Chapter 33: Wicked

Chapter 33: Wicked
MERA

"I knew something was going on between the two of you the moment I arrived here. And that day at the rink confirmed everything," he said raising his hand to my face, which I swatted away.

“What are you doing?” I took a step back, but he grabbed my hand and roughly turned me around, pinning me to the dresser.

"I won't tell if you don't," he whispered into my ear, pinning my arms against my chest with one hand before tucking my hair behind my ear.

“Lorenzo… what are you doing? You’re hurting me.” I hissed as the dresser's edges pressed painfully against my stomach. 

But my body went rigid the moment his lips latched onto my neck. “Lorenzo-” I attempted to speak, my voice quavering as fear surged through my veins, but he roughly grabbed my jaw.

"Shh… you'll enjoy it. I promise.” He let go of my jawbone, and I squirmed against him, trying to free myself as he slipped his hand between my thighs. But he was too strong. “Lorenzo, no! Please- Ahh!!”

“Shh…”

The towel fell to the floor, and my body numbed as he bent me over the dresser.

For the first time since I left my home, it came flooding back to me. My house, my life, and my father's face... all so vivid and close that I could almost touch them.

A loud cry erupted from my throat, but it didn't go far as brute fingers clamped on my lips, and I felt something inside me shatter and die with the sound.

••••

HOURS LATER

"You want to shower together?" His voice slithered over my skin, followed by a searing kiss on my trembling shoulder as I lay there, facing the wall, still numb... wishing I could disappear, wishing I could die.

“You won't talk to me?” He taunted, brushing my hair away from my neck. Then came his mouth; the same disgusting lips burned a trail of kisses along my skin. 

I had thought I was out of tears. But the sob that ripped through me said otherwise. And it halted his movements.

“You’re such a mood killer,” he spat, sitting up with a huff of irritation, like I was the problem. “Suit yourself. I’m going to shower. Will twenty minutes be enough for you to get ready?” he continued as if nothing had just happened, like I wasn’t shattered right next to him. 

I didn’t respond.

I heard him stand, zip up his pants, and walk out. As soon as the door clicked shut, I scrambled out of bed, my body screaming in protest. 

My hands shook so badly that I could barely work the lock, fumbling with it repeatedly until it finally clicked into place; only then did I breathe, as more tears obscured my vision.

Each step toward the bathroom was agony, and when I reached the shower, I collapsed on the cold tiles, curling up into a ball under the cascade of water. 

I hugged my knees so hard that I left bruises on my skin, as if holding myself together would stop the crumbling inside. But it didn't.

What did I do to deserve this? Why had he done this to me? I trusted him. I thought he was good. Was it because I told him what happened with Logan? Was this what sparked the idea? Or was it due to what he overheard between me and Camilo? 

I asked myself if I had led him on somehow, if I had done this to myself. I wondered if I was to blame as the questions clawed at my mind.

However, there were no answers. Just a gaping, endless pain that curled my toes and made me scream, a broken, animalistic scream that bounced off the tiled floor.

I howled into the water, into the void, until my voice was hoarse and my soul felt dead.

"Please, God," I whispered. “Take me. Take my baby, so we can be safe in my father's arms. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

••••

THE FOLLOWING MORNING

Opening my eyes, I checked the time, and it was 10 a.m. My throat felt dry, so I got up and went to my water fridge, only to discover it was empty. I had forgotten to refill it on Thursday after preventing Liz from doing so.

Not ready to face anyone yet, I sat back down and told myself to forget about the water. But my throat burned, raw, and sore from crying the night before. So I eventually gave in. 

Grabbing my robe, I threw it on, praying everyone was still asleep. Camila and Ava had called me last night from the club, but I didn’t answer. I had no idea what to say to them, and still didn’t. 

Making my way to the kitchen, I hoped to sneak in and out unnoticed. But the moment I stepped in, my gaze locked on the monster that had turned my world upside down. 

A violent twist wrecked my stomach, and bile flew up my throat. Without thinking, I turned and bolted back the way I came.

"Mera!" Camila’s voice called after me, but I didn’t stop. I wasn’t ready to face her or him. She would be devastated.

I sprinted to my room, but before I could shut the door, she was already there. She grabbed it and shoved it open with such force that I stumbled backward, taken aback by the aggression in her movements. 

I looked up at her, and she wasn't the Camila I knew. There was something different in her eyes--something cold, something accusatory--and my heart raced. 

I opened my mouth to speak, but she didn’t give me the chance.

“Is it true? Did you come on to Lorenzo last night after we left for the club?” I froze.

“Wh-what?” I stammered, my brain trying to process her words, and her voice came even louder this time. 

"Did you or did you not try to seduce my boyfriend despite everything I have done for you, Mera?"

"No! I would never do that, Camila!” 

“Then why weren’t you at the club last night? Why have you been cooped up in your room all morning? And why did you run just now, Mera? Why?”

“I… I-” I stammered, suddenly dizzy as Camila's words sank in. He raped me, then lied?

“First, it was my brother; now it’s Lorenzo? How wicked are you? How could you do that to me, Mera?!”

“He raped me!” I blurted out, and Camila froze in her spot. 

"What?"

“He forced himself on me after the game, Camila. That's why I didn’t come to the club. I-”

I tried to explain, but the words barely left my mouth before a sharp, metallic taste burst onto my tongue as Camila's fist smashed into my jaw, knocking my head sideways and sending me stumbling backward.

I barely caught my balance before she let out a scream and lunged at me. She tackled me to the floor just as I tried to stand up, and I landed hard, the air knocked out of my lungs. 

Then came the blows, wild and furious, her fists slamming into my face, her nails raking across my skin as she cursed me through gritted teeth.

Raising my arms, I tried to shield myself, yelling that I didn’t do it, that she was wrong, but she didn’t stop. The fury in her eyes burned through me as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked so hard that I stopped trying to speak and screamed, pain searing my scalp.

Everything happened so fast that my body couldn't keep up, and my mind couldn't process it before suddenly, she was ripped off of me.

“What the hell is this?! What are you doing?! ¡¿Te has vuelto loca?!” Camilo's voice echoed throughout the room, and Ava dropped to her knees beside me, pulling me into a tight hug as I trembled in her arms.

Looking up through swollen eyes, I watched Camila thrash against Camilo and Lorenzo as they struggled to hold her back.

"I want her out of here, Camilo!" she yelled, her voice raw with rage and pain. "I want this traitorous, filthy bitch out of here!" Collapsing in sobs against Lorenzo's chest, he led her away, and my own sobs tore through my throat. 

“I didn’t do it! I swear I didn’t--” I broke down in Ava’s arms, my soul shattered, and my spirit drained.