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MARIA

"Rosa."

"Maria. Hi," she said in surprise, both eyebrows raised and her eyes widen as she looked at me.

My lips parted slightly as I took on her appearance; dishevelled, uncombed curls, dark circles under her dimmed eyes, some small pimples and a puffed face.

Had it been that long since I had seen her?

She could barely meet my eyes, clutching onto her door as only a small glimpse of her could be seen from the peek she had opened.

Rosa pulled up the strap of her loose pyjama top awkwardly, biting her bottom lip and she looked down in what seemed to be embarrassment and shame. I had never seen her so down. My face automatically dropped at the sight of her state, feeling concerned and confused.

"Can I. .can I come in?"

Rosa was a tidy person, she was always organised and neat. However the moment I entered her apartment, I knew something was definitely up.

The place seemed much smaller with a mixture of clean and used clothes sprawled across her sofa, a few hanging loosely by the windowsill and some barely on the doors. Her curtains were drawn closed with only small glimpses of light shining into the space. A pile of dirty dishes had built up in her sink and the counters were covered in empty packets of junk food that she would never usually eat. Her little cat's food bowl had splattered its contents across the corner, she hadn't gotten round to cleaning that up.

"Sorry," Rosa sheepishly said, picking up a few random items lying around the place. "It's a little messy in here." Little was an understatement.

I nodded and gave her a genuine smile. "It's okay. Let's clean up together." She met my eyes and nodded with a small smile, looking as though she was touched. Like how I sometimes needed help to finish a meal, she definitely needed someone to encourage her and aid her in cleaning her space. Rosa wasn't used to such an environment.

I held back from asking questions and started by pulling open the curtains, allowing the bright light to seep through. As I cleaned the dusty windows, I thought of all the possibilities as to why my friend had become like this. She didn't say anything, dusting a few spots, picking up dirty clothes.

When we were finished, hours had gone by and eventually a comfortable silence had formed over that period of time.

I was feeding her cat when she came out of the shower, looking much more refreshed and relaxed. She had pulled her thick hair into a low bun and wore some loose trousers and an oversized top. She came and sat beside me on the sofa,

I decided to speak more lightly, to brighten her mood a little. "I was so worried about you, idiot! You didn't answer any of my calls or messages!" Rosa smiled a little at my whining, but it didn't match her solemn eyes. "Thanks for helping me clean up." Her right hand gently rubbing her left arm as she sighed.

"You're probably wondering how things turned out this way," Rosa said in return, a low and dejected tone. I let the cat run off from my lap, shifting myself on the chair so I could see her more clearly.

"I don't think I'm coming back to Dream. I plan to terminate my contract."

My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at her incredulously. "You're leaving?" I asked in a soft tone. She struggled to look at me, her eyes averting away as I noticed they had become teary. My heart sunk.

"Rosa-"

"Actually, I'm. .I'm not ready to have this conversation, Ria," Rosa abruptly stated but her voice was filled with sadness. She suddenly stood, attempting to discreetly wipe her red tinged eyes and folded her arms as she turned her back towards me. "Maybe-Maybe you should go-" she stopped the moment I hugged her.

I held her close, squeezing my eyes closed as I hoped she felt comfort in my arms. Rosa relaxed, hugging me back, clutching me as if she hadn't seen me for decades. That was what she needed, some support, consolation. I had no idea what she was going through but I could tell how difficult it was experiencing it by herself.

"You're scaring me," I quietly admitted, gently rubbing her back. "Please tell me what's going on, don't bottle up inside." I gazed into her broken eyes.

"Ria, I can't. ." She managed to say before a sob came out. I felt the tears begin to well up in my own eyes as I held her tighter, feeling her despair. "I'm so. .I'm so ashamed of. .myself," she began to cry as my mind ran through all the possibilities as to why she was so upset.

"I'm here to support you, not judge you," I honestly reassured her, hoping I could help. "I know you don't want to leave Dream, and I know you feel like you're alone, but I'm here, Rosa. You know me." I pulled away and sincerely gazed at her, blinking back my own tears. She wiped her tear stained cheeks, her long eyelashes were all wet.

"Please. .tell me what's wrong," I earnestly asked.

Misery was written all over her face. She swallowed, looking down as I gently rubbed her shoulder, trying to look as encouraging as possible. Rosa sniffled, trying to compose herself as she prepared to confess what had been eating at her all this time.

"I'm sick. ." Rosa confessed quietly as a tear left my eye. I quickly wiped it away, not wanting to make her more upset. "That's why I couldn't make practice."

"You're sick?" I repeated in distraught as my eyebrows raised, beginning to feel even more perturbed. "With what? Are you okay? Have you been to the hospital? What kind of sickness?"

". .it's morning sickness. .I'm pregnant."

Tears coursed down her cheeks as she burst into sorrowful tears again, her shoulders shaking as her body couldn't take it any more and she fell to her knees on the ground. Her hands covered her wet face as she cried a waterfall, loud wails coming from her small body.

I kneeled in front of her and struggled to contain the tears starting to roll down my cheeks at the sight of her despair. "You're. ." I couldn't say the word.

I knew what that meant for her, for a ballerina

It wasn't easy. Many top dancers had been pushed to the side merely for having a child. The industry was harsh: mothers being pushed away from main roles, having limited opportunities by men who somehow believed that having a baby meant that they lost all their talents. It was frustrating to see. Though things were changing for the better, with more dancers speaking out about this issue, that system was still maintained.

I knew she was worried over her body, her health, her career. There were many factors to take into account, a home, space, baby supplies, support - all of it.

"Who. ." I stopped myself from continuing with a such a sensitive question as I pulled her into a hug on the ground, my head spinning with so many emotions and thoughts attacking me.

She whimpered, aching with sadness. "It's Lucas's. .it's his. He's the only one, Ria, I swear-"

"I believe you, it's okay, it's okay," I quickly acquiesced in an unintentionally glum tone, rubbing her back as her head sunk into me. I knew Lucas was the only guy she had ever been with, Rosa was a quiet girl and never really had anything serious with anyone. The tears subsided as I clenched my jaw, feeling the anger begin to replace the sadness in me at the thought of him. I tried my best to comfort her but the fury was getting to me.

It was Lucas. Lucas was the cause of her sudden change in behaviour, the reason she didn't come to practice. He had caused my friend to become like that, miserable and lost. Trying to manage my pacing heart rate, I asked delicately as I tried to piece the events together, "you guys. . .he. ."

"Does he know?" I quietly asked.

She scoffed, shaking her head again as she choked on a sob. "He knows. He doesn't want anything to do with it."

"That fucking. ." I began in a low voice, filled with rage as I thought of that deceiving bastard who played my friend.

"My parents are gonna kill me, Ria!" She cried, her entire face crumpling as the tears overwhelmed her. "A baby? How do I even take care of a baby? I live in a small apartment, I dance all day every day, I have a stalker on my back, I'd be a single mom with no support-"

"You have me," I interjected in her rambles, my voice firm and assured as I seriously gazed at her. "I'm your support. You're not a fool for this to happen, Rosa, you're an angel who didn't deserve what that jerk did to you. Forget him, your parents and all the rest of them. You have me."

She hugged me again, crying some more for a few minutes before saying, "I can't go back, Ria. I've lost it all now."

"You haven't," I reassured her, my hand on her head. "So many dancers practice while pregnant, they take their leave then come back and work again, which is exactly what you can do. That is. . .if you want to keep the baby. You don't have to." I hesitated and Rosa pulled away once more, wiping her swollen eyes. She groaned, her hand on her forehead as she shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't even know, Ria, I have no clue!"

I held onto her hand, stroking it softly as I nodded, thinking about what to say in the short silence. "That's okay. I understand. Just don't spend this time feeling guilty and blaming yourself because it's not your fault. It just happened and it'll take some time to decide. Closing yourself off and staying in here alone isn't good for you mentally." I sighed softly, squeezing my eyes closed to stop the tears.

Her tears reduced and she sniffed, resting her head on my shoulder. "I wish I'd told you earlier. .I don't know, I felt like the whole world was against me."

My hand gently rubbed her back. "I'm here for you and I'll never be against you," I softly murmured, "I will always protect and love you. Whatever you decide, it's okay. Things will be fine, trust me."

When I left Rosa's place hours later, I felt down by her despair, which was noticeable by Leonardo who picked me up.

His eyebrows narrowed at me as he asked in a little too hard tone, "have you been crying?"

Pulling the seatbelt over me, I sighed, not looking at him until his hand unexpectedly grabbed my jaw gently so he could clearly stare into my eyes.

A little surprised to how close in proximity we were, my lips parted as a small gasp came from me. "R-Rosa was sad, that's all," I blurted as though I had been interrogated. I couldn't believe that I was stuttering. Those hazel eyes of his intently gazing at me, deeply scanning my entire face for confirmation. "I'm fine," I seriously said, slowly lifting my head away from his large hand.

I cleared my throat as I faced the front, placing my hands clasped on my lap, hoping my cheeks would cool down after that short moment.

He started the car, convinced that I was okay; and began business by questioning, "what did you do today?"

"I helped Iris unpack," I replied, remembering my joy earlier at the new third bedroom that would be mine. "Then Aife took me to Rosa's. You?"

"I watched the footage of Daphne in the parking lot."

My eyes expanded as I gaped at him. "You didn't tell me Marco found it!" I marvelled, "why didn't you show me?"

Leonardo tapped his long fingers against the steering wheel before answering, "it wasn't particularly pleasing to watch. You won't see it."

"Do you not know that I've seen enough? There was a dead body in my apartment, Leonardo!"

He flashed me a little glare then sharply disputed, "no." I rolled my eyes in frustration and shook my head, exhaling loudly as I was about to argue back until he spoke again in more serious tone, "she was already badly beaten up by the time she had gotten to the hospital." I focused on his words and found myself calming down.

"Footage shows her only from a few streets before where she had been walking bare foot with barely any clothes on, on her way to the hospital. She passed out before she even reached the entrance. Thankfully a few nurses found her in time."

I frowned, remembering her state alone in that hospital bed. "What does this tell us?"

Leonardo sighed as we reached a red light, leaning his head backwards into the seat. "We don't know fully since there isn't full footage of her journey. But, it's possible that she was attacked on her way home. That's what the police are arguing."

"But you don't seem to agree," I butted in, noticing his demeanour. He rubbed his chin as he drove, his other hand gripping the steering wheel tightly making his bones more visible from under his skin.

"Daphne would've had a driver, she's a teenager and there's no way she would've walked home alone to her house that was far away. Why did she suddenly dismiss her driver and decide to walk home?"

I attentively gazed at him, realising what he was suggesting. "Are you saying that she ran away?" My voice was quiet and unsteady as thousands of thoughts began to cluster in my head as I questioned everything and everyone.

"We don't know how long or how far she walked, how she got those bruises, what happened to her. It was confirmed that she was. .sexually assaulted." He clenched his jaw, clearly feeling a spike of anger. I felt pained thinking of the poor girl, what horrors she had been through.

"But we know where she came from."

"Giovanni's. . ." I whispered, finishing for him. My eyes widened as I thought about it, how strange all these circumstances seemed together. I shook my head in disagreement, unable to accept his accusation. "No, Leo, it's not him. He would never - could never-"

"I told you to suspect everyone, Maria," Leonardo sternly reminded me with his deep voice, his eyes flicked over to me for a second, cold and dark. "You're right, it might not be him, but it might very well be him. Don't let your guard down."

In defeat, I felt uneasy as I restlessly contemplated on his words, the possibility of such as generous and kind man doing such a thing. Leonardo was wrong, I was sure of it. After all Giovanni had been through and the close professional relationship we had built all those years, there was absolutely no way he could have done such a thing to Daphne or even to Dorothy. Only a sadistic, evil soul would be capable of such acts. If anything, Jorge was giving me weird signs.

I came back into focus into my own environment, recognising a familiar block of apartments built around campus. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked back at Leonardo again who was parking the car.

"What are we doing here? This is Luna's place."

He stopped the engine and turned, leaning over and picking up a box of chocolates from the back seat before responding, "Iris said that you need to be here. She said she told you."

I rolled my eyes, mentally groaning as I could hear Iris's nagging. "You and her talk more than we do."

He handed the box to me then opened his door to leave, a savage little smirk on his face. I didn't have a choice but to confront my sister.

"Fine, the sooner it's over the better," I grumbled, leaving the car and shutting the door, coming to his side while he locked it. "I did think about her today." I was already dreading a conversation with Luna. They never ended well.

"Say you saw those chocolates and thought about her," Leonardo suggested looking all innocent as he leaned against his car.

I glared at him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to follow me.

"No, you can come with me and explain why you got a ballerina sweet chocolate, a snack she's obsessed with, and most definitely shouldn't have."

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~ Author's Note ~

Wow we are now 30 chapters in! I do feel from now things really pick up in so many different ways so please keep reading, I know it is quite a slow burn but the real stuff starts now!

4K reads! Thank you so much to everyone taking the time to read NEPENTHE! I really appreciate it!

That was a lot in this chapter: Rosa's pregnant! Daphne's case has some more clues and now Maria has been dragged to see Luna by Leonardo!

Giovanni? Jorge? Both seem to be suspects in this case! Any opinions on them?

Luna and Maria are finally meeting again. It was quite a few chapter back when Iris mentioned that Maria needed to see her sister?

Keep reading to find out why I found the next chapter difficult to write!

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