“You can’t trust me because I can’t trust you.” she snapped, eyes flashing with a mix of anger and desperation. The dimming light in the room flickered, reflecting shadows around us. The windows shook from the vibrations that the loud thunderstorm was causing, and the rain was pelting down on the roof, as if the storm itself was echoing their fractured trust. She took a step back, her breath shaky.

“How did it even come to this?” she asked. “We were best friends. We were partners.” His jaw clenched, he felt as if he had barbed wire wrapped around his throat. He couldn’t get a word out. He felt guilt swallow over him, and regret clouded his eyes. “I thought we had a plan,” she said, her voice cracking. “But now it just feels like a game, where no one can win.” She starts to walk out of the room and gets her suitcase to start packing up her things, getting ready to move out.

“Wait…” he says quietly, looking at the ground with a tear running down his cheek. “I know I messed up. I shouldn’t have cheated on you. I know I broke your trust and I’m so sorry, but you are my person–I need you in my life.” A wave of disgust and embarrassment washes over Samara.

“Jake, you know that’s not true, you’re full of lies. I’m all done playing your games and waiting for you to ‘Change’, when it’s never gonna happen.” Jake’s anger explodes, his grip tightening around Samara as he grabs her. “Stop! Get off of me!” she yells. His voice drops into a low, dangerous tone.

“If I can’t have you then no one will.” he threatens. Samara breaks one of her hands free and socks him in the nose hard enough to get his hand off of her as she runs out of the room and down the stairs, locking herself in the bathroom. Breathing heavily as she just escaped a possible injury or even worse, death, she hears him walking down the stairs hysterically crying, and begging, “Samara, please–please, I didn’t mean to hurt you! I don’t know what came over me, I swear! Just come out of the bathroom, I promise I won’t touch you. You gotta trust me…you have to!” Samara puts her hands over her mouth and prays that she gets out of this alive. He sounds insane, he doesn’t sound like himself.
“Im calling the cops!” she finally says, building up the courage to speak.

“Do not! You will regret it!” he starts banging on the door. Samara goes up against the door to try and keep him out, when all of a sudden he breaks through the door and grabs her by the hair, pulling her up from the floor.

“AHHH!” she screams. “Let go of me! You’re hurting me!” She bites his hand feircly, the sharp peirce of her bite feuling her desperation to escape. With a sudden, powerful shove, she breaks through the window, escaping. Running down the street, she calls the cops who answer in 2 rings.

“911 what’s your emergency?”

“I need help! I’m being chased down the street by my abusive boyfriend, I’m really scared, he’s trying to capture me!” she screams.

“Alright ma’am, stay calm, tell me your exact location right now, officers are on the way”. When they got to Samara, she was hiding under an old deck of an abandoned house.

They wrapped her up and put her in the ambulance to check if she had any injuries. “A little bleeding on the head from the hair pulling, and a few bruises on her arm from the tight grip he had on her, but other than that I think she is good to go home.” says the nurse at the hospital. On the other hand, Jack had been found in a gas station trying to hide from the police, and had gotten taken to jail for physical abuse. The police came back to the hospital that Samara had been at.

“Hey Samara, how are you feeling?” the officer asked.

“I am doing fine, just a little shaken up at the moment, and a little sore on my head.” She says.

“Alright well I am glad to hear that you’re okay. We’ve locked Jake up and now he is getting mental treatment. Heartbreak can drive people to madness–make them do things they’d never even imagine. Jake? He was one of those lost souls, pushed over the edge.” the cop says, shaking his head. “Its unfortunate that you had to go through that.” He adds.

“I’m just glad that I made it out alive, thank you for your guys help.” The cop helps Samara head back down to the lobby of the hospital, and she sees her mom who is standing in the lobby, with arms wide open, waiting for a hug. Tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m so glad you’re okay honey, I was so worried about what could’ve happened to you.” Samara’s face sinks into her moms shoulder, her lip trembling. She gets a sudden catch in her breath and tears run down her cheeks.

“I loved him mom, but he betrayed my trust and he turned into a monster. I never would’ve thought he would act like that.” Her mom looks at her and has her sit down.

“We never know what to expect out of someone until we build trust with that person, and we communicate. You and Jake didn’t have trust, there were lots of secrets kept in that relationship, which is what led to all of these dangerous emotions that came out of him.” Samara wipes her tears and pulls herself together, realizing that she shouldn’t be so upset over Jake–he was a manipulative liar.