Against all odds.

She rode you all night. Your body was sore and you were exhausted, but your saw no way out. She wasn't giving you any opportunities to even try. When you heard the door open, you groaned. You couldn't take much more of this. You wanted to get back home. You weren't going to let her break you, but it would be easier to just stop fighting.

"Told you so," a voice called from the door way. You couldn't believe your ears or your eyes.

Great. This just got worse.

Jake walked over to the bed and looked your over. You feared the worst; would he hit you? Cut off your balls? Hopefully he would just kill you and make it quick. You were tired of this. All of this. You just wanted it to end.

Then, your wrists went slack. Your ankles were next. He'd let you go? You felt him lift you up over his shoulder, carrying you off of the bed. What the hell was going on?

He carried you outside to a tearful Aubrey as a cop car pulled up. You winced, but felt your body relax as someone other than Jayden hopped out. Jake handed you off to Aubrey and put his hands behind his head and got on the ground. Again: what the hell was going on?

You sat in your living room, Aubrey hugging you and Jake across from you. Aubrey was concerned when you never came home that first day. She immediately confronted Jake about it, but he denied it. He'd told her that he had a pretty good idea where you were, though.

"How did you know where her house was?" You asked, hugging the blanket over you even more. Aubrey seemed to come with it, not ready to let you go.

"Junior year, I went on a date with her. Woke up the next morning tied to her bed. She went on about how we were meant to be or something and did to me what I imagine she did to you. That whole week." Jake rubbed his arm and looked off to the side. This was clearly making him uncomfortable.

"Wait... That week you went missing and then said it was because you went on a crazy bender?" You remembered him bragging about banging chicks and doing ****, even using it as a way to torment you. Come to think of it, that's when a lot of that started. He vanished for the supposed-week-long party and came back a complete tool.

"Didn't even tell my parents. I managed to break free and get out of there, but what could I have done? Say some teenager girl kidnapped and **** me? Yea. That would have gone over real well." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, but you could see more pain in his eyes than sarcasm. "After that, I kept my distance from her. Called her crazy—because she was—and just kinda zoned out."

This wasn't like the Jake you knew. He was being... oddly sincere. "When she came to Aubrey to pin it on me, it all clicked. She said she needed time to gather evidence and find me, but I already knew where you were. Used my ankle bracelet to get the cops to come, too."

"But... why? Wouldn't me being gone be good for you?" You felt like you were in an alternate reality. A nice Jake?

"You and Tegan were always so happy and lovey-dovey. I hated it. I hated that I couldn't look at women the same way. I never wanted to feel that way again and you were just a reminder that I'd never be able to have a solid relationship. So I took it out on you. Then, when you got me kicked off the team, I felt my life fall apart. The only thing I had left and the only thing I had going for me: gone. I got into ****. Started dealing, doing, got into some organized crime. They helped me gain power, women, and money. I just wanted to run from it all. I hated everyone. You just happened to be an easy target." Jake unfolded his arms, though he didn't seem to know what to do with them. He was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Why are you telling me all of this? And you didn't answer my question." You chimed in, still skeptical.

"Prison-mandated therapy worked wonders, surprisingly. Ending up in prison was a wake up call for me. I turned states witness on the other guys in the org above me and managed to get out on parole. They offered me witness protection, but, man, I didn't deserve that. I deserved whatever they had planned for me. Then that psycho got me put here with you guys. I was trying to figure a way out." He shifted in his seat. Despite you looking at him, he wasn't looking you in the eyes. "I'd done enough to you; couldn't have you be collateral damage because of my fuck-ups. Well, whether it's luck or so through else, those guys are gone. Decided to stand and fight the cops rather than go to prison. That didn't turn out so well for them. So, I guess I'm safe. I still feel like I don't deserve it. I feel like I should be dead along with them. I have a trail of ruined lives behind me. There's no happiness in my future and that's okay. I don't need it. I don't deserve it."

You and Aubrey looked at each other for quite some time as silence settled over the room. You couldn't think of the words to say.