"So, does this mean we're official?" Taecyeon asked me, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Yeah, I guess so," I exhaled.

Taecyeon's smile was extra wide before he pulled me into a hug. It's the end of class, and we were standing on the steps of the courtyard of the UCLA campus. We've been hanging out after school since September. Well, not exactly. It was more like us running into each other at the same places all the time. Then, it progressed into him walking me back to my dorm by October. It's now December, and Taecyeon and I are finally together.

Suddenly, his friend, David Chiang, approached us from my right.

"Oh, am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

"No, you're fine," I assured him.

"No, I was just going to ask you something," Taecyeon opposed.

"Okay, I'll wait for you by the gate." With that, David, in his leather jacket, headed towards the brick arch, his long, black hair swinging in the breeze.

"What are you looking at him for? You're mine, remember?"

"Y-you're right," I say. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine. Are you going to our place later on?"

"Like always."

"Okay, see you then."

Just when Taecyeon was about to meet his friend, he came back and pecked me on the lips. "Almost forgot. Bye, Amira."

I stood in the middle of the courtyard, dumfounded, as I watched my new boyfriend walk away and disappear around the corner with David. Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but I swear I could've seen David looking back at me with a sympathetic gaze.

Later, that night, I waited inside Dairy Queen, the place where Taecyeon and I first met, for what seemed like forever. Every time I tried to call him, his phone would automatically go to voicemail after buzzing for e few seconds.

During the last hour, Taecyeon never showed up, but David came in through the double doors. His hair was tied back into a low, loose bun, and he wearing a black vee neck and white leather skinny jeans. David made his way towards the cashier and made his order. As he made his way towards the tables, David and I made eye contact.

"Hey, David," I greeted.

"Hi, Amira," David smiled. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Go for it."

After taking the seat across from me, David questioned, "Waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, um, what happened to Taecyeon?"

​"Oh, he went back to our apartment." Taecyeon and David rent an apartment off campus.

Trying to fight back tears, I explained that Taecyeon was supposed to be meeting me here.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Amira."

Blinking away tears, I thanked him.

"But I can't really say I'm surprised, though."

"Why do you say that?"

Before David could answer, my large Strawberry Cheesecake Blizzard order was announce. I rose up to retrieve my cup and went back to my seat.

"What wee you going to say?" I asked.

"Taecyeon isn't really a...reliable person."

"Huh?"

"He's doesn't really keep up with commitments. One time, we almost got put out of our apartment because he forgot to pay rent. Not only that, but he's also got some trust issues. I mean, he's my friend and all, but I think you should be very careful with him."

Almost at the same time. David's order was called out, and I watched an employee flip the OPEN sign.

When David returned, I grabbed my Blizzard and said, "It's getting late. I should probably go home."

"You want me to take you?" David offered. Then, he returned towards the cashier and asked, "Can I get this order to go?"

"No, it's okay. I drove here by myself."

"Never mind," David said to the cashier.

All throughout my drive to the dorm, a waterfall of tears rolled down my face while I wondered why Taecyeon stood me up. Is he just stringing me along for his own benefit? Does he even care about me? What important thing came up that he had to stand me up and not call me? These were the questions I asked myself while I dove into the night. I don't know what's going on, but I plan to find out soon.

The next morning, Taecyeon followed me in the parking lot.

"Look, I'm not talking to you," I said.

"Amira, wait!" he pleaded.

Eventually, Taecyeon caught up with me and apologized.

"Where wee you? I tried to call you, but you didn't pick up? What was so much more important than me that you had to stand me up?"

"I-it slipped my mind that I had this psychology paper that was due today. Amira, I'm so sorry. It won't happen again."

"I was sitting in that place all night long waiting on you, but you never showed up. You could've called me to let me know you weren't coming. That really hurt me Taecyeon."

"I know, and I'm sorry. Do you forgive me?"

After a moment of hesitation. I leaned in and embraced him to let him know I accepted his apology. Then, when I stared into his eyes, I saw that he was genuinely sincere.

David, wearing all black, tapped on Taecyeon's shoulder and whispered in his ear. Then, he smiled at me and waved.

"Well, I've got somewhere to be," my boyfriend informed. "I'll take you to our place this time so I won't forget." He pecked me on the forehead before waling off with his friend. Right before they disappeared around the corner, David stole one last glance at me and waved. Unconsciously, I waved back.

I've been paying so much attention to Taecyeon that I haven't really given much consideration to other guys. Well, until I've stared into David's eyes last night. He literally stared into my soul. He has the most hypnotizing eyes I've ever seen, so I could bring myself to pull away from his gaze. David may not be as tall and muscular as Taecyeon, but he could sure hold his own when it came to facial features. He has such prominent cheekbones that were always enhanced whenever his small, rose petal lips formed into a smile. Unlike Taecyeon, David has a sense of humor, and I love that in a man. Oh, what am I saying? I belong to Taecyeon, and no one else is going to tear me away from him. I mean, so what if David showed up to the place where Taecyeon and I met?

Tonight was different. Taecyeon kept his promise and drove us to Dairy Queen. He ordered his usual Butterfinger Blizzard and my usual Strawberry Cheesecake. Instead of eating them inside, Taecyeon insisted that we get them to-go so we can eat them in his car. The parking lot was literally a ghost town, so, for the exception of a mother and her son, we had the place to ourselves. It was actually pretty romantic being under a pale moonlight.

"So, how did you do on your paper?" I asked.

"I don't really know," Taecyeon replied. His happy demeanor dramatically changed when he gave his response. "I don't know if I did all that great on it."

"Oh, you always manage to do pretty well on your stuff. I mean, you're at the top of our class, for goodness sakes. Of course you're going to get a good grade."

"Oh, forget it, Amira. I just know this wasn't my best work. I revised my paper a bunch of times, and I still think I should've done some more to it."
"Well, that's the artist's curse, I guess. You're never really satisfied with your work. As you grow as a student, your knowledge expands, and you always look back thinking there's something else that needs to be done to make it better."

Taecyeon place his Blizzard in the cup holder and threw his hands up. "Great! Now you just made me even more worried about my grade. Thanks a lot, Amira!"

"Wait, how is this my fault? I was only trying to help." What has gotten into him?

"I think you've helped enough. Why don't we just change the subject, okay?"

"Oh, come on. Don't be so tense. Smile." I playfully poked him in the cheek.

"Will you quit it?"

"Come on." I poked him in the side.

"I said stop it." Taecyeon nudged my hand away.

"Please, give me a smile?" I used my other finger to pinch his cheek.

"I said quit!!" Taecyon suddenly grabbed me by the neck and shook me. The furious look in his eyes frightened me so much that tears were b in my eyes out of shocked, and I was so afraid of what he was going to do. The expression in his face soften as he loosened the grip on my neck. "I-I'm so sorry, Amira. I'm just upset with myself. I had no right to take it out on you. I'm so sorry." Taecyeon embraced me as the tears fell down my face. "It won't happen again. I promise."

I want to believe him, but I don't know if I can stand to see him get anymore worse. Something similar happened to my friend, Dina. Only she didn't make it. But the look in his eyes say different, so I'll give him one more chance.

During my lunch period, while I was in line, there was a random guy from the fraternity Kappa Phi Iota passing out flyers and invitation next to the buffet.

When the person in front of me went to her table with her tray, he came up to me and asked, "Hey there. You're pretty enough to come to our party. Here's an invitation."

Taecyeon, who was holding a table for me with David, immediately rose up and confronted the guy when he heard him. "Oh, really? I'm so glad you think so. Can her boyfriend come to?" I'm pretty sure he could care less, but he attracted the attention of several people around us

"Uhh..sure, man. Here you go." The fraternity guy reeled back a little and held out a flyer. Taceyeon snatched it out of his hand and led me over to the table with his arm around my shoulder.

"Did you really have to do that?" I scolded.

"Yes, he was hitting on you. I need to protect you."

"Aw, don't be like that. I'm yours and yours alone, okay?"

When we arrived at our table, David and I locked eyes. He smiled at me and said, "Hey, Amira."

"Hey, David." I smiled back.

Taecyeon, living it up to his reputation for having trust issues, looked back and forth at us when he noticed my expression. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing." I sat down next to him, taking care to keep as much distance between David and I so Taecyeon doesn't get suspicious.

"What was that all about?" David asked. "You confronting that guy, I mean."

"He was hitting on Amira, so I went up there and took care of it. And I also got a party invitation while I was at it. Do you want to come, David?"

"No, thanks. It's not really my scene. You guys can have a good time."

"Suit yourself. This thing said it's supposed to be Christmas Eve."

"That means we've got two weeks to get something to wear," I chimed in.

"Man, is that all you girls care about? I understand wanting to show yourself off, but come on."

"What is with you today, Taecyeon?" I asked. I'm not sure that I like how you're talking to me right now."

"Yeah, what's your problem?" David griped. "You're more irritable than usual today."

Suddenly, Taecyeon's phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He took it out and looked at the screen. Then, a small smirk spread across his face. He glanced up at me and David before informing us, "Uh, you guys don't mind if I take this, do you?"

"No, I don't care," I shrugged.

Taecyeon got up from the table with the phone in hand.

After my boyfriend left, David raised a suspicious eyebrow at me.

"What?"

"How could you let him leave like that? Do you even know who he's talking to, Amira?"

"What are you getting at, David?"

"Taecyeon was in a pissy mood until he got a call from God knows whoever that was. What I'm trying to say is, Amira, is I think he's cheating on you."

I thought for a minute. His mood did change drastically when he received that call, but it could have been anybody. I ultimately decided to trust Taecyeon. I mean, he did almost hurt me the other night, but that doesn't mean anything. Or does it?

Taecyeon returned, putting the phone back in his pocket.

"Here's the thing," Taecyeon grimaced. "I know I promised to take you to Dairy Queen tonight, but something came up. I'm sorry, baby."

I sighed and stared at the surface of the table with my arms crossed.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise." Taecyeon kissed me on the cheek and my hair before walking away, leaving me to fight back the tears welling up in m eyes.

David scooted closer o me and offered to take me instead. 

"No, thanks," I turned down. "I think I'll just head on to the mall to pick up a dress and go home."

"Okay," David sighed. "You know, you can call me if you need anything." He tenderly placed his hand on mine and lifted his other hand to brush my cheek with his fingertips. Deciding to sop this before it turns into something I'll regret, I go up and left the café, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I'm not even sure if I want to go to the party with Taecyeon now. He's been nothing but mean to me and everyone around him. On top of that, I was so close to facing death the other night. So why am I here? I guess to clear my mind. I'm shopping at the Macy's where I typically work the weekends. So far, nothing has really caught my attention. Then, I saw a really gorgeous leopard dress. It was tightly gathered at the waist, and it had a pretty modest length. I immediately fell for it. I snatched it off the hanger and rushed towards the cashier. I took out the card for my employee discount.

With my spirits lifted, I held the bag close towards me, thinking about how Taecyeon would react to seeing me in it. My newly found liveliness was short-lived, however, when I saw Taecyeon sitting in the food court, leaving me to wonder what he was doing there. The answer to my question approached my boyfriend in the form of a full-figured blonde holding two cinnamon sugar soft pretzels. She leaned in and kissed Taecyeon on the cheek before pulling a piece from his pretzel to feed it to him. Out of shock, I dropped the bag.

So this is why he turned down our date: Taecyeon only wanted to hang out with this girl over me. Tears formed in my eyes. I should have known better when he had that look on his face after looking at his phone. I was simply another notch in his belt. A part of me wanted storm over there and tell him off. I decided I was better than that. so I slowly picked up the bag and made my way to the parking lot without them seeing me. 

For the next several days, I've been avoiding Taecyeon at all costs: I didn't respond to his calls, his texts, and I sat in the library during lunch even though it was against the rules to have food in there, basically reliving my high school days.

On the day of the party, Taecyeon approached me during study hall. It completely surprised me, but I guess I showed have expected him to be angry.

"What's up with you, Amira?" he outbursts, causing the receptionist to shush him. "Why are you avoiding me? Are you still mad at me for calling off our date?"

"Why don't you ask your curvy blonde," I attacked. "I went to the mall last week to pick out an outfit to wear for the party when I saw you with her, you cheater."

"I'm not cheating on you, Amira. Leslie is just an old childhood friend of mine. She goes to school in Jacksonville and she was coming to town to visit me, okay? Nothing is going on between us. I swear I'd never bring myself to cheat on you."

"Well, she was feeding food to you, and she kissed you on the cheek, so what else was I supposed to think?"

"She was just being affectionate. I promise I'd never cheat on you, Amira. You believe me don't you?"

The look in his eyes made my heart melt, as if he needed me to believe him. "Well, why didn't you tell me that instead of standing me up. I would have understood if you were catching up with a friend. All you had to do was tell me."

Taecyeon embraced me and my hair. Over his shoulder, I saw David shaking his head, looking very disgusted. Before leaving, Taecyeon planted a kiss on my forehead.

"How can you put up with this?" David asked. "He nearly choked you to death, he yelled at you, and now he's cheating on you. And what do you do? You just look the other way like it's nothing. Man, if you were mine, I would never treat you like this."

Trying not to blush at his latter comment, I said, "Well, I'm not yours David. Even though he's done me wrong, I know he meant none of it. I just keep catching him at the wrong times."

"So your saying that all that stuff he did to you was your fault?" There was a weary expression on David's face.

"Yeah."

David shook his head and sighed. "You poor girl." He turned and walked away from me.

I was putting the finishing touched on my makeup when my phone vibrated against the dresser. I picked it up and saw I had a text from Taecyeon. I'm here, it read. Smiling, I placed my lipstick inside my clutch and made my way towards the door.

"Come on," Taecyeon rushed me by the time I nearly made it to his car.

I opened the door on the passenger side and sat down, trying to ignore how he talked to me.

"You look amazing."

"Thanks. I got this dress at the mall a few weeks back." I raised my eyebrows at him to let him know what I was implying.

"Come on. Not tonight, Amira. I promised to take you to the party and I will. Don't start with me!"

"Is she still here?"

"Leslie left later on that week. You're the only one I want." Taecyeon leaned over and kiss my cheek.

I turned to him and stared into his eyes. When I tried to lean in and kiss him, I ended up falling because he was checking his vibrating phone. Irritated, I rose up and fixed my hair.

"Sorry, Amira, I've gotta take this." Taecyeon peereed down at his phone screen and smiled. "On second thought, I can't take you to the party tonight. Sorry."

A distraught expression spread across my face.

"Something came up."

"Are you serious right now?" I shouted. "I spent so much money on this dress, and I've been putting up with you bull for months now. I barely see you anymore, and you stopped kissing me on the lips. What is going on with you?" My gaze fell to his phone. When he realized I was staring at it, Taecyeon tried to tuck it away in his pocket. "I want to see your phone."

"What did I tell you about minding your own business?" he scolded.

"Um, when it comes to you hurting my feelings and cancelling plans to hang out with you buxom blonde, it is my business. Let me see it!" I reached for his phone, but he raised his hand as a threat to slap me.

"You better not even think about it."

I reached for it again, but he pushed me away.

"That's it! I'm taking your crazy home!"

I grabbed the phone, managing to evade the blow, and scooted over to the other side of the seat to read the text.

Can't wait to see you tonight, it read. It was from Leslie!

"Give it back!" Taecyeon shouted.

I threw the phone at him while fighting back tears. "You only wanted to get rid of me so you can hang out with that ! Well, you two can have each other. Let her put up with you! I'm out of here!" I opened the car door and slammed it behind me after I got out.

"I'm taking you home, so get back in the car right now!" Taecyeon drove next to me while I stormed off.

"Get away from me, Taecyeon! We're through!"

"Get back in the car!"

"No!" When I noticed him parking the car at the curb and getting out, I immediately pounded my feet on the sidewalk. Hearing his feet pattering behind me, and knowing he was much faster than me, made me take off. While I was running, I saw David coming around the corner. "David, help me!"

"Amira, why are you runni--?" Before David could finish his question, Taecyeon grabbed my wrist and yanked me towards the car.

"Stop it!" I demanded.

"I'm taking you home!" Taecyeon yelled. His face was red and a vein popped out of his neck. 

"Taecyeon, let her go!" David shouted.

I succeeded in pulling away from Taecyeon's grip, but he grabbed my hair and threw me on the grass where he slapped me repeatedly, calling me awful named in the process. I covered my face with my arms after my bottom lip split.

"Taecyeon, stop it!" David ordered. "I called the cops!"

Taecyeon got of off me and drove away in his car.

David approached me while giving the 911 operator details on the situation. After getting off the phone, he asked me if I was all right.

I laid there in the grass and sobbed too hard to give him a concrete answer, which hurt due to the slapping inflicted on me. I felt a trail of metallic-tasting blood fall in my mouth.

David scooped me up in his arms and tightly embraced me while an ambulance came by. While he embraced me, I couldn't help but realize how stupid I was for not noticing David. He was clearly much nicer than Taecyeon, and he cares about how I feel, too. Before long, a handful of paramedics carried me on a stretcher and kept asking me questions about my condition.

"Thank you, David," I sobbed. "I'm so sorry David."

"You have nothing to apologize for," he digressed. "I've put up with a lot of crap from Taecyeon, but this officially ends our friendship. I can never be friends with someone who hits on women. And you can count on me testifying against him. Will you?"

I thought about it for a moment. I'm still shaken up about what Taecyeon did to me. I will definitely remember this for as long as I live. As I mentioned before, Dinah, my friend, went though the same thing. Only she didn't live o testify against her ex, Charlie. I have the chance do it, so I will provide a voice for both of us in court. So, before the paramedics took me away, I replied, "Yes."

The jury found Taecyeon guilty for assault and battery, and he was sentenced five years probation plus 400 hours of community service because it was his first felony. The glare he gave both me and David was bone-chilling, but the fear in my heart melted away in my heart because I know he will never be able to hurt me since the judge put a restraining order on him during his probation.

As we were leaving, I looked up at David and apologized to him.

"For what?" he asked confusedly.

"For not paying attention to you in the first place. You're obviously the better choice for me, but I was so stupid and blind to see that. You, unlike your friend, know how to treat a woman. Thank you for saving me that night."

When I began sobbing, David pulled me into an embrace once more, which took me back to that night, making sob even harder.

"You'll be fine," he reassured me. "You'll be all right." After I was finished crying, he gently lifted up my chin and wiped the tears off my face. "You want to go somewhere to celebrate?"

"I do, but I want to go somewhere else first."

On our way to the cemetery, I picked up a bouquet of water lilies. When we arrived, David gave me the flowers. I got out of the car and went to my friend's grave.

"Dinah," I began. "I went to court today. The judge gave Taecyeon 5 years probation, but, in my opinion, I think he should have went to jail. I never would have imagined I would go through the same thing you did, but it happened. Only you weren't lucky enough to escape." Tears welled up my eyes. The next few words I said came out shaky. "We were always talking about how we were gonna grow old together and have kids and live on the same block, but I never would have counted on you being shot by Charlie. I hated him for while for taking you away from me, but I came to an epiphany that I needed to forgive him or I would never be able to move on. It might take a while for me to forgive Taecyeon, though.

"I should have paid attention to the signs of his behavior becoming aggressive. He nearly choked me, talked to me like I was nothing, and he beat me up a few weeks ago. I've still got the bruises from where he hit me, too. Ever since I've been going to court-mandated counseling, I realized I'm not alone in this situation. It also made me realize I had the right to my anger when I got out of that car that night, but Taecyeon had no right to hit me. A man doesn't really love you if he hits you. I didn't realize it sooner, but David was, and is, the best man I've ever had. He used to be friends with Taecyeon, but he said he didn't like men who beat women.

"I provided a voice for both of us in that court. You couldn't testify against Charlie, so I testified against Taecyeon for both of us. You didn't deserve this, and I didn't do anything to warrant the assault I got. Rest well, my friend." I placed the bouquet of Dinah's favorite flowers in front of her tombstone, wiped the tears from my eyes, and went back to David's car, feeling a heavy weight being lifted off my shoulders.

_________________________________________________________________________

 If you or someone you know is being abused by a partner or spouse, call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit the National Network to End Domestic Violence's website at http://nnedv.org/. Together we can put an end to domestic violence. Love yourself enough to leave an abuser. No one ever deserves to be beaten.

Thanks for reading!! ☺☺