My clothes were torn to shreds. He shoved me out the door with nothing to cover myself.
I pounded on the door, my voice raw, begging him—but all I got was an icy snarl.
"I said get out. Stop bothering me!"
People filled the hallway.
Under their mocking stares, I clenched my jaw and walked away.
I wandered the streets in a daze, enduring every leering glance.
The early autumn air was cold, but not as cold as my heart.
I didn't snap back to reality until a group of thugs surrounded me.
No matter how desperately I tried to cover myself, there was no hiding my exposed body.
Their eyes crawled over me, naked with want.
I stumbled backward, but they grabbed my hair and dragged me back.
Hands groped every inch of me. One of them pulled me close and sank his teeth into my flesh.
He bit through skin. Blood ran down my body.
Struggling was useless. My screams only excited them more.
In that hopeless moment, I thought of when I first met Julian.
At eighteen, I was working three jobs to pay for my mother's medical bills.
One night, walking home late from a shift, a group of drunk men cornered me.
I was frozen with fear—until Julian charged in and fought them off.
They beat him bloody, but he still smiled at me.