Beautifully Disturbed | ✓

[50]

Laila's POV

Through my blurred, teary vision I see that there's red splotches appearing on different parts of my body.

I try to stand up on my wobbly legs to stare at myself in the mirror. A sudden gasp leaves my lips. I look absolutely broken, destroyed, defeated, beaten as if I just fought the biggest battle of my life and came out as a failure.

My eyes are so puffy that it looks like I've been crying for weeks, maybe even months. My wrists, my knees, my thighs... they're in the beginning stages of bruising. Even my lips look like they've been through hell, looking swollen with dried up blood. 

Maybe now he'll let me go... He's gotten everything he wanted from me; he's shattered me, taken my dignity, ruined me.

Isn't that what he wanted since the beginning?

• • •

After a warm shower, the aching has somewhat subsided. I take a painkiller and decide that I need to find something to do or else my mind would wander back to last night...

I've already gotten my school work done early, I'm caught up to everything. So I cleaned the room and made it all clean and tidy.

Suddenly, a thought crawls into my head. "Wait... how did he find out..." My mind races to James. My God! Is James okay?

I quickly grab my phone and text him: "Are you okay?"

He replies back in a few minutes: "Yes, why? Is there something that's supposed to be wrong with me? 🤪"

I sigh a breath of relief. The emoji proves that he's fine and Alex didn't find out anything from him.

The wheels in my mind start turning and I gulp because I thought of something. "He wouldn't... would he?"

I slowly raise my head to check every single corner of the ceiling of this room. My eyes catch exactly what I was hoping, I was praying, I wouldn't catch.

Three small, unnoticeable cameras covering the visibility of the whole room. You wouldn't know they were there unless you knew exactly what you were looking for.

I didn't eat anything since last night but I could feel myself gagging, as if I'm about to hurl out all the contents of my stomach.

He didn't trust me since the beginning and I only confirmed his doubts by going behind his back.

But what kind of sick person puts cameras inside bedrooms? He didn't have a single shred of respect for me.

I go to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat. But the mere smell of food is making me sick. I don't think I'll be able to keep anything in my stomach right now.

Another few hours pass by, making it almost dinner time. I'm getting weaker and weaker but I couldn't eat, I want to but I literally can't.

Around 8:00 PM, I was walking past the front door to go to the living room when the door unlocks and I freeze in my spot.

My heart's thumping intensifies and my hands turn as cold as it can be. I want to run, I want to hide but my legs couldn't move. It was almost as if someone was keeping me rooted to my spot.

When he opens the door, our eyes meet. His gorgeous hazel-green eyes are back to their old selves, sparkling and alive.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't face him. He scares me, he frightens me, he terrifies me to death.

My knees start shaking, not being able to hold my weight. I drop to the floor with a loud thud. The pain of the fall vibrates through my entire already-aching-body, knocking the wind out of my lungs.