New York, June 2013.
— If you don't pass this year, I swear I'll send you back to the devil! — yells the woman, jerking her daughter around. — You bring me shame!
Danielle has tears in her eyes as she tries to break away from her mother, but she is relentless. She denigrates her all the time.
— It's your fault I'm not doing well in school! It's your fault that I have many dangers! — The 16-year-old is not going to let herself be pushed around any longer. — You can't create a normal home! Every day I wake up terrified that something will go wrong with you again, and you will torment me. Do you remember how many times you locked me in a room without food, wanting me to go to my senses that way! You made me even more depressed! You're the one who created a monster in me!
The woman slaps her in the face, turning red with anger.
— With you, there are only problems! You're rebellious, you don't study, and what's worse, you've made love to a boy who will become your older brother in a month!
— And don't you realize that this is all your fault! Why do you think I fell in love with Jin? Why am I so enamored with him? Because from the very beginning, he was the only person who understood me, cared about me and, more importantly, protected me from you! You never surrounded me with parental care, so why on earth did you adopt me? You are not fit to be a mother! — she shouts in her face and then gets hit once again. She can't stand it and bursts into tears, unable to hold in all this pain any longer.
— I always wanted the best for you, but you didn't understand that. If you were normal, I would give you everything!
— But I'm not normal! Get rid of me! Do it! I know that when I disappeared for two weeks you were relieved, and you only pretended to be worried in front of Jin's father! I'm not stupid!
— So disappear! Disappear from my life and let me finally breathe! I've had enough of you! I'm sick of the problems you continually cause me!
Wiping the tears from her face, Danielle runs up the stairs to the second floor and enters her room, slamming the door.
This is the day she intends to leave this house forever.
All of this has overwhelmed her.
She can't hold back her tears as she packs her belongings into her bag. For now, she has a plan to flee to Chicago and enlist the help of her sister, later she will think about what to do next.
At one point she gets weak. She squats on the floor and, pushing her hair back, looks at a large mirror in which she sees the reflection of her pale face. A ghost stands behind her, shaking his head at the sight.
— You should tell him...
— No! — she exclaims, throwing her clothes at the apparition. — This will entirely ruin my relationship with Jin. He can't know.
— So, are you going to run away? And what's next?
— I'm going to remove this child — she says in a weepy voice.
— You are underage, you have no money.... — The phantom calculates on his fingers, trying to bring her to order. — How do you want to do that?
— So I'll give birth to them and give them to an orphanage!
— And this is the main reason why you run away from Jin? You're just giving up on him like that?
— Are you going to play my psychologist! Get lost!
She squeezes the last things into her bag and gets up too quickly, making her momentarily dizzy. She holds on to the closet, and when she gets to her feet, she leaves the room slamming the door.
She runs down the stairs, dismissively dodging her mother. She dials the number of an older colleague who promised to help her.
— She walks in the direction of the school. Come and get me — she declares, slinging a large bag over her shoulder. — I have no intention of waiting any longer. I've had enough. We are leaving.
Her steps are quick and firm as she heads down the sidewalk, wiping her face wet with tears.
Her heart hurts when she thinks about Jin, but she has to do this. He must not find out about their child. She decides that she will never tell him.
No one can know.
*
A sports car speeds across an empty road, following a fleeing Jeep. An eighteen-year-old boy presses down on the gas pedal, even though it is dangerous. The meter shows the speed overrun, but he is not about to give up. At all costs, he must catch up with the white Jeep containing his girlfriend.
He dials her phone number, but she once again rejects the call. He viciously tries, hoping that she will finally give in and talk to him, but the blonde ignores him. She would rather not have anything to do with him anymore because she's deluded herself into thinking that it would be better if she disappeared from his life.
— Answer, please. — Tears gather in his eyes, which is dangerous driving a car at such high speed. He hopes that she will finally come to her senses and stop the driver who accompanies her, but he knows her and knows that she will not let go so easily.
With a nervous look, he glances at the phone when the sound of a message he received rings out. She doesn't know what she should do. Driving a car and reading a text message involves thoughtlessness and great danger, but stopping and letting her disappear from his life would be the greatest foolishness he would commit.
Without thinking, he grabs the phone and, glancing at the road ahead, reads the entire message one word at a time.
"We are too young for love. I'm only sixteen. Let's give our parents a chance to make them happy. They deserve it."
At the last moment, he realizes that he is on a steep slope with a beautiful view of the ocean.
His heart goes up to his throat when the car skids on a sharp curve, causing him to almost crash into a speeding car from the opposite direction.
Danielle looks over her shoulder and swallows her saliva harder when she sees Jin standing on the side of the road. There is a moment when she wants to stop the car, but decides to be strong and finish what she had planned.
She hastily reads the text message he wrote her.
"I don't believe this nonsense. There is another reason why you wanted to run away from me so suddenly."
The 16-year-old closes her eyelids.
She tells herself that everything will be fine.
*
Chicago, June 2013.
Danielle is so depressed that she hasn't spoken a word since Hannah accompanied her. She stares at one point, thinking intensely about something.
— Do you have regrets? — She shifts her gaze to her and considers the answer for a moment.
— Just thinking. I have nothing to regret.
— If you don't love Jin and only play with him, you actually have nothing to regret. At least your parents will be happy.
The blonde closes her eyelids. Hannah still believes the lies she told her. She doesn't even realize how much she loves Jin. He is the only person she cares about, but she can't tell him the truth about the pregnancy. She is afraid of how he will react, and she is also afraid of her mother, who will undoubtedly kill her.
After all, she is only sixteen. They are both very young and are due to become siblings in less than a month.
— On the way to Chicago, I was chased by Jin. He wanted to stop me...
Hannah sits down in a Turkish position and puts his hands on her knees.
— Didn't you want to talk to him one last time?
— It would have made everything more difficult. — She rubs her face, herself, won't be sure if she is doing the right thing. — Now everything will work out. My buddy will find a job and help me financially. Initially, I will use him a little.... He himself offered to support me.
— What about school? What about your future? You will ruin your life, Danielle.
— I don't want to think about it! — she exclaims unexpectedly, being a bundle of nerves. — What will be is what will be. I have to live somehow.
However, with each passing day more and more doubts arise in her. Although she shouldn't, she morbidly misses Jin and wants nothing more than to get back to him. On top of this, the boy is inundating her with text messages, describing the situation at home. He claims that her mother has gone berserk and is judging all of his father's misfortunes.
Danielle replaces the card in the phone and throws away the previous one, fed up with reading the constant claims.
In front of Hannah, she pretends to call her mother and informs her that everything is fine with her. She lies to her sister so that the latter doesn't get any suspicions about the hatred in her family.
— Are you sure you would rather not stay with me? My mother is not at home. She's out of town.
Danielle shakes her head.
— I have to go back to Dylan. He helps me, so I won't put him up.
— I don't know if it's a suitable solution for you to walk the streets alone at this hour....
— I can take a beating. I'll be fine. Run home. — With her hand she urges Hannah to go inside, then turns on her heel and walks away.
The dusk does not frighten her. She walks along the sidewalk, which is lit by lanterns. All around her is empty. There are no people at this hour.
— What a strange city.... Do they go to bed so early?
She crosses her arms over her chest and speeds up her step, getting the impression that someone has been following her for a long time. She looks over her shoulder and actually notices a delivery truck that is moving very slowly, as if the driver is watching her.
She crinkles her eyebrows as she reads a text message from an unknown number.
"Aren't you scared, bitch? You're alone, there's no one around to help you."
She takes another look over her shoulder, but it's so dark he can't see who's behind the wheel. She bravely stands in the middle of the street, and then he stops the car.
— Get out, smart guy! Show your face, not write trashy messages thinking you'll scare me! — she shouts in his direction.
The stranger glares at her with his headlights, then unexpectedly takes off with a squeal of tires. Danielle manages to jump aside at the last moment.
She falls to the sidewalk, hissing in pain. The car drives away, and she massages the hand she injured.
— What is wrong with this bastard!
She picks herself up from the sidewalk and stands wobbly on her feet.
She has no idea who the person is who is writing threats to her, but he is beginning to threaten her life.
— Do you want to have fun? Great. I don't think you realize who you've messed with — she says under her breath, shrugging off her pants.
*
The next few days start to become more and more disturbing for Danielle. It seems to her that this man is following her at every turn.
What's worse... he looks like he's throwing a party.
She can't take any more chances. She needs to find out who he is, but she needs the help of trusted people to carry out her plan, so she enlists an older colleague, as well as Hannah, without fully informing them of the situation. Simply by lying, she manages to persuade them to take a day trip to New York.
However, the person Danielle requires most is Jin. She calls him from a new number and swallows her saliva harder when she hears his voice a week later.
— It's me, Danielle — she says as a greeting, and surprisingly Jin doesn't yell at her. He remains silent, allowing her to continue. — I know you are angry with me. I'm sorry to run away again, but I'm in serious trouble. I want to finally confess the truth to you, tell you the reason for my running away. — The 16-year-old takes a deep breath. — You were right. This is not about our parents.
— What did you mess up, Danielle? — He is tired, but you can hear the concern in his voice.
— I swear I didn't do anything! For some time, he has been getting threatening messages sent from his computer. They refer to Solar's suicide. Someone is persistently convinced that it was my fault she killed herself. This person has already tried to hit me with a car once....
— What do you mean someone tried to hit you with a car? — She can hear the clear anxiety in his voice. — What are you talking about, Danielle?
— Listen to what I have to say and decide if you want to help me, but first I have to confess to you where I am and with whom.... Try to understand me, Jin. And I beg you, don't be angry with me. I need you.