"He'll regret embarrassing me like that in the cafeteria." Gabriela fumed, her voice dripping with hate.
"Gabriela, all that matters now is your health. You can't attend any lectures with these skin reactions." Isabella told her.
"Isabella. You don't have to be scared. I'll be fine." Gabriela whispered to her friend with a smile and pinched her cheeks.
She sat up.
"I'll be in the restroom, thinking of a plan." She flung the sheets and left the clinic.
She ran into the restroom before anyone saw her. She shut her eyes and let tears flow freely.
Her skin itched and she clenched her fists.
"Ugh, fuck!! How could I let it happen? That bitch and jerk embarrassed me in everyone's presence! I'll make sure they pay. I'll make sure they suffer. I'll ruin their reputation in school!" She roared.
She paced around in the restroom, thinking of a perfect plan to get them both.
Her itches were terrible, causing more red spots to appear.
She heard the door open and she gasped.
She thought it was a female.
"I'm done. Please come in." She was shocked to see Miguel.
"I know I'm not supposed to...."
"Of course you should know that I don't wanna see you around me. How dare you? Who do you think you are to just put on that show about me?"
"Look, babe. I know you're...." Gabriela's eyes widened.
"Babe??! Are you insane?"
"Gabriela, I'm not here to talk much."
"It's not pronounced gae-bree-el-uh, it's ga-bree-el-uh, okay?" He walked closer to her.
"Just shut the fuck up and listen." He brought out a little box from his pocket.
"My sister used to have allergies too as a child. The tablets in the box will stop the itching and red spots." Gabriela collected the box, hesitantly.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because....if you don't, you itch forever. And it's none of my business." Miguel replied. Gabriela stared at the box with an investigative look.
"I can't thank you yet, because I haven't tried the tablets. So please get lost." Miguel rolled his eyes and left the restroom.
"This jerk came to the female's restroom and he didn't even knock. What if I wasn't wearing these pants? Was he going to walk in on me that way?" She left the restroom, heading to the trashcan. She wanted to throw the box in but her skin stung.
"Ahh! Maybe, I should give it a try."
~~~~~~~~~
"Daniela!" She hugged her tight.
"What are you doing in my school? I mean, I'm so happy to see you." Gabriela broke the hug, scanning her sister if she was okay.
"I wanted to return Dad's pen. He asked me to. Since I don't have any right to walk into the Flores' family mansion, I just had to come here." Daniela explained in a sad tone.
"Dani! Where have you been?"
"I live in some old relative's house. And they treat me like trash. I haven't eaten all day! I feel sick." Daniela cried.
"Daniela you'll live with me, okay?" Gabriela took out the keys to her apartment from her purse.
"Here you go. My college apartment is a few blocks away. I'll ask someone to pack your things from that house."
"What if Mr. Alejandro finds out?"
"I don't care if he finds out or not. There's absolutely no need to worry." Gabriela heard the bell.
"Leave. I have a class to attend." Daniela noticed the allergic reaction.
"Did you use cayenne?!" Daniela exclaimed.
Gabriela rolled her eyes.
"I'll explain later, just leave!"
~~~~~
Gabriela entered the class and the students exchanged glances, snickering at her.
She sat quietly, scanning the lecture room with her eyes.
"Where's Isabella?" She thought.
The professor came in and the rest was a blur. All she had in her head was a plan to take her revenge.
~~~~~8PM, FLORES MANSION~~~~~~
"What are you doing here? I thought you only came home on weekends." Mr. Alejandro questioned.
"I'm here to tell you that Daniela is leaving your relative's house, and will be moving in with me." Gabriela replied frankly.
"What? How dare you take that action? She's not part of our family."
"Mom wanted us to give Daniela the best life when she was going. You say you love her, but you're planning to get married to someone else, sponsoring another child's college education. I will fulfill Mom's wishes and I don't care what you say about it."
Mr. Alejandro left her presence and walked up the stairs.
"When you're done, you'll use the door."
Gabriela noticed some hefty men around the house. An idea popped into her head.
She dialed Damien's contact.
"Hey, Damien. It's Gabriela."
"Oh! Gabriela, how did you get my contact?" He asked, happy to hear her.
"Um.....from the school's group chat, I guess.."
"Oh. How are your allergies? Are they gone?"
"I need your help. Where does Miguel live?" Gabriela asked.
"Miguel? Why do you wanna see him?"
"He gave me some medicines and they actually worked! The allergic reactions are gone. So I'll like to show some appreciation." Gabriela replied.
"Oh, so kind of him. Our college apartment is in the third street from yours. It's painted red. You better come quick, it's almost bedtime." Damien told her.
"You live together? Okay, I'll see you then."
"Bye."
Gabriela hung up, a wash of revenge over her.
"You'll be beaten to a pulp, Miguel."
She got up to leave and the hefty men bowed.
"Please, I need you to carry out a task for me. And I promise to pay you really well." She told them.
"Okay, miss. We'll do anything you ask."
"There's a guy who embarrassed me publicly today and caused this allergic reactions. I want him to suffer dearly for his action. His apartment is only three streets away from The White's Academy, if you know where it's located. I need you to go there and beat him up." Gabriela instructed.
The hefty men were so ready.
"When do you want it? Right now?" One of them asked.
"Right now."
"He lives in a red colored apartment, a property of The White's Academy. His name is Miguel." Gabriela made a quick research and showed them his picture. The hefty men nodded and left the house at once.
Gabriela smirked, staring at his picture.
"Oh, you're so dead."
~~~~~~MIGUEL'S APARTMENT~~~~~~~
The living room was filled with the warm glow of the TV as Miguel, Rafael, and Damien watched a romance comedy movie, laughing at the cheesy one-liners and over-the-top romantic gestures.
Damien couldn't help but sneak glances at Michelle, Miguel's sister, who was sitting on a sofa far away from them, her expression unreadable.
Despite the hilarious moments on screen, Michelle didn't crack a smile, her eyes fixed intently on the TV. Miguel, who had been growing increasingly restless, finally had enough.
"Bedtime, guys," he said abruptly, switching off the TV.
The boys groaned good-naturedly, but eventually got up and headed to Miguel's bedroom. Michelle silently got up from the sofa and walked to her own bedroom without a word.
As Miguel went back to switch off the lights, he heard a faint noise coming from the back of the house.
Before he could investigate, the backdoor burst open, and five hefty men stormed in, armed with large sticks. Miguel's initial boldness quickly turned to fear as the men approached him.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Miguel demanded, trying to hide the tremble in his voice. However, as the men drew closer, their menacing grins and cold eyes sent a chill down his spine. One of them grabbed him, and Miguel's fear turned to panic.
The men's rough hands held him in place, and Miguel's eyes darted wildly around the room, searching for an escape or a savior.
"Guys! Somebody help me!!!"
But he was alone, and the men seemed determined to do him harm.
The men punched his face at first. When he was down, they started hitting him with their sticks.
He was groaning hard at every hit.
Gabriela was sleeping peacefully, until the men started hitting Miguel all over.
She flinched and moaned in her sleep, feeling the pains of every stick hit at Miguel.
The last thing he saw was the darkness closing in around him before everything went black.
The next day, Miguel opened his eyes.
He was on the bed and Michelle was massaging him with a gentle cloth with ice.
"Ah! Ah!" He groaned.
"Michelle.... what are you..." He tried to sit up but the aches sent him back to his position.
"Ah! Who were those men? How did they come in?" He cried. Michelle didn't give any answer. She had a plain expression.
"Does this mean....you've forgiven me? Does this mean you're ready to start over?" Miguel asked.
"Why are you still talking to me? When you spoke and I didn't give you a response, you should know I'm only doing this because I pitied you. The men ran off when they saw me coming." Michelle snapped.
"This doesn't mean I've forgiven or forgotten what you did to me, Miguel Jackson."
"Michelle, please. Ah!" He groaned again. His muscles were aching and he had bruises and wounds all over his arms and legs. The stick hit his groin too.
"Do you have any clue who could have done this to me?"
"Such a rhetorical question. Do I care who harms you?"
"Doing this doesn't mean things between us has changed, like I said earlier. I still hate you." Michelle took the cloth and bowl, leaving the room.
"I love you too!" Miguel shouted.
"Ah! My heart. Michelle, you hurt my heart." He cried.
"Those men still hurt me even when I fainted. Someone must have asked them to do this." Rafael rushed into the room, his voice dripping with panic.
"Miguel. What's wrong?"
"How could you? Didn't you hear me screaming for help last night?" Miguel complained, his face red with anger.
"We continued the movie when you were away last night.... we're so sorry..." Rafael was apologetic.
"You guys have to help me. I can't walk, I can't bath. I can't move!" He exclaimed in pain. Rafael touched his arm and he screamed in pain.
"Fuck! They hit me really bad there. How didn't you hear them?!"
"Stop talking about us. The most important thing is you getting to college."
★★★
Damien rushed outside, slamming the door.
"How could they just leave me here?" He complained, heading to his car. He saw Michelle watering a plant, smiling and talking to the plant.
She was as pretty as ever.
He watched her go into her car and ignite the engine. But it didn't move. The engine only turned off.
"What's going on!" He heard her say, trying it but it still didn't move. The engine turning off frustrated her even more. She alighted.
"Um....Michelle. Can I drop you off at college? You'll get your car checked on later." Damien offered nicely but she gave him a death glare. He was shocked.
"I - I didn't mean to annoy you - "
"Oh please!" She snapped. She took her backpack from the car, slammed the door and left angrily.
"What the hell?!"
~~~~~
"She just yelled at me and walked away. I felt so ashamed of myself." Damien was explaining to Gabriela on video call in the car driving to college.
Gabriela laughed heartily. She stopped when she saw his expression.
"Don't worry, Damien. I'll find a way to talk to her and make her strong too. She won't be like that once we become friends. I promise you'll win her easily." Gabriela assured.
"I don't know how to thank you, Gabriela. Did you come over last night to hit Miguel?" Gabriela acted surprised.
"Hit Miguel? I don't know what you're talking about."
"You came last night, right?"
"I couldn't come over anymore. I was busy. I'll just thank him after the morning lectures."
"When he woke up this morning, he couldn't move. He couldn't walk or stand upright, I think Rafael assisted him to the shower because he was badly hurt."
"Oh, what a coincidence. I also have severe pain all over, especially my thighs and I couldn't walk alone. I'm just sitting somewhere waiting from Isabella to take me to the lecture room." They both laughed.
"Last night, I felt like - someone was hitting me with a stick. And about the allergies, Miguel's medicines actually worked. They were all gone in the morning. Ever since I walked into this college, I've been waking with one problem after another."