• Knock, knock. She heard the loud knock on her bedroom door and knew exactly who it was. I’ve got to hide, she thought frantically searching around the room to no avail. The door was forced open and he stumbled in. NO! RUN YOU FOOL! She yelled at herself, but her feet would not carry her. She coward in the corner as her last resort.
    He continued to advance towards her. He was within a foot of her, now and she could smell the alcohol on his breath as he breathed down her neck. He put his hands on either side of her face and pulled her head towards his. Their lips touched and she quickly turned her head away. No, no, no. This can’t be happening again. Oh god. Please no. He stared at her, for what seemed like minutes. He had a look of shock upon his face. Soon, he re-gained his sense of mind and returned to what he was doing prior to his silence.
    Yet again, she quickly turned her head away from his as their lips touched. This time, with no hesitation, he clenched his fist and forced it to her stomach. She gasped for air. She could not feel the air entering her lungs long after he hit her, but she knew it was. She was still conscious. She was still holding herself up against the wall as if her life depended on it.
    He tried again to kiss her and won over her. He got his kiss. Now he wanted to go farther. His hands slowly moved down her back and he pressed his body against hers. She gathered her strength and decided to fight back once more. She pushed him off of her and began running towards the door. She made it down the stairs and out the front door. She ran down the street, with no idea where she was going. She only knew she needed to get away from her drunk father.
    Her feet carried her to her best friends house. She knocked anxiously against the door to the small home. She glanced back to make sure he wasn’t following her. To her satisfaction, he was not seen.
    “Who is it?” she heard from the other side of the door. Tears overwhelmed her and she was hardly able to speak.
    “It’s Katie,” she managed to force out. A tall, black-haired, blue-eyed boy, no more than 17, quickly opened the door. His expression showed much concern.
    “Kat, are you okay?” He asked. “Come in.” As she nervously walked into the home, he stepped out in defense, looking across the yard. He swiftly turned to her, shut the door, and escorted her to his couch. She buried her face in his chest as they sat and silently cried. He rubbed her back and whispered softly: “It’s going to be okay.”
    Soon, her body lay unmoving, with the exception of her chest that steadily rose and fell to display her breathing. He continued to stroke her back and soon fell asleep himself.
    **********

    Katie was startled awake by the sudden clap of loud thunder. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as if a way to wake herself up. She, soon, discovered the incredible headache that took over. She massaged her temples, wishing the ache would go away.
    “Kat?” questioned a weary voice. She glanced over to see her best friend, Skyler, stretching and yawning after his sleep.
    “Have a nice nap?” she replied sarcastically.
    “Yeah, actually I did,” he retorted with a smile that quickly faded back into concern. “Are you ok? You didn’t let him…” he trailed off.
    “No, I didn’t. I’m fine, just…a little shook up is all.” She averted her eyes to her feet. He moved next to her and put his arm around her.
    “You want to stay over here for a few days?” She nodded and leaned against him. He wrapped both arms around her and kissed her head. “I’ll go with you to get what you need,” he reassured her.
    “I’ll go tomorrow.” He nodded in response.
    “Here,” he picked up the T.V. remote and turn it on. “Let’s watch a movie to take your mind off of this crap.” She giggled silently and replied with an “ok.”