My girlfriend, prior to being my girlfriend, had a really rough go of
it with a older boyfriend who had been abusive so she was many times
on the emotional edge. If anything set her off she might start crying
out of the blue or say something like she was starting in the middle
of a thought that was really rather dark. The night that Rob had
driven us up to go to the dollar movies the car was having some type
of electrical problem and we broke down twice and had to be jumped
once before we even got to the theater so we decided it would be a
good idea just to head home and skip the stranding. The events of the
night were really just mildly inconvenient but the stress of it
coupled with whatever was going on in my girls troubled mind pushed
her over the edge and she started getting really panicked and
hysterical. Rob was starting to get very worried because she was
freaking out and he was trying to get us home and into someone else's
realm of responsibility while I was in the back seat with her trying
to calm her down and tell her it was okay. When we got home I stayed
in the car with the now calm girlfriend while my mom took the other
two boys home in her car. I stayed in the back seat with her head on
my lap stroking her hair and talking to her for about an hour. She
didn't say anything back to me but I just told her over and over that
she was safe and that everything was going to be okay. I didn't feel
like I was sure if it was going to be okay but maybe I was telling
her and hoping myself. My mom, naturally nervous about me spending so
much time alone in the backseat of the car with a girl in the dark
hovered between the front door and the car just to make sure she
didn't become a grandmother I guess. At one point before we took her
home I told my girlfriend that I was really worried about her because
I loved her so much and I, for the first time in my life, really
meant that I loved someone for no other reason then I wanted them to
be happy and safe with no ulterior motive. We had to take her home
eventually despite her protest of wanting to stay. The next day was
Saturday so we didn't see her at school but I called and her mom said
that she didn't want to talk to me right then. I was crushed thinking
of why she would not want to talk to me. She came by my house a
couple of hours later carrying a bouquet of white flowers and I was
so relived and excited that she was not trying to avoid me for some
reason. I assumed that the flowers were for me and was flattered but
she had actually brought them for my mom. I was a little sad that she
was giving my om credit when I did all the comforting but then she
asked if she could talk to me and she did thank me and told me that
she loved me too. She went home and I was about as happy as any kid
can be.
