It was TP's message asking about Brandon.
As soon as she saw the "lady in the lake" portrait, memories from the past appeared in her head like a movie reel flashing inside her mind.
She started to shook and fear instantly crept inside her.
Ian came in, he was about to tell Tia the good news about his mom when he saw her disturbed look.
He hastily went to her side.
"Tian-Tian?"
He nudge and she was pulled out of her trance.
The moment she saw Ian she immediately hugged him. Her tight embrace scared Ian.
He thought Tia got flustered due to what happened with his mom.
"Tian-Tian, it's alright. Mom's not angry at us."
He gently coaxed her. Tia regained her composure and acted as if she didn't received the message.
She hid her phone away, she doesn't want Ian to know.
She's not yet ready to talk about what happened before.
"That's good to hear."
She said while warmly smiling at Ian. She felt relieved that Ian misinterpreted the situation.
"I'll freshen up and let's greet your mom properly. Okay?"
Tia said she stood up and went to take a bath.
She soaked for a while inside the bathtub massaging her lower abdomen.
It was the second day of her period which is her most painful "period day" top with all the stress coming in from the past and her present life she felt like she's about to lose her mind.
She stared blankly at the ceiling.
'I took a vacation to relax and enjoy why do I need to deal with these things again. Fuck my life.'
She inwardly sneered. She notice the bubbles in the tub and decided to pop each one of them.
Suddenly, a thought came to her mind.
She misses drawing things.
To her, that's her escape from reality.
But after what happened she never go near any art materials again.
She felt something was taken away from her that day.
Not just her innocence but also her freedom to express herself.
She couldn't tell everyone what happened and she felt trapped. Only TP knows about it.
And Brandon had fled before she could even ask him some explanation.
She didn't have any closure after what she witnessed that day.
She wanted to ask him why did he do it?
How come he's still doing it?
Why does he kept on putting her head to someone else's body?
Why can't he stop?
She felt harassed before and she felt violated up until now.
She had no Idea how to confront him.
She really wasn't expecring for him to apologize or anything.
She just wanted him to stop.