You can’t leave me

You can’t leave me

Anger and fear grabbed me like a big invisible hand, squeezing relentlessly. I can't show weakness. I can't have any accidents here. Not now. Not when everything is already so fragile, hanging by a thread that might snap at any moment.

"You are a disgusting, stinking rat, and I wish I could step on you!" I cursed aloud, my voice trembling but fierce, a desperate attempt to reclaim some power in the chaos.

"Really?" The man sneered, tugging at my hair with brutal force, smashing my head against the cold, unforgiving glass again. The sharp impact echoed like a warning.

Bang!

My mind went blank, swallowed by the sudden, blinding pain that spread from my forehead down to my trembling limbs. Everything blurred, a fog of agony and shock that numbed my senses.

I wanted to curse again, to scream, to fight back with words, but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out. The pain made my lips quiver uncontrollably. I couldn't speak. My voice was trapped inside me, as helpless as my body.

"Don't pretend to be a v.irgin. Today I'll let you know what it feels like to be fucked by a rat!" His hand grabbed my skirt roughly. I felt his long, dirty nails rake across my back like claws, cold and cruel. With the sound of a tearing fabric, I felt a sudden coldness against my skin. My clothes were torn.

"Let me go. Do you want to die?" I gritted my teeth and cursed, fighting to keep my voice steady, fueled by the desperate will to survive.

"If I'm going to die, I'm going to fuck you before I die."

His words were venomous, dripping with menace. He reached into my skirt with one hand and began to tear at my underwear. I struggled with all my strength, every muscle screaming in resistance, and then I felt a suffocating pressure clamp around my neck.

He's choking me!

The world tilted, breath escaping me in short, ragged gasps.

"You'd better give up and let me f.uck you, or you'll die faster."

His face twisted with cruelty, eyes wild and cruel, as his hands pinched and grabbed my body with reckless abandon. The humiliation and pain burned fiercely, filling my eyes with tears I refused to shed.

S.hit...

"Let her go!" A roar rang from outside the bathroom door, sharp and commanding, only to be followed by a shot less than two seconds later.

The overwhelming force pressing down on me vanished in an instant. I spun around, heart pounding in my ears, and saw the man lying on the ground, his eyes wide and bulging in death, blood gushing from the hole in his head in a dark, spreading pool. A woman with a cat-ear scrunchie caught sight of the horrific scene and ran away screaming, her footsteps echoing down the empty hallway.

"Let's go!" Vladimir took off her coat without hesitation and draped it carefully over me. This time he held me tight in his arms, anchoring me to reality. I could feel the raw anger radiating from him like a storm, mixed with the unmistakable, chilling scent of death.

"But he..." I turned to look at the man's lifeless body, a cold shiver running down my spine. God, this was the first time I'd ever seen someone die right in front of me, and the image burned itself into my mind.

"Don't worry about him. Nobody dares to mess with me." Vladimir's voice was still heavy with fury, unyielding and steady.

Vladimir drove me away from the party, down a winding mountain road that twisted like a snake through the darkness. It was pitch black where the weak street lamps failed to cast their light. I sat in the passenger seat with the window open, letting the cold night wind bite at my face and tangle through my hair. My body felt numb, as if I were made of ice from head to foot.

I thought I could look death in the eye and not blink. But when I saw death right in front of me, so close, so real, I felt a flicker of fear deep in my heart. What am I supposed to do if Vladimir doesn't get here in time?

Vladimir caught the look in my eyes and without a word pulled the car over to the side.

There were few cars on the road at night, and the dark forest on either side seemed to close in like the jaws of some unknowable hell.

"What are you doing?" I tried hard not to let my voice shake, but it wavered anyway.

"What are you going to do if I don't get there in time?"

Vladimir looked at me, his eyes still burning with anger and concern.

Was he questioning me? Challenging me?

"I'll be r.aped and killed!" I couldn't control myself anymore. The dam inside me broke, and I had a crushing emotional breakdown. So many terrible things had happened today; I felt like I needed this moment to let it all out — the fear, the pain, the fury.

I yelled at Vladimir, voice raw: "I'm going to die. I'm going to be buried in cold earth again. Are you satisfied? You brought me to this d.amn party. You put me in danger."

I screamed hysterically until my throat burned, and when I finally stopped, only silence remained.

Just the sound of my ragged breathing, and the wet trails of tears on my cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" He paused, his voice softer now. He reached to grab my hand, but I pulled away.

He handed me a gun. "If anyone ever does this to you again, don't hesitate to shoot. Then you call me and leave everything to me."

I didn't take his gun. I still felt shattered, devastated. The thirst for revenge, the pain, the tangled web of emotions wrapped up with him — all crowded in my mind, while the image of the man’s body stayed burned in my memory.

Death! Death! Even though I was reborn, I still faced death. After I met Vladimir, death shadowed me more than ever. It was always one or the other — my death or someone else's.

"I think it's time for me to go home!" I said, opening my purse to find my phone, then immediately pressing the power button to check the time.

I can't fall apart. I still want revenge. If Liam finds out I'm not in the hospital, I'll have even more problems. I was taking a huge risk, and such a reckless date with Vladimir would only shatter my original plan.

"No, it's not dawn yet!" He looked at me. "You can't leave me."

I looked down, swallowing the lump in my throat, and didn’t say a word when the phone rang. It was a call I couldn’t ignore. When I answered, there was only one cold word.

"Go home!"

The phone almost slipped from my hand, and the voice — so cold, like it came straight from Hell — echoed in my mind.

After a few seconds, I said quietly, "Vladimir, please take me home!"

"Who was that?" Vladimir asked, noticing. He stared at the screen, trying to see the caller's name.

But I never give that person a name.

"It's my father!" I said.