My Lucky Boyfriend

round my throat, pinning me to the table, his st

I'd hated

and the sound

ed the scent

ngers a girl might face, how to protect h

y years in a haze, growing

ars later. She never came back. Not long after, my dad married my stepmother

ate me; he just didn't

y distant. In our home, there was no room for open conversation; I cou

hings started with Erik, I did

ced, studying me with a frown. I thought maybe he'd sensed my shame and

ith anger, I yelled, telling him I was d

rief flicker of worry. I thought

g for him, sure he'd confronted Erik, that he was my he

hrough the door, he

t you just make things easier on me

realized I would n

ve

he following year, and those dark, endle

anges in me, the shift deep inside. Onl

Over and over, he said he loved me, that I had te

s "fall" and my "sha

I the

to comprehend how sinister he was. I ran out of that room

htmare had

the pain would fo

learned to hurt

I went to a nearby one, trying to mo

had happened to my seatmate, Kyla Watson, thi

classmates. The whispers, the sneers, even obs

naked down a crowded street, every

es, teachers, and the f

at stayed with me for

I reached for the scissors on my nightstand and dragged the blade acro

n grabbing onto the only pie

shards – even ballpoint pen tips

e fresh, some faded, each one a re

so I fought my demons by hurting myself, trying to silence

ly all my classes. My dad had given up on me, putti

ink, and skip classes

and tried to toughen up, hiding my

me, until I ran into Erik again, and the pa

s of a local prodigy: a fifteen-year-old genius had been

when my dad woke me up from a nap, handed me a

it was a party for that pro

of the celeb

rodigy" was

he talked about how he'd raised his son alone since his wife's accid

iration, the applause, the honor

a j

ily, while I, his victim, sat in sile

rd, how

ard boy onto the stage and hugged hi

Walt, looked out at the audienc

I decided I

, and I would h

hero, I'd be