Anna's POV
And just like Erica said, Danny came over with a box of pepperoni pizza and drinks.
Danny was Erica's boyfriend, they had been dating for eight months and I think they were a perfect match. With his sandy blond hair, tanned skin, dimpled cheeks, sea-green eyes that seemed to glow from afar, and his infectious smile but he was shy and reserved yet somewhat easygoing.
There was a certain glow of affection in his eyes whenever he looked at Erica.
It was as if she held the stars within her own eyes while also lighting up the entire galaxy that is Danny Phantom.
It was strange to me at first, it made me question what their definition of love was and made me question what my definition of love was.
Scar never looked at me like that, when he did, there was a certain glint of mischief in his eyes and a knowing smirk on his face and it took me years to figure out what he wanted even though I could see right through him sometimes.
I was young, I had only finished high school. Scar made me believe he was doing me a favor, that no one would care for me as he did, he made me feel unworthy of love.
But then again, maybe I had fallen for his charade too easily and I was suddenly stuck with a man who never saw past the surface of himself.
He never saw me as a person, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was like a lab rat to him, a mere experiment, nothing more and nothing less than an experiment in some sick twisted game.
But then, then again, what else was I supposed to call our relationship? I loved him, I used to.
Now I questioned everything because it wasn't like that with Erica and Danny. I questioned what I thought was love, did I love him? Was it because I was vulnerable and he was the first and only one to look at me differently, no boy in high school did.
I was like a plaque, a plaque they all avoided.
He could put any number of words he liked on my plaque, I didn't need anything else, no name or title meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was that someone noticed me and that I wasn't invincible and useless and alone.
Unfortunately, like his name, he was truly a scar, all he needed was a little blood on him to make a good piece of artwork, to create a piece of art. I felt like I'd given him more than enough blood already.
I couldn't understand why he was coming back for more.
I couldn't give him that, I couldn’t give him myself, I wanted- no scratch that, I needed him far away from me.
I couldn't see how much he had manipulated me until I started therapy.
I was suddenly feeling suffocated. I tried to caution my brain. I tried to suppress the memories that were struggling onto the surface.
But they wouldn't listen and they refused to go away.
They wouldn't leave me alone.
So instead of listening, I went ahead and ignored them, shoved them into the farthest corners of my mind where they could stay and where they disappeared altogether. But it was too late and now they were screaming.
Screaming louder than before.
The noise reverberated throughout the space around me and my eyes widened and tears filled them and my heart raced. I tried to breathe in, but my lungs felt constricted and my chest ached and I couldn't breathe, couldn't move.
I couldn't do anything.
So I let them swallow me up, one after the other.
The first one was when we had gone to La Mére restaurant. He waited for me in the car.
I was about to leave when I bumped into someone. He was a slender blond man with kind eyes. He asked if I was okay not letting go of my hands after he helped me up. I only nodded and he smiled at me before moving away.
“Have a great day kiddo” he muttered and I smiled back.
I shouldn't have if I knew Scar was watching from his car parked a few feet away from me.
He watched with a blank expression when I returned to the car. His lips curved in a sneer but he said nothing.
It was only when we got back to his apartment that he spoke and he was quiet for a long time, just staring at me with those piercing eyes as if he was expecting something.
Then he leaned forward in his seat, putting both hands together as if holding me captive in place, “So, what did you say?”His voice echoed against the walls and he spoke so quietly I almost didn't hear him. And he was looking directly into my eyes so intently, I thought that I might have misheard him.
“Huh, sorry?”
He repeated his phrase louder this time “What did you tell him?” He growled impatiently.
“Nothing,” I told him truthfully.
He narrowed his eyes, suspicious, then sighed, “Nothing huh? So why did you stand there smiling at him?”
This time I was the one studying his eyes trying to gauge his motives and emotions.
“Nothing,” I said.
The next thing I remembered was his hands hitting each side of my face, hard, like he was trying to break my skull open. I flinched and tried to move backward but he kept pushing his weight into me so I couldn't get away.
“Don't lie to me,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.
“I'm not lying,” I managed to choke out despite his tight grip on me. “You're hurting me”
His breath smelled foul and I hated the way he smelled like cigarette smoke. But that day Scar didn't have any of it because he tied me up, burning the flesh of my back with a hot electric iron. It was so painful I nearly passed out.
I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what his intention was. I just knew he was torturing me. I cried so hard that day, I still perceive the smell of my flesh. I still hear my weak whimpers and sobs when he dressed the wound. I still see the remorse in his eyes when he apologized saying that he was only jealous and it was never going to happen again because it did happen again.
Countless times.
“Anna!” Erica screamed.
It brought me back to reality, the movie- flashbacks in my head stopped playing but I could still see the scenes, and still remember them vividly.
It was like being pulled out of a deep pool as if my head broke through the water with a loud pop.
It was only when I saw the familiar curtains and paintings on the walls that I realized that I was back in our living room and two pairs of eyes bore into me.
Erica's face was filled with a mixture and confusion and Danny's face wasn't any different.
I closed my eyes hoping I wouldn't cry but realized I already had tears streaming down my face.
Erica left Danny's side to rush towards me and wrap her arms around me but I flinched so hard that she dropped my arm.
She stepped back surprised and frowned, “Hey, are you okay?”
I shook my head. I couldn't tell whether it was out of fear or out of relief, I don't know anymore.
Dropping the slice of pizza I was holding, I ran into my room while Erica chased after me.
Anna's POV“Open the damn door, Anna!” Erica banged her fist against the door, her voice echoing through the small flat which seemed to be getting smaller and smaller by the minute. I was sitting on my bed sobbing.I don't know why I was crying so hard. Maybe it was the pain from earlier, or maybe it was the fact that I was going insane. There were so many things I couldn't understand and I couldn't think straight, but my heart was breaking. My body was breaking down, breaking into pieces.“Let me in!” Erica continued.“Babe” another voice followed, it was Danny.It was hard not to picture him standing in front of Erica, his hands on her shoulders and his eyes practically shooting out hearts. I could bet that it was exactly what he was doing.“Why wouldn't she talk to me?” I heard Erica sigh. I knew exactly what she was doing, she knew I was listening and wanted me to hear their conversation. To know what they thought and cared about me but I wasn't going to take the bait, I would
Caden's POVI left for work earlier than I usually did. Today I had papers to sort out. I was going to meet some artists to talk about collaboration deals and I needed to buy art pieces, to add to what we had and I was going to add some of my work. I had to plan to avoid paying extra due to some of them working on commission.As I tried to park properly in the parking lot, that feisty red-haired passed by, I noticed how long her hair was and her clothes were fitting, giving the perfect trace of a pair of firm hips and perfect derrière I didn’t know she had. Her legs were long and slim. Her waist was narrow enough to make me lose my breath and I couldn't help but curse myself.What was I doing checking out an annoying bitch when I had so much to do?I got out of the car and walked inside, walked right past her, and I don't think she noticed because she had her head buried in the files in front of her, mumbling incoherent words to herself.What surprised me was the other worker, Trevor
Caden's POVThey sat there speechless, their eyes widening as they observed the glare on my face. The room fell silent, with only the faint sound of their breaths breaking the tension. Their expressions oscillated between confusion, concern, and a hint of fear. It was evident that my reaction had caught them completely off guard.They didn't expect me to be watching.As seconds turned into an uncomfortable time, they exchanged perplexed glances, silently seeking answers from each other. I remained stoic, my face, an inscrutable mask, giving away nothing of what was transpiring within.Eventually, one of the artists mustered the courage to break the silence, his voice trembling slightly. "Is something wrong?" He cautiously asked, his words barely audible. The vulnerability in his tone hinted at the extent of his concern and it irritated me greatly.His words hung in the air, waiting for a response that seemed reluctant to come. I took a deep breath, slowly exhaling, allowing the tensi
Anna's POV“Can you stop looking at me like that?” Erica was driving us home and I could feel her glancing over at me regularly. She is supposed to be focused on driving.“Like what? Are you guilty of something?”She turned to me again.“Your eyes should be on the road Erica, I don’t want to die, squashed in a car like a bug” I wasn't lying, I didn't want to end that way and I couldn't understand why I was being unnecessarily accused tonight.First Him and now Erica?“What were you guys talking about?” I should have known that was where she was driving.“Nothing” I wasn't entirely lying… I wasn't even lying.“It looked like something, you guys were standing pretty close” There was a glint of mischief in her eyes as she demonstrated with her hands.“Hands on the wheel Erica!” I yelled.“Fine. You don’t have to be so mean” She grumbled.My eyes were back to looking out of the window, they moved around random things from the couple that was holding hands while they kissed, a group of teen
Anna's POV“Hello? Who is there?” It was pathetic how my voice shook. No response.The only response I got was the sound of my voice echoing through the ominous street making it look like a scene from a horror movie and scaring the shit out of me.The figure wearing the hoodie didn't move, I could only tell he or she was standing straight with hands in the pocket of the hoodie but it couldn’t possibly be a she, the shoulders were too broad, way too broad to belong to a female, the arms looked muscular too.It couldn't be that… Could it be that it was him? At the thought of that, I could suddenly see a similar physique between them.The stranger was standing still.I did what any sensible person would do, I ran back into the house and locked the door. My heart was beating so fast as if it was threatening to fall out of my chest, my pulse quickened and beads of sweat had begun to form on my forehead and tears welled up in my eyes.I closed my eyes, pressing myself against the door whi
Caden's POVI was in one of those moods where everything made me angry.I pushed Rosey Claire away when she tried to kiss me the next morning and she left after a dramatic exchange of words.I left too early for the gallery to work on the papers which was a wrong idea because I ended up disorganizing everything Anna had arranged the previous day.Nothing seemed to be working and I didn't want to take the pills that were laying helplessly in the drawer beside my table, waiting for me to use them but I couldn’t, I didn’t want to.The buzzing of my phone wouldn’t let me be. Different people were asking about the opening and for the first time I thought of canceling the whole process.Wouldn't that be a slap on my face? On Mama's face? That I failed to keep my dream and hers, the one thing she always held with high esteem- after me, the one thing that made her happy when she was not caressing my face or when she was not tugging gently at the roots of my hair when she was not spending time
Anna's POV“Are you okay? Do you want water?” Erica asked me, the worry laced on her face.I shook my head. I didn’t want water and most importantly, I didn’t want to be left alone.I used the back of my palms to wipe off the tears.“Do you want to talk about the nightmare?” She asked me again.I shook my head.I didn’t want to talk about it. I wasn’t even sure what it was about. All I knew is that the nightmare made me cry and that was all I wanted to do. Erica waited for a few more minutes before she gave up on wanting my answers.She pulled me into a hug.“You’ll be fine baby, it was just one nightmare”.I knew it wasn't.But I couldn't tell her about the man I had seen outside - or I thought I had seen. I didn't want to terrify her. No, I didn't want to terrify myself.I drifted off to sleep in Erica's arms, hoping that everything would be alright. The next day I woke up feeling almost human again. I thanked Erica for being there for me and even managed a small smile.She told
Anna's POVTrevor asked me out on a date. Yes, you heard right. It was a funny sight because he was a blushing and stuttering mess and I was gaping at him like a fish that had been brought out of water.My mind was empty, my brain was fried. It didn't make any sense. I couldn't understand why Trevor would ask me out on a date, he was insanely good looking and I was… Well, plain Jane. They were so many people he could have noticed like Tricia with the gorgeous caramel skin who was always eye fucking him, Lois who seemed to glow when she was talking to him and he could have easily chosen anyone.I couldn't believe Erica was right.“Are you going to say something?” Trevor was looking at me expectantly. I even forgot that he was still in front of me.“Um… Er… Yes,” I stuttered.“Yes?” he looked so excited that I couldn't help but tell him that wasn't what I meant.“Yes,” I tried to catch my breath.“Great! I’ll pick you up by seven” And he hopped off, leaving me standing there.It was alm