13

I stared at the black-haired man in confusion and then got up to walk past him and out the door. "Now wait a minute," he held my arm, but I tore myself away immediately and shook with anger at the stupid words he had just thrown at me. "If you touch me again then-" I glared at him while he looked deep into my eyes and started to smile, which made me even more enraged.

"Then?" he asked amused and took a step closer to me. "Leave me alone!" I warned him and ran into the sunlit forest. Luckily for me, he didn't follow me and I finally had the rest I sorely needed after this absurd night, because I had to process everything in my mind.

After a while, through the disappeared darkness, I saw houses on the edge of the forest and, relieved, ran towards them with quick steps. I finally wanted to get out of the woods, break out of this situation, away from this idiot and just into my bed. Tiredness was starting to cloud my senses and I didn't even want to know what I looked like after such a night of drinking and kidnapping.

As soon as I left the forest, I saw the Wialtrama that had become a place of terror for me and, ignoring the black doors, I continued walking down the street to get closer and closer to my bed, which I had never longed for so much , like on this freezing cold morning.

I pulled my torn jacket tighter around my body and noticed when I looked around that no one seemed to be out and about except me. Streets and sidewalks that had been swept empty lay in front of me and I could hardly hear anything. Only the wind was blowing, rustling the branches of the trees while a few birds sang merrily to themselves. I breathed the cold morning air deep into my lungs and picked up my pace when I finally got to our dead end.

A few steps from the front door I dug my keys out of my trouser pocket, but that wasn't necessary because my grandmother opened the door for me, worried. "What happened to you?" she asked, eyes wide open, looking at me and my jacket in shock. "I just want to sleep," I replied exhaustedly and walked past her up the stairs.

I was sorry to leave her there in her burgundy robe, but I couldn't and didn't want to think or talk about what had happened. I just wanted to forget and sleep off my intoxication.

I opened the door of my room, took off my jacket, sweater, shoes and pants, and then flopped down on my soft, warm bed to escape from this world.

A pounding headache made me grumpily open my eyes, and the sun shining into my room made my discomfort even worse. Annoyed, I pulled the white blanket up over my face and tried to go back to sleep, but loud voices from downstairs aroused my curiosity.

I sat up slowly and carefully, holding my throbbing head, which seemed heavier than usual. No wonder. So many thoughts about last night were buzzing in him that it was almost impossible to digest. I forced my weary body to rise and grabbed a gray jogging suit, which was the first thing I got my weak hands on.

Getting dressed was sheer agony and to make matters worse I felt like I was going to throw up at any moment. I quickly yanked the door open and ran down the stairs towards the bathroom while I held my hands protectively over my mouth and hoped to reach the bathroom in time.

I couldn't even close the bathroom door behind me and threw up violently in the toilet. It felt ripping and my stomach churned with no prospect of ever stopping.

"Oh," I suddenly heard a male voice behind me and when I realized who it was I had to choke again. "Get out!" I stammered after everything was out and tearfully clutched the toilet paper next to me. I didn't cry because of him, or because of the evening, but because the nausea was taking its toll on me and my body.

"I'll get you a glass of water," said Ludwig, and as soon as I heard his footsteps in the corridor, which were getting further and further away, I got up and locked the door. He didn't seriously think that I would exchange another word with him after he left me alone. I could have been raped or kidnapped, he wouldn't have even noticed, and if Lou hadn't shown up I would have sat alone at this bar all night.

I walked over to the sink, turned on ice cold water and washed my face with it, which gave me a brief shock but then calmed me down. Completely exhausted, I looked at myself in the mirror and tied my dark blonde tousled hair into a loose ponytail.

When there was a knock on the door, I ignored it and instead brushed my teeth in peace. Only when I was done with that did I open the door and glare at him while he held out the glass of water with an apologetic smile.

"We need to talk," he said, and my gaze darkened even more. "Why would I want to talk to you now?"

I closed the bathroom door behind me and stood face to face with him. I hesitantly took the glass of water and drank it down in one gulp, looking at him questioningly.

"It's about you and Jayden." His eyes dropped to the ground and even through his dark jacket I could see the tremors in his chest. "There's no me and Jayden!" I clarified but he just shook his head. "From now on."

"You really should stay away from him, even if it's hard for you."

Ludwig leaned against the wall and stared at me intently. I would have laughed if this conversation with him hadn't made me so angry. "What makes you think it's hard for me to keep away from him?" I asked the blonde, seeing the nervousness in his eyes. "Oh you know what. Just forget it."

He looked away from me and just ran to the front door, but he didn't escape me that easily. I ran after him and took his arm tightly in my hand while still holding the empty glass in the other. "I want to know right now why you just said that! And also why some stranger brought me to Jayden's house this morning. You probably know something about it, don't you?"

He turned to me and I looked at him pleadingly and angry at the same time. I would have liked to throw him out, but despite everything, he was the only one I still trusted here. "You were with him this morning?" he asked, puzzled, and I let go of his arm after noticing that he turned to me and didn't want to leave. "Yes. Because you left me alone. Then a guy came and took me into the woods and dropped me off at Jayden's house," I explained to him and he thoughtfully touched his head.

"Then why didn't you stay with him?" "Why should I?" I looked at him in surprise, but he breathed out heavily. "I can't and mustn't explain it to you, no matter how much I wanted to.", he then said and turned back to the front door. "Oh NO! You're not going to leave me here with no answers to my questions!"

I was about to grab the sleeve of his jacket again when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Let him go," my grandma said soothingly to me and she was the only reason I pulled back and really let him go.

I turned away from the two and ran broken and excited into the kitchen. Angrily, I turned on the coffee machine with trembling hands and looked out the window after Ludwig, who disappeared from the cul-de-sac and left nothing behind but the confusion that made me doubt my sanity.

"There's some things you don't know and some things you don't need to know yet." Lisbeth walked past me and poured herself a cup while avoiding my eyes. "What's all this about?" I asked her and turned to her, but she just looked out the window and didn't answer me.

I got so mad at that moment that I had to get out of the situation before I would say or do anything I would regret. I stomped angrily up the stairs and had a plan hatched before I reached my bedroom door. I grabbed a pair of black jeans and a light blue thick sweater and raced down the stairs again to leave the house with a loud slamming of the door.

It was cold on the streets, but it was bearable, even without a jacket, and I quickly made my way to Malou, who probably worked in the clothes shop. The sky was covered with clouds and the wind blew through my hair so hard that my hair band flew off and my dark blonde mane fell over my face again and again.

When I finally arrived at the market square, I wanted to go straight to the store, but Jayden personally blocked me. "Had a good night's sleep?" he asked, standing across from me in his black jacket that he had loaned me before. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?!" I hissed at him, but he made no move to step aside.

"Chiara, just understand that-" "Shut up!" I raised my hand admonishingly and quickly ran past him, but he jerked my sweater back. "No one dares to speak to me like that," he breathed into my ear and then gave me an angry look with your ice-cold gaze. "I'm not nobody," I jerked my arm free, "and if you touch me again, I'll report you!"

Instead of leaving me alone, he just laughed out loud. "Please. Have you seen a single policeman in this town?" He grinned stupidly and took a step towards me.

"What do you want from me?" I asked him angrily and just wanted to leave. "I want you to stay away from other men. I don't want to see you drinking anymore and I don't want you to go to the Wialtrama anymore either."

I looked at him in disbelief and this time I was the one who started laughing out loud. "So let's sum it up. So you think I'm your property, but you don't want me at all and yet you forbid me everything and everyone? Do you actually still have them all?" I turned away from him, shaking my head, and walked towards the store without looking back. "You'll stick to these rules, Chiara! Otherwise you'll have to reckon with consequences!" he called after me, but I just shook my head again and opened the door to the shop where Lou was standing behind the counter and me immediately beamed when she didn't see him enter.