boyfriend.
madelyn cline&madison bailey | 17.

❥

Theadora did not know what it felt like to be loved by a boy; not even a father. she had spent the greater part of her life working until she dropped. thea had no time for heartbreak, for boys. she had no care for them, either.

until she did, and threw herself in headfirst the first time a boy told her loved her.

luke was from charleston, and so graciously offered thea stay with him while filming the third season of outer banks. she had lived with co-stars for the previous two seasons, but she was younger then. she was seventeen now, only a few months away from an adult, and ecstatic to be living on her own with her first boyfriend.

unfortunately, this excitement was not long lived.

in front of others, luke was the greatest boyfriend to ever walk the earth. he gave her flowers and compliments, held open doors and her hand and was polite and charming to her friends and coworkers alike.

but when it was just the two of them, he quickly grew possessive and controlling; thea wasn't to be alone with any of her male co-stars, no matter how much older than her they all were. she wasn't even allowed to go out with her cast members after filming. she was to come straight home, and if she was ever at work a minute later than she had originally said, he would harass her with phone calls and text messages. her co-stars began feeling her slowly pull away from them; her location was to be on at all times, and luke had forced thea to give him her phone password, granting him permission to go through it whenever he saw fit.

despite all of his blinding red flags, thea continued to defend her boyfriend to her pleading co-stars; "he just wants to make sure i'm safe." "he's only looking out for me." "he just wants to spend time with me since i work so much." "i was with you guys all day. he just wants to see me." "he's just being protective. it's sweet."

thea only began to grow her own suspicious when luke's possessive tendencies turned more physical. he became aggressive, going as far as touching her even after she specifically told him that she was uncomfortable. these behaviors only continued to escalate; luke couldn't be near theadora without physically latching himself to her, despite knowing this much contact upset her—especially at work or in public.

but of course theadora only brushed these habits off, telling herself she was seventeen— she had to start getting used to these types of relationships. they weren't little kids holding hands on the playground anymore.

the only boundary theadora refused to let be broken was when it came to sex. she didn't feel ready, and she told luke this on several occasions. nevertheless, he never seemed satisfied with this response; he constantly pestered her, pushing until one night when theadora finally snapped.

"we don't have to have sex sex." luke tries. "but you gotta give me something."

"i don't have to give you anything until i'm ready, luke. just leave it alone." theadora snaps back, shoving clothing into her backpack. "i'm staying with maddie tonight. i'm not doing this with you."

"doing what?" luke shouts. he lunges forward, wrapping a large hand around the the younger girls frail wrist.

"stop yelling at me!" thea cries out, wrenching her wrist from his tight grasp.

"then give me what i want!" luke's eyes darken. "i'll stop yelling, i'll leave you alone!"

thea's eyes darken just as much. she lowers her voice dangerously, speaking slowly and carefully. "luke, if you try pushing me into sleeping with you one more time, we will be done. i'll move out."

"like hell you will!" luke yells, violently shoving her down on their bed and aggressively undoing her clothing.

"luke, no!" thea pleads to no avail; the more she resists, the harsher luke becomes until he finally resorts to grabbing her by the neck and holding her still himself. terrified by this boy she suddenly no longer recognizes, thea only stares silently with wide eyes.

almost as fast as he had thrown her, luke snatches up his clothes and redresses. "you're not leaving me, i'm leaving you." he spits, storming out from the bedroom and slamming the front door shut as he leaves the apartment.

stunned, thea sits silently on the bed for a few moments before gathering herself together. she wipes her eyes, stands up, grabs new clothes, and takes a shower. afterwards, she quietly picks up her earlier clothes, walks outside, throws them into the complex dumpster, and heads back to the bedroom. she packs all her stuff, which isn't very much, and retreats into the living room after shutting the bedroom door behind her. thea makes up her bed on the couch, dead-bolts the front door, locks all the windows, and goes to sleep.

❥

Theadora awakes in a panic, jolting upright in a cold sweat. she could've sworn she felt his hands on her again; she felt dirty. eyes darting anxiously around the room, thea claws at her neck as she feels her breathing become more and more erratic. her vision goes blurry, and all she can hear is an obnoxious ringing in her ears. thea scrambles about on the couch, fumbling blindly through the covers until she feels her phone, speaking into it with a shaky voice. "hey siri, call bailey."

a groggy and pissed madison bailey answers the phone moments later. "this better be good, thea. it's three in the morning."

"oh, sorry. didn't mean to wake you." theadora feels stupid. she's had panic attacks before; surely she could have dealt with this one alone. the teen lets out a strangled sob as she recalls why she rang in the first place; she's terrified to be alone. just simply thinking about the event that led to this fear causes a pain so sharp in her chest thea thinks for sure shes having a heart attack.

"thee, what's wrong?" bailey is quick to note the strain in the teens tearful tone.

"uh—nothing. i just...god...i'm sorry."

"do you need me to come over? i'll come over. are you still at L—"

theadora immediately cuts off bailey before the latter can say his name. thea can not hear his name right now. "n-no. buttdial. sorry." and with that the teen hung up.

❥

Theadora is awoken the next morning by harsh knocking coming from the front door. she's just about to climb onto the fire escape when a very non luke-like voice sounds from the other side.

"thee, it's bailey and cline."

although she'd never truly admit it, thea feels an extreme rush of immediate relief. slowly the teen rises from the couch and makes her way to the door. after checking through the peep hole just to be sure, thea slides back the lock and gently pulls open the door. what a sight the she must have been; tired eyebags hanging low under her bloodshot eyes, tear stained cheeks, and a petrified numb look on her face.

"what the hell happened?" bailey inquires, letting herself inside the apartment and noticing the makeshift bed on the couch. her eyes linger on the broken glass littered across the kitchen floor that had just barely missed thea's face when it was thrown the night prior.

thea trembles, beginning to cry once again. she couldn't talk about it. not now, and probably not ever. but from what the girls' older co-stars had seen and heard regarding luke, they had a pretty good guess. thea takes a deep breath in, holding it for four before exhaling. "what are you guys doing here?"

"just came to check on you. what happened last night?"

"i told you. buttdi-"

"liar." thea narrows her puffy eyes at bailey at the (true) accusation.

a sudden ping! from the teenagers phone averts her attention. after reading the message, theadora goes pale. sick to her stomach, she drops the phone into the carpet and races into the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach; madelyn quickly following after.

while maddie holds the girls hair back for her, bailey reads the message from the abandoned phone; what she reads making her sick to her stomach as well.

bailey joins cline and theadora in the bathroom. maddie is holding the girl as they sit on the floor after the latter had all but collapsed subsequent to the previous violent vomiting.

bailey leans down and shows the message to cline, who pales. "thea, come stay with us again."

"i can't come back here. ever."

"we know. you don't have to." maddie runs a gentle hand up and down the teens back. "come on; up we go." cline helps thea to her feet, supporting the majority of the girls weight as they head into the living room.

the two maddie's pack up theas things as the latter watches numbly from afar. when they are done, she trails behind them out of the complex, feeling as though everything is moving in slow motion. she felt strange; fuzzy, even.

❥

Thea freezes as soon as the girls open the door to her old apartment. although the teenager knew and loved all five of the men in the girls' living room, that didn't mean she wasn't utterly terrified. sensing the girls hesitation, bailey orders the boys to leave.

"what? why?" austin begs; rudy is incredulous. "absolutely not. do you see the mario cart history being made here ladies?" he gestures to the t.v screen. "we are making history here, baby!"

thea shrinks behind the girls, pressing her back against the opposite wall out in the hallway. "hey, idiots!" maddie calls, getting the boys' attention. she jerks her head behind her and bailey steps back, revealing a clearly hurting theadora.

the boys immediately turn off the game and throw away their trash from raiding the girls' fridge; on their way out the door, their intentions of checking on thea are soiled by a single look bailey sends their way. the group tries not to pay attention to the way thea tenses and moves away as they pass by in the hallway.