**” She’s waking up… ugh!! Did you give her enough drugs”**
**” of course I did”**
** “ Here’s more… force it on her, we mustn’t get caught”**
Her headache increased as flashbacks of the assault haunted her sleep.
**” Stop it, she’ve had enough”**
**” No way, I’m not done yet”**
…
**” Dump her there… hurry! I’m calling the cops.”**
Her heartbeat increased rapidly until she forced her eyes open.
“Good morning! Sleepyhead”
“Huh!?” May exclaimed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so comfortable in her life before. She was on a huge orange king-sized bed in an orange room.
She looked at Stacey, who was sitting beside her in a pink dress.
“Where I’m I?” she asked, scratching her head.
“Welcome to my home, you’re in my room”
“I’m where?” She asked astonished, the room looked three times larger than hers. She gazed into the beautiful garden through the amazingly designed windows.
“Wow!!” she marvelled unintentionally. “How long was I out?”
“Hm… about twelve hours”
“Twelve?”
“Yeah, you fainted in your home then, so we called a doctor for you. She gave you a check-up and a few shots and said that it will take a while before it will neutralise all the drugs from your system. Until then you needed to stay in a place that is more quiet and comfortable.”
“Oh!”
“Mia should’ve taken you to hers, but she loves to ‘rock out’ a lot, and Jess had too many boys, so mine was the perfect option”
Too engrossed in the room’s splendour she didn’t hear whatever she was saying.
“Can you at least stand properly?”
“Stacey! I’m fine,” she replied, jumping a few times to prove it.
“So… what happened to me a few days ago?”
“Days!? You were slipping in and out of consciousness for weeks.”
“Why?”
“You don’t remember? Anything?”
“Well, I… could only remember… ugh!” Her head ached a bit on trying to remember what happened.
“Don’t stress it okay,” Stacey said, leaning her on her blossom.
“Hey, thanks for being there for me, bestie”
“Aw! What are friends for?
“ In the corner of my room at there’s a bathtub there. Go freshen up. Let me call Mia and tell her you’re awake”
“Ok”
“We have a lot of surprises for you”
May got up and head towards the direction Stacey pointed. On opening the door, warmer air greeted her.
“Oh My God!!” she exclaimed on seeing an enormous bathtub huge enough to fit five men. Beside it were ten differently coloured towels neatly wrapped.
“I am never leaving this bathtub” she exclaimed excitedly. In seconds, she took off her clothes and submerged her weak body in warm, soapy water.
Thirty minutes later, strong perfume filled the bathroom.
“May!! Mia’s here” Stacey screamed, entering the room with Mya in a V-neck white top and trim flared trousers.
“She’s bathing?” she asked, settling on her bed.
“Yeah, for like thirty minutes now, I don’t think she’ll ever get out,” Stacey replied, giggling. She laid down beside her.
“Just thirty minutes. I spend about three hours in mine every day,”
“Of course you do. You can spend your entire life there”
“So I don’t smell like you”
“What!?”
“Hey! What about that…”
Interrupting her with her palm in her mouth, Stacey said: “sh! She could hear you, don’t ruin her surprise… ouch!”
“Do that again and ill bite off your hand”
“But you were about to ruin her surprise”
Then May got out of the bathroom wrapped in a purple towel. Her face reddened, and she asked: “um… did I take too long.” shyingly.
“You alright sweetheart?” Mis asked, glad that she was up on her feet.
“Yeah, I’m feeling better,” May replied
“Come on Mia, let’s give the lady some privacy,” Stacey said standing up.
“What? There's nothing she has that I haven’t seen before”
“Mia!! “ Stacey dragged her by the arm out of the room.
May giggled, listening to them argue till they were down the stairs.
Soon after, she walked downstairs in a pink dress she got from Stacey's room, admiring every inch of the mansion, from the glittering walls to it's elegant design.
The girls who were laughing at their argument suddenly stopped on seeing her.
“Wow May! You look so pretty,” Stacey exclaimed.
“Don’t tell me you're wearing that to the mall. You look like a fairy's vomit”
“The mall!?” May exclaimed, in utter surprise.
“Duh!! Mia! You’ve successfully ruined her surprise. And don’t tell her she looks like vomit. Look at yourself, dressed in white and black like a mortician."
“ A Mor… excuse me, do morticians wear jewellery?…”
“Guys!! guys!!” May interrupted. “What will I wear?” she asked nervously.
“Aw! Don’t worry, sweet. Stacey has a ton of clothes. Surely there must be something worth wearing,” Mia said, heading to Stacey's room.
May and Stacey laid, hands-on chin side to side on the bed, watching Mia fling her clothes everywhere. They even had to duck most times from the flying clothes.
“Nope! No!… certainly not,” she kept saying as she flung gown after gown across the room.
“How long will this take?” May asked in boredom, “It's noon already,” she wailed.
“With Mia, we always end up going real late, she’s always like this” Stacey replied.
“Perfect,” Mia finally said, picking two clothes.
**But we’re just going to the mall not a ball” May thought astonished at how fancy the clothes looked.
Stacey screamed in excitement
“Where did you get these? I’ve been looking for them for an eternity now?”
“Hurry up girls, let’s Go!!” Mia said, leaving the room.
Quickly, they dressed up.
“Wait, who will clean this all up? The room is a total disaster”
“The maids will now come on!! Jess is waiting for us” she replied before they left the room.
The day at the mall was very spectacular beyond her every imagination. It wasn’t the ‘choose the things your money can buy' kind of shopping, it was more like ‘choose the things you want to buy'. She was trying to be considerate of the things she picked but the others encouraged her to take whatever she wants, it was her day.
They travelled in style, in the metallic black car Mia chose, followed by several white cars behind and ahead of them. The music from the car was loud, and the sirens echoed all around them, and May enjoyed the thrill of watching other road users scatter and the road, cleared just for them to pass. Not even the police intervened to prove just how wealthy they were. She was so surprised and happy that she forgot all her confusions and worries, the pain she felt completely disappeared.
They finally decided to return home two hours before midnight for the sake of May.
“Goodbye Jess” They waved as Jessica exited the car.
“Thank you so much for everything, Jess!” May shouted in gratitude.
“Your welcome, but it was all Mia's idea, you should thank her,” she said entering her home. As they left, May couldn't decide which home was more fabulous. The cars passed the gate and May took one last glance at the home in splendour.
Finally, May reached home with her Stacey and Mia. She got to open and see so many gifts from her classmates that piled up her in her room.
**” Even though I was still oblivious to what exactly happened to me, I was so grateful for my classmates, for all the gifts they shared, Jess for comforting me and escorting me to the mall, to Mia for caring for me, a nobody who she barely knew.
Of all the gifts I received, hers was the most touching; I knew it was from her heart when she said that she saw her fellow teenager battling for her life because of someone else selfishness and she swore to me that the culprit must be e brought to justice.
They later told me of how I was found lying on my own pool of blood by the road, and my mother told me of how Stacey stuck with me day and night, taking care of my medical bills and bathing me regularly, changing my clothes though I fell in and out of consciousness. My dearest friends paid for everything, and I knew that if not for them, my story should have ended.
Shockingly, the culprit, Mike himself visited me in disguise as my boyfriend. He pleaded with me and cried out his eyes and begged me saying that he wasn’t the one that did the most damage, he said that he only took off his jealousy and frustration once and he explained who did the most damage to my body. Though I rebuked him several times, he was patient and never showed hostility. He sacrificed his social life to be with me regularly, putting up with my anger and rage.
Because of that, I didn’t report him and I made Stacey promise me never to tell Mia or anyone else. I slowly learnt to forgive him and after a year later Lucas was charged with my rape, assault and with drug dealing. Though he made many claims that Mike was involved, I denied it all. With the help of Stacey, I preserved his life, and Mia fulfilled her promise making sure Lucas spends most of his remaining life behind bars.
I never knew it could happen, but I fell in love with the person Mike turned out to be. After so many years, we were ready to make our relationship official, but Jason burned it all to the ground.”**
May's flashback ended. She was sitting coldly in the waiting room of the hospital. The doctors, nurses, and others passed by her but through her dimmed world, she could barely sense anything.
**“Whether or not Jason was intentional”**
**” THIS IS WAR”**