Book Excerpt 2

"....Rob punched me in the face, then grabbed my throat and shoved me backward. The next thing I knew, I was on my bedroom floor. The back of my head had hit against the metal bedframe. I was stunned and don't remember feeling any pain. When I struggled to my hands and knees, Rob stepped up to me and kicked my ribs like he was kicking a field-goal, as he yelled, "Did I tell you to get up??" The force of the kick landed me on my back. I remember curling up like a ball, trying to protect myself. The next part of the attack was a blur. Rob hit me, kicked me, slammed my head into the floor and against the wall. A couple times he played cat and mouse with me. He'd let me get close to the doorway, then grab my ankle and drag me back in. For some reason, I felt that if only I could get outside the doorway, I'd be safe. Like it was some kind of finish line. I felt that if I could get out of that room, he wouldn't be able to hurt me anymore.... ....After he tired of beating me on the bedroom floor, he dragged me up and threw me across my bed. My aching body slammed into the wall and rolled back onto the bed. I curled up into a ball at the head of my bed, as far away from him as I could. Rob grabbed my foot and pulled me down toward him. All this time he was yelling at me. He was full of rage and kept saying that he was going to teach me a lesson. He continued to beat me. My lip was busted open and my nose was bleeding so much that I couldn't breathe out of it. Soon I could feel both my eyes swelling shut. This is when I really started to panic. I wasn't able to see straight and I could only breathe out of my mouth. As Rob took both hands to rip off my t-shirt, I lashed out and punched him in the face. This must have startled him because he stepped back long enough for me to try to get off the bed. But he recovered quickly and was madder than ever. He said I was going to pay for doing that - and somewhere inside, I knew he was right. As he pulled at my shorts, I desperately held onto them...trying to keep them on. No man had ever seen me naked. Once I was naked in front of him, he took the time to insult every part of my body. He told me how fat and ugly I was, and that I should be glad he was going to do this, as if no other man would have been able to stand to look at me, as if he was doing me a favor. ....The pain was indescribable. Suddenly I heard a horrific scream. It sounded like an animal being tortured to death. It was deafening. My heart went out to that poor pitiful creature. Then it hit me. I realized my mouth was open and that horrible sound was coming from me....."