When David reads Belle's message, he has just finished taking a shower. According to the first message, Dani has not returned to her room in a long time. As if the message wasn't enough, Belle's second message informs him that she met the guys they've reported and she's asking for help. The typographical errors in her message are enough to send him in panic. As several thoughts passed in his mind, he hurriedly dressed himself and walk outside. He spotted Eugene, Jun, and Kenneth all at once.
"David! Did you see it? Belle said that Dani went outside."
"Let's go! Belle might be in danger."
"What?" The guys screamed loudly in his face. David showed them Belle's last message.
"F*ck! I don't know. She didn't send me that message!"
"It means she's in a hurry."
"The hell! That's more than twenty minutes ago!"
They hurriedly exited the building, feeling terrified. They also split up to make it easier to find her. David skipped noisy places and prioritized the discreet ones. A few minutes have passed and there was still no news about Belle.
Where the hell is she?
His frustration was visible on his face. His first thought is to contact his brothers for help, but he quickly realized that it was absurd. His brothers cannot solve everything for him. When he wants something, he doesn't need to do anything about it because his brothers would give it to him. The same when he has problems. His friends are the ones who made him realize that it can't be applied anymore, especially when it comes to his personal relationships. This time too, as if to prove it.
Only when Belle eventually phoned them at once did he feel at rest. He's trying to figure out how to console her because she sounds terrified over the phone. But when he arrived at Belle's location, he discovered something unexpected. He looked around at his friends and noticed that they were all wearing the same expression. What happened here?!
Belle is restless and pacing around. Not far from her, they saw a black figure of a man lying on the ground. At first, they believe that it's merely an illusion in the dead of the night. But as they skipped the distance, it becomes clearer. The face is disfigured, full of bruises and can't be recognized. It's a horrible sight. And it was more horrible when Belle whispered the name of the perpetrator.
"It was Dani."
At first, they don't dare believe it. Dani would never do something like this. However, the more they hear Belle's story, the more real it becomes to them. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The people in charge of the public beach were awake overnight.
David called his older brother, informing him of what had happened, and Eugene also contacted their family lawyer. Because when they went looking for the accomplice, it caused quite a stir. He persistently claimed it was an attempted murder. However, because he's drunk, no one took him seriously especially when he claimed that a crazy girl did this and that.
No one believed him. He doesn't have any evidence. The place is not covered by security cameras in the area. That's why they changed the story...
•••
Belle's POV
The whole room is silent with a somber mood. When they explained everything to me, I asked David and Eugene with worry. "Is it really okay for the two of you to get involved?"
Last night, they sent me to my room and handled everything about the incident. That's why I didn't know what happened after that. I went to sleep without a protest because I was tired. Now, I felt guilty. I also learned that they covered up the story. Eugene and David claimed they assaulted the guy. His name is Jean.
They told the authorities that they had witnessed Jean and his friend sexually harassing me. As a result, they beat him up and the other one fled. I'm relieved that Dani won't be involved, but Eugene and David will be held responsible.
"It's fine, Belle. I mean, I imagined it.. and I can only think that I really wanted to kill him." David patted my back but I know from his face that he's holding back.
"Yeah, what happened to him was cruel and brutal. But when we think about it, what if Dani was not able to find you? And something really happened?! We would really kill those guys."
"If you're really worried, we can just change the statement and say that the four of us really ganged him up." Jun added with a smile and the guys agreed with him.
"I know you all want to reduce my worry, but it will just increase the trouble," I said.
"But it's gonna be more fun though?" Jun smiled as if liking the idea.
We got the upper hand in this case. First, they harassed me while they were drunk. Even when they deny it, my friends are witnesses and we can use my text message to David as evidence. The second is, we are informed that those guys have several bad records and some are similar to this one. The only fault on our side is his condition. What 'Eugene' and 'David' did was said to be excessive. They stated they beat him up overboard. The guy was unconscious and his nose is broken with his jaw being dislocated.
It's the kind of face that cannot be recognized. It is so severely damaged that he needed to undergo surgery. It is also suspected that he got severe trauma. Eugene and David might be sued for physical assault but the case is on hold for now. It will continue once that guy recovers.
"Sigh.., we should go now." Kenneth said in a dejected voice. We answered him yes but nobody moved.
"Come on, and make sure you pack all of your things."
I moved with a heavy heart. When I woke up this morning, Dani was already gone. She only sent us a simple message that she went home first.
"Let's go."
I raised my head at Kenneth's voice. He offered to help me carry some of my things and I accepted it. Because of the fuss last night, the people here are staring hard at us with their whispered voice. But their line of sight is more focused on me. It's uncomfortable.
Then the guys covered me with their bodies as if noticing my feelings. Come to think of it, these guys seemed to be more attentive and caring towards me. They came to my room early this morning, brought some of my favorite foods, and stayed with me. I don't mind it, but they keep asking if I'm okay or if I'm comfortable or not. And here we are attracting more attention because of them. They're circling around me, putting me in the middle. Who walks in this weird position? I sighed with relief when we finally boarded the car. It's Mr. Allan, Eugene's driver, who will drive us back home. We greeted him and went to our seats.
"Do you think she's okay?" I asked and Eugene answered me.
"She's fine. Let's give her time. You know her personality."
"We finished our trip earlier than usual." David remarked.
That's true. Right now, we were supposed to feel reluctant to go home. And then since we had too much fun, we would find ourselves cramped in the car, catching our sleep. Sometimes, we would wake up with strange drawings on our faces too.
"This trip is not that bad." Jun spoke in a serious face. We looked at him at the same time.
"No, don't misunderstand me. What I mean is, even though our trip went like this, I think we picked up something important."
It's true. I can understand his point. Because of the incident, I learned some things.
"And we learned new sides of Dani too." After saying that, he continued playing on his phone like he said nothing important.
He just mentioned something I unconsciously avoided. Her behavior... it seems like I prevented myself from thinking about it. It's still new to me. Even when I saw it with my own eyes, I still can't believe it. Is that really your true nature, Dani?