𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 | 𝐝.𝐦

𝟑𝟓

Draco Malfoy | March 1996

Draco's tears were dry by the time Kaimana finished telling her story.

But his mouth was gaped open, stunned. He felt goosebumps erupt onto his skin, and it wasn't because of the cold.

He also realized his jaw and teeth were clenched, so he unclenched them. He felt a surge of protectiveness and sudden anger. Someone did that to Draco's only source of peace.

Someone named Zander Riley.

The guy he bumped into a couple months ago in the corridor past curfew.

Kaimana was harmless. And Zander did that to her.

Draco always had a feeling there was something off about that boy. But right now, Draco needed to disregard his feelings and listen to Kaimana talk.

"I didn't know what to do," she went on with a rueful smile, tears chasing each other down her rose-tinted cheeks. "I stayed in a relationship with him because I didn't know what to do. He only ever hit me that one time. And I never wanted to have sex with him after that, but I didn't have much of a say in that. So every time he wanted to have sex, I would lay there, focus on a spot on the ceiling and wait until he finished."

Kaimana wasn't being selfish and heartless. He had asked her about it when she said she understood how to felt. And to his dismay, she opened up.

"I mean, I don't only avoid you, so don't feel too special. I avoid Zander as well, but it's easier to avoid him since he's a year above." She looked down at her lap, playing with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Well, thanks for telling me that. I was just beginning to feel special. But, Clover, why didn't you tell anyone?" Draco asked softly, looking at her with frowned brows.

"No one would believe me." She shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"I believe you."

"You do?"

"I do."

She gave him something close to a smile before she looked back out into the open. "It's too late now anyway. And you're the only one I told and I don't really know why," she said, sniffling and using her sleeves to wipe her few silent tears. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make this about me. I—"

"I asked, Clover. You didn't make it about you." His tone was sweet like honey. "I asked, and you told me. Thank you for telling me. I know how hard it could be to open up about something like that. You're the only person I told too."

Kaimana nodded, smiling at him before it quickly faded. "But you need to understand that what happened to you isn't your fault, okay?" Her brows creased in seriousness, as she put a gentle hand over his that rested on his lap.

"I understand." He nodded, not moving his hand from hers. Her hand was cold, but it felt comforting and warm on his skin. He liked having the feeling of her skin on his. It felt fuzzy and cozy. "How do you cope?" He didn't mean to ask it out loud.

"Everyone's different." Her thumb was still gently caressing his hand and he liked it. "I think the way I cope with mostly everything is focusing on other people. I focus on everyone else's problems and help them when I can, so I don't have to deal with mine. And I guess... I guess in a way it makes me feel better when I'm helping other people because I couldn't even help or save myself when I got raped."

"But it wasn't your fault," he said gently.

"I know that now." She nodded and did a half-shrug. "But I still use helping people as a way of coping with a lot of things."