Chapter Two

Unwrapping of Butterflies

My girlfriend and I have dated for two years now. Our first meeting was by chance: I saw her at a karate school here in town. I was there meeting up with Troy so we could head out to the movies and see the highly anticipated movie “X-Men”. The time I arrived was shortly around 7:05; Troy told me to meet him at 7:00. As soon as I got there, I stepped inside the studio. Looking around, I saw some parents sitting, while a select few were gathering up their kids from the previous class. To my left, Jennifer Thomason smiled at me and waved. Returning the favor, I sauntered up to the front desk counter.

“Hey Jennifer,” I said.

“Hey Victor! Where are you headed off to this evening?” she asked.

“Well, Troy and I are hitting the theaters to see “X-Men”.” I stated.

“That’s great. How have you been?”

“I’ve been fine. Say, when is Troy coming out here?”

“You know I have to get changed first Victor,” startled, I turned around to see my friend smirking at me. At the same time, a young girl bumped into me carelessly.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry sir. I didn’t mean to run into you,” she said sheepishly.

“Hey it’s okay. My name is Victor,” I offer my hand to symbolize my greeting.

“I see Romeo trying to get himself a date,” Troy remarks while slapping me on the back.

“I…I shouldn’t be talking to you. You see…my boyfriend…I’m late…gotta run” the young female quickly walks into the other room to begin class.

“What’s up with her?” I ask.

“Don’t look at me. By the way, her name is Claudia. She is a black belt here. She is very timied around guys. Lately, she’s opened up to me a litlte and the female students in the past few days–she’s active–but she’s afraid that her boyfriend might see her one day.”

“Why? What’s wrong with her boyfriend?”

“Well, he beats her. At least that’s what I have gathered from her bruises. Also, she rarely talks to guys—except me. Anyway, are you ready to go and the X-Men!” Troy remarks.

“Sure, I heard it was a great movie,” by this time, most of the parents have cleared out and the new class, which is a teen/adult class, is starting. Turning to Troy, I say, “Hey, go on to the car, I need to go to the bathroom before I head out.”

“Okay Romeo, don’t be too long now. Bye Jennifer!”

“Bye!”

“She’s cute,” I state out of the blue.

“Yeah she is. It’s a shame she doesn’t believe that herself,” Jennifer said.

“What do you mean?” turning, I look at Jennifer with my full attention.

“Well, I heard this from various sources but she…” RING “hold on. Hello? This is John Miller’s World Class Karate Jennifer speaking…” I didn’t bother to hear the rest of the conversation. Instead, I turned my back to Jennifer and looked into the room where the class is participating in. There, I find Claudia. I can tell she looks a little uncomfortable because she peeks outside every now and then, as if she expects someone to come in here and do whatever to her. There are certain parts to our story that only Claudia can explain. Here she is.

Claudia here. My boyfriend explained the basics of how we met, however, I feel that I should discuss what life was like before I met Victor. You see, I dated this guy named Sean Johnson. I dated him my 8th grade year (he was a sophomore in high school). Sean wasn’t the popular type, nor was he on the bottom of the social ladder. You could say he knew how to pull strings to get through high school. Anyway, he had dirty blonde hair and was stout. One of the coolest things about him were the tattoos he had on his arms, and legs. I thought he was the coolest guy ever; that is until he started to abuse me.

Sean and I met at my friend’s birthday party that year. I remember walking into the living room, and seeing this GUY who seemed to have a commanding presence about him. I think what attracted me to him was how he set himself apart from all the other guys. It was like, he was a ringleader of some gang. The closer I came to him, the more I felt drawn to him. It was as if my feet had a mind all their own; at the same time, butterflies were forming inside my stomach. Right then and there, I was thinking about how my make up looked, if my hair was right, the usual. I remember how he turned up and looked at me. At me! I couldn’t believe it! In fact, as soon as he looked at me, I practically freaked! My mouth must have hit the floor.

“Hi,” he smiled.

“Uhh…” my brain tried to make my mouth say ‘hi’ but my mouth was too busy opening itself up like a dam.

“My name is Sean,” he offered me his hand and had the brightest smile I had ever seen.

“Uhh…” once again, my brain was trying to tell my mouth something, but my mouth wouldn’t obey.

“This is Claudia,” my friend Beth said matter-a-factly.

“Claudia,” the name rolls around his tongue and registers in the back of his brain, “such a nice name you have there for such a pretty lady.” This guy is good!

“Umm…th-thank you,” I sputter.

“I’m sorry to ask this question since I don’t know you very well, but would you like to go out with me sometime?” It was too good to be true!

“Umm..y-y-yes?” I say.

“Good. How about….Friday? We can go to the movies together. By the way, here’s my number.” He actually gave me his number! My hand felt as if it was on ice. I mean, I have had a crush on this guy ever since I could remember, and HE WAS GIVING ME HIS NUMBER!

Anyway, that Friday began a series of dates. We went everywhere: to the movies, to the skating rink, putt-putt, you name it. I never knew what to call us. I figured that there would be lots of hot girls in high school that I would not ever have a chance to compete with, so I never asked. However, everytime someone would ask him who I was, he would say, “she’s my girlfriend.” I was shocked! Sean and me? Girlfriend and boyfriend?

As I said earlier, Sean was romantic and charismatic. He would send me flowers, candies, and cards. If I was ever sick, he would come and visit me. Basically, he was the best boyfriend anyone could ever have. I remember having one side of my wall dedicated to him; on that wall, I would have pictures of him, me and him, cards he sent me, and anything else that reminded me of him. We had a song together, “Back at One,” by Brian McKnight. It wasn’t until I started my ninth grade year when the abuse began.

I didn’t realize what was going on at first. Looking back, the first few months felt like I was blindfolded to the truth. It started when he told me not to wear a certain outfit because ‘it was too showy’. Or he would want me to wear pants because he didn’t want anyone seeing my legs. In fear of guys touching my butt, he forbade me from hugging them. He was very smart too. He allowed me to see my guy friends from my middle school; it was the ones from high school he didn’t want me to see. Furthermore, he always wanted me to call him as soon as I got home, as soon as I finished eating, and as soon as I went to bed. This went on for two months. I didn’t mind it at first because I thought he was protecting me. After all, I was the new kid and he has been around for three years now.