We called up Angela and told her about the change of plans, and the situation with my leg. We, somehow, had a silent agreement of not telling anybody about Felix just yet. She agreed immediately and sent me a 'get well soon' message.

After having an early dinner, we decided to retire to our beds. From time to time, thoughts of Felix would rush into my brain, making me shiver. It was like a gaping wound in my heart and my mind that no antibiotic could heal. Andrew was trying his best to be as supportive as he can, and I appreciated it beyond gratitude.

I picked at my bandage thoughtfully as I watched Andrew do the dishes.

"Hey, Andy?" I called out softly.

"Yeah?" He glanced at me as he scrubbed the plate.

I scratched my neck. "I, um, I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

"Of course you can sleep with me, Keighlah."

"Thanks." I smiled at his back, even though he couldn't see me. "I'll get ready for bed then."

I stood up from the chair, wincing a little as my foot ached.

"Can you walk?" Andrew asked urgently, turning towards me, and shot me a worried look. The front of his t-shirt was soaked through with soap water, making it stick to his stomach.

I chuckled mirthlessly. "It's just a cut, Andy, I didn't break my leg."

He sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "Sorry, I'm just worried."

I gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay."

Limping slightly, I walked up the stairs. After brushing my teeth, I dropped myself onto Andrew's bed. Switching on my phone, I couldn't help it when my eyes darted to the chat thread between Felix and me. Hesitantly, I clicked on it. I scrolled through the messages, wondering how a person like this could turn out like that. I had not, at all, in my worst paranoid imaginations, expected Felix to do something like this. I don't think even Andrew did. I let out a deep sigh.

You shouldn't have done that, Felix.

Taking in a deep breath, I clicked on his contact info and turned on the 'block' option. Then I dropped the phone beside me and stared at the ceiling aimlessly.

How the hell am I going to tell my parents about this?

Andrew joined me in bed a little while later. I turned towards him and looked at his face. He had worry lines on his forehead. I frowned and pressed my fingers on his forehead, smoothing them away. He let out a sigh and looked at me.

After looking at me thoughtfully for a few seconds, he said, abruptly, "File a case against him."

I removed my hand from him in surprise and looked away.

"What?" He pressed. "What? Why are you hesitating?"

"I'm not hesitating, I–"

"You what?" Andrew prompted when I broke off mid sentence. I sighed and looked squarely into his eyes.

"He's rich. Hell, he's fricking loaded. His entire family is. He's a privileged, white man in the US. He's a celebrity. And I'm just a POC woman. Shit won't change."

Andrew's forehead creased deeply as he listened to me. He gritted his teeth. "That's unacceptable!"

"Well, it is what it is, Andrew. You can't change the system. Look at the bigger picture."

"You can't possibly let him get away with this. He can't just–just harass you and roam around as a free man!" Andrew burst out, a pulse throbbing angrily at his throat. I placed a gentle hand on his chest, trying to calm him down.

"And I don't want him to get away," I said, softly. "I want him to get locked up, because I don't know how many women have fallen victim to him, and how many may fall in the future."

His jaw tightened. "At least try?"

I gave him a sad smile. "I will. But can we not talk about this anymore today? Please, I'm so tired and drained out."

Andrew's face softened and he turned towards me, shifting closer. He palmed my cheek and said, "Each time I look at the mark on your shoulder? It boils my blood. It makes we want to fuck him up, Keighlah. It makes we want to kill him."

I could only stare at him with wide eyes. "Oh, Andrew."

"I'm serious."

I scrunched my nose at him and smiled. "That's so sweet, yet so very violent at the same time," I joked. But his face held not a single sign of humour.

"You're one of the most important people in the world for me, Keighlah," he said. "You're my best friend. And knowing that you could have been . . . you–you could've got–"

He broke off, shutting his eyes tightly.

The thought scared me too. It scared me the same way it was scaring him. If I hadn't acted fast today, God knows what would've happened to me. Andrew opened his eyes and looked at me. Those brown eyes didn't have the same spark it had all the other times.

He gave me a tiny smile and said, "Let's go to sleep, yeah?"

I nodded in response. Softly, Andrew left a kiss on my forehead and drew me in until I was resting my head against his chest. I snuggled closer to him and closed my eyes, letting sleep take over.

* * *

I was fairly sure I was having a nightmare, but I couldn't wake myself up.

I was back at Felix's house, him trying to touch me, kiss me. But this time, I couldn't get away. He had me trapped down. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. I watched as the icy blue eyes turned dark to the point it became completely black, with no whites. He looked like a devil. He laughed, the sound roaring around me, making my skin crawl.

A noise was coming from somewhere, I could not understand. It was disruptive. Felix stared at me as his hand slipped under my shirt. I screamed loudly and my eyes flew open.

"Keighlah!" Andrew jumped up beside me on the bed and looked down with wide eyes. The landscape changed and I was back in my house, in Andrew's room, on Andrew's bed. I could still hear the noise. My mind felt boggled as I looked around the room. Then I realised with a flinch that it was ringtone; my phone was ringing.

"Hey, are you okay?" Andrew asked, completely ignoring my very loud phone.

"Y–yeah I'm fine, just um, need some water," I said, my throat suddenly feeling dry.

"On it." He announced and jumped down the bed, rushing outside the room. I rolled over and reached for my phone. It was dead in the night, and the normally sweet sounding ringtone suddenly sounded scratchy to my ears.

"I'm picking up, hold on," I grumbled in annoyance. I grabbed my phone and looked at who was calling, my eyes almost frying up from the brightness.

To my surprise, it was my mother.

But then again, who would call me when it's four in the morning. Not a person living in the US, obviously.

I picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Koko!" My mother sounded frantic. "Koko, no!" She was crying. My forehead deeply creased.

"Ma?" I asked, worried, my heartbeat picking up drastically. "Ma, what happened?"

And what she proceeded to say made me gasp loudly and drop my phone.

• • •

What do you think her mother said?

Next chapter - next Wednesday at 10pm IST.