Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Upon entering Aly’s room, I felt like I was stepping into a portal to another world, one that was completely alien to my reality. Her room was not only enormous, almost the size of the house I lived in, but it also maintained the same elaborate and refined decoration as the rest of the property. The curtains were tall and heavy, there was a king-size bed in the center, a vanity with a mirror, very fine rugs, and a huge plush sofa on which I sat.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, still in awe as I admired the walls adorned with an astonishing amount of paintings and pictures of unicorns.

“Do you want to look out from the balcony?” Aly asked as she opened the double glass doors.

I nodded eagerly and quickly made my way to the exit.

It was even better than I had imagined. Not only was it spacious enough to fit a small breakfast table, but the cobblestone street outside gave it a romantic and dreamlike atmosphere.

“Have you ever sneaked out with a boyfriend around here?” I asked, envisioning a romantic midnight escape.

“I’ve never had to,” Aly replied, “but I have imagined it.”

“It’s not as high as it seemed from below,” I said, leaning on the railing.

“Don’t trust it, because it is,” Aly corrected me. “Maybe you can’t tell well from here, but it’s almost two stories down.”

I don’t know what convinced me to do it, but the idea came to me that I could climb down the railing and jump to the street.

“What are you doing? You’re crazy,” Aly said when she saw me swinging my leg over the railing.

“It’s not that high,” I said. “I can probably just jump down.”

“No, wait, what are you doing?” Aly insisted, smiling and somewhat excited to see me perform the feat.

When my body was already on the other side of the railing, I realized the madness I was about to commit. Suddenly, the street didn’t seem as close, and I figured that even if it wasn’t as high as it seemed, I was risking a bad fall and injury. I remembered that I probably didn’t have health insurance, and just as I was about to turn back, my ever-timely physical clumsiness struck, and I stepped on the cord of my shoe at the exact moment I tried to lift my foot. I lost my balance, and somehow, I ended up holding onto the railing with just one hand.

“Ouch!” I managed to shout. I think Aly screamed even louder when she thought I had fallen to the ground.

“Wait, wait, hold on!” exclaimed Aly as she tried to reach out her hand to me, but when I saw it extended, I knew that if I grabbed it, it was most likely that I would pull her down too.

“No, no!” I shouted, still holding on with one hand and trying to prevent Aly from attempting to grab me, because it would be worse for both of us. “I’m going to let go. I don’t think it’s…”

I didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence when my hand gave way under my weight. I fell without knowing what I was falling into, and it didn’t take long for me to feel the hard ground as my rear bounced against the stones.

“There, it’s not serious,” I said, still lying on my back with my legs up in the air like a beetle.

I saw Aly’s expression of horror as she brought her hand to her mouth and turned whiter than the clouds that had witnessed my fall.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, two floors above my head.

I nodded, but I realized my mistake when I tried to stand up. As I put weight on my left foot, I felt a strong tremor that ran through my whole body, climbing up every strand of my spine. I fell again.

“Sussan!” exclaimed Aly from the balcony, and when I looked up to see her, she was no longer there.

It didn’t take long for me to see her reappear from the corner leading to the entrance of the house. I was still lying on the ground, waiting for no vehicle to try to cross the street because I was no longer sure if I could get up. Although it didn’t seem like a fracture, I had at least sprained or twisted my ankle.

“Come, I’ll help you, get up,” Aly said when she reached me.

I tried to get up, and I did, but the pain was still there. It wasn’t as sharp because I didn’t put weight on my foot, but I knew that as soon as I did, I would feel that same tremor again. Aly helped me sit on the curb and took off my shoe. My ankle was starting to turn grayish.

“We need to go to a doctor to have it checked,” Aly said.

I shook my head.

“No, none of that. It’ll pass. I just sprained it.”

“You could have a sprain,” Aly said, determined that I needed to see a doctor. “It’s important that you at least get it looked at.”

“But you know I can’t. No doctors.”

Aly looked into my eyes, and I saw that she wouldn’t back down.

“You don’t even have to pay for it, don’t worry. My dad is a doctor and he can examine you right now.”

I sighed.

“Fine, but how far is it?”

“His office is in the square.”

She was referring to the small town we had entered, although I didn’t remember seeing anything resembling a medical office. Aly helped me get up again, and as we walked toward her car, I heard the last thing I wanted to hear at that moment.

“What happened?” Liam’s voice asked from behind me.

“It’s nothing,” I hurriedly said as I reached out to open the car door and get in as soon as possible.

“What do you mean it’s nothing when you’re limping?” Liam said, grabbing his brother’s attention, whom I saw approaching out of the corner of my eye.

“Aly is taking me to her father, who is a doctor,” I said, fully intending to prevent either of the twins from accompanying us, but I knew it would be impossible to achieve.

“We’re coming with you,” Ethan said, I think without even knowing where we were going, because I saw his brother starting to explain it to him. I couldn’t understand why they were acting this way towards me, why they had so much interest in following me, in knowing what was happening to me or not happening, and why, despite having their girlfriends and even being with them, they were willing to play this macabre game with me.

I became furious.

“Neither of you is going!” I almost shouted, turning around to face their gazes and making it clear what my intentions were. “Let’s go, Aly. Now.”

“You’re not going anywhere without us,” Liam said, grabbing the car door that I had just opened.

“The girl is getting feisty, brother,” Ethan said behind Liam, giving me a mischievous smile. “Could she be excited?”

That made me even angrier, although I also loved the way Ethan was looking at me, and his eyes transported me back to the empty classroom. I felt myself being lifted onto the desk again and almost felt his hand on my breasts.

“Don’t you dare think you can…” I didn’t finish my sentence when Liam’s strong arms lifted me up and, with his hands resting on my behind, he placed me in the back seat of the car. “What are you doing, you beast?”

“You can’t tell us no, not you, babe,” Liam said as he got in next to me, firmly but also gently and carefully. I felt defenseless against his gaze, his determined face, his posture and decision, but also protected. Now I wanted him to come with me, along with his brother, who didn’t take long to get in next to Aly. With them in the car, I felt capable of going anywhere.

“Are you still mad at us, sweetheart?” Ethan asked from the front seat.

“You’re audacious,” I said, but without conviction, although determined not to give in to their game.

“I don’t care what you say, babe. You’re hurt, and it’s our duty to make sure you’re taken care of until you heal,” Liam said, sitting next to me and so close that I could almost feel the warmth radiating from his arms, the same ones that had lifted me as if I weighed nothing at all. I noticed his hands, and for a moment, I wanted him to grab my behind again, just like he had done.

“Fine, let’s go to my father’s office,” Aly said as if the presence of the twins was the most normal thing in the world. I looked for her gaze in the rearview mirror and reproached her behavior, but she only raised her eyebrows, as if apologizing to me because she had no choice but to obey the whims of the brothers.

Aly started the car.

“Aren’t you mad anymore, sweetheart?” Ethan asked, turning to meet my gaze.

“You haven’t seen me angry yet,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.