On her way back from the club, Susan stopped by a phone store and picked out a new phone, successfully retrieving her SIM card. She flopped tiredly onto her bed, her mind swirling with fragmented thoughts from the night before. "God, I can't believe I had sex with a total stranger," she muttered to herself, a mix of embarrassment and amusement dancing on her lips. "A charming stranger though," she chuckled at the memory, despite the complexities now swimming in her mind.
"Thank goodness it's Saturday," she sighed, feeling a wave of relief wash over her at the thought of a day without work. "That guy messed me up in all the right ways," she admitted, pulling the blanket up to her chin, letting out a contented sigh.
The sudden ringing of her phone shattered the quiet, but it didn't register in her head until the fourth ring. The new ringtone was foreign to her ears, a reminder of the shift in her life.
She sprang out of bed and rushed to the table, only to freeze when she saw the caller ID. "Ugh, not you," she hissed, her stomach churning at the sight of Ben's name. She turned on her heel and retreated back to her room, hoping he would just disappear.
Moments later, the unmistakable sound of her apartment door creaking open sent her heart racing. She hurried out to the living room, and there he stood, his presence as overwhelming as ever.
"Why did you ignore my calls?" He shot at her, anger flickering in his eyes like a flame ready to ignite.
"How dare you barge into my house?!" she shot back, her voice trembling with a mix of shock and indignation.
"I'm your boyfriend!" he declared, as if that title justified his intrusion.
"Since when?" she scoffed, her disbelief lacing her words with venom.
"What do you mean, since when? We never broke up!" he insisted, confusion and defensiveness rising in tandem.
"Wrong. The moment I discovered you were cheating on me yesterday is when I broke up with you," she replied, her eyes burning with fury.
"I told you I never cheated on you. I was just having fun. All men do it," he said, with a careless grin that made her blood boil.
"If that's the case, then I'd rather stay single than be with a man again," she retorted, her voice unwavering, laced with a mix of anger and hurt.
He laughed, amused as if she had just told a joke. "You can't be serious," he replied, shaking his head.
"Get out of my house, Benjamin," she spat, the resolve in her eyes piercing through the chaos in her heart.
"Listen, Suzy..." he began, but she cut him off.
"Get the fuck out of my house right now!!" she yelled, her voice rising with each syllable, the panic and fear clashing with her fury.
While he still tried to talk to her, she pulled out her phone and dialed 911. "This is Susan Wellbourne, and I'm reporting a case of sexual harassment," she said.
Ben stepped closer, the amusement fading from his face, replaced by a predatory glint. "Whoa, take it easy there," he said, snatching her phone away.
"Give me back my phone!" she demanded, her hands trembling from a mix of fear and determination.
His grin elongated, a twisted mix of charm and malice. "You know, it's really not smart to call the cops on me, Suzy," he said, his tone low, sending a shiver down her spine. "We both know what I could say about you. I'm the only one who holds your secrets."
Her heart raced as her pulse quickened. "What secrets? I have no secrets!" she shot back, trying to sound confident, but her voice wavered.
"Oh, sweetheart, it wouldn't take much for me to create a story. Look at you, trembling," he cooed, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. The gesture felt deceptively tender, yet it made her skin crawl.
"No one's going to believe you," she scoffed, forcing herself to meet his gaze.
"Oh, yes they will, honey. I'm your boyfriend, after all," he smirked, and her eyes widened in horror.
Taking a step back, her voice quivered, "You don't own me! No!"
As he closed the gap between them, his fingers glided through the contours of her face in a way that felt both intimate and invasive. "We don't break up until I say so," he declared, his voice low and demanding.
She could feel her heart pounding furiously against her chest as he pulled her closer, inhaling deeply near her neck. "Behave yourself and be the good girlfriend you've always been," he said, leaning in for a kiss. But Susan instinctively turned her head away, feeling a surge of defiance wash over her.
"You submit to me whenever I call, whenever I need you," he insisted, forcing her gaze back to him, his grip unyielding. She could feel his warm breath against her lips, but the fear inside her ignited a fierce resistance. "Believe me, you don't want to see my dark side… In this world, you're all alone. I'm the only one who can protect you. So don't get on my bad side."
His lips crashed against hers, a rough and unwelcome intrusion. A surge of anger propelled her thoughts, and she clenched her fists tightly at her sides, tears streaming down her cheeks. Yes, she was alone; no parents, no family, no friends. She only had him. But now it seemed he was a mistake she made.
Ben finally pulled away, trailing kisses down her neck to her chest, pausing as he inhaled her scent. "How much I want to have these nipples in my mouth," he murmured, the desire in his eyes unsettling. "But I've got somewhere to be." He pressed a lingering kiss to her breasts before standing upright, a smirk playing on his lips as he absorbed her fear.
"Why are you crying, honey? You're making me feel like I'm a bad person," he said theatrically, wiping her tears as if he were the one in pain.
"I'm doing this for your own good," he added, masking his selfishness with a false sense of care.
With a final peck to her lips, he turned and walked out, his presence leaving a hollow ache in the air.
As soon as he left, the door clicked shut with a finality that echoed in Susan's chest, and her knees buckled beneath her. She crumpled to the floor, the coolness of the tiles stark against her skin as she felt the weight of despair wash over her. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a torrent, each drop a release of the pain that had been building inside her.
The room, once filled with warmth now felt hollow. Its silence amplifying every broken piece of her heart. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against the floor, willing herself to muster strength, yet all she could feel was the suffocating ache of emptiness. Memories flooded her mind, moments of joy that now seemed like cruel reminders of her grave mistake.
"Why?" she whispered to the empty air, her voice choked with anguish. The answer hung unspoken, swirling around her in the dim light. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if to hold together the fragments that felt so ready to shatter. In that moment, the world outside blurred away, and all that remained was the grief that engulfed her, heavy yet liberating, a catharsis she had needed but feared.