Anyone But You

Epilogue - Nate

I took Erin's mitten-covered hand and pulled her out of the car, into the cold morning air.

We waved at Mark and Tyler and headed towards campus, with many people staring at us openly. Those were the morning regulars, who were always so eager to call out a "Hello!" to Mark, Tyler, and I.

I looked at Erin appreciatively, something I was now able to do any time I wanted.

She looked adorable, bundled up in her winter coat, mittens, and ear muffs. Her nose was pink from the cold and her long, dark hair was blowing around her face in the wind. She shivered.

I took this as an excuse to put my arm around her and pull her closer. She smiled up at me, nervously.

I knew why she was nervous, but I asked anyway.

"Because," She whispered, turning her head towards mine, "Everyone's staring. There are a ton of girls here who would kill to go out with you, and they probaby don't think I'm good enough."

"If they think that then they're stupid. But that's probably not what they think. Don't worry." 

When I dropped Erin off at her homeroom, kissing her on the tip of her cold nose, she looked relatively more relaxed, with some of her usual confidence back.

Today was our first day entering school as a couple.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. 

A lot has happened in the past two months since Erin dropped that bomb on me.

After telling me her story, Erin said she owed it to herself to tell her friends and family about her abusive relationship as well.

That day that we walked into my house, hand-in-hand, Mark and Tyler eyed us warily and cracked a few jokes about when the wedding would be.

Erin knew just what to say to shut them up.

I felt bad for them, though. They didn't take it well.

They had always thought that they protected Erin, and at first Mark and Tyler blamed themselves for letting it go on so long, undetected.

Erin insisted that it was her fault for holding it all inside and letting them think that everything was fine when it wasn't. 

There were more tears and a big, mushy, hug-fest.

That was hard on Erin. She blamed herself for hurting her friends, no matter how much we tried to make her believe otherwise. 

It was a good thing she had another two days to brace herself to tell her parents.

Even then, Erin asked me to be there when she told them.

Her dad took the news like Tyler, Mark, and I did. He wanted to beat Dean up. 

Erin's mom was crying and hugging her daughter, and it took a while to get her under control. 

Several actions took place that Monday that Erin's parent's found out. 

First, we all went to the police. The fading bruises and scars on Erin's body, plus our word against Dean's, was enough evidence for them to take custody of Dean. Hours later, Dean was behind bars, where he stayed for the next 72 hours.

Erin got a restraining order against Dean. She didn't believe this was necessary, but her mother said it would help her sleep better at night, so Erin agreed. 

Our school caught wind of the news, and Dean was immediately expelled. I was surprised that the school was able to do that, since this had all happened outside of school. Or so I thought.