Natali is my boyfriend's sister. She's gay, but she hasn't told her parents yet-- they'd completely freak out. She and Evan are twins, and you've never seen a brother and sister so tight. They tell each other everything. Evan told me about Natali, but only because he's really worried about her.

He thinks Natali's girlfriend is abusing her. He said he doesn't know for sure, but sometimes Natali has weird bruises on her arms, and she cries a lot when she's by herself. Honestly, I didn't even think gay couples fought like that. I thought it was just stupid guys who think they own everybody, but Evan said he looked it up on the internet, and Natali shows all the signs of being in an abusive relationship.

I starting paying more attention to Natali and Jessica. We were all in the same class at school, so I ran into them all the time. Everyone thought they were best friends, so it wasn't weird that they were always together. I noticed that Jessica always did all the talking, while Natali never said a word. Jessica was always poking fun at Natali, joking about her clothes and how she should watch what she ate a little more. Natali always smiled and looked like she didn't want to be there.

One day, I got out of class early and was walking to my car. I head someone yelling, and when I turned the corner, I saw Jessica pushing Natali and threatening to tell everybody that Natali was gay. "You're nothing. Nobody likes you but me and if I tell the school, it's over for you. Everybody will hate you. I love you and I want what's best, but if you keep pissing me off I'm going to do something!" Natali was in tears, promising Jessica that she loved her and would do whatever she wanted. I ran to the car and told Evan what had happened. He was so mad I was worried he might do something drastic, but he held his cool until Natali got home that night from Jessica's house. We were both there, and when she walked in the door, she looked awful. He eyes were all puffy and it looked like she had a rash on her neck. Evan told her what I had seen, and starting screaming at Natali. How could she let someone treat her like this? Why hadn't she said anything?

Natali didn't say a word--she just stood there, looking like she'd been caught stealing. She told Evan no one could find out that she was gay, and Jessica threatened her with that. Natali felt so guilty and stupid for getting into this mess, she thought she had no other option but to stay. When Jessica was in a good mood, she was great. But if she was angry or upset, Natali was always to blame. Evan didn't understand why Natali wouldn't just break up with Jessica, but Natali kept saying no one could love her and understand her the way Jessica did.