Love Yourself (JB+AG)

[8]

Justin

Thursday, 2:34 pm

After putting away $200 worth of groceries, me and Ariana were both exhausted. Now we were sitting in the living room watching House Hunters.

"You should come back tomorrow." I say.

"I was going to. But I'm not leaving yet, because there's no one at my house and it's boring."

"You need friends." I tell her.

"Shut up. I have friends. But they have jobs. Unlike me."

"That's understandable. You should get a job, then."

"Don't you think I've been trying?" She asks.

"No." I reply simply.

"You're an assface."

"Thank you. I try."

We both then our attention to the TV, where a family of 3 is looking for a giant house, even though they can't afford it.

"I don't understand why they need a 5 bedroom house for 3 people. And the third person is a baby, for fucks sake." Ariana says, annoyed.

"Chill, Ari." I laugh.

She looks at me, rolling her eyes before returning them to the TV.

I play games on my phone until I look over and see Ariana asleep. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, in fact, she's looked peaceful and happy all day. When I was at her house, she was so tense and serious.

She's happy with me.

I smile, staring at her. Her eyes flutter open and she takes one look at me then smirks.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asks.

"You're happy." Is all I say.

She smiles, pulling her dress down, which was previously showing up to her mid thigh.

"What time is it?" Ariana asks me.

"You have a phone. I'm not a clock." I reply.

She rolls her eyes, sticking up her middle finger.

"You're rude." I say.

"Shit!" Ariana sits up, throwing her phone to the floor.

"I gotta go." She pulls her shoes on, picking up her phone and her purse.

"Why?" I ask, not moving from my seat.

"Derrick's gonna be home in a few minutes. He doesn't want me to see you anymore."

"Ariana, why are you so scared of him? You're a grown adult, and I'm pretty sure that means he can't tell you what to do."

"Don't ask questions. I'll be back tomorrow." She leaves before I even have time to sit up and I sigh.

She still doesn't trust me enough.

Ariana

3:00 pm

"Ariana!" Derrick yells as soon as he walks in the door.

"What?"

"Were you with Justin today?" He drops his stuff on the floor, glaring at me.

"Why?"

"Answer the fucking question."

"Tell me why and I'll think about it."

"You know. For someone so scared of me, you sure have a bad attitude." He walks closer to the couch I'm sitting on and I stand up.

"The fuck are you gonna do?"

"I might be smaller than you, but we all know I know how to use a phone."

"So you're gonna call the police? You finally got some sense in you?" He chuckles.

I roll my eyes, pulling my phone out of my pocket. Before I can open the keypad, Derrick takes it put of my hand and throws it to the floor. The screen shatters, making it basically unusable.

"You really thought I would.just let you do that? If you did, you're a dumbass."

I knew he wasn't gonna let me, but it was worth a shot. Now I'm scared as hell.

"Now, I'm gonna ask you one last time. Were you with Justin today?"

"Yes, I was. I was helping him unpack."

"Did you happen to go to Walmart with him?" I could tell Derrick was getting more angry by the second.

"Yeah. He needed groceries."

"So now you're prancing around with Justin? Am I not good enough for you?" His voice rises.

Nicole wasn't here, so I had no idea what to do but stand there.

"No, you're not. And you know that."

He laughs before slapping me across my face then kneeing me in the stomach. I fall back on the couch, clutching my stomach.

"Fuck you." I say.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." Derrick says.

"Fuck you!" I scream.

"I'm sure you would love that, wouldn't you?" He raises his hand to hit me again, but before he can, I bring my foot up and kick him, very hard, in his manhood.

He falls to the floor, groaning, and I take the chance to stand up and make my way to the house phone that no one ever uses. I dial 911 and almost press the call button but I don't get the chance to because someone covers my eyes from behind.

I know it's Derrick. He pulls me away from the phone and up the stairs.

"Put me the fuck down!" I scream.

"Shut up! You're already in enough trouble." Derrick takes me in a room and sets me on the floor before finally uncovering my eyes.

"Now that you're causing trouble, I'm gonna have to keep you up here. Wouldn't want anyone poking around where they don't belong, now would we?" Derrick laughs evilly before leaving the room and locking it.

I'm in the only room that locks from the outside, and the key is nowhere near here. I groan, covering my face with my hands.

I'm too late.

I've been with him all this time and I've never stood up for myself. I could've gotten away from him. Far away, but I wanted to believe that he would stop. I wanted to stay so I could get abused even more. I'm stupid. I'm so fucking stupid.

I let the tears fall down my face,not even bothering to wipe them away as they come. By the time I've stopped crying, it feels like years later, but in reality, it's only been an hour.

I try to find something in the room that will help me out, but it's just an extra room that we had in the house.

This makes me start crying all over again. I cry for so long that my eyes are bloodshot and my cheeks are splotchy. By the time I've calmed myself down it's getting dark outside. The sun is setting, turning the sky orange and pink.

3:43 am

I've tried for so long to fall asleep. I haven't slept but for a couple minutes all night. This can't be good for me. My face is bruising and so is my stomach.

I can tell that my stomach is purple, but not my face because there's no mirror.

8:49 am

"I'm out, Ariana! Nicole has no idea where you are and I suggest you keep it that way." Derrick yells through the door.

I hear the front door open and close downstairs. Thank God he's gone.

"Nicole! Nicole, help me! I'm upstairs!" I scream, banging  and pounding on the door.

I hear footsteps running up the stairs and the door unlocking. But the person who walks in is far from being Nicole.