She knew it was a mistake

The first time she kissed him.

.

As she felt the coarseness

Of his facial hair,

His past life echoed in her mind.

She remembers the girlfriend

He still was always around.

.

It was a moment of foreshadowing,

A moment which she ignored.

.

They broke up a few short weeks

After their first kiss.

She had been the one to

Instigate it; he'd been with her.

She'd caught them spending

Way too much time together.

In anger, she'd broken up with him.

.

They would never officially date,

But he was still always around.

Secretly, she continued to love him.

.

There were many days where

They would just get away,

Spend the whole day together.

They'd discover a secret place

Where they were only allowed

To be together.

Nobody else was to know.

It was a beautiful location.

.

But, every time, he broke her heart.

Even if it was just a little,

She'd leave feeling more lost

Than put together.

.

On one occasion, when they were

Fighting, about her,

She ran from him, sprinting

In flip flops across a parking lot.

He ran to her and caught her,

Keeping her from getting far.

At first, she resisted,

But then succumbed to his kisses.

.

His kisses intoxicated her.

.

But, she couldn't take this

Broken relationship any longer.

They couldn't keep kissing

If he was always around her,

And they were never dating.

.

She moved on, found someone else.

Their relationship wouldn't work,

But he was safer.

For a short while, she felt safe.

.

But, he was back after a while.

He told her constantly how

He never approved of her boyfriend.

She'd try to pretend that

Everything was perfect between them

When really, it wasn't.

.

She wouldn't realize how toxic

A friendship with him could be

Until she realized her phone background

Was a picture of them,

At their secret spot.

.

Her boyfriend and her split,

Because they weren't working.

They'd eventually become friends again

After they'd have a while to cool down.

.

She found her prince charming

Through one of her friends.

She began dating him.

.

Once again, he showed up.

He told her how much he hated her boyfriend,

Sending her drunken texts about

How much he loved her.

.

The thing was, she hated him now.

Her boyfriend was all she ever wanted,

One day, as he told her off,

She screamed at him, telling him

She never wanted to see his face

Ever again. Her boyfriend

Was the first she told, and he

Held her as she cried,

Terrified of the man

For not the first time in her life.

.

Every night, she knew he drove

By her house. He'd told her that once.

If she heard a car go speeding past,

She'd text her boyfriend,

And he would comfort her until

Sleep finally took over her

And her tears had dried.

.

The last night she ever heard from him

Was when he texted her randomly,

At 2:30 A.M. It was to win her back.

He went on and on and on

About how much he still loved her,

And that he realized why she

Hated him so fucking much.

When she woke up and found the text,

She threw her phone against the wall,

Immediately picking it back up

To text her boyfriend.

.

He'd mentally scarred her,

Leaving her terrified if she saw

Someone looking remotely like him.

He was her nightmare

The one that formed in the

Darkest corners of her dreams.