All characters in this story are older than 18.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Jim Richardson. I had the pleasure of meeting the love of my life, Denise. Our relationship started during a ski trip under unusual circumstances. That is covered in another, earlier submission. We are both students here at the university. We currently live on campus in the student dorms, but plan to move off campus, into an apartment, at the end of the second semester. We both look forward to living together.
At the present time, all our close friends live in the same dorm as we do. Our proximity to each other keeps our social circle tight. It is always easy to find something to do and someone to do it with. And we can look after each other, just in case some sort of problem arises.
Denise and I went shopping recently and one of our friends came up as a topic of our conversation, while we walked downtown. Her friend, Beth, had been seeing an acquaintance of ours, Matt, on a regular basis. Matt is our age and lives in a dorm a few blocks away from ours. We always thought that Beth and Matt had a solid relationship. They had been dating for a couple of months and everything indicated they were a happy couple. We had gone out with them and met for several social events. We never saw any behaviors that would raise any red flags.
Denise noticed that Beth's outlook had changed in the past week. Beth wouldn't say anything was wrong, but it was obvious she wasn't the same happy woman we had known for the past six months. Three nights ago, Denise found Beth quietly crying in a dark corner of the library. Beth didn't want to talk, but Denise sat down anyway, just to keep her friend company. She sat quietly with Beth. Finally, Beth decided she needed to talk. Denise was the perfect friend and listener.
Beth told Denise that she had broken up with Matt. Their relationship had soured and Beth decided she needed to get out before she was hurt any more than she already was. Denise immediately thought about physical abuse. Her anger boiled up to the point of exploding. She took one of Beth's hands and put her arm around Beth's shoulder and pulled her close.
"What did that fucker do to you?" Denise seldom spoke like that, but she was angry. She had shifted into full defensive mode for her friend's well being.
"He didn't hurt me. Well, not in a physical way. He never touched me in anger." Beth was almost defending Matt, but Denise wasn't buying any of it.
"Bullshit. My friend doesn't sit in the library and cry to herself in the dark. Not if nothing is wrong." Denise held Beth tighter and leaned her head against Beth's.
"What did he do to you? Why are you crying?"
"Matt never hit me. He's never gotten physical with me. It's... just... well, he...he's just being mean to me."
"But Matt's not hitting you?"
"Oh, no! Nothing like that. Nothing physical...he just...well, he's fucking...he's fucking with my brain. I'm going out of my mind. I'm so confused." Beth was starting to sob and shake in Denise's arms.
A girl a couple of tables away looked up at Denise and Beth and came over.
"Is everything okay? Can I do anything?" she asked. She had a very concerned look on her face.
"I think we could use some Kleenex if you have any." The girl spun away and disappeared for a few minutes.
Denise held onto Beth, helped her to breathe deeply and settle down. She was really distraught and out of control.
A box of Kleenex arrived.
"If you need anything, anything at all, I'm just over there. I'll help." Denise thanked her and said she would ask for help if she needed anything. The Kleenex were a welcomed start.
After Beth settled back down, she began to confide in Denise. Things with Matt had been going great up until recently. They enjoyed each other's company and spent time together doing different activities. Matt was always considerate of what Beth could or could not do. He was never pushy. Their intimate times together were very enjoyable and he never got rough with her. But things changed a couple of weeks ago.
"Matt became different. He became more domineering. He was demeaning. Less flexible. He began to treat me like was inadequate and had no value. He didn't treat me like an equal person anymore. Everything I said was wrong. He said I had no idea how the world was supposed to work. I knew there were bad things in the world, but if two people could get along, the world would be better. He told me I never grew up. I never learned my purpose in life. I didn't know my place. If I listened to him, I could learn what I needed to do."
Beth was getting caught up in her growing emotional distress and was beginning to sob and shake again. Denise shushed her down and told her to relax and breathe. Denise tried to get Beth to ease her mind.
"Matt's just being a dick. He is trying to play some kind of mind game with you. Maybe he wants to brainwash you into being like a mentally submissive slave or something. Maybe he never wanted a loving relationship. Maybe he wants you under his control so he can make you do anything he wants. You won't have a say in anything. You'll just have to obey and not question him. I think you found him out before he really hurt you."
You always hear about the vulnerable woman caught in a one-sided, mentally abusive relationship. She is just a decoration, or a woman he can order around to do his bidding. She becomes a slave. The woman is never physically abused. But if she offers up a thought, the man will mentally beat her down. He puts her down because he thinks she is not worthy of having valuable thoughts or feelings. She becomes a Stepford Wife. Sometimes the woman succumbs and ends up believing his shit and is mentally compromised for life. Is this the kind of trap Matt was trying to build for Beth?
"I'm glad you found me tonight. I don't know what to do. I can't go to the dorm, 'cuz Matt could find me. If I go to the dorm, I'd have to lock myself in. Then the phone might ring. Or there'd be a knock at the door. I don't want to be alone. I can't shake all those dark ideas Matt was putting into my head. I don't know what to do!"
"You are coming home with me. You won't be alone. And we're going to figure out how to get rid of Matt, get him out of your life. You'll get your life back. I'm calling Jim. He'll pick us up out front in a few minutes."
Denise called me and I got the car and met them at the library. Beth was a mess. Denise loaded books and packs in the back seat and put Beth in the car. Then she slid into the backseat with Beth and closed the door. I drove us all back to the dorm.
When we got to the dorm, Denise got Beth out of the car. She told me to get all the stuff and bring it to her room. Denise and Beth walked into the dorm. I parked the car and got all the books and packs and bags and headed to Denise's room. I knocked softly on the door.
Denise answered the door and told me to put everything on her desk. I walked over to the desk and put everything down. I looked to smile and nod at Beth, but Beth looked scared and shrunk into herself.
"What the fuck?"
"I think you'll need to leave. It's going to be a girl's night. Maybe two." Denise gave me a kiss and a hug and pushed me back into the hall.
"I'll text when Beth settles down. Love you." She gave me another kiss and closed the door.
My phone buzzed as I was walking back to my room and Denise was already texting.
"Matt mentally fucking with Beth."
"Beth is scared to death."
"Call campus security."
Whoa. This sounds crazy serious. I called campus security dispatch and they said they would send an officer over. As I waited for a call from the front desk, Denise sent more details of what was going on. Shit. Matt was going to be in trouble.
It was about 20 minutes before my phone rang and the girl at the front desk said a campus security officer wanted to see me. I went to the front desk, met the officer and we went to the common room for a cup of tea. The officer got coffee because he wanted caffeine for his shift. We got the drinks and sat down at a table. Others in the commons room checked out me and the officer.
I showed him Beth's texts about what Matt had been doing. He said there was nothing in the texts he could act on. Beth did not want to talk to the officer, so that complicated the process even more. The officer had seen this type of behavior before and understood completely what was going on. He said the best thing to do was start an incident report claiming abuse. That way, if anything else happened, there would be a record showing that Beth had concerns for her safety. The officer also said that Beth should contact student medical services in the morning and make an appointment with a councilor. He said he has seen a lot of this during his years of service and there was usually an acceptable and successful resolution to the problem if you got help early enough. He stressed that Beth needed friends around she could talk to and be with for comfort and a feeling of security. With that, he gave me his card and ended our incident reporting session.
I texted Denise what the officer recommended.
"Anything else you need?"
"No."
"I miss you. I love you." I replied. It had only been a few hours and I already missed. I felt bad for her because she felt bad for Beth. Denise was caught in the middle of a shit storm.
"Me too." Hearts emoji.
"Talk tomorrow." Sleeping emoji. Time to turn in.
I went back to my room and was to wired to sleep. I recalled what Denise and I talked about on our shopping trip. I had no idea Matt had been so mean to Beth. It was fucking criminal. No one should ever be allowed to treat someone else like that. How do some men turn into such fucking bastards.
I got out my bottle of scotch, poured a shot and dumped it down my throat. That was a waste of 15 year old scotch but it made my insides feel better. I got my kit and towel and went to take a scalding hot shower. I needed to relax and get ready for bed. In another 30 minutes, I was in bed staring at a dark ceiling, contemplating Denise, Beth and Matt.
