"It's you and me. Together," he says. "Us against the world."
*****
All my life, I've never trusted men. The image of them planted in my head is the figure of my abusive stepfather who has made my mother and I live in hell.
But then, an encounter w...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I throw my phone on my bed and lie down on it, a soft sigh escaping my lips. I just made a phone call to check on my sister, Melanie, who has just arrived in Australia with Mom and Dad.
She's just been accepted at a well-known university in Perth to pursue her bachelor degree, and our parents are staying there for a week before going back home to New York.
Meanwhile, here I am, in Texas. Completely away for them. To say that I'm thrilled to work here as an intern in one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the country is an understatement.
I can't be more grateful for that. It's the result of all the hard work that I've been putting my entire life.
I just have to make a little more effort to nail my job here -- enough to secure the company's trust -- and finish my final year in Boston University before graduating with honours.
I've got my life planned. Some people might think that I already have everything in my hands. Excellent academic records. Promising career prospects. And glorious achievement in sports -- I've never given up the thing I love the most, which is football.
But now, as I stare at the ceiling of my house, I can't help but feel empty. I'm close to achieving all my goals. So what now?
Another sigh escapes from my mouth as I cover my eyes with my arm, closing my eyes to sleep.
At some nights, just like what happens now, the same horrible feeling stirs inside me again. That feeling of guilt. Regrets. Fear.
The funny thing is that it always happens when I feel lonely.
Fuck. This makes me not want to fall asleep. But I can't help it.
No matter how hard I try to resist, when the nightmare comes, it just happens.
It's something that I've been trying to escape, only to fail miserably. It's something about my ruined past. My horrible past.
It's something that happened years ago. Back when I was still in high school.
