Warning: This chapter contains violence, attempted rape and murder. Read at your own risk.
Belle's POV
I felt that it is the most frightening day of my life. It was nothing compared to the fear I always felt when my father criticizes me. Or when I need to bend my back to those who scream power. I feared them as if it was natural. But this time, it's very different. I'm scared. I'm really scared. Because I don't want her to hate me. I want to beg and apologize. But those eyes! And her harsh words while trembling.
"I said, don't come near me if you don't want to get hurt!
The look in her eyes, telling me that she wouldn't hesitate to do it. I can still see it playing in my mind.
"Guys, what should I do? Maybe she hates me now." I asked the guys, who were all silent. We were gathered in a room except Dani.
"What about you stop pacing around first? Calm down." Eugene told me and I forced myself to take a sit.
"This is bad. We should have at least take Dani to a clinic," Kenneth suggested before taking out his phone. I think he's trying to contact Dani.
"But what can we do? She didn't even let us to approach her."
"Can you please tell me what exactly happened first? We almost had a heart attack before we saved you two from drowning." It was Jun inquiring me.
To be honest, I also can't put a word into it. "I don't know. Really. I'm also confused. But I know this is my fault. I shouldn't have become forceful. Maybe something like this won't happen, maybe--"
"Belle. Nothing will happen if you just blame yourself. Tell us what happened." David said in a grave voice.
I took a big breath and tried to relax before telling them what happened. That time, my lower body suddenly became numb and heavy, and I discovered I couldn't move and felt paralyzed. It was then that I realized I had cramps from playing all day. And as Dani stretched out to me, I grabbed her in order to keep myself from drowning.
"Then you two drowned because Dani didn't also know how to swim?" Kenneth asked me intently.
"No! But, I don't know," shaking my head, I told them what really bothers me. "It happened so fast. But I swear guys! I'm sure that when I grabbed onto her, she then didn't move as if she was literally frozen..."
"What?"
"What do you mean?"
They all ask me at the same time. I did my best to recall my hazy memory, "You know when you can't swim and are drowning, you're supposed to at least struggle, right? but she didn't. She just stood still."
The atmosphere was buried in a sudden flash of coldness due to the silence. And I felt something as if an invisible hand is caressing my spine as the frostiness permeated the air and dominated every nook and cranny of the room. It was really strange. I barely continued to speak.
"It freaked me out. I tried to shake her hard but she was like a stone. If you guys were not there, I don't know, I can't even think about it."
I'm scared just thinking about it.
"Maybe she also got cramps?" Kenneth continued to rationalize. But I saw that his cheeks turned pale. He dropped a glance at the phone sitting on his hand. The screen was still dark. No replied from Dani yet.
"She says that she didn't move, so that's possible." David's blue-black lashes bent downward while it trembled as he murmured with his eyes closed.
But.. something is still off. How come there's not even a change of expression on her face? As if for her, the time had stopped.
"Wait, stop guys. The problem here is what should we do now?" Eugene asked the most important question.
When they laid us on the shore, Dani immediately came back to her senses. Then she started running away from us. When the guys chased her, she started shouting violent words while trembling. And one of them happens to be...
"I'll kill you all if you come near me."
We're at a lost for words. That was the first time she said something like that to us. She had previously said some harsh words during our fights, but it's not like this. Not to the point where the term 'killing' was mentioned, and her eyes were bloodshot with malice.
"I will apologize to her. It's clearly my fault." I stood up, ignoring the feeling of weakness in my legs and knees.
"But isn't it too much? We know she's not someone to overact. The whole situation is really odd," Jun said in wonder.
Yeah. Dani is really hard to understand.
"Let's give her space first. I'm sure it will be fine tomorrow."
"Belle, don't think and just rest. You are still weak from the lack of oxygen earlier."
"Hey? Are you listening?"
Eugene yelled at me. When he saw me nodding my head repeatedly, he nagged me once more before leaving. I plopped myself on the bed because my head was hurting and hoping that when I wake up, she will finally talk to me again.
•••
8:03 P.M.
Seeing the time on my phone, I slept for more than two hours. I took a sip of water, feeling that my head is slightly aching but it's nothing compared to my soring throat. My friends even left some food for me, but I don't have an appetite. Let's talk to her first.
I know that I've decided to talk to her but now that I'm doing it, I'm very nervous. I'm currently at the front door of her room where my room is adjacently located. The people who passes this hallway were staring at me. It might be because I look weird right now. How long am I standing here?
Hesitantly, I knocked and called out, "Dani?"
There's a silence. Then I called her name again so many times. Maybe she's asleep? Or maybe she didn't want to answer me?
The latter thought makes me want to pull my hair out. Instead, I unintentionally banged my head at the door. The door swung open. I peered through it, but there was no one. I went inside to wait, but she has not arrived even after twenty minutes. Remembering that the door is not locked, I was terrified. It's already dark outside.
I even went into the girl's restroom. I considered seeing Jun and the others, but decided against it. It will take far too long to locate their rooms. I just sent them a message informing them that Dani was not in her room. Following that, I dashed outside.
It was freezing. The music and the partying crowd have made the stalls and bars quite raucous. I walked past them without looking much because I knew she wasn't going to be there. She hates crowds and noisy places. Thinking of Dani's personality, she might be in somewhere dark while thinking. She's always like that. As if she doesn't want to expose herself.
It's very different from mine. I always hide in dark places because I don't want other people to find me. But when it comes to her, she resembles a beast lurking in the shadows, keeping an eye on her prey. She's very observant. She's trying not to pry but also wanting to take it all in.
I stopped in my tracks when I saw two of the guys we confronted yesterday. They were leaning on the boulder, smoking with a cigarette before they saw me. It sink to me that this is an isolated place and there were no other people around. My instincts are telling me to quickly flee away from them. At the same time, Dani's cautious words overlapped in my mind.
I looked at my phone, pretending to be calm. But inside, I was super nervous. I have a bad feeling because in situations like this, my guts are always right. They spoke when they saw me turning around.
"Hey, where are you going?"