"It's you and me. Together," he says. "Us against the world."
*****
All my life, I've never trusted men. The image of them planted in my head is the figure of my abusive stepfather who has made my mother and I live in hell.
But then, an encounter w...
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I sit up on my bed. My heart feels like it's about to explode out of my chest. The lump in my throat is getting bigger and bigger.
It's her. It's Lais.
My chest is still heaving up and down after I witness everything in my nightmare, and my hand is shaking when it grips the bedsheet tightly on my side.
A part of me just wants to vanish from this world from knowing that I've done such a thing to Lais. The fact that she's her makes it ten times worse than it already was.
But the need to see her is just as undeniable.
Even if I should die, it would be her who ends me.
I can't stay here any second longer. My jaw tightens as I get up from my bed. I change my clothes, put the earring inside my pants pocket and grab my car keys.
Once I get into my car, I start the engine and drive like a mad person.
The clock on my car dashboard reads 11.30 PM. I don't know whether she's already asleep or not, but I'm not changing my mind.
I fucking need to do this.
Some scenes flash back in my mind, making it harder for me to focus on the road as tears begin to blurry my vision.
She knows me. She knows, but she talks to me like nothing ever happened, like I'm another normal person.
The memory of our first encounter in the office is still fresh in my mind.
"Hi, Lais," I said. "I'm Jake. Jake Spencer. It's a pleasure to meet you." I extended my hand to shake hers.
"Hi, Jake." She smiled. "I'm Lais. It's nice to meet you too."
And I've crushed her with my words because I was so stupid. I will never deserve her forgiveness.
"Come on, Lais. You don't look that innocent." I grinned and looked away from her, facing the men in the room as I talked about her virginity. "Maybe she just forgot to whom she gave it." I laughed, and before I could hear anybody respond to that, I felt a hard slap across my face.
Now I know why she was so hurt by those words, why there were unshed tears in her eyes.
I'm sorry, Lais. I shouldn't have said that to you.
My lips tremble nervously as my grip on the steering wheel tighten, and when I finally arrive at her apartment, I get out of my car.
I look up and notice that there's still a light coming from the window of her apartment room, so there's a chance that she might not be asleep yet.
After dialing her number, I wait for her to pick up.
"Jake?" she says. "Why are you suddenly calling me at this hour? Is everything okay?"
