Chapter 13 - Pain

Wren Austin sat at the counter of Req’s pub. She was currently on her sixth bottle of booze and from the look of things, the brunette was ready for more bottles. Today, was officially the second worse day of the young girl’s life. The first was the day she watched her mother’s casket, slowly being lowered six feet into the ground.
Earlier that day, despite the heavy downpour, Reik showed up at her house and forcefully took her to what she often calls “the doom”. She had a one-on-one with Hunter and her talk with the ugly-looking man still lingered in her mind.
“Oh, look at how beautiful you look today. I can see the bruise healed up” he had said in his usual soothing voice, with a smile on his face adding to his creepy aura.
Wren Austin didn’t utter a word as he spoke. She sat quietly and let him say whatever he had to say. She was so scared that she didn’t look up the entire time he spoke, and right up till now, the last words he said to her still lingered in her mind.
“That was just a warning. I wouldn’t be so lenient”
After Wren Austin left ‘the doom’, she had gone down to her mother’s grave. It was the only thing that gave her comfort, but today, being there only reminded her that she was all alone.
“What the hell happened? Didn’t you push through with the plan? Why is everyone calling you a slut?” Gwen leaned in and whispered yells the moment she got behind the counter.
Wren Austin looked up to her with a nonchalant look on her face.
“Isn’t that what I am?” she inquired in a calm and quiet tone, bringing the bottle of booze up to her lips.
Gwen let out a sigh. She knew that was a sensitive topic for Wren and she felt bad for being so inconsiderate about it.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way” she apologised with evident guilt in her voice. She stretched out for Wren’s hand that was on the table but the brunette retreated.
“It’s alright” Wren Austin replied. The expression on her face was blank.
“And no, I didn’t sleep with him. But it helps that he thinks that way” she added, and before Gwen could speak up, Wren interrupted.
“Get me something stronger. These bottles ain’t doing shit” Wren emptied the bottle.
Gwendolyne looked at her friend with worry. She wanted to interject her request and tell her drinking was a bad idea, but everything she opened her mouth to speak, she closed it right back. In the end, Gwen filled a glass with vodka and handed it to the brunette who downed it in one go, then slammed the glass on the table requesting more.
Wren Austin loved the way the vodka burned her chest. Although she made a disgusting face, she was grateful because, in less than two seconds, it managed to burn down the heavy feeling in her chest.
“No, Wren. I can't-“
Gwen was interrupted this time by the dead glare Wren gave her and quietly filled her glass again.
Again, Wren Austin drank all its contents, but this time, she began to feel the effect. Her vision was starting to get blurry and her stomach swirled, threatening to spill out everything she had taken in.
But that feeling didn’t last for much longer, because the zesty smell of sandalwood and leather engulfed Wren’s nostrils, and immediately, she knew who it was. Even after all these years, he still smelled the same. He still used the same cologne. One time, whilst they were out hiding and frolicking, the young girl tried to figure out the various notes.
She could still remember her answer like it was yesterday. The top note being sandalwood, the heart note being leather, and the base note being citrus. She could also remember the way his melodious laugh rang through her ears.
And right now, she remembered how much she hated him. But she hated herself more for having resurfaced those memories.
“Well, if it isn’t the one and only Wren Austin” Giovanni O’Connell’s voice sounded in the brunette’s ear, making her roll her eyes.
Right now, she wanted nothing more than for the earth to open up and swallow her.
“Fuck off” Wren Austin replied and abruptly got off the bar stool, but regretted it because her legs felt like jelly o, making her stumble and fall right into the big strong arms of Giovanni O’Connell.
“I got you,” he said, inches away from Wren’s lips.
Wren Austin stared into his beautiful coffee brown eyes and could gradually feel herself getting lost, but then she blinked and regain her senses.
“I’m okay. Get your hands off me” Wren spat, pushing his hands off her and storming out of the pub, ignoring the way she stumbled now and then, and Gwen who called out to her.
Wren Austin welcome the cool breeze that slapped her face as she stepped out of the pub. She brushed her hand through her hair, the chilly air helping with her current situation.
The young girl had just taken five steps when she heard Giovanni’s voice calling out to her. Wren Austin didn’t stop, she kept moving.
“Come on, Wren. Just five minutes. That’s all I ask” Giovanni O’Connell followed behind the brunette, who kept moving.
Finally, he caught up with her. He grabbed her wrist and forced her to look at him.
“I understand you’re mad at me, Aus, but you’ve got to talk to me at some point” his voice was now desperate.
Aus. Oh, how Wren missed the way her name rolled off his succulent lips. Still, she was too hurt to fall for that. So, she brushed his hand off hers and began to walk away.
“Seriously? You wouldn’t talk with me but you can sleep with that little dimwit who, just a few days ago I saved you from” he called out, but the brunette didn’t stop.
“You know what, fine. Go away. I give up” Giovanni through his hands in the air.
“Do whatever you want. I don’t know what I was expecting from the town whore” he spat.
That, that right there, made Wren Austin stop in her tracks.
She felt her heart compress after those words left his mouth, and a pool of tears formed in her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she was being called that. Hell, she had been called worse. But none of those who called her names mattered to her. But the man standing a few feet away from her did. Despite the way she felt towards him, his opinion of her mattered a lot. So having him call her that hurt.
It hurt so much. His words felt like a dagger repeatedly being forced into her fragile heart.
She hadn’t felt this much pain since she saw her mom’s casket being lowered. Coincidentally, that being the same day he left her.
Wren Austin turned and looked at him.
“Fuck you,” she said, simultaneously blinking and the pool of tears that formed in her eyes freely ran down her cheeks.
The moment Wren Austin made it to her apartment, she locked herself in her bathroom, opened the shower and sat under it with her dress still on, welcoming the warm water as it burned her skin.
This was the thing with Wren; she was the kind of person who bottled up her feelings. She'd keep them to herself until she could feel the pain suffocating her and once the bomb exploded, she'd cry and cry until her body was psychically and emotionally drained.
This time, the brunette didn't fight back the tears. She let the fall down her cheeks, hoping to feel better after that.
But it never happened. She felt worse.
She hated what she'd become. She hated her job.
But she didn't hate any of these as much as she hated him, for reminding her that she was nothing more than a worthless piece of shit.

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