Innocence Betrayed

Chapter 2

She tried to shout but no voice came out. She attempted to push those large bulky hands away from her body, but the shadow did not falter. It still bent over her, and she desperately pleaded him to spare her, knowing somewhere deep down that it wouldn’t. 

The figure reached her and closed its huge fingers around her small neck, and she knew it was all over. She knew she had failed once again, and there would be no turning back now. She felt her breath coming in short volumes and the suffocation slowly crept up as she weakly attempted to push the figure away.

Blackness erupted from all sides as her eyes slowly closed, giving in to the feeling of death and fear, numbness and senselessness.

Clea opened her eyes, and she gasped for breath. Her hand immediately went for the main switch of the computer, and she pressed it tightly. The computer screen went blank, and Clea relaxed into her chair, still breathing heavily. A trail of sweat ran down her forehead as she slid her hand through her hair as she contemplated.

She was horrified. She had let herself get sucked into the vacuum of her frightening thoughts again and she knew then what a horrible night it was going to be for her. She had learned to control her thoughts and emotions; Luca had helped her to achieve that minute bit of control, but since the school had started with this new topic five days ago, she had found herself giving in to her thoughts, which she realised became more pronounced and vicious as the time slowly went by.

She vaguely remembered two days ago when she had fallen unconscious after coming home from school. She couldn’t tell for sure as she had woken up in her bed. She knew something was wrong, because she had severe headache after getting up. She was confident that it was definitely taking a toll on her health.

She had still not told Luca about her headaches and dreams. She was sure he would freak out and stop sending her to school altogether. She didn’t know why but she felt this strong urge to face it all alone, and now as she sat there still gasping for breath, she realised she had made a mistake. She should have told her brother; he would protect her just like he always did.

The sound of the doorbell brought her back from her thoughts. It startled her, and fear slowly crept inside her. She knew it couldn’t be him, but her heart didn’t listen; it beat faster and faster and left her gasping for breath.  She stood up slowly, her knees still quivering. She supported herself against the desk and took deep breaths to calm down. She looked in the direction of the door fearfully as the doorbell rang again.

“Coming,” she shouted, her voice shaky and low. She was sure it hadn’t reached the other side as whoever it was rang again.

She walked slowly and deliberately towards the door. The more rational side of her told her it couldn’t be him, it was impossible. He didn’t know where she stayed and even if he did, he would not come but the other, more scared part of her somehow believed it would be him.

She reached the door and stood with her fingers closed over the doorknob. She looked around herself and found nothing that she could use to attack if it was him. The doorbell rang again, and she twisted it slowly.

She opened the door and found a very worried looking Ryan standing in front of her. His dirty blond hair was messed up as he stood running his hands through them, and he looked even paler than usual.

“Clea…” he said, the worry evident in his voice.

Clea gave a huge sigh of relief as the panic attack she had just a few seconds ago subsided. “Hey, Ryan,” she said and opened the door farther to let him in.

“What took you so long?” he asked as he walked in, slowly watching her with narrowed eyes.

“Oh! Ah…I was…I was writing a report for school, so just took my time,” she said as she closed the door behind her.

“You shouldn’t do that you know. It scared me a lot,” Ryan said as he turned around to hang his overcoat.

“By the way…” he said, turning around to face her once again. “What was the report about? Must be captivating.”

Clea altered her gaze from him. “It’s on child ab..ah…children’s behaviour. You know, silly topic.” She gave him a fake smile and walked towards the couches to avoid his scrutinizing eyes.

“Ah yes, I know how stupid the school report topics can be.” He gave her a huge smile as he slumped down beside her.

She smiled back at him, knowing she had him distracted from the main topic. “Luca said you’d be dropping by.”

“Yes,” he said as he lifted the latest edition of ‘Chief Executive’ from the table beside him. “He said you’d be alone for some time. I just came to check up on you.”

“Ryan, I don’t need looking after,” she mock scolded him. Ryan knew Clea disliked whenever he would say something like that.

“Oh, really?” he sat up straighter. “Clea, you know you need a baby sitter.” He teased all the while keeping a straight face.

“I don’t, Ryan.” She punched him playfully on his arm, and he held up his hands in surrender.

“Alright, I was just teasing you.” He rubbed his arm where Clea had hit him. “And that hurts.”

“Sorry,” she said, sheepishly giving him a wide toothy smile.

“Alright, enough of that now. Had your food?”

“Nope,” she said, looking at him.

“Fine, I’ll heat it up for you then,” he said as he got up from the couch, playfully pushing her on his way. “I’ll make the baby it’s rice porridge.”

“Ryan!” she shouted and threw the cushion in the direction he went. She heard his booming laugh come from the kitchen.

She shook her head as the smile slowly disappeared from her face. She knew Ryan had feelings for her, but she wasn’t so sure about him. She had never thought about having a boyfriend in her life. It was weird, yes, but there were so many problems and hardships that she hardly found time for trivial things such as boyfriends.

Sometimes when she would sit alone and think, she would know that somewhere deep down she had developed feelings for Ryan too. She had known him for four years; he was Luca’s best friend. The one who had helped them settle down and have a quiet and a peaceful life that they were living. He was rich, yes, and he had that air of self-sufficiency around him as well, but he never showed off. That was one thing Clea loved about Ryan.

“C’mon, Clea, dinner is ready.”

She heard him call her. Getting out of her own musings, she walked into the kitchen. He had served her dinner on the table and was already sitting in Luca’s place, waiting for her. He gestured her towards the chair beside him with his hand, and she laughed as she settled down beside him.

He watched her the entire time she ate her dinner. He didn’t take his eyes off her, and she noticed him staring at her. She had never felt self-conscious around Ryan before, but she didn’t know why she suddenly felt very aware of how she looked. Her hair was messed up, and she was in her pyjamas. She shifted uncomfortably under his watchful eyes and hurriedly swallowed her dinner just to get away from his watchful eyes.

He left after sometime, once he was sure she would be safe and fine until Luca returned from his meeting. He held his friend in high esteem and would give away his life without a second thought; and watching over Clea was just one thing he had always hesitated doing for Luca, his feelings for her always becoming a barrier.

Clea settled in for the night once Ryan left. She looked calm and serene on the outside, but she dreaded the night that was to come. She left her bedside lamp on as she slowly slipped under her covers. She hesitated to close her eyes, but the days work finally wore down on her. Her eyes closed of their own accord, and she fell into a dark sleep.