*
My cell phone rang. I groaned and put a pillow over my head. I hated being woken up so early. I turned over and tried to go back to sleep. The phone rang again and again I buried my head. The third time my phone rang; I sat up and grabbed it. “Hello?” I yelled angrily.
“Hi, it’s me.”
“Hi Sophie, what’s up?”
“I have a favor to ask?”
“What?”
“My two cousins are coming from Italy and they want to see the city. I was hoping you would go with me one night.”
Sophie’s family was originally from Italy. Her grandparents immigrated right after they got married. Her uncle now works for the US government and had gotten the opportunity to work overseas. So, he moved his whole family over to Italy.
“Tony and Dominick?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I hesitated, thinking of how Josh would react. “I don’t know.”
“Because of Josh?” Sophie guessed right away.
“Yeah.”
“Natalie, you have the right to go out with me.”
“I know, but this is more like a date.”
“They’re my cousins. They have girlfriends. They just want tour guides,” she said raising her voice.
“When?”
“Next Friday.”
“Okay, I’ll go,” I agreed with a sigh.
“I’m glad. Thanks.”
I stayed in bed thinking about what I was going to tell Josh. The truth was the right answer, the only answer, but I knew he wouldn’t like it. I obsessed about it all day Saturday. I couldn’t find the right words, probably because there weren’t any.
The next afternoon, I drove over to his house. His parents were at church. “Hi Nat.” He kissed me and closed the door behind me. Then he wrapped his arms around me. “I’m glad you came over.”
“So am I.” I smiled. “Josh, we need to talk.”
He looked into my eyes. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I just have to tell you something.”
“Oh, okay.” He relaxed.
“Sophie’s cousins are coming to town and she wants me to go with her to show them around on Friday,” I explained.
“Okay.” He shrugged and kissed me.
Here comes the hard part. “Josh?”
“Yeah?”
“They’re guys.”
He didn’t react at first. “You’re going out with guys?”
“Yes, her cousins.”
“A date?” His face turned red.
“Josh, they live in Italy and have girlfriends,” I told him quickly.
“I don’t want you to go out with a couple of guys,” he raised his voice.
“Josh—”
“I said NO!” He got in my face.
“Josh, I already told her I would do it.”
His hand came up and slapped me across the face. I lost my footing for a few seconds. “Are you telling me you are going to do it?”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “Yes, Josh.”
He slapped me again. “You are a whore!”
I staggered again trying not to fall. “Josh, you don’t understand.”
“Yes, I do, Natalie.” He turned around and slammed me against the wall. “You don’t want to be with me. Get out!”
“Josh—”
“Get out!” he yelled.
I ran to the door and hurried out. I had tears running down my cheeks. I started sobbing once inside the car. He had promised to never hit me again, but he did. My left cheek burned all the way home.
I parked the car and sat there for a couple of minutes. I couldn’t believe Josh would do this to me. I didn’t understand it.
“Hey Natalie!” I heard my name being called. I looked out the window and saw Miranda standing there. I opened the door. “I’ve been saying your name for a minute now.”
“I’m sorry.” I wiped away my tears.
“Natalie, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve been crying.”
I sniffled. “Just a little.”
“Why?”
“Josh and I had a fight,” I told her.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Miranda pulled me to her and gave me a hug.
“Thanks Miranda.”
“Is that all that’s wrong?” she asked.
“Yes,” I lied. I couldn’t tell her what had happened, she didn’t need to know. This was something I had to handle by myself. My cheeks stayed red for a while, I snuck an ice pack in my room to help with the swelling. Thankfully, it didn’t bruise. My back, however, did. There was a nice size bruise where he had slammed me against the wall. I was glad I could cover that up easily.
I avoided Josh all day Monday. It seemed like he was trying to do the same. “Natalie?”
“Yeah Sophie?”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes.”
“You haven’t talked to Josh all day,” she told me.
“You’re perceptive,” I muttered sarcastically.
“It’s not hard to miss.” She smiled.
“We had a fight yesterday,” I explained.
“About my cousins?” she guessed.
“Yes.” I sighed.
“He’s mad?”
“Yes.” I nodded. She shook her head and looked down. “What?”
“Something’s just not right with him.” She shrugged. “So, what are you going to do?”
I shrugged. “I told him I was going with you.”
“Good.” She smiled. “You need to show him where you stand.”
I nodded. “I guess. What do you mean that something isn’t right?” Her comment bugged me.
“Just a feeling I have.”
*
Josh caught up with me the next day at school. He waited for me outside of one of my classes. “Natalie?” I kept walking. “Natalie!”
I stopped. “Yes Josh?”
“We need to talk.”
“We have to go to class, Josh,” I told him.
“No, Natalie…I’m sorry.” He took my hands. I looked down at our hands, mine were trembling. He saw it too and steadied them. “Natalie, I got carried away. You know I love you.”
I sighed. “Josh, I can’t be with you if you’re going to slap me around,” I told him with tears running down my face.
He put his hand gently over my mouth. “Shhh. Natalie, it won’t happen again.” He leaned toward me and kissed me.
“Josh—”
“Natalie, do you trust me?”
I hesitated. “Yes.” Not really sure why I trusted him, but I did.
He kissed me again, and without another word, he took my hand and we went to class.
I knew Josh wasn’t happy about Friday, but I wouldn’t break my promise to Sophie. Josh didn’t say anything about it. I think he wanted to forget about it. But, he didn’t.
Chapter 3
I got to school early on Friday and was talking to Sophie about that night when Josh walked in. He looked at us and shot Sophie an evil look. She, refusing to take his crap, glared right back at him.
“Hi Josh.” I smiled.
“Hi.” He kissed me.
“Hi Josh.” Sophie smiled at him politely.
“Hi.” He nodded to her.
I shook my head. I knew what was coming. “How was your night?” I asked him.
“Fine,” he said. “I thought of you.” He smiled.
I smiled back and let him kiss me. Sometimes he was so sweet. “Natalie?”
“Yeah, Sophie?”
“Is six good?”
I nodded. “Sure, that’ll be fine.”
“So, you’re still going?” He cursed under his breath and stared at me.
“Yes, Josh. I’m still going.”
“You won’t reconsider?”
“No.” I looked at Sophie.
He sighed. “Well then, I’ll have to deal with it.” Then he slowly turned and walked away.
“Josh…” I started after him.
/>
Sophie grabbed my arm. “Let him go.”
I didn’t see Josh again until school let out for the weekend. He came up to me and kissed me. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Yes, I will come over.”
“Natalie, you won’t fall in love with one of these guys, will you?”
“No, Josh, I won’t.”
He nodded. “I trust you. I hope I don’t regret that.” His words scared me. I wasn’t sure if he was making a threat or expressing his emotions.
I drove over to Sophie’s house a little before six o’clock. I was nervous, but I went up to the door and knocked. Sophie answered the door. “Hi Nat, come on in.”
“Thanks.”
She led me to the living room where her family sat. “Well, hi Natalie.” Mr. Nonette stood up. He was a tall, well built man. His blonde hair was cut shorter than the last time I had seen him. I said hello to Sophie’s parents.
“Hi Natalie.” Mrs. Nonette smiled. She was a very pretty lady. Sophie looked a lot like her. She had the same long multi-colored hair and green eyes.
The rest of the people I didn’t know. “Natalie, this is my Aunt Mary and Uncle Chris,” Sophie said.
“Hi, nice to meet you.” Sophie’s aunt smiled.
“Hi Natalie.” Her uncle shook my hand.
“And this is Tony and Dominick.” She pointed to the handsome guys on the couch.
“Hi.” I smiled again.
I shook their hands. “We’ve heard a lot about you,” Dominick said.
I smiled at Sophie. “I hope it was all good.”
She laughed. “Of course.”
“Are we visiting for a while or leaving?” I asked, not sure whether to sit.
“We’re going.”
“Okay.”
We all piled into Sophie’s car. The guys sat in back. “So, what do you want to see?” Sophie asked looking in the rearview mirror.
“Uh, well, the good stuff.”
We all laughed. “Anything in particular?”
“The Empire State Building would be nice.”
“Okay, we’ll go there first.” Sophie smiled. We were able to talk and they got to know me a little better during the long drive to the city. She drove down to a parking garage. The driving in New York City was horrible. It’s always bumper-to-bumper traffic on one-way streets. Horns were constantly honking and people would yell out of their windows. I was glad we lived outside the city. I couldn’t stand the noise or the smell.
We went up to the top of the Empire State Building. There was a whole top floor enclosed in glass and a few doors to go out on the deck. There were tall bars, presumably to keep people from jumping off.
I looked out and saw the city. Each side was a different view. There were so many people out there, bad and good, rich and poor. I wondered how people lived so differently in the same place, on the same Earth.
“Wow, this is really something,” Dominick commented.
I turned to him. He looked very Italian. He had dark hair and brown eyes. His skin was an olive complexion. He was tall and built well. “Yeah, the view is always breath taking.”
“Have you always lived here?” he asked.
“Yes, never in the city though.”
“Do you like it?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“Why not?”
I smiled. Why didn’t Josh ask me these things? Josh never cared what I thought. Dominick, who was a complete stranger, did care. “Well, I think it’s too crowded, there’s too much pollution, too much crime. I just want more.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
“How is it living in Italy?” I asked.
“I like it. It’s much different than living in America. The people are great, the food is great,” he told me.
I giggled. “I bet. I love Italian food.”
“Maybe we can get some for dinner tonight?” he suggested.
I looked up at him. “The four of us?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
“Okay.”
We took Tony and Dominick to the Central Park and then down to Times Square. We walked around a bit seeing Broadway and the fun stores.
We found a nice Italian restaurant in Little Italy and ate there. “I’m surprised you’re not sick of this food,” I joked.
“Not really.” Tony laughed. He looked a lot like Dominick, but his eyes were a lighter brown and he had a mustache.
We had a nice dinner and then Sophie pulled an envelope out of her pocket. “I have a surprise for you all.”
“What?” I asked.
“Tickets to see Grease on Broadway.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” She smiled.
“How cool!” I smiled. I had always wanted to see that on Broadway.
“That’s great! What time does it start?” Dominick asked.
“In an hour.”
The boys paid for dinner and then we went right over to the theater. We went in and sat down. Our seats were in the back, but they were still good. The show was great; we all enjoyed it. I loved singing the songs, softly of course.
When the show ended, we walked back to the car and Sophie drove home. Once we were back at her house, I thanked the three of them for a great evening. I gave Sophie a hug. “Have a good night,” I told her.
“You too. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem.”
“Yeah, Natalie, thanks for coming,” Dominick said. He took my hand and kissed it.
I blushed. “Thanks.”
“Thank you.” Tony shook my hand.
“Bye.” I got in the car and drove home.
It was 1:30 when I walked in the door. I told my parents I was home and headed to my room. I got ready for bed and jumped in. The sheets were soft and made me feel safe. I was tired from my evening out and went right to sleep.
As usual, my phone rang way too early the next morning. I ignored it the first two times. When it rang again, I grumbled to myself and answered it, “Hello?”
“Where have you been?” Josh demanded.
“Uh…sleeping.”
“All morning?”
“Yes, I was out late.”
“We need to meet and talk.”
“Okay, when?”
“Now!”
“I’m not even up yet!” I got sassy.
“Be at the park in thirty minutes or else.”
“Or else what?” He didn’t respond. “Josh? Josh?” I hung up. “Great,” I muttered tossing the phone on my bed.
I got up and hopped in the shower. Then I got dressed. I put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I looked at the clock; I wouldn’t make it there by his time limit. I decided not to put on any make-up and save a little time. I fixed my hair a little bit and hurried downstairs. “Hi Nat, how are you?” Dad asked.
“Good, can I go to the park?” I asked.
“To meet Josh?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“Sure, you can go. Did you have fun last night?”
“Yes, I did,” I answered honestly.
“Good, here, take a sandwich.” He was making some for lunch.
“Thanks. I won’t be gone too long,” I said and then left. The park was a five-minute walk. I was already five minutes late, but none of the cars were there so I had to walk.
I didn’t see Josh right away. I walked toward our bench; it was at the edge of the little pond that was there. The air was clean and it felt good to breathe it.
When I got to the bench, I spotted Josh closer to the pond. His back was turned to me. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, which he always looked good in.
I walked up to him. “Hi Josh, sorry I’m—”
Josh spun around; his face was beet red. The evil look in his eyes was back. His hand flew up out of nowhere and backslapped me; sending me flying backwards and making my face feel like it was going to explode. “I told you to be here ten minutes ago!”
“I tried to—” I stood back up.
“Not hard enough!” He screamed slapping me again. “And I saw you yesterday…”
“Saw me what?” I asked confused, my voice shaking.
“You had a very nice dinner with those two boys and you even let one kiss you!”
I was shocked. “On the hand!”
“See, you admit it!” he yelled. He raised his hand again and slapped me hard enough I fell to the ground a second time. I looked around for help, but no one was there. “You are a liar, a cheater, and a whore!”
“I am not, Josh!”
“You dare to talk back to me?” he yelled. I was dumbstruck. “You admitted it.”
“He kissed my hand, Josh, my hand!” I yelled, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“You cheated on me!” He stood over me. The look in his eyes sent shivers down my spine. I licked my lip and tasted blood. “You are a disgrace. I’m going to make you pay!” He kicked me, his foot meeting my backside. Then he calmly walked away, leaving me sobbing on the cold ground. I sat there a while crying until my head hurt. I could feel my face swelling up.
About forty-five minutes later, I got up. Slowly, I walked home. I didn’t know what I was going to tell my parents. Dad would want to kill Josh. How could I love someone like this? And that was the biggest problem, I did love him. Even now.
But there wasn’t anyone around when I got home. It looked as if my parents went out. I let out a sigh of relief. I hurried upstairs to the bathroom, shut and locked the door out of habit, and looked in the mirror.
The right side of my mouth was swollen and cut. The corner of my mouth had dried blood in it. My eyes were red from crying and my cheek was bruised. There was no way I could hide this. How was I going to explain it?
Someone knocked on the door. I stiffened. “Who is it?”
“Miranda. Can I come in?”
“Um…why?”
“I need to brush my teeth and get ready.”
“Can’t you use another bathroom?”
“My toothbrush is in this bathroom.”
“Can’t you wait?” I asked.
“I really need to do this now. I have to go to work,” she paused. “Natalie, is everything okay?”
“Yeah…I…I just have a nosebleed,” I lied.
“Come on, Natalie, open the door.” She jiggled the handle.
“Just a second.” I grabbed a whole bunch of tissues and covered my nose and mouth. I unlocked the door and then opened it.
Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories Page 71