Was that man in my room? Wait! What if he had done something to me? I tried listening to myself. I only relaxed when I felt that I was good.
I sighed again and looked at the drawers. That did not seem like a dream. What did he want? How did he get in?I threw away the covers and jumped in the bathroom. I wanted to catch up with my sleep later on.I hurriedly cleaned up and dressed. I took my bag and rushed downstairs. Aah! Relief! Mom and Denny were nowhere to be seen.I quickly had some breakfast in the kitchen, took my water bottle and rushed out of the house. I did not have a chauffer of my own like Denny. Mom had never organized one for me. And she never wanted this conversation.Anyway, I did not care. I walked out of the house. It was still early. I did not need to call for a curb. I could walk slowly.For the first time, I was among the first people to get to class that day. Still, Dan and Emah were already seated, leaving a seat between them for me.“You tried today,” Emah said teasingly. I never arrived on time for classes. Dan, on the other hand, smiled at me.I rolled my eyes at them as I took a seat. “I did not sleep well. Wake me up when the lecturer comes in…” I said.“Mia… you…” Emah said. I knew she was ready to begin lecturing me.But the sweet Dan nodded. “Okay,” he said. I didn't know why he usually gave in to all my requests. But I found him cute and sweet.I winked at him and put my head on the desk, the events of last evening appearing in my head again. I wanted to cry, but shook it off. Sleep was better than crying.I don't know how long I slept, but Emah tapped me when the lecturer came to class. I sat up with a start and wiped my face.“Are you okay?“ Dan leaned closer to me and asked. I smiled at him. But I knew very well that I was not in good shape.The lecturer wrote something on the board. “I remember that I gave you an assignment. Mia, let me see what you did…” This particular lecturer liked picking up on me so many times. I had never known what his intentions were.“Assignment?“ I asked in shock. Sh*t! I had forgotten all about it. But this lecturer, why was my name always in his mouth?“I knew it! Mia and Alex! That will make a wonderful couple…” Emah teased in a whisper.I was too tense to mind her. In short, I did not have the work. I turned to look at Dan, and he smiled, motioning at my desk.I followed his gaze and saw a book. It was not mine, of course. But the assignment was there, fully done. “You are sweet, Dan,” I whispered with a smile.I looked up at Alex, who had just stopped before my desk. “Sir, my work is here,” I said with a mild smile.The lecturer took the book and looked at it. He turned to look at me, his gaze quite questioning. I trembled. Could he have seen through me?The next second, he smiled. “Nicely done!“ He said and handed the book back at me. I felt like he had seen through me but decided to let me go. Still, I sighed in relief.After class, Dan, Emah and I walked together. I was still feeling sad over everything I overheard the other day.“What happened yesterday?“ Dan asked. He always knew everything about me. I sighed, but decided not to tell them about Carlos and mom.But, what about that man in my room? “Guys! Someone snuck into my room yesterday. I swear I have never felt that scared…” I said.“A man?“ Emah hurriedly asked, stopping to look at me. I could see Dan crease his brows at Emah's words.I did not hide anything. I told them the truth. At least, I would have someone to testify for me if anything that happened to me in the end.Emah burst out laughing even before I was done. “Mia, I think that it was just some dream. Wait, haven't you always hoped to have some big caring brother? That was it, a dream!“I sighed. “I am not joking,” I said to them. “He looked a bit mysterious. I don't know what he was up to. I am just scared to death…”Dan seemed deep in thought. “It must just be a dream, Mia. The security at your place… No one with a sound mind would think of sneaking in…”I shrugged. “Okay, maybe it was just a dream,” I said. I knew that the two could not be convinced. I would also not believe it if someone else said that kind of a story.Emah creased her brows. “Unless your mom let him in,” she said. I felt my body tense. Yeap! Mom was capable of doing that.“I hope not,” I hurriedly said. “I just hope that it was a dream!“ If mom let a man into my room, it would never be anything good.“Just be careful though,” Dan said seriously. “At least, he did nothing to you yesterday.“ I knew he meant his words. I nodded in understanding.“Nope! Just find someone to act like your brother. The dream will be gone. Mia, all you need is a caring big brother…” she said.I thought her words made sense. Since my elder sister never cared about me, I had always hoped to find a big brother who cared about me. One that would spoil me and protect me from mom and Denny.But I would never say this out loud. I rolled my eyes at Emah. “Just joke about it. Don't cry if I die soon.““I mean it, Mia! See, Dan is here. You could talk to him about it,” Emah said. “Dan could be a nice big brother to you, you know.“I chuckled. “Who said he was not? Dan is my sweet big brother,” I said. Anyway, that was how I treated him. He was really nice.On Saturday, Emah and I went to the mall for some shopping. Of course, I did not get any permission from mom. I left home when she was not around. Actually, it was Emah who pulled me out by force.Emah kept on buying everything that we found on the way. On the other hand, I was only interested in some snacks. I did not care about the other things.I was carrying a few of Emah's shopping bags as we moved around. This girl was always obsessed with shopping.Suddenly, someone walked closer to me, knocking a bag down. “What the hell…” I wanted to shout at the person when he apologized and bent to pick up the bag.But even after he handed me the bag, I remained frozen. This man… it was him!The man looked into my eyes and I saw him smile. He held my hand and put the bag in it. He winked and hurriedly walked away.I remained frozen in place and looked at the man as he walked away. Emah, who had walked some distance away, came back looking for me. “What is wrong?“ She asked as she shook me.
I wanted to ignore her and keep walking. After all, she was never going to be up to anything good.“Hey, you! I am talking to you. Can't you see that there is a visitor here?“ Mom called, her voice turning so hostile that I had to stop.I am sure they must have been surprised. Normally, I would talk to Carlos any time he showed up. This was the first time I had ignored him.But… Did I have to pretend to be good for no reason? He was always good, but not anymore. There was no way I was going to laugh with someone like him when I knew very well that he did not have any good intentions for me.I cleared my throat and looked up at Carlos. He was so silent that I could not tell what he was thinking.“He is your visitor,” I said angrily. “Why do I have to greet him?“ I had not called for him to come, why did I have to be the one to greet him?I turned to walk away, but a pillow hit my head the next second. Turning to look, mom was holding a glass, ready to throw it at me.“Come back here! W
I hesitated for some seconds before nodding my head and walking behind her. I did not see the need to keep hiding from her. I needed to know her plans so that I would find a way to fight for myself.I slowly took a seat, a heavy lump in my throat. I looked at the woman in front of me with some hatred. She was my mom! I was supposed to be so happy around her, to talk to her and share my problems!But here I was, fearing for my own life! At times, I always hoped that she was not my biological mother. But again, who else could it be?“You have to call Carlos and apologize,” Mom said straightforwardly, bringing me back to my senses. I creased my brows. Was she asking me to apologize? “Why should I do it? I just told him the truth…”Mom stood up abruptly, looking directly into my eyes. “Listen to me, you unfilial child! You have to do as I asked you. You are going to be in a relationship with him and do as he asks you. If you have other plans, you can do it after I get what I want!“Tears
I was still shocked by the shout when Carlos pressed me against the wall and brought his lips closer to mine. He was going to kiss me.Instinctly, I turned my face to the side and he ended up kissing my cheek. Still, I felt so disgusted. I used some force and pushed him away, using my hand to wipe off his kiss.And before he had time to react, I gave him a super hot slap on the face. I was mad! What the hell was he planning to do to me?Carlos held his cheek and looked at me like I was some ghost. I am sure he had never expected that I would hit him. “Natalie… you dare to hit me?“ He asked in disbelief. But I was too annoyed to answer him. I walked out of the room and slammed the door shut before walking down the stairs. Tears continuously ran out of my eyes.I met mom downstairs. He was obviously still waiting for us. “I hope you have not done anything stupid,” she said when she saw me.My anger escalated. “Your good son-in-law is waiting for you upstairs,” I said before walking out
I could see a smile appear at the corner of mom's lips, and I felt my heart ache more. Did she rejoice in everything that she was doing?“It is a good thing that you don't want to beat around the bushes,” she said and took her phone. This confirmed to me that she actually had abducted Emah.I swallowed hard and fought back my tears. “Why do you have to go for my friends when they are innocent, mom? Why don't you do all these to me instead? I am the one at fault here!“Mom chuckled and looked up at me. The next second, her eyes turned very icy. “What will I gain from harming you? I don't see the need to kill you when you are still going to be dead within the next two years…”“Mom!“ I shouted, bursting into tears. So she decided to harm my friends instead? Was this woman ever going to be human?She ignored me and made a call, putting it on speaker. The next second, I heard a shriek from the other end.“What do you people want from me?“ There came a voice that I recognized immediately.“
Hell! I felt so disgusted. I pushed his hands away, feeling the urgent need to clean that part that he had touched.“Mia?“ Carlos looked up at me in shock. I think he was expecting me to just enjoy his dirty and disgusting touch. “Are you changing your mind about everything?“I shut my eyes in annoyance. “Just keep your filthy hands off me,” I said. What the hell did he think he was doing?Carlos stopped the car suddenly. I looked out, and froze when I realized that we were in some deserted road. I did not see any other people. “Did you just call me filthy?“ He asked, swallowing hard. “Do you want me to tell you exactly what I want to do to you?“An alarm went off in my head. Ah! I should have known it. I shook my head as I watched him unbuckle his seat belt. “I want to have you, right now, Mia!“ I trembled and widened my eyes. “You… you are not doing anything of that sort to me,” I said and leaned away from him. I was just scared, because I knew that he was capable of doing anythin
…Dave was so tensed that he shook the girl in his hands. He threw a look at Emah. “What happened?“ He asked. Why was she looking like that?Emah felt like crying when she saw her friend like that. Normally, Mia carried her medicine everywhere she went. Whenever she acted up, they would give them to her and she would be fine.However, it seemed like she was too worried earlier that she did not remember to carry them. “She is in need of her pills. She did not carry them with her,” she said. “What should we do? She is in so much pain…”Mia groaned a little louder before she went silent. She had passed out from the pain. Dave felt more tensed. “Miaa!“ He almost screamed. He seemed to have thought of something. He lay Mia on the seat and rushed for the door. “Look after her as I get her medicine. I will be back soon,” he said.Emah nodded. But the next second, she raised her hand to stop the man. “You… you don't even know what kind of medicine she takes…” she sighed, since the man was al
In the morning, Emah was taken home first. She did not want her mom to be so worried. But before she left, she kept on reminding me to be careful around that man.I smiled at her. For all I knew, at least for the time being, that man was never going to hurt me.“When are you planning to go home?“ The man asked as he appeared from upstairs. Today, he had a pair of black shorts and another white t-shirt. He looked dashing.Apart from the maturity in his voice, someone would assume that he was still a young teenager.“Are you okay?“ He asked as he looked into my eyes. And it was then that I came back to my senses. I hurriedly nodded my head, telling him that I was fine.'What is wrong with you, Mia!' I cursed at myself. How could I be lost in my thoughts like that?Remembering what he had asked earlier, I froze. I hurriedly shook my head. “Home? I don't want to go back home,” I said. I still did not want to meet my mom.The man walked closer to me, his hands still in his pockets. “Mia, t