Traces of Midnight Fallacies

CHAPTER ONE

Sufferings? I felt a lot of suffering when I was living with my parents. My stepfather didn't own me, but my biological mother did. She once told me that I was the outcome of her mistake when she was a minor. I knew that my stepfather was not my biological father, but instead of pushing me away, he treated me as his daughter—that's what I knew until I noticed what he was conspiring to do with me.

My mother doesn't want me to reside with her, but my stepfather wants it. I thought he pitied me the whole time. The concern he did for me, I thought, was that he was willing to do it. I didn't know that he had this motive, but when the time came, he started to do such things. They abused me.

They lay hands on me whenever I make some minor mistakes. The bruise I got with my body, my mom did that. And the vague memories I had in my memory that have lingered until now, my stepfather is the culprit.

I was silently praying that night when I heard a gentle knock outside my room. I got up quickly, but I stayed in bed waiting for someone to barge in. I thought my mom wanted to talk to me that time, but when I saw my stepfather, I felt numb.

My stepfather barged into my room. I felt numb when I felt his fingers slide into my thighs. Before he got deeper, I quickly kicked his n***d member to escape his grip on my body. I took that chance to stab him using the scissors I had with me every time my mom wasn't with us. The blood deliberately rushed into my hand as I innocently stared at it. He was unconscious at that time when I had the guts to run away from the crime I did.

He plans to assault me. He wants to molest me, but luckily… I escaped.

A hand gently caressed my back, which makes me numb and recklessly pushes away who owns that.

The girl beside me was shocked when I pushed her away.

"You don't want me to touch you?" she asked me as I saw her widening her eyes.

I thought she would be mad, but it seems like what I did to her didn't matter.

She didn't take it seriously.

"What happened to you, Charm? Are you utterly disgusted with me now?" she asked, as she was mocking me. "She thought she was clean," she murmured.

Because of what she said, my narrowed eyes turned to her. She laughed at my reaction before I could feel her hug me while she was busy cracking up. Instead of having a heated argument with her, I let her do whatever she wanted.

She insisted that we go back to our class. She said that we had been away from class for almost two hours, so I wouldn't be surprised if we both missed two subjects because of what happened to me.

When we were in the infirmary, the girl my age told me that I had done something wrong to Lawrence. According to her story, Lawrence almost got angry when I intentionally filled his plates with juice. After what I did, I guiltily ran to escape what I did to him until we reached the stairs and had an accident there.

"He was the one who fetched and sent you to the infirmary regardless of what you did to him," she chuckled, which made my face heat up the whole time.

I don't remember anything, and why the heck I'm here? I don't even know what I'm doing in this place. I tried to reach out and grab her hand while we were walking, and I felt her real. She crazily pinched my waist and I felt that pain. I know that I'm not dreaming, and the corregidor where we were walking looks so real, even though I felt a little bit surreal because of what I saw in their eyes. I see a dream-like scenario every time my gaze meets their eyes. I clearly saw their future.

The last time I remember was when I was running away from the woods until I reached the road. After that, I wake up inside the infirmary surrounded by crazy people, and that is the nurse and the girl beside me. They laugh at me as if I was fooling around when I tell them the truth. They thought of me as a crazy student that wanted to escape the crime I committed against… what's his name again?

The students on the pathway look busy when we pass them by. One by one, they turn their gazes towards us. The girl beside me walks confidently, while I feel numb and weak.

"What's the news, Celeste?" an unfamiliar student asked the girl walking beside me. I turned to them. Celeste looks confident while I… I don't know what I look like now.

"Nurse Shiera said that she got amnesia," Celeste laughed. That's why I roll my eyes while looking at her. I know that she knows that I'm irritated by what she said, but instead of quitting, she proceeded to chat a bit with the girl who asked her.

"Ah. I felt so worried when I heard the news," the girl said before she looked at me. "I hope you're feeling well. I'm not used to seeing you a bit serious," she added before she bid her goodbyes.

A bit serious? What was I like before I came here? A funny young a*s? A Nerd? A b***h?

"She got a point. Me too. I'm not used to seeing you a bit of being unaware of all the things that surround us. You look like an old hag." She rolled her eyes. "But I'm here, as always, to support you," she said before she smiled at me.

I didn't experience having a friend by my side. Now that she is here in front of me… I felt so relieved. I don't know why, but I thought of Celeste, not as a friend, but as a little sister. As we continued on our walk, a small smile formed on my lips.

Some students look at us curiously. Some of them smile at us while others look curiously at me before their gazes turn to my bruises that are covered with a band-aid.

"What was I like when I first came here?" I asked curiously.

Celeste stared at me suspiciously. That's why I averted her gaze towards me. "You're a human, Charm. I don't know what you think of yourself, but you are a human," she kidded, which made me roll my eyes.

She laughed because of what she said. I know that she doesn't want to answer my question because she thought that I was fooling around even though I'm not. I had no time to fool them, and all I want is a damn answer to my questions.

“If you don't want to take seriously my first question because you think that I'm fooling you, then let me revise it,” I said which makes her nod a bit. “You tell me a while ago that I've done something wrong to…”

Her eyebrows lifted. "You've done something wrong to Lawrence."

"What did I do to him?" I ask. She pinched my waist because of what I said. That's why I averted her for a second.

"Are you serious that you don't remember anything? "Do I need to take you to the hospital?" she suggested, which made me shake my head. "You intentionally poured your juice on his plate samples to get his attention." She shrugged. "I don't have an idea of what happened next. But I saw you lying downstairs with a lot of bruises. We thought that someone had pushed you, but the students who saw you lying explained that you had accidentally slipped. "

I nodded at what she said. It takes us time to go back to our class because Celeste asks us to go to the cafeteria first before we get back in class.

She handed me a bottle of milk, which made my face grimace a bit. I know that she got my reactions, that's why she temporarily lifted her eyebrows.

"Every time we go here in the cafeteria, you buy a bottle of milk for him. So… I kind of think that he may accept your apologies if you gave him this," she said before she handed the thing she was saying.

She put her arm across my shoulder when we entered a busy room. All our classmates look at us. After looking at me, they cheered for what I did a while ago. I stared at them curiously until my eyes focused on the man who was now standing near where we were.

A wide smile was plastered on his lips. He gradually lifted his arms with a towel or a curtain, as if he was waiting for me to hug him. I felt Celeste's hand pushing me to go to him to give him a warm hug. I did what she wanted me to do. I know that the boy I hugged didn't expect what I did. That's why I felt that he was startled for a while, but he continued to chuckle.

I felt him hug me a bit before he covered my body with the towel he handed me earlier. I felt warm when I faced him. He smiled as he stroked the bandage on my left cheek.

"You lose your senses because of him," he said.

Because of what he said and because of losing a piece of s**t, I handed him the bottle of milk which Celeste gave me. His eyebrows raised a bit while looking intently at me and the bottle I handed him. He didn't take it and instead of taking it, he laughed mockingly.

"Are you serious, Charm? "That's mine?" he asks me, as if I was fooling around.

People around me keep on asking me if I'm fooling around even though I'm not. Do I look like a joke?

"I'm sorry for what I did a while ago. Please take it and let me suffer the consequences of what I've done. "

"Stupid! That's Kevin!" Celeste growled, as if she was frustrated with what I'd done.

The man looked at me mockingly before he grabbed the bottle of milk. He smiled before he left me. I did nothing but stare at him intently. He proudly walked over to where my classmate was sitting. He lowered the bottle he was holding on the table.

My eyes darted at him intently before he turned to me and smiled a bit. "I let you borrow my precious towel so that you can cope with this. It looks like you're not feeling well," he said before he shrugged.

Celeste laughed mockingly. "What do you think of your towel, medicine?"

There was a heated argument that occurred between the two of them before Celeste took a chair for me. She let me take a seat so she could say her goodbyes.

"We're not classmates?" I was startled by my question, which made her chuckle a bit.

"I’m an accounting student, so… it’s a no," she smiled mockingly.

My jaw dropped because of what she said. I watched her laugh and bid her goodbye before she decided to run out of our room—my room.

Kevin sat beside me. I knew that he was now curious because of my actions, and instead of chatting with him, I let my gaze follow the girl who had already gone.

I'm a bit surprised. I thought we were friends. How am I supposed to keep my relationship with her if we come from a different class? And I don't even have an idea about the personalities of the people around me, except for her and the man sitting beside me!

My gaze was cut off from her as I met the gaze of the man sitting where Kevin had placed the bottle of milk. He looks confused while looking at me, and instead of staring at him, I let myself avert his gaze. That's because I know that he was the one Celeste and Kevin were talking about!

He's Lawrence!