Spending time at Steven’s was my favorite escape from the fighting at home. No matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to end up fighting tooth and nail with Mom and my step-dad, Bob. But being at Steven’s was supposed to make me forget it all.

His house was the go-to for most of the teenagers in our neighborhood. He had a large pool and a hot tub in his backyard and every game system that was available. We had been dating for a few weeks, and I was excited to show off the new bikini I had gotten from Hot topic.

After messing around in the pool for a few hours with our friend Zach, we decided to relax in the hot tub for a while. “This is great,” I said, “sometimes the pool is too cold. I hate the cold.”

Steven got a mischievous look on his face and reached down the side of the tub, grabbing the hose. “Oh really, hate the cold do you,” he laughed.

He turned the hose on and started dousing me down with freezing cold water. I screamed and tried to find cover under the hot waters surface. Steven pulled me out and shoved the hose inside me.

Almost immediately, I went stiff. The outside of my body felt scorching hot while a freezing cold spread inside me. Steven pinched the hose, increasing the pressure, and a piercing pain joined the torturous mix of temperatures.

My body started to seize, shacking uncontrollably. My vision blurred until I was blinded by a white light. And all the while, the only thing I could make out in the tornado of swirling pain was laughter. I was sinking, barely holding my head above water, I was going to die. And they were laughing.

Finally realizing that I was quickly losing consciousness, Zach stopped laughing, snatched the hose from Steven, and came to make sure I was okay.

It took me a moment to become fully alert, my eyes taking time to adjust, and the ringing in my eats was starting to fade. It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like hours. And still, all I could hear was Steven laughing.