I Kissed the Boy Who Hit Me | Teen Ink

I Kissed the Boy Who Hit Me MAG

May 19, 2009
By BreeLynne27 GOLD, Carmel, Indiana
BreeLynne27 GOLD, Carmel, Indiana
15 articles 0 photos 13 comments

I really didn't see it coming. His hand, angry and rough and quick as lightning, connected with my jaw as he smacked me across the face. Hard. My neck snapped to the side, my chin pointed downward, and that's where I stayed for at least a full minute. I was afraid to move, afraid to breathe.

Oh, my God. I'm dreaming. Please tell me this isn't real.

Hot tears clung to my lashes, but I refused to let myself cry. I focused on the burning sensation in my cheek, too afraid to shift in my seat. My face was on fire.

I swallowed hard, watching the scenery as it passed: the green grass and the yellow sun, the black blurring of mailboxes and rooftops. Except for the steady hum of the air conditioner, there was dead silence.

I tried to focus on anything, anything but the boy next to me, breathing heavily. Anything except the car speeding up as he stepped on the accelerator, driving more recklessly with every dip and curve in the road.

See the sidewalks, a steady stream of white concrete against the jet black road. See the treetops, so severely contrasting the painted cerulean sky. See the fire hydrant, bright like the stars that shine above the lake at night. See–

“This isn't my fault, Caitlin,” he said quietly. I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white.

“What?” I was surprised to find that my voice was soft and steady, though my hands were shaking and twisting in my lap.

“You left me waiting there for an hour. What was I supposed to think?”

“It was an honest mistake,” I whispered, so quietly that I could barely hear myself. “I lost track of time.”

He glanced at me, his jaw clenched so hard I thought he might shatter his teeth. “Yeah, sure.”

I hesitated, not knowing what he wanted me to do. I opened my mouth, and I watched his hands, and I made sure they didn't come anywhere near me. “I'm telling the truth,” I said finally, quietly. “I was doing exactly what I told you I'd be doing … working on my story for the paper.”

“Of course you were.”

“Why don't you trust me?”

“Who was that guy you were with?”

I sighed, knowing I could never win. My cheek hurt so much, worse than when I fell of my bike and skinned my elbows and knees. It hurt worse than the time I cut my hand on a fence and needed six stitches, or the time I fell on a flower pot and sliced my knee open. It hurt because he made me hurt. It hurt because he wanted me to hurt.

“I … I just–”

“Spit it out, Caitlin!”

I fell back against the seat, feeling more defeated than I'd ever felt in my life. It was like reaching the top step just to find more stairs. It would have been easier to think, I'm sure, if my face didn't have a heartbeat.

“Why are you being so mean to me?” It just slipped out, and Aaron looked bewildered. He didn't answer right away, or even as we pulled into my neighborhood. By the time he'd parked in my driveway, we were both completely silent.

“I'm sorry, Cait,” he said. “That was really stupid; I don't know what came over me.”

I let my eyes meet his for the first time that afternoon. “I don't either.”

He shut the car off and twisted in his seat to face me. His hand slid over my forehead, and down through my hair, and finally settled around my neck. He pulled me toward him, gently, and kissed the cheek that still ached. Now it ached with yearning.

It's strange, I suppose, how someone can treat you so wrong and you can still want him so much. I wanted to feel his lips on me again, brushing away the hurt and the pain. I wanted his touch. The school parking lot suddenly felt a million years away.

“That will never happen again,” he assured me, kissing me softly. “I swear I will never do that again.”

And I believed him.


The author's comments:
Please comment. Good and bad critiques are welcome. Thanks!!

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This article has 181 comments.


Nessa13 GOLD said...
on Jan. 19 2012 at 7:46 am
Nessa13 GOLD, Charlestown, Indiana
18 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Love, but never fall in love, because things that fall get broken"
-Taylor Swift

Is that it?? It was really good, but I would love to find out if he ever kept that promise in the end!!??

on Jan. 11 2012 at 7:10 pm
AndThenThereWasPaint.. BRONZE, Elk Rapids, Michigan
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." -Dr. Suess

This is truly a great peice. Please keep writing I want to see more of your work!

Hadassah13 said...
on Dec. 28 2011 at 2:24 pm
Hadassah13, Columbus, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 5 comments
OMG!! i love this. its so superb and its so foolish at how girls could forgive the men who have hurt them so deeply

Wordfisher said...
on Dec. 28 2011 at 1:20 pm
Wordfisher, Vancouver, Washington
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
This was amazing!!!i loved it!

on Dec. 27 2011 at 9:49 pm
HiddenAngelInTheDark PLATINUM, Brooklyn, New York
39 articles 0 photos 177 comments

Favorite Quote:
Theres so many that I can't pick sorry

It's so sad tht this happens everyday many are blinded by love to see someone true colors

on Dec. 21 2011 at 1:04 pm
Soni-kay BRONZE, Bronx, New York
4 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Wow did  this really happen it was really good

on Dec. 17 2011 at 5:25 pm
Alechcim SILVER, Plano, Texas
6 articles 2 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There's no such thing as impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" -Audrey Hepburn
"Be the change you wish to see in the world.- Ganhdi
"I have no failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work." -Thomas Edison

This is amazing!:) keep writing, you're great at it. Good job!:)

 


jazziea said...
on Nov. 3 2011 at 9:53 am
awesome i love it

on Oct. 28 2011 at 10:14 am

That reminds me of what happened to me...except I sat there and it progressively got worse.

I love your writing,. Your voice really shone through. It was wonderfully phrased; everything flowed.


BluBliss GOLD said...
on Oct. 16 2011 at 6:32 am
BluBliss GOLD, New York, New York
14 articles 0 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
Bella's love for Edward was like, "Omg. He's hot. He's mine because he sparkles. Now I'll brood the wholle book while I'm with him."

An the title was really good. An eye-catcher. I believe that good titles are abotu thirty five percent of teh actual work. Good job!

BluBliss GOLD said...
on Oct. 16 2011 at 6:31 am
BluBliss GOLD, New York, New York
14 articles 0 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
Bella's love for Edward was like, "Omg. He's hot. He's mine because he sparkles. Now I'll brood the wholle book while I'm with him."

I love the way you slowly introduced teh setting while keeping the story intact through that one little backbone (aka, the SMACK!) It's not very often that I really want to finish a piece, and it's very rare that I want to go back and read more of your stuff. I'm a very picky person. I love your way of writing. I hope the rest of your pieces are this good.

cheeeeeer6 said...
on Oct. 7 2011 at 10:28 am
ist s really emotional piece. feel bad for her

on Oct. 4 2011 at 10:11 am
RyanTyler PLATINUM, Windsor, Connecticut
21 articles 0 photos 94 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A myth is a religion in which no one no longer believes." James Feibleman

Wow really powerful and so true to how abusive relationships work

 


on Oct. 1 2011 at 1:06 pm
Trixie.B.Rose GOLD, Boulder, Colorado
16 articles 11 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. ~Mary Anne Radmacher

I really love how you kept it short, but there is so much meaning behind each word that it seems longer.

on Oct. 1 2011 at 8:32 am
derickinc BRONZE, Rockford, Illinois
4 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I hate all of you." - Squidward Tentacles

I love the language used here. Check out my work while you keep this up!

on Sep. 27 2011 at 6:42 pm
zadiekatie23 PLATINUM, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
39 articles 4 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

This is great! I thought Aaron was a jerk because he hit her, and I wouldn't have believed him at the end, but I liked it a lot. Thanks!

on Sep. 27 2011 at 1:25 pm
introducingshelby GOLD, San Diego, California
15 articles 1 photo 139 comments

Favorite Quote:
"People change so you can learn to let go, things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they go right, and things fall apart so better things can fall together."
-Marilyn Monroe

Yeah! For sure, it's nicely written!

CowBell SILVER said...
on Sep. 27 2011 at 12:57 pm
CowBell SILVER, Missouri City, Texas
6 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward.
~Victor Kiam

I was thinking the same thing... but its still good.

on Sep. 26 2011 at 3:45 pm
introducingshelby GOLD, San Diego, California
15 articles 1 photo 139 comments

Favorite Quote:
"People change so you can learn to let go, things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they go right, and things fall apart so better things can fall together."
-Marilyn Monroe

I like this... but it reminds me (A LOT) of Dreamland by Sarah Dessen.. The plot, the character's name and everything.

on Sep. 8 2011 at 7:00 pm
Laurel15 BRONZE, Eastlake, Colorado
4 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Eleanor Roosevelt

Im actually starting to wonder if anything you post on this site is really safe. I've seen a lot of similiar pieces of work as far as the plot goes. Scary huh?