When I woke the next morning the bed was empty. I picked my head up and looked around, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight shining through the window. I crawled my way to the side table, thinking there might be a note there, but there wasn't. I lay back in bed going over what had happened the night before in my head, a wide grin on my face. Oh, I hoped that everything would continue on the path it was on now.

I got out of bed, heading to the dorm showers. There, I washed away my thoughts and cleaned my mind. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my waste when a group of boys came into the shower, fully clothed. A thousand things ran through my head but the one thing that stood out was, "Not again..."

One of the guys grabbed my arm, twisting me around, locking my arms in his arms so that I couldn't move. I didn't know what was going to happen to me but I knew it wasn't going to be very good. Another guy came up to me and punched me across my face leaving a red mark there. I tried to call out for help but one of the guys punched me in my gut, knocking the wind out of me. Another one of the guys came up and kicked me in my groin, making me start to cry.

My knees were starting to give and I wanted to fall to the ground. After a few rounds of punches by the guys I asked, "Why?"

They replied quickly saying, "We don't like queers. We know what happened with you and Charlie."

My mind quickly rushed to what could have happened to Charlie, feeling a bit worried. Did he get the same fate as me? Did they spare him because he was a jock? Was I going to be an outsider and live through this the same way I did in high school. "What did you do to him?" I asked.

"Nothing. He wanted us to beat you up!"

I felt my world come to an end, my heart crumbling. The man that I LOVED had wanted me to get beaten up. It all felt a bit unfair. Charlie didn't wake up to find me in his bed, but that was how he thought it happened. I didn't choose for this. Charlie had invited himself to have sex with me.

They left me in the shower, on the ground. I slowly got up and put my towel on, running to my bedroom. I felt the bruises all over my body I had decided to go to the hospital, feeling my face might be broken. I wrote a note to Charlie, though, saying, "I hate you." I didn't know if he would be back but if he was I was going to make sure knew that he was nothing more but another jock who had beaten me up in high school.

At the hospital they told me that my cheek bone was shattered and they would have to do surgery to repair it. I called my parents and told them I fell on the ground, not wanting them to worry. They told me that they would send the money up here.

My life was shattered and I had let my guard down. I had told myself that I would never let this happen again. I would never fall in love again. I could