"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice sounding hollow in my own head. I pushed Connor back outside so my dad wouldn't hear us. I closed the door and turned back to him, wanting an explanation.

He shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood," he said. "I haven't seen you in a while and I missed you."

"You can't be here," I said, hoping to get rid of him as soon as possible. "You need to leave."

Connor slung an arm over my shoulders and I wanted to vomit as he spoke close to my ear with soft words. "Aw, but I just got here. I want to see you," he murmured, smiling at me.

I kept my voice steady. "At this hour? It's almost midnight," I insisted.

Chuckling, Connor dropped his arm so he could slip it around my waist. "Well, our late night dates were always my favorite, you know?"

I shivered with disgust and managed to squirm my way out of his arms and put a few steps of distance between us. His eyes darted to the distance, but he thankfully didn't mention it. I glanced at the front door, weighing my options. "Please, leave," I begged. "I don't want to be with you anymore."

His smile dropped a little and he tilted his head. "Excuse me? I didn't just hear that, did I?" he asked.

My throat bobbed with fear as I tried to repeat myself. "I don't want to be with you-" I started, but Connor wouldn't let me finish the full sentence.

He stepped towards me and grabbed my arm. "You need me. You know you can't control your urges for pain without me," he said. He chuckled and leaned close to my ear. "Or did you already find someone else to use?" he whispered.

"I don't have those urges anymore," I said, but Ryan's face flashed through my mind and I hesitated to continue.

Connor saw this and grinned. "You have. So, how far have you guys gone? Has he already done you?" he asked.

I yanked my arm away. "Don't be vulgar," I said, doing what I had to keep him tame. "There's no one. I didn't mean it when I said I didn't want to be with you. I... I'm sorry," I told him.

He smiled and tapped his lips. "Can you make it up?" he asked. I tried to protest, but he frowned and his eyes grew dark. It was a warning. I swallowed nervously and got on my tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. He saw it coming and pushed me against the front door, forcing his lips on mine with a hand on my ass. I slipped on the front door mat and gripped his shirt to keep from falling, pulling back only to meet the door behind me. Connor kissed me deeply for several agonizing second before pulling away and saying into my ear, "Wanna have a late night date?"

I felt my heart speed up at the reminder of the late night dates we'd had before and I shoved him away. "No!" I said. Immediately, I saw my mistake and tried to fix it before I angered Connor. "I mean, not right now. I have things to do and I'm really tired," I said hurriedly. "Maybe some other time."

I had always had a strong sense of being and I didn't like to be seen as weak, but Connor was the only person who I just couldn't stand up to. From the beginning, he'd had me under his finger. He had seen my broken part and mending them with himself tied into the seams. Whenever I tried to pull him from me, he did something to terrify me. He kept me so that I scared of him, and I knew this, but I couldn't seem to confront him either.

Connor frowned, and for a moment, I thought he wasn't going to let it go. But then, he relaxed into a smile. "Alright. Because it's what my angel wants," he said, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. "I'll be back to pick you up for school on Monday, okay?"

I wanted to tell him that I could walk, but I knew better. That would've been strike two. I was already pushing it and I didn't want to ever see him mad again. "Okay," I said quietly. "See you Monday."

He kissed my forehead, something I loathed, before waving and walking away. I felt my knees buckle as I watched him get in his car and leave. When he was around the corner, I dropped to the ground in defeat. I couldn't escape him. He wouldn't let me even from so far away.

Suddenly, the door behind me opened and my dad poked his head out. "Jacob? Are you okay?" he asked, having obviously been sleeping. "What are you doing out here?"

I froze in my spot and it was like a switch had been flicked. My attitude changed completely and I stood up. "I'm fine," I said coldly, hiding my fear behind an impassive expression. "I just needed some air."

"I heard shouting. Did something happen?" my dad asked. He looked concerned and I felt a little guilty about being so rude before. He got all the way out of bed to check up on me.

"I got a phone call," I lied as easily as possible.

He frowned, glancing out at the street. "Oh... okay. Well, why don't you get back to bed? I'm sure you still have homework to do tomorrow," he said.

I nodded and walked past him without a glance, going upstairs and into my room again. When I closed my door, I went and looked out my window, but Connor was already too far away for me to see him. I sighed. "He'll come back," I murmured. "He always does..."

I guess it was too much to hope for, I thought.

*******

"Sorry, I can't hang out today," I said into my phone to Ryan as I se out the remainder of my homework for the weekend.

I heard him sigh on the other end of the line. "That's what you always say," he said. "I want to talk to you though."

"You are talking to me," I said dryly, sharpening my pencil.

I could just picture him rolling his eyes at me for saying that. "That's not what I meant. I want to talk face to face. Like real people," he insisted.

"Real people don't have time to talk face to face," I told him. "They have homework and tests to study for."

He was silent for a time before I heard fake sniffing. "You're so mean..." he muttered and began to fake sob in an overly exaggerated manner.

I listened emotionlessly for several second of this before pulling my phone away from my ear and pressing the End Call button. I stuffed my phone in my back pocket and went back to doing my English homework. A few minutes passed before my phone buzzed again and I answered it calmly. "Hello?" I said.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just hang up on me and say that it was a glitch in my phone. So, what are you doing after school tomorrow?" Ryan's voice came through loud and clear and I sighed. He didn't give up easy.

"Nothing," I said. "But my dad might want me to clean the house with him."

"You're such a bad liar. Why can't you just tell it to me straight. I'm too much man meat for you to handle," Ryan said.

I tried not to choke on my own saliva that came bubbling up with the bile in my throat and gripped my phone tightly. "You're so full of yourself," I said.

He chuckled. "But, you agree, right? I can get the girls and guys both drooling over me."

I gritted my teeth. He always seemed to hit the nail on the head, didn't he? Or if he didn't, he was pretty darn close and bent it in whatever way suited his fancy. "You know what?" I said. "Just for that sucky line, I'll hang out with you. Where do you want to go after school?"

I heard him laugh and he said, "Where do you want to go? Want to have lunch?"

"Sure," I said. Sporting my new knowledge of the area, I asked, "How about the place by the old thrift store?"

"Yeah, I went there one time with my mom and it was really good. You'll like it." Ryan paused. "Right after school?"

"What?" I asked.

"Do you want to go right after school or later?" he asked more clearly.

"Oh, um, right after if that's okay. I'd like to run to the store before it gets too late," I told him. I needed to pick up a few things for my dad.

"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow. Also, don't worry about bringing money for lunch. I'll pay for it," he said.

"Fine by me," I replied. I didn't have that much to pay with anyways. The less money I had to spend meant the less I had to ask my dad for. Though he had told me I need only ask, I felt it was wrong to ask for money from strangers. "See you tomorrow," I said to Ryan as I was hanging up.

I heard him laugh."I got a date with Jacob!" he sang before hanging up quickly. I immediately regretted agreeing to lunch as I glared at my phone. "Idiot! It's not a date!" I shouted and threw my phone at the bed.

*******

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