Failure to See

She sits alone at a computer, her blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail; like usual. Her clothes are comfortably fitted so she can sit in any position she desires. The air is cool as it reaches her body, but the heater has just turned on and is willing to warm her. As she types an email to her new ‘boyfriend,’ she sits there and thinks of a way they could somehow meet.

Her friend set up an account for her on a certain website, and the one day she logged on, she was contacted by him. They sent email after email—back and forth—every day she could get to a computer. Her friends had posted a picture of her for him, but he has yet to post one for her. A week after they had come into contact, he asked her to be his girlfriend. The lonely girl accepted; thinking they would probably never meet anyway.

A month has passed since then, and the opportunity has arisen several times.

“Why can’t we meet?”

“Because my parents would kill me,” she responds.

“I don’t care. I want to meet you,” he says pleadingly.

“Fine. Tell me a place and time and we’ll meet.” There is silence until he tells her the information she has been waiting to hear.

The time comes, and she goes to the place he described over the phone. It is night and the sky over the suburbs is as dark as it is going to get, considering the light pollution. Christmas lights light the park, and the only person around is an old homeless woman asleep on a bench. Other than that, the scene is empty. The trees that stand scattered in the soft earth are swaying in the freezing night breeze; every few minutes, crisp golden leaves fall and gather with the others. It is a sight that takes her breath away.

She sits down on a bench that lines the snaking, cold sidewalk. She just sits and sits, until she grows weary that he will not be arriving. She checks her watch and it is now midnight. He was supposed to be there two hours ago. By now, the breeze has transformed into a strong wind and her coat is no longer adequate protection for the strong gusts headed in her direction.

“Are you cold,” she hears a male voice ask her. It is a familiar tone, and it warms her immediately from the inside out.

“Mike?” She turns around so they are face to face. She studies the man carefully, so that no detail escapes her mind. He is dressed in a gray trench coat and black slacks that make him look irresistible when his short, messy blonde hair and blue eyes are taken into consideration. He looks rugged and unshaven, but so striking that she almost goes weak at the knees.

“Yeah,” he replies breathlessly as he looks her up and down. “You’re even more sexy in person.”

“Um, Thank you?” She hasn’t been called that by anyone except him and every time he does, she gets a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that she can’t really describe.

“Let’s get inside somewhere. It’s cold, and I’m sure you don’t want to get sick or anything like that, right?”

“Right,” she says as she smiles wholeheartedly. They start walking out of the park, and she feels his arm snake around her waist. She feels a lot less cold, but she has a nagging feeling at the back of her mind. She figures that it’s only her worrying about how her parents might react to her sneaking out.

“So, how have you been,” he asks, taking her out of her daze.

“I’ve been good. My parents are as strict as ever, but I’ll be moved out of the house soon enough.” She’s glad that she’s going off to college in 2 months. She’s also very proud because she had gotten her acceptance letter from Princeton. The exact moment she opened the letter, she knew her life would begin.

“That’s good. I’m actually thinking of going to college too. Since I got out of going to jail and everything.”

“See? Aren’t you glad that I made you go back and sign those draft papers?”

“Yeah.” He smiles sheepishly. It’s so adorable how shy he is around her. He would barely talk to her on the phone for the same reasons; at least that’s the reason she thought it was, but maybe it was just in his character.

“You know, you don’t have to be so shy around me.” He looks up at her with a slightly confused look on his face.

“I’m not shy. It’s just that…you make me feel different than all the other girls. It’s like I don’t have to say anything to make myself look better in you’re eyes. You’re just fine with anything I say.” She blushes at his comment.

“I don’t judge people. I don’t think it’s fair when you live under a microscope.”

“That’s what I love about you.” He stops walking for a minute. It looks like he is thinking about whether or not he should do something. She watches him for a second, until he catches on to her staring. He grabs her hand and leads her down the street and into an alley. They get halfway down and he pushes her so she is pressed firmly against the wall.

He stares into her eyes for about a minute and kisses her roughly on the lips. She immediately craves more, but what is she willing to do to get that? That nagging feeling comes back and she tries to pull away from his grasp, but she is stuck by his inhuman strength. He has her in a hold that makes her realize his intentions. She struggles and tries to scream, but his lips muffle it.

“Oh no, no, no,” he says in a sickly tone and smirks. “No screaming, unless you want to get hurt.” She whimpers as one hand travels down her waist and to the hem of her shirt. He wraps the other hand around her neck as he unbuttons her jeans and pulls them off. The icy, cold air crashes against her skin, and burn like icicles would. She tries to scream again, but her breath is caught in her throat, and she manages to let out a small squeak. He smirks that same sickly smirk again, and it disgusts her to the core.

He unbuttons his jeans and pulls her underwear down. Another rush of cold air attacks her sensitive skin. In a matter of seconds she lets out a loud scream as he enters her painfully. She screams louder than the first time, and he slaps her for it. He forcefully wraps her legs around his waist as he pushes into her again, just as painfully. She screams again and he slaps her so hard that her head hits the wall. This same pattern goes on for another ten minutes until her head is throbbing so hard she can’t think and she’s sure it’s bleeding. He starts thrusting faster and faster as her head starts spinning at the same rate. She becomes numb to her surroundings, but she can still feel him inside of her.

A few more minutes later, she drops to the ground. Too weak to protect herself, she hits her head hard against the concrete floor of the alley. The last thing she sees is the outline of a man walking at a leisurely pace out of the alley. The last thing she thinks is, ‘I knew something like this would happen,” before she plummets into a dark abyss.