Vampire´s Secret

IPOD

The “mall” was not a mall at all, it was a series of streets full of stores, cafes, and restaurants, so nothing was connected. I felt uneasy, there were too many stores and even more people on the sidewalk.

“See you later girls” Alex smiled and waved at us

“You are not coming with us?” I almost pleaded, I felt embarrassed but even more terrified to care

“No, have fun, we'll pick you up in a while, text me where you are darling,” he told Majo who only nodded.

I looked at them who mysteriously smiled and grabbed my arm to take me to the other side of the store. “Come, we know exactly where the good stuff is,” Majo said with a bright smile I had never seen before, but that smile did not make me feel good at all.

….

“How’s it going?” Will text felt like someone had injected oxygen in my lungs, I was in the first store, walking in the middle of the racks not looking for anything, just waiting. Alana and Majo had grabbed some dresses and gone into the changing room, taking an occasional trip out to compare each other.

“Alex ditched me with the girls, we are in a*****e on the mall street” I saw a red dress on the floor, the sun hit it through the window and made the stains on the floor even more apparent, I took the photo and I sent it to him.

“Are you okay?”

“yup”

I felt like he completely ignored my photo and that kinda hurt. In the middle of my thinking Alana and Majo went out and showed off their outfits, they looked great and I told them.

“What are you gonna try?” said Majo twirling in front of a mirror

“ummm… I have not found something yet”

“so Alex told us you and Will are not dating” Alana said and moved close to me I did not response, how could I?, “I will invite him to the ball” she said walking to Majo to see her self in the mirror “he is going to look so good beside me” a knot hit my stomach

“I asked him to go with me,” I said in a whisper not sure how to find my voice to say it louder

“And he rejected you!” Majo touched my shoulder and her fake sympathy was repelling to me

“Obviously!” Alana smiled beaming, “Just look at you, and look at him!” she said looking me up and down, my cheeks burned with rage and embarrassment

“He is going with me,” I said with more confidence due to the anger I was feeling.

“I hate to break it to you” Majo’s face pouted faking sympathy “but, you asked him, and he is “in charge” of you” She quoted it and I hated Alex with all my body, he told them everything, he did not leave anything out. “So he accepted for pity”

“He probs looks at you like a little sister” Alana bated her lashes at me and I felt sick

“Let’s go to another store, you look good Aly, but I need something else”

Majo and Alana smiled at each other and went into the changing room. Tears threatened to leave my eyes, I was so upset, they were right and I was so dumb. Of course he just did it to be nice!! I am the daughter of his father’s best friend, he just did it so I wouldn’t be upset. GOSH!! I am so embarrassed, how can I uninvite him?.

The girls came out and dragged me to another store, I kept replaying the conversation with Will, and wondering how did I even gather courage to asked him out. I was never that type, I was the silent shadow in all the schools, the quiet at the last desk in class, my notes were good, but not to high to raise awareness of my existence.

I didn’t even payed attention to where we walked but in this second location Majo found her “perfect, gorgeous” dress, they made me try some black dress that made me look like I wore a garbage bag.

“Well, maybe with makeup” said Majo

“And, darling, you don’t have too much to work with, so don’t feel bad” Alana added smiling like she was complementing me

My ipod lighted from the bench next to me it was a message from Will, it was a photo but also a text massage. Majo quickly grabbed it and looked at it, I protested but she gigle and with a “oh come on! you cannot have anything I cannot see” review my convo.

Tears risked my eyes again, but hen suddenly she gave it back to me with a a half smile, my ipod was turned off, she pushed a dress over to me and said, “Go try this one”

I almost ran to the changer, I immediately pressed the power button to turn on my ipod, in the tiny screen I quickly pressed and entered i-message to see Will’s conversation was deleted. It was stupid, it was childish but I was heartbroken, tears flodded and ran in my face, I quickly went into my gallery and his photos were still there, but the conversation was gonne.

This is where I saw the hour. It was almost nine o’clock, I panicked, I took the dress out and look for my clothes, but there were no clothes in the cabin, my breathing raised, my chest felt pressured and I was tearing up again, I peeked out of the curtain looking for Majo or Alana, I saw an impatient sales lady near the changing room clearly waiting for me.

“Sorry” I said calling to her “have you seen my friends?” her look told me everything

“They left like ten minutes ago” she was super confused

“Have… have you seen my clothes?” I was trembling and my voice was broken, in that moment she sight and I knew I was alone and naked in the middle of nowhere.

….

Fun fact about conversation on i-message, you don´t need a phone number, just a mail and, to be lucky enough to have another person that also uses i-message, un-lucky for me I have not saved Will’s mail to my contact list, so when the girls deleted my conversation I lost the only way I had to communicate with him.

I was outside of the store, in the only dress I could afford and at the edge of crying. I tried to ask the sales lady for help but she was suspicious of me, I didn’t blame her, it all looked quite bad, so I was outside of the store trying to place my steps back to Alex’s car. The sky was turning navy blue and I was freezing, the air cut me and it hurt where I was not protected by fabric. I shed a tear thinking of my hoodie.

I walked in the opposite direction of the cars, I remember seeing some of these stores open a few minutes ago, but now, all was closed and the street lights were too soft. I desperately wanted to reach the parking lot, I was walking fast, holding myself to keep me warm, and then I noticed it. An alley. Nowhere to go, a dim light was illuminating the end of a load and charge lot.

“Hey doll! Are you lost honey?”

My stomach dropped to the floor, adrenaline filled my veins and I shiver with fear and cold. At the end of the alley, next to the open cages of two trucks three men were drinking and smoking, I quickly turned around and walked away.

“Hey!! Come here sweetie!!” They yelled and whistle to me, and I hear footsteps from behind me running towards my direction, I tried to ran faster, tears in my eyes clouded my vision when suddenly my feet left the ground, my stomach flipped inside me and I felt rough hands in my waist pulling me from street “Shut up!!”

He yelled in my ear, I only then realized I was screaming, he covered my mouth and his finger half blocked my nose, I scream, kick, tried to bite, and to grab him with my nails but I was too weak and he was too strong, they were laughing, and while fighting I felt my ipod leaving my hand.

“Hey!! come hang with us!!” one of them yelled as I landed on my ass in the dirty floor, the men surrounded me, I crawled back and I hit my self against a wall, I was trapped, they started to touch my hair and open new cans of beer.

The tears dried in my eyes, I only felt my heart beat in all of my body and the adrenaline heating me, I was no longer cold. I tried to remember myself that I was not going out without a fight, I saw their faces and I felt sick.

One of them kneeled down and grabbed my dress, I kick him hard on the groint, he yelled and fell back, the others laughed and one moved to grab my legs, “no!!” I yelled while they kept laughing and joking at each other, “calm down, your are gonna like it” the other one said grabbing my hands and pining me against the wall, “get off!!” I yelled and a memory flicked in my mind, it made me feel small and helpless like I was 6 years ago.

I put that tought away and kept fighting and screaming. “Shut up!!” the one I kicked screamed at me, he hit on the face and then grabbed me hard pressing his tumb deep in my cheek “I am gonna have you and trow you away” he licked the side on my face with his saliva stinking bitter and disgusting.

My eyes were forced shut by a blinding light; through my eyelids, shadows moved, and I heard his voice clearly in the midst of the blindness: “Don’t touch her!! Get your hands off her!!”