God, what do I do? What the fuck do I do?

Panic runs through my veins and invades my whole body. If I was scared of Leo before... now I'm terrified.

I don't know what to do. He keeps looking at me and smiles. I freeze and do my best to smile without it looking weird, but I don't succeed, as he frowns and looks at me like I'm a strange creature.

I stop smiling because it's not getting me anywhere and wave at him. Then I turn and keep walking as fast as my feet can.

"Hannah!" he shouts from far away.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

I can't walk and pretend I didn't hear him. It would be very rude and he already knows I saw him and he knows I know he's calling me, so I have no choice. I will have to face this situation. Why is this happening to me?

I cross the street with the knot in my stomach that has formed since I saw him. I try to hide my panicked face as I get closer to him, but it's very difficult. This guy terrifies me... and rightly so, since... I'm in front of a rapist.

The mere thought of that word sends shivers throughout my body. I wish I had never witnessed that scene. It's going to leave me with a lifelong trauma.

"Hello," I say when I'm only a few inches away from him.

"What are you doing here?" He asks with a smile... a charming smile, but I find it creepy at the same time.

"Em... nothing... just... walking," I say, avoiding eye contact with him.

He frowns and looks at me funny. Maybe he doesn't believe me? I didn't try to sound very convincing, but I didn't lie to him either—I was just walking aimlessly.

"Hey," he says as he walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder, "Are you okay? You look tense and nervous."

My skin reacts automatically to his touch and shivers. My eyes grow wide, panic takes over and my heart beats so hard that I think I'm going to have a heart attack. I've never been this scared in my life.

I take his hand off my shoulder and move a few inches away from him.

"I'm fine...just...tired. I have to... go back to my house," I say, making an effort to think clearly and formulate coherent sentences.

"I'll walk you," he quickly says with a small smile.

"It's not necessary!" I answer immediately and I think I might have sound desperate.

"Come on, let me go with you," he insists.

Shit, what the fuck do I do now? Should I run away from him? Should I let him come with me? Should I hide behind a tree? What the fuck do I do?

"No... no... no... it's not necessary," I say as I move a little further away from him and start walking, hoping he won't follow me.

Clearly today is not my lucky day, as he walks beside me and when I hurry my pace he does too. I'm very lucky.

"A girl as beautiful and sexy as you can't walk the streets alone," he says, stroking my left arm.

I don't look at him and I try not to be scared. What the fuck did he just say? What the fuck is this asshole playing at? Is he trying to seduce me? God I don't understand these people! What the fuck do they want? I've had enough.

He stops stroking my arm and I try to breathe. I breathe in, trying to calm down. I don't have to lose my sanity. He doesn't have to realize that I'm afraid of him, although of course I'm not discreet at all so I'm sure he's already realized that something is wrong with me, but what can I do? I'm with the r...I don't even want to say it. I'm with the one who did that to Casy, how am I supposed to react?

Calm down Hannah, calm down. Calm down. You're in a public place, nothing can happen to you. I repeat that to myself several times, until I manage to relax. I have to play along and let him walk me home because I don't know how he might react if he finds out that I know what happened this morning. Besides, as I assumed before, I can't say no to him because Leonardo is not one of those guys who takes no for an answer.

"You didn't like the compliment?" he asks after a few minutes in which I remain silent.

I look at him and my heart is pounding again. The fear doesn't seem to disappear from my body.

"Yes... It's just... I don't know what you want me to answer. I've never been told... that," I answer as I stop looking at him and focus my gaze on the floor, ashamed for having confessed such a thing to the least indicated person. What the fuck is wrong with me?

"Come on, I'm sure you've been told that a million times," he says, minimizing what I just said.

It's the right moment to reverse what I said and tell him it was all a lie. It's the best thing to do.

"It's true..."

Okay, it seems that my mouth and my mind don't want to cooperate together today. Did I really just come clean with Leonardo Mischiaretti? Really? Just with the person I'm most afraid of?

"Wow, I didn't know that. Well, we'll have to change that."

My body tenses up. And I don't know if I'm walking or I just stopped dead in my tracks. What did he just say? Did I hear that right? No, no, I'm sure my hearing is failing. He couldn't possibly have told me what I think I heard.

Suddenly my heart is pounding harder, the knot in my stomach is getting tighter and I feel my throat closing up and preventing me from speaking.

What does he mean by ....? Well, I know what he means, I'm not stupid, but... , but... I just pray it doesn't mean what... I think it means.

"Uh... yeah," I answer, trying to act normal, calm, like nothing is going on, but I'm having a hard time with it.

He smiles at me and we continue walking to my house. He remains silent for a few minutes and I thank God for that moment of silence. However, when I think I've got rid of having a conversation with him, he opens his mouth and says:

"Hey... do you think that before going to your place we can stop by mine? I have to pick up a few things," he says casually, without looking at me too much.

No way I am going to Leonardo's house! Is he fucking crazy? Well, I know the answer.

"Don't worry, I'd better go my way and you go yours," I say, my voice trembling, hoping he'll accept my proposal. Or rather, begging him to accept my proposal.

"Na, come on. Don't be like that. Besides, it's better if you come now so you already know the way to go to the party on Friday. Ah! I just remembered —I didn't give you the adress. Well, but if you come now you'll already know the way" he says with one of those smiles that I'm sure all girls fall in love with.

Right! The party! With everything that happened with my mom I barely had time to think about it. And the truth is, I don't know if I want to go. I was never 100% convinced to go, to be honest, but I tried to see it as an opportunity to make friends. However, it's at Leo's house, and I don't plan on going there. Not after what happened with Casy at school.

Images and sounds of that situation pop up like flashes in my mind and I have to squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head to make them go away.

"About that..." I start to say and he lifts his head to pay attention to what I'm about to say, "I'm not going to be able to go to your party."

He stops dead in his tracks. He steps in front of me and stops me from walking any further. His calm expression is now replaced by... anger? Irritation? I'm not sure, but his expression scares me. Why did he react like that?

"What did you just say?!" He screams, and I notice that his voice is tinged with anger.

What's wrong with him? I didn't say anything out of the ordinary. I just said I wasn't going to the party, that's all. I have all the right in the world to decide whether I want to go to a party or not, but Leonardo doesn't seem to agree with this.

"I can't go, I have a family thing on Friday," is the first excuse I can think of.

He wipes his lips with his tongue and runs his hand over his face in frustration. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with him? I just told him I'm not going. He doesn't even know me, I'm not his friend and I'm sure he doesn't like me. So why does he seem to want me to go to his party so badly?

"But you have to go," he says bluntly, still in front of me, blocking my way.

I'm not going. I don't have the time or the desire to go to a party after everything that's going on in my life. I can't even think about going to a party after my family drama, which I'm still not over, because of course it just happened! And I also can't get over the fact that I witnessed a rape and of course, now to be talking to the responsible of it.... My life is like a movie— a horror movie.

"I'm not going," I say seriously. My voice is no longer shaky, it's strong and confident.

His eyes are fixed on mine. His penetrating gaze reawakens the fear inside me that I had managed to calm down. I hate the way he makes me feel. I don't want to feel like I lose my strength when I'm around him and feel like the most vulnerable girl in the world. But he has that effect on me. And it terrifies me, it terrifies me even more than he himself because...if he did...that...to Casy what could he possibly do to me? Just thinking about it makes my blood run cold.

"Let's change your mind then," he says with a sly smile that I find disgusting.

Then he grabs me by the wrist and pulls me almost dragging my feet across the floor to him to take me... I don't know where. I guess to his house.

My mind barely realizes what is happening and is slow to react. When it finally realizes the situation, I start to struggle to break free from his grip. Of course, I don't succeed. He's too strong for me—I can't handle him. I sigh. Now what is going to happen?

A tear slides down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away with my free hand. I curse myself for crying. I must not show weakness in front of him. I can't do that. But I'm... I'm really scared. What if he does something to me? What if... the same thing happens to me as to...?

"No!" I scream at the top of my lungs, showing the courage I didn't know I had. Next, I'm able to break free from Leonardo's grip.

He turns around, confused. His face is serious, but as soon as he notices my glassy eyes, it changes. He approaches me, and I notice that his face shows concern. Of course, I'm not sure if this concern is real or just an act. I opt for the second option.

"What's wrong?" he asks, confused, and I realize that he really has no idea what's going on. Much Better. I don't know what he'd do to me if he found out what I know....

"Nothing, just..." I pause, looking for something to say. I can't think of anything. "I have a lot of things on my mind," I finally say, which is true, I just don't specify what things are on my mind.

"For example... what things?" he asks as I already knew he would.

I try to think of what to answer him. However, nothing comes to my mind. Think Hannah, think.

"Things," I answer like a fool.

He looks at me and a small smile appears on his face. What is he laughing at?

"Why are you crying?" he asks, grabbing my hands.

"I told you—I have a lot on my mind," I say, letting go. I don't want this son of a bitch to fucking touch me.

His face is serious again. He moves even closer to me and now we are just a few inches apart. I can feel his breath and he can feel mine. I can smell his scent, and he sure can smell mine.

Being this close to him is simply terrifying. My mind knows it, my body knows it, my heart knows it, but none of them seem to react. I'm just standing here, in front of him, and I can't bring myself to run or walk away from him.

"What's wrong, Hannah?" He asks, lifting my chin with a finger to make me look him in the eyes, something I was avoiding at all costs.

I feel new tears falling down my cheeks and I feel my whole body trembling. I'm scared, so scared, but I'm blocked. I can't move, I can't get away from him. What's wrong with me? Hannah, react!

"Hannah?!?!" a voice shouts behind my back and I immediately know who it is.

It's Casy! Oh my God, I've never been so happy to see her.

Her voice is all I need to get away from this asshole, turn around and run to her. I don't know why, but that's the first instinct I have when I hear her sweet voice.

As I approach her, my arms go around her waist and I give her a big hug. She saved me from Leo's dirty hands and she deserves a big hug.

"Hannah," she says with a smile as we pull apart. "What happened?" she asks me and then looks away from me to Leo. I do the same and see that he is moving closer to us. Then she looks at me and understands why I reacted the way I did as soon as I saw her.