17

Scott's Diary - Note 2:

**November 16, 2015**
**Time: 10:35 AM**
**Status: At high school.**

Today I realized that the things I said yesterday can't be true. Kayler talked to me and told me everything. He said his father wanted him to be with Paige because it was tradition. Their wedding had been planned since they were kids. I don't know whether to believe him or not, but he's my best friend. And I'm grateful he told me what happened at the party. He said he didn't kiss Paige, that it was because of the alcohol. He told me he wouldn't go near her again and that he would tell her to stay away from him. I believe him because he did it. But there's something else about Paige; she's not the same anymore, something else is going on with her.

She hardly calls me, doesn't look for me at lunchtime, and doesn't sit next to me. She's always seeking Kayler. I'm sure we're no longer together, but I need to be certain of that. While I'm in class, pretending to take notes of what the teacher is dictating, I look out the window and see Kayler and his new friends getting into their cars and leaving. Paige also just left the classroom with her friends. After that, I saw them get into their cars and drive away.

One more thing, on Sunday Kayler invited us to a barbecue. I plan to go.

Sincerely,
Scott Campbell.

------

**CAROLINA**

I stopped reading the second note from Scott's diary and slammed it shut. I opened the box Mom had brought me and took out the photograph inside. It showed Scott and Kayler in their backyard, at the barbecue Scott mentioned in the diary. On the back of the photo was a date: September 22, 2015. It was a Sunday. In the photo, there was always that girl who looked at Kayler and Scott strangely. I examined her more closely, realizing she looked familiar now. That fringe. I tried to remember where I had seen a girl with bangs falling across her forehead, just at eyebrow level.

Remember, Carolina, remember. I've got it!

I jumped off my bed and went to the wardrobe, searching for Augusto’s blue folder. When I found it, I sat back on the bed. I looked for the girl. I didn’t remember her name. I flipped through the pages until I found her. Brisa. Her name is Brisa. But why was Brisa at that place? I thought only Kayler’s closest friends would go. Now I understand Brisa's frown. Surely she still had grudges against Scott. In that photo, Scott and she were hugging. Augusto had written: That was the last photo I took of Scott and Brisa...

I took a deep breath, as this was too confusing, and glanced at the bedside clock. It was past ten at night, and Kayler still wasn’t here. Where could he be? He had told me he wouldn't be long, and I even told him I didn't want to be alone at home. The doorbell rang twice in a row, making me alert.

Who could it be at this hour?

What if it’s Kayler and he’s ringing because he lost his keys? I got out of bed, putting the blue folder and Scott’s diary in the bottom drawer. I put on my Converse and left the room. I hurried down the stairs.

The doorbell rang again.

However, something was wrong. It wasn’t Kayler. I knew it wasn’t him.

“Who is it?” I raised my voice as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. But there was no response.

This time they pounded on the door with their fists, causing me to jump in place. That was harsh. I approached the door to see who it was through the peephole. I peered cautiously, as they might throw something and hurt my eye. I’ve seen that in movies, and it’s not a pretty death.

With trembling hands, I peered out.

I gasped in fright upon seeing a guy dressed in black, with just a ski mask. He moved closer and pounded on the door again. I searched my phone in my pocket and called Kayler. I put a hand to my head as my boyfriend didn’t answer. It went to voicemail. I called again, but there was still no answer. On the third ring, he picked up.

“Carolina?”

“Kayler, there’s—” I didn’t finish the sentence as I felt someone cover my mouth with a cloth. The phone fell from my hand.

“Shh...” Someone whispered near my ear. I struggled to be released but then saw two guys leaving the living room. They were dressed in black too and wearing ski masks. One of them approached the door and let the other in.

“It’s about time; I thought you had left without me,” he said, closing the door behind him.

“You two search the rooms for anything valuable,” said a female voice. It came from the shorter person among the three in front of me, almost my size.

“What are you going to do with her?” asked the other guy. Silence.

“Nothing, but if she gets rebellious, I won’t hesitate to use this,” she said, showing me a knife she had hidden behind her back.

I wanted to speak, but all I managed were muffled sounds and attempts to free myself, but it was useless.

No, I am useless.

I’m a wolf, and I can’t handle this! This is the worst!

The two guys went upstairs while the one holding me, the woman, and the other guy stayed here.

“Take her to the kitchen; we need to tie her to a chair. We don’t want her getting rebellious and having to search the whole house,” the woman said, heading towards the kitchen.

“I’ll grab some things from here,” the guy announced. “Those candlesticks look a bit expensive.” “Just don’t do anything stupid,” she said, walking into the kitchen.

“Move,” my attacker said, pushing me behind her. When we reached the kitchen, he made me sit in a chair, freeing my mouth so he could tie my hands.

“What do you want from this house?” I asked, which was a stupid question since I knew they were here to rob us.

Great, Carolina, you couldn’t be more idiotic.

The guy tied my hands behind my back, along with a bar on the chair.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the woman replied, rummaging through the fridge. “We were told this house had very luxurious items and was for sale. But you got ahead of us and moved in. We watched you for a day, and today, as soon as we saw your boyfriend leave, we wanted to get in quickly.” She took out a carton of milk and drank.

“You won’t get away with this,” I spat through clenched teeth. “I swear you’ll face the police!” I exclaimed loudly.

“Shout all you want, no one will hear you,” the guy said.

“Help! Someone help me!” I screamed, losing nothing by yelling. “Please, someone help me!”

“Shut up,” the guy slapped me, making my face turn and my cheek burn.

It hurt.

“If you don’t want this to happen again, keep quiet,” he said.

I glared at him. I could see his eyes as black as night.

“Help!” I screamed louder, but he slapped me again. I felt liquid on my lip, so I guessed he had made me bleed.

“Just put a cloth on it, idiot,” the girl said, looking for food in the drawers. She took out some chips and opened them.

The guy took a handkerchief from his back pocket and tied it around my mouth. I struggled to loosen the grip but it was useless.

“What are you doing here alone? I want some too,” the guy said, moving closer to the girl.

“Don’t bother, idiot, there are two more bags over there,” she said.

Come on, Carolina, you’re strong. You can do this, just breathe deeply and concentrate. It’s simple, just get angry and that’s it. While the two of them argued quietly, I stretched my arms to break the rope... and it did. But I pretended that I was still tied.

“Done, I’ve got some good stuff here,” the guy who had stayed in the living room appeared with a black bag full of things.

“Go put it in the car, we might need more things.”

I looked at the table; the girl’s knife was there. If only I could reach it.

To hell with it, there won’t be another chance.

I jumped up and grabbed the knife.

“The hostage, idiot!” the girl shouted.

I pointed the knife at them.

I pulled the cloth from my mouth, leaving it around my neck like a choker.

“If you come any closer, I won’t hesitate to use it,” I threatened.

“Come on, girl, I know you’re smart and won’t do anything stupid. Believe me, it’ll be worse for you,” the girl said, leaving the bag of chips on the table and walking slowly towards me.

“Don’t move!” I pressed the knife tighter. “I swear if you do, I’ll—”

I felt hands around my waist, so I stabbed the guy in the leg. He gasped and fell to his knees. I broke free, but another guy grabbed my shoulders and threw me to the ground, pinning me down.

“You’re a very bad girl,” he said, holding my hands above my head.

“Let me go!” I struggled.

“We’ve got everything, let’s go. We need to take... this one to the hospital,” said the girl. “Go ahead, I’ll have some fun,” she replied.

I panicked, I couldn’t let him do anything to me.

God.

He buried his face in my neck, kissing it.

“No!” I cried out, sobbing.

I think tears were streaming down my face, my vision was blurry from it. My mind was only on the guy biting and sucking my neck, then moving to my breasts.

“No!” I cried, kicking to make him let go. It felt horrible to be done this way without consent.

In my moment of pain, I only heard someone from afar say someone was coming. I saw them running outside and heard them shout the guy’s name. I heard it as Jayden. I stayed still and closed my eyes. I don’t know when I stopped feeling the man’s body on mine. I opened my trembling eyes and looked around.

Kayler.

**CAROLINA**

And he was hitting the guy.

“Son of a bitch! You don’t touch her!” — and he kept hitting him in the face. God, he’s going to kill him. Trembling, I stood up.

“Kayler…” I managed to articulate.

At that moment, Frederick appeared in the doorway.

“Frederick, stop him!” I exclaimed, holding onto the table. Frederick tried to pull him away, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Kayler, stop, please!” I shouted. The man was no longer moving. I felt a surge of panic.

This time, Frederick managed to get him off the guy. Kayler swayed a bit and quickly looked for me, then came over to me.

“Carolina, are you okay? Did he do anything else? Who were they? Did you see their faces?” His hands were on my face, checking me. He noticed the blood on my lip and quickly wiped it away with his finger.

“He’s still breathing,” Frederick announced.

“Get him out of here before he comes back and—” Kayler stopped abruptly.

“Alright,” Frederick said, carrying him away.

Tears welled up again and my lip trembled. Kayler noticed and quickly placed my head on his chest.

“I’m so sorry, Carolina. I’m sorry for not being here,” he whispered. His words sounded heavy. I pulled away from his embrace and looked at him. His eyes were red, and aside from a few tears, I knew what that meant. Besides, he reeked of it.

“Are you drunk?” I asked, pulling away from him.

Unbelievable.

Kayler remained silent.

“Is this what you’ve been doing all day?” I asked. His knuckles were a mess, covered in blood. Something told me this wasn’t his first fight today.

But he didn’t answer, only looked down.

“This is incredible. I was almost raped, and you were at a bar getting drunk. Just when I told you I didn’t want to be alone today.” I walked past him, heading for the exit.

“Where are you going, Carolina? We need to talk,” he pleaded, grabbing my arm. I pulled away from his grasp and looked at him with disappointment.

“Just answer something,” I crossed my arms. “Who were you with? If you say it was with friends, I might be able to handle it.”

He hesitated whether to tell me or not.

“With Darla.”

Darla? Oh, the one who had been flirting with him from the first day and whom I knew I didn’t like. And yet he was with her. It felt like a kick to my stomach. That was low. But right now, I’m not in the mood to argue with Kayler. I don’t want to, I’m too shocked from what just happened to deal with Kayler’s drunkenness.

“I went to a bar because I wanted to have a drink, but she was working there. Some guys bothered me, and I couldn’t resist. I fought them. Then I got too drunk, and…” he took a deep breath. “I lost track of time. I’m sorry, Carolina.”

I looked down and shook my head.

“I’m going to the apartment today.” I looked at him.

His expression changed.

“What? Why? Just because I was with Darla? Forgive me, you know I wouldn’t cheat on you.”

“I need time. Everything that happened tonight is… complicated and difficult. I want to be alone tonight. Please.”

“No, your duty is with me. We can’t be apart, Carolina, please. Don’t leave me,” he said, coming closer and taking my hands. He looked so vulnerable. I wish I could tell him I’m staying and calm him down, not seeing him so sad and affected. But I couldn’t. It’s something I need and must do.

“Just for today, Kayler. Tomorrow we’ll sit down and talk more calmly.” I wiped a tear from my cheek.

“But you’re injured, I need to take care of you. Come, let’s go to the bedroom. The first aid kit is there and—”

“No, Kayler, it’s decided. I’m going to the apartment today. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I pulled away from him and headed towards the front door.

“Carolina,” he called. But I ignored him. “Carolina.”

“Not today, Kayler,” I replied without turning around. “I promise we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“You promised you’d never leave me,” he reminded me. That made me stop for a few seconds. It’s true, I promised, but I’m not leaving him, I just need to be alone tonight. However, due to the drunkenness, I know he doesn’t understand or won’t understand. It’s better to talk tomorrow when he’s sober.

I opened the door and stepped out. I took the car keys from my pants pocket and unlocked the car. I closed the door and started the engine, leaving the house and Kayler behind.