"I'll be back tonight. Don't miss me too much."

Cam leaned forward and kissed me, fixing my backpack strap lying loosely on my shoulder.

"I'll try not too." I laughed as I backed away, saluting him before turning my back to him and heading up the steps and into the school.

The school I'd be leaving behind in a little less than a month, the school I'd spent the last four years of my life in.

"I don't want to take those shitty exams." Shay groaned as she fell into step beside me, her head bobbing side to side. Before I could go on, I felt someone on the other side of me.

"None of us do, my love. But we have too." Ray nudged me playfully, winking at Shay. My best friend shook her head with a quiet laugh.

"I'm sure you don't care, Raymond. All the teachers love you. Some of us, though, some of us have brains the size of peanuts."

*

I couldn't focus on my tests for the life of me. My mind kept drifting to college, to Stanford. To Cam visiting the campus without me.

It had been a mutual decision. Because Ray had somehow managed to get accepted as well, Cam had suggested Ray and I took a trip down there ourselves after graduation. I knew he wanted to speak with his Dad, the principal and head of the University, and hadn't wanted us there with him. So I'd agreed, said it was fine.

But sitting in class, with two hours left until we got out, I couldn't force my mind to focus on the exam for the life of me. Even if I did find my thoughts drifting away from Cam and college, it would find some other thing to sit and attack.

"Ms. Hart, is everything okay?" Mr. Matthews questioned, his eyes narrowed from behind his thick glasses. I nodded, a small smile forced on to my face.

"Yes, sir." I whispered.

I did my best to focus for the rest of the test, and actually seemed to get a hold of myself for a while. But my wandering thoughts and exhaustion returned the second the last bell of the day rang and I was allowed to go.

I searched the lot for Shay, hoping to somehow manage to catch a ride from her, but she was already gone. Probably miles away from the school, considering she'd been itching to get those tests and high school in general over with for months.

I was surprised when my eyes fell on a family old car slowing to a stop in front of me.

"Do you need a ride?" He questioned, eyebrows arched.

"No, James." I huffed, "Just go home. I can walk." He shook his head and reached over to open the passenger side door.

"If you don't get in, I will just follow you home until you do." He said, a look in his eyes that told me he wasn't bluffing.

"I don't need a ride, James. I've walked-"

"You're pregnant. That's the difference." He answered before I could even finish my debate. I glanced around me one last time before giving in. I climbed into the car, shutting the door hard so he would says something that would force me out.

"How was your day?" He asked, waiting for a few kids to pass in front of us.

"Exhausting." I grumbled.

"Of course it was. Good thing you'll be graduating in a couple weeks, yeah?" He offered a smile, but I couldn't bring myself to return it.

I leaned back against my seat as we pulled out of the clustered parking lot, relieved when we were out and on the major streets again. James stayed quiet, occasionally glancing over at me to make sure I was still there and not ready to open the door and jump out of the moving car.

"Do you like Starbucks?" He questioned as we pulled into the drive-thru of one.

"Yeah." I mumbled, still not looking in his direction.

"What do you want?" I told him in detail, not caring for once that this was James, my father, asking. He ended up ordering a coffee for himself and another frap for Mom.

He didn't pry, didn't ask any more questions. I guess that was one thing I could say I must have gotten from him. I kept my pain, my questions, my everything bottled up and tucked deep down where no one could see it.

"When's Cameron supposed to be home?" He asked, finally trying to spark up another conversation.

"Tonight." I muttered, "Midnight or something like that. I'm going to spend the night at his place, give Mom some alone time." He nodded, but didn't correct the fact that I hadn't included him in what I said.

Pulling into the driveway, I checked Cam's for Jacob's car, praying that he wouldn't be anywhere in sight for the rest of the night.

"I'll see you in the morning." I waved and ducked out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder as I hurried up the Mendoza's driveway.

I didn't know how to feel when Ms. Mendoza appeared at the front door. Cam had said she'd taken Jacob's side on everything, and I honestly didn't know how to feel about a woman that could favor one child over the other.

"Oh, Blake! Hello! Cam's no-"

"I know." I cut her off, shifting on my feet, "He wanted me to stay over tonight, you know, so I'd be here when he got back." She nodded, moving from the doorway and gesturing for me to come in.

"Well, go right ahead then, darling." She said, smiling. I offered one of my own as I hurried up the stairs and left Ms. Mendoza to stare after me.

*

Sometime during the night, I was stirred awake by the bed caving slightly. I rolled over, ready to hear Cam's reassuring voice. It never came.

"Cam?" I mumbled, feeling a hand brush against my bare leg beneath the blanket. I started to sit up, but Cam's hand pushed me back on to the bed without a word.

"Cam, hey. W-" I blinked in surprise when I felt his hands sliding up my legs and stop at my thighs.

"Cameron." I hissed, trying to squirm away, "What are you doing? It's late." He only sighed in response, but didn't stop. His hands continued up my legs until they reached my underwear.

"Cam?"

Maybe this was one of those dreams where you kept screaming for the person but they couldn't hear you. How this would filter into my subconscious, I have no idea.

The second I felt my underwear starting to slide down my legs, I started to kick.

"Cameron, I said stop! Are you listening to me?" A dream couldn't feel this real, right?

"Are you drunk?" I whispered, trying to make out his figure on the bed in the dark.

I started to reach for the light, but he grabbed my wrist and pinned my arm back against the bed, earning a fearful look out of me.

"What are you doing? I told you I wasn't into that role play crap." I tried to squirm again, but all of his weight had been pressed down on me, trapping me beneath him.

I laid there, still, as it happened. As my Cameron, my boyfriend, forced himself onto and into me. He hadn't made any attempt to stop, he was acting as if it weren't him at all.

It wasn't until I heard the sound of footsteps retreating that I pushed myself up from the bed and turned the light on, letting it blind me for a moment.

I brought my hands down to my legs, tears pooling in my eyes when I saw the bruises starting to form on the both of them.

I took my phone from the nightstand and checked it for the time, my lips started to part as my heart pounded against my chest.

Cammy: Its 2 late to head back home now, I'll be staying here for the night. Love you

I dropped my phone on to the bed and pulled my legs against my chest, my eyes on the door for a second as I tried to recollect myself.

That hadn't been Cam in the room, that's why he hadn't been responding.

Why in the world what I believe that was Cam? He wouldn't ever force himself on me, wouldn't leave bruises or marks on me. And he sure as hell wouldn't leave right after. That hadn't been my boyfriend.

It had been Jacob.

I force myself off the bed, my legs shaking so bad I was afraid I'd collapse as I reached for my underwear and slid them back on.

Gathering my things, my entire body trembling, I slid out of the room and tiptoed down the stairs. I made it out of the house successfully without Ms. Mendoza catching me. I tried to run back toward my house but ended up collapsing on my porch, my legs shaking too bad to try and stand again.

"Blake?" James was heading up the driveway, a few bags of groceries in his hands.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are you crying?" He dropped the bags beside me and knelt.

"Is it Cameron? The baby? Is everything okay?" He moved closer, gently laying his hand on my shoulder, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" I heard the sound of the door being unlocked behind me, knowing Mom was seconds away from seeing me completely falling apart on the doormat.

"It hurts." Was all I was able to choke out. I saw worry flash through his eyes, Mom's hand rested on the side of my head.

"What hurts, sweetie?" Mom's voice was eerily calm. I gestured toward my thighs, which seemed to be some sort of unspoken signal for James to stand up and take the groceries inside. Mom took his place and pushed my hands away, taking in the old school t-shirt I'd found in Cam's room and thrown on.

"Sweetie-" She broke off when she pushed the shirt up slightly, revealing the dark marks on both of my thighs.

"Oh God, Blake. Did Cam-" I shook my head, not allowing her to finish her accusation.

"No." I looked toward the Mendoza's house, my vision blurred as I tried to make out Jacob's Prius parked behind his Mom's mini-van.

Everything in me wanted to tell my Mom who had done it, wanted to pour my guts out, let her know he'd tried it once before but hadn't been able to do it.

But I couldn't find the words, I couldn't force them out.

"Blake?" Mom started to rub my arm comfortingly, but I didn't respond. I pushed myself forward and buried my face against her shoulder and cried.

None of this, none of it would have happened if I had just said forgave Cam and hadn't ever gone through with the bet. Jacob would have never noticed me, he wouldn't have done what he just did. It was my fault.

***AN***

Let me know what you guys thought! 

~ChasingMadness24