"Can we talk?" I beg him, my eyes pleading.

"No" I know he is angry at me, I did break his heart after all.

"Please?" I'm desperate now for him to let me talk, even for just a minute.

"We have nothing to talk about" He is so stubborn sometimes, but I can be just as stubborn.

"Yes we do, Eric let me explain" My voice is once again taking on a pleading tone.

"Explain what?" he sounds tired, I can't really blame him.

"Why I can't be with you" This seems to get his attention.

"Ok, go ahead, you have three minutes. So? Why can't you be with me?" his voice is sharp, like he is trying to mask the fact he is scared of what I am going to say.

"Because I'm scared." I know the next words out of his mouth will bring tears to my eyes.

"Scared of what?" This is harder than I thought it would be.

"You." I can hear him gasp but I continue to talk before he gets the chance. "It happened three years ago. I was dating someone, a guy, and he wasn't exactly the nicest person to be with. He wasn't violent but hen he got jealous, he could get a bit rough when we, you know, had sex."

I can see it in his eyes, he knows but he is waiting for confirmation, so I give it to him. It's hard to continue but I swallow the lump in my throat and smile past the tears threatening to fall.

"One day he saw someone flirting with me, and when we went home I was surprised when he suggested we went to sleep instead of fucking like he normally did. I should have known. I woke up when I felt pain in my chest. I didn't take long to register he was biting me.

I tried to push him off but realized my hands were cuffed. I could feel every thing, him inside me, blood running down my thighs, teeth on my chest. I screamed but he didn't listen. I kept telling him to stop but he didn't."

I stop talking when I realised Eric has begun moving forward towards the couch. I allow him to wrap me in his arms as we lie down.

"What happened to him?" I can hear both curiosity and tears in his eyes as he asks me.

"He died in prison. His cell mate stabbed him in his sleep." I try to keep my voice level but it's difficult.

"Ryan, I'm so sorry that that happened, but why would that stop you from being with me. You know I'd never…"

"He looked exactly like you."

HARDYBOYSHARDYBOYSHARDYBOYSHARDYBOYSHARDYBOYSHARDYBOYSHARDYBOYSHARDYBOYS

Thinking about the events over the last hour is making my mind whiz. I never thought I'd be here, in his arms, but I am. I was scared he was going to reject me, or maybe do what David did. Instead he took me in his arms and allowed me to cry. After I told him what David did he understood my fears and promised he would never do that and he would wait for me. I know in my heart he is being truthful and it helps put my mind at rest. I was unsure of if I should tell him or not but now I realise it was the right choice. And maybe, just maybe, I can spend the rest of my life not in fears hands, but in Eric's arms.