It was a young girl, I realised as I tried to look at her through my tears. She was in her mid-twenties and had long Bob hair. Even though she appeared to be terrified, her eyes revealed that she was not. With the little light in the room, I noticed she was wearing a black shirt with light blue skinny jeans, and she appeared to be the same girl who had driven inside Lucas's building.
"ANNA! WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU? DON'T GET ON MY NERVES!" he screamed, desperately pushing things around him. He was absolutely enraged, and as he loaded the gun, he said, "Don't play with me anymore, I hate these fucking tricks. I am warning you for the last time, better come in front of me, otherwise wherever you hide baby, I will find you and make sure to see you dead. You know me, I do as I say," he said. As he stood in front of our room, it seemed as if he was about to fire a gun at me. Soon loading his gun, he shot a box outside the room we were in. The loud noise of the gun shots made me tremble in fear and my weak body was shivering because of the panic building inside me, when I was about to scream. But the girl next to me shut my mouth and pulled me back.
"I know how to get you, Dar lin and I'm coming to find you. Remember, today is going to be your last day, so wish for a good end with happy memories," he said as he walked to the other side of the building in search of me.
When he said that line, I imagined myself in the position of the girl in his office, and my body began to cower in terror. The room was also dark, similar to Lucas' office, which had only a small yellow light that could barely allow anyone to see what was going on around. And I could feel that message spreading throughout my body of fright. There wasn't enough air to breathe, and I was in pain.
When she noticed my hands quivering, she took them in her warm hands and asked, "Are you okay? Why are you shaking so much?"
She quickly hugged me and said, "Please don't cry Anna, it's okay. I'm right here, with you. I will safely send you to your home." It surprised me when she mentioned my name because it was the first time we were meeting and I had no idea how she knew my name. I was plagued by a slew of questions.
Who the hell was she? How did she get my name right? Was she the one Lucas referred to as "my love"? If she knew my name, she should also have known about Lucas and my relationship and still choose to have an affair with him? How can she still act to be this nice and care about me even though she had been sleeping with my boyfriend.
I wasn't sure if I should have laughed at her for what she had done to me or for acting, anyway I wasn't ready to trust her. But I couldn't figure out why she was actively helping me. Those thoughts were quickly dispelled when she patted my back and said, "I will stay by your side."
She took a hankie from her pocket and tied it around my neck when she noticed the blood flow. As I looked at her, she told me not to worry and kept murmuring about a first-aid kit. After a brief pause, she took some key from her pocket and handed them to me, saying, "Listen Anna, there is a staircase behind this door," as she pointed to the steel door on my right, "And there aren't any security cameras in that pathway, so take these car keys and leave immediately. Even if he pursues you, I will take care of him, so don't worry and just leave, okay?" she said quietly.
This increased my scepticism of her. She just handed me some car keys and told me they were hers, which made me wonder if she was trying to trick me. I was at a loss as to whether I should trust her or what if she was planning to murder me by teaming up with the person he was having an affair with. What kept me from going there was the fact that how did she know that pathway would lead me to the valet parking and how did she know there were no security cameras? So, this clearly proved that she had visited his office far more frequently than I had in order to have a good sexual relationship with him.
At that point, I decided not to give a damn about her and focus solely on myself. I took her car keys and murmured, "You literally ruined my life," and as I was about to stand on my own, she said, "No Anna, I wasn't... " I tried standing on my feet while carrying my weak body, but it broke me, because I realised, I couldn't move an inch and my body. She lifted me up by wrapping my arms around her neck and holding my waist. I despised it as she was so sweet and caring. She suddenly grasped in pain and when I asked if she was all right, she managed to say yes in a frail voice. Her body appeared meek, and I noticed red marks on her hands.
There was something wrong and I had the feeling she was hiding something from me. "What are you keeping from me? Tell me the truth. What are you up to?" I asked, intrigued about what was on her back. "Why would I do such a thing to you, Anna? I'm fine, just leave."
"Are you and your so-called partner attempting to murder me together, so that you can spend time with him freely? What is it, exactly? Something is wrong," I said, pulling her shirt up to see what it was. Her back was as red as scarlet, which nearly passed me out. The purple spread all around her back and I felt bad about what I was thinking. She was a pitiful young lady who I mistook for a bad person. I almost cried looking at the bruises all over her body and rope marks on her wrist. I asked her to show me her hands, but she hesitated and when I pulled her hand, it looked devastating as her torso was covered in blood clots with belt marks.
I felt his fingerprints all over her body and I could tell he was gradually wolfing her away, day by day, weakening her until she ended up dead. Without my knowledge, I barely touched it, and she shrieked in pain. That's when I realised, she was genuinely trying to help me, but I didn't understand her just the way I didn't trust my people. Even at the time, I was angry and irritated with her because I assumed she was in a relationship with him. But all he did was physically abuse her and harass her, treating her as if she were a doll for him to play with.
"What are you doing, Anna?" she queried, pulling her shirt down.
"Just respond. Did Lucas do this to you?" I asked, and she immediately refused, saying, "Anna, just leave before he tries to catch you. Don't die at the hands of that devil," she said, attempting to push me away. But I held her arms and asked her the same question again, but this time she didn't respond.
And I saw her remaining silent, wiping away her tears and looking down in shame. She would have taken it all without saying anything, but I was not that kind of person and couldn't take it lightly. Looking at the wounds and marks on her body killed every part of me and made me want to kill that jerk. It made me wonder what made me love Lucas in the first place and all those happy memories seemed impossible to me. What didn't lead me to the real Lucas, what blinded me, I wondered again. I didn't understand it at the time, but I was crying as I looked at her, thinking about how much bed of Procrustes and mental suffering she had endured all this time.
"THAT SON OF BITCH" In anger, I clenched my fist.
"Anna, I need you..."
"No!" I'm not going to leave you alone with that dickhead. You're accompanying me. I don't care about knowing you had an affair with him, but after seeing what he did to you, I can't let you stay."
She tried to persuade me to leave the place alone, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving her in this hell. But the girl was also steadfast in her position and had no intention of changing her mind. I was also certain that if I left her alone there, she'd be his dead meat in the next few minutes. Right at that time I knew that I had to take her out of here, with me. I hadn't listened to anyone that day who tried to save me, but knew that if I didn't save her that day, I would regret everything even more. There had to be something good out of the entire trouble.
We continued to argue, and at one point, she raised her voice and yelled at me, "My fucking sister is up there with him! I also need to look after her. She is the only person in this world who cares about me, and I will not leave her alone with him. Do you get it?" she asked, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Your sister is dead!" I yelled.
She looked at me in disbelief, which made me realise that perhaps I shouldn't have told her about her sister in this manner.
"I'm sorry," I said, lowering my voice. " Even before I arrived, she was no more. I saw her on his office couch, and believe me, it was terrible. I know you love your sister, but she's already gone, and I can't let you die in the same way. I don't want that guilt to follow me around for the rest of my life. I'm not leaving this place until you come with me."
She was staring into my eyes without blinking or breathing, her eyes were wide open, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. I could see pain in her eyes and couldn't imagine how much emotional turmoil she was in. Seeing her properly, I realised that she was so familiar to the girl in Lucas's office, and her sister loved her so much that she gave up her life just to see her sister alive and away from the monster's trap. I knew I had to save her, at least to make her sister's sacrifice worth and get some justification. I didn't want her to see her sister in that condition as I didn't think she'd be alive if she saw her sister's condition. I said to her, "Listen, your sister gave up her life to save you and do you think she would want to see you in trouble. Think twice before doing anything."
I shivered, as I remembered my witnessing her sister lying on his couch with gashes and cuts and bruises all over her body, as well as blood on his office floor. When I looked at her face, it was as if time had stopped for a second, and her reaction made me stand there covered in ice.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath after a few seconds. "But I want to see her," she said, gathering her thoughts, "I need to see her."
I grabbed her hand and said, "I'm not letting you go. Let's get out together, at least before he notices us."
"Where are my babies?" Lucas appeared out of nowhere.
He was holding a knife with blood dripping from it and a pistol in the other. Blood was seeping from his head, covering half of his face. His shirt was completely red and the cuts on his hand made me feel sick. We were terrified as he appeared in front of us like a monster in his kingdom of blood. She came up to me and stood like a shield in front, saying, "Lucas, stay right there. Don't even think about coming near us. Get rid of that knife."
I was certain Lucas wouldn't listen, so as I was about to move forward to protect her but he silently obeyed her and threw the knife. I was stunned when he did so submissively, and couldn't believe what I had just seen.
"Are you in your right mind, Maria? Did you just raise your voice in front of me?" he inquired sweetly. She yelled at him, "YOU FUCKING KILLED MY SISTER, YOU MONSTER! AND YOU WANT TO KILL ANOTHER INNOCENT GIRL WHO BELIEVED YOU WERE HER WORLD? LUCAS, I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS! SO STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER."
"She is my girlfriend, and you are my love, sweetheart. I simply want to have a private conversation with her. So, you stay away from this, right?" he said calmly as he loaded his pistol.
He had his sights set on my face as soon as he loaded his gun. My brain panicked as the fear of death overtook me, and I crept behind her, clutching her shirt tightly.
"Lucas, you asked me to come, and I'm right here in front of you. Let her go," she said as she opened her arms. He lowered his pistol and asked, "Wait, wait! Is this really you, Maria? You were once bitter and jealous of her because I was spending time with her rather than with you. But now I see the tables have flipped, and you're trying to protect her? "
"Do you think you're the wizard? Guess what? YOU'RE JUST A PIECE OF SHIT, OR AS I'D SAY, TRASH. I was never envious of her, and to put your rage into perspective, YOU KILLED MY SISTER BASTARD. How dare you?" She screamed all the way to the top, and Lucas just stood there calmly.
"Maria, lower your voice my love," he mumbled around two to three times, but she didn't listen and in the last he shouted aloud, "I said fucking lower your voice," and I sensed he was triggered by her actions, but she didn't stop. He became angered as she continued to raise her voice, and he shot one of the wooden table legs to shut her mouth.
"Are you putting on a show in front of me, you piece of shit?" He yelled back and loaded his gun. This time, he aimed his gun at her and asked her, "If you really cared about your sister, you wouldn't have made the mistake and you would have answered my call in the first place. How dare you speak like that in front of me, you bitch?"
"Get down on your knees, NOW!" he demanded.
For a split second, I didn't understand what was going on in that room and I stood there puzzled, trying to find out what was going on. "I SAID DOWN," he yelled at the top of his lungs, making his voice echo in the silent building. She took a step forward and knelt in front of him, her eyes welling up with tears. She bowed her head and clasped her hands behind her back. I thought they were putting on a show for me, and nothing made sense. That's when everything fell into place. He was domineering her and seizing control of her body.
That's when it hit me: I am different for Lucas and she was different for Lucas. I did not know which was the real Lucas, the one in front of her or in front of me. Was he acting all this while in front of me and somewhere maybe they both had things planned, I was confused. Lucas' commanding manner absolutely petrified her, and she abided him like an operating system. There was no doubt in her mind that she was his puppet, doing everything he said without question. Anyone could tell just by looking at the way he treated her.
He said a few words that I didn't understand. It was like an instant code that easily zipped her mouth shut. Suddenly, he lowered himself to her level, bending in front of her and looking her in the eyes with a delicate gaze. He tucked the gun behind him and gently cupped her cheeks in both of his hands. He wiped her tears away and repositioned a strand of her hair behind her ears. He does the same thing, caresses me whenever I'm down with the same stare, gesture, and smile, and it makes me feel annoyed while also making me mad.
He moved closer to her neck and began to softly smooch her skin, going around her shoulders. I was disgusted at that point, not because Lucas was kissing her, but because he was victimising a woman. Why was he doing all that even after knowing that I was present in that room and how low could he get, the thoughts surrounded me. And because of his attitude, I had to act like a sheep and all I did was stand like a statue, doing nothing. I was clenching my fist and biting my inner lips in fury. She didn't push him away or even flinch to move away from him for a second. That made sense to me that they had a more unique relationship than Lucas and I did. It upsets me because she had just spoken ill of him, raising her voice and now she had surrendered herself to him.
When he tried to kiss her neck, she turned to the side, and I could see the pain, disgust and dizziness she was feeling while her face begged me for support. She clenched her fist so firmly that her nails were almost cutting into her skin and breaking it. Keeping her eyes closed as he explored her back and tried to hug her, she kept it all under control. He kept whispering something into her ears, causing her to cry even harder.
I couldn't take it any longer and yelled, "Enough of your disgusting shit, Lucas!"
He gave me a cold stare, looking sideways, and I remained confident in front of him, not allowing it to overwhelm me. She grabbed his right leg, as he stood up and stepped forward towards me, pleading with him to stop, begging for mercy.
"Lucas, please leave her alone," she appealed.
Lucas warned her to leave him, but she continued to pull his leg back, attempting to block him. He became frustrated at one point and kicked her, causing her to fall to the floor with a thud. She refused to give up and tried to get up, but he kicked her ribs again so hard that she spanned like a womb and fell hard on her face. He said, "Why do you always want me to punish you?" taking off his leather belt with a stern face. Meanwhile, she crept back, saying, "Don't do this to me again, Lucas, please," as he wrapped the belt around his fist.
As he raised his hand to strike her, I yelled, "Lucas, you came looking for me; I'm right here. If you have the guts, talk to me and let her go," I said, desperately trying to stop him.
Maria yelled back, "Anna, get the shit out of here!"
We completely forgot about Lucas' presence in that room while we were arguing about who he came for. There was an awkward silence and we realised that we had both been arguing with each other rather than helping each other. As I turned to the side, I noticed Lucas sitting on a wooden table, supporting his head with his fist and looking irked as he listened to our conversation.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, removing his belt and clapping his hand. "You guys should try acting in movies, babies," he said. "Here, Anna is striving to send you out, while you are clearly trying to send her out. What nonsense!" he exclaimed.
"Anna, you should despise her for having an affair with your boyfriend. And, returning to Maria, you let your own sister die a few hours ago and are now seeking to save her. I fucking don't get it," he said, perplexedly looking at her.
But then he said, "Wait a minute, why do I have the sensation you're both up to something and trying to catch me in some kind of trap? Is that it?" I'm not sure why, but the moment he said that, I began to sweat profusely. I looked at her, but she was staring at Lucas without blinking. I acted cool and calm, not letting my fear show, but I lost it when he said, "I know you love your sister a lot, so maybe the least I can do is send you to her, so you can meet her."
He immediately took the belt from the table and struck Maria's back hard, making me flinch and shout. I couldn't bear watching her suffer because of me, even though she suppressed herself by not screaming in pain. Realising that it was getting really bad, I took a step forward towards her, he yanked my hair and threw me, causing me to bang my head against the steel door like a piece of parchment. My body couldn't handle the pressure and all I could remember was him pushing me away harshly as I flew and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, the desk had sharp edges, allowing me to hit the right side of my head on it.
I could hear their conversation from a distance even though I was only half conscious and dizzy. Maria, seeing all of this, dashed towards me and cried out loudly, clutching me in her arms. She kept murmuring my name and jerking my body in an attempt to wake me up. But he dragged her away from me and shoved her between the empty paper boxes.
"I wish you had been dead before reaching your dad's eyes," he said as he stepped on my lower abdomen with his hard shoes. "You're making me hate you so much Anna, even though I didn't want to," and continued to press my lower stomach before kicking me to the side. I don't know how to express how painful it was, and at the time it was like death. He loaded his gun and aimed at me, determined not to miss his shot and to kill me. Maria's screeches near me made me twitch all over. In an attempt to save me, she pushed him to the ground and hit him with one of the steel chairs that were stashed there.
When she noticed the gun slipping from his grip, she kicked it away before he could take them. She noticed a paper weight on the stack of boxes and grabbed it, kicking his leg and slammed it in his face. As blood flowed, he clutched his nose in pain. Everything had made him weak and she took advantage of the situation to escape that place. She pushed the ladder with all her strength as he couldn't move an inch.
I was eased and she had saved both my and her life. I wanted to thank her right then and there, but I couldn't even stand on my own. She tried to carry me on her back as I called her, but I refused. "Anna, why are you hesitating?" she inquired, and I burst into tears at that moment, not knowing what had happened to me. Weakly I said, "I am really sorry for not trusting you, I really have to thank... " but she quickly interrupted saying, "I know it hurts, but just hold on for five minutes. I will help you, we will get out of here," she said, wrapping my hands around her neck and forcing me to stand.
We were about to leave the room when Lucas shrieked my name while clutching his head. He had managed to get on his feet and walked towards the door. Maria immediately ordered me to stand there with a support near the door of the room and wait for her return. I didn't want her to go back into that room but she wasn't ready to listen and went inside in a fury. She snatched his collar with her hands and pushed him back two steps. "Don't you dare try to touch..." he said, twisting her wrist and encircling her in his arms.
"Don't forget who I am, Lucas," she said. He suddenly looked down and noticed Maria was holding his pistol. He immediately released her wrist and she turned her body around to face him, escaping from his neck lock.
She laughed as she observed his reaction and said, "What did you expect, that I'd be that stupid not to pick up the fallen gun, especially when you're still alive to kill us? And you know I was your great student, so don't worry, I'll make sure to put this gun to good use and make you proud " and pointed at the gun in front of him as she took a step back, her gaze fixed on his.
Lucas kept walking at her as she took slow steps backwards towards the lift. She got me from the door and I clung on to her for the support to walk while she still had her weapon pointed at him. Lucas smirked, not stepping back, as she loaded the pistol and aimed a shot behind him, making him stop there. She didn't even blink as she kept the pistol pointed at his head until the elevator doors closed. I still remember the look he gave me just before the doors closed and it still gives me goosebumps.
"Thank you, Maria," I said as the elevator began to descend, looking at her. She returned my gaze and pointed to my neck, saying, "but your neck, it doesn't look good. Also, the place you banged your head has started to bleed badly, so we should probably go to the hospital." Even though she was in a world of pain, she managed to smile and make me feel better, and I felt terrible for treating her with suspicion.
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, everything in front of me blurred out. I couldn't even lift my body or move to the side. Slowly my body was weakening and my consciousness was fading as my wound on the neck had been expanding. "Anna, are you alright?" I could feel Maria's touch, but her voice was too far away and felt like it echoed through my ears. Something slimy ran through my head and even through my lips.
"Anna, you're bleeding badly. Can you hear me?" She asked, wiggling my body, and that's when I realised it was blood flowing through my nose and head apart from my neck because of the bang I had a few minutes ago. I suddenly felt a light fall on my face along with a loud car honk and assumed it was Lucas' car, so I whispered to Maria, "Just escape. Just keep going from here. Don't worry about me because at this rate, I could die at any time. Simply save yourself. He's not going to kill me, Maria, so just leave."
The massive car sped towards us at breakneck speed, I was convinced that the car was about to hit us to death. Even though I wasn't able to see it, I could feel the car approaching us. "Maria," I yelled, and pushed her to the side.