I understand your pain but Adam is the one at fault, not Ms. Robins, just like it was Adam who ran over Ms. Sires when she tried to help Ms. Robins get out of the car. And just like it was Adam who purposely drove into a tree and tried to kill both himself and Ms. Robins and now we won’t know the outcome with Ms. Robins unless she wakes. ”
“Get out!” my mother sneers, but I keep my eyes shut, not wanting to face everyone while I feel like my heart is going to pound out of my chest, the party hitting me like a slideshow behind my eyelids, the crazed look in Adam’s eyes.
“Leslie…” Mrs. Collins chokes, “My son is dead, I just want some answers.”
Wait, Adam is…
No.
“You’ve got your answers, several videos of my daughter being attacked by your son including two girls stepping forward and admitting he sexually assaulted them,” wait what, “And now if Holly wakes, she’s going to have to live with the fact her first boyfriend not only had issues with drugs but was also a cheater, beat her, hurt other girls and tried to kill her, now get out! ”
I hear a few sniffles before I hear Adams' sister, Freya, whisper, “Mama, let’s go, I don’t think Dad was lying when he said he’s washed his hands of us when we stormed in here, putting the blame on someone innocent.
Holly is still in a coma and may never wake, you’ve got your answers, the whole town knows them, and we’ve become a laughing stock, so let’s go. ”
“But there’s proof she was fighting with him in the car, that's how he crashed!” Mrs. Collins tries, and someone sighs as a voice says, “There is video evidence of your son reaching over and grabbing hold of her by her hair before shoving her away when we put the sirens on. Ms. Robins, as your daughter has stated, is in a coma because of your son. Now respect her parents’ wishes and leave otherwise I will have to forcefully remove you. ”
“I want a court order in place so they cannot step a foot near my daughter, immediately,” my dad commands and several gasps echo as the unknown voice says, “Of course,” before loud protests make me flinch, the noises sounding like sledge hammers being hit against my head and I unintentionally groan out loud and mamma cries, “Holly!” before I feel two soft hands grip my cheeks.
I slowly open my eyes and lock them with Mama’s blue ones before my dad leans over and presses his lips against my forehead and both my parents sob before I lock eyes with Freya’s sad hazel ones and I choke, “Adam…” and her tears fall as I shake my head and a sob works its way up my throat with denial.
No, he didn’t manage to kill himself and I survived, please no.
Mama holds me tighter as Mrs. Collins tries to get past who I now see is a policeman who is gently shoving her out of the room while Freya slowly walks out, following them. I know life as I know it will never be the same again.
My boyfriend cheated on me.
He hit me.
He tried to kill me but ended up killing himself instead.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get past the trauma, especially with the whole school standing back before realizing I needed help.