This is not a love story

Carla was always complaining about her brother, every day a new problem of him for us to know about. But that day it wasn’t something that I had to know, since I was the cause of it. I was the problem, that’s why I was in the corner looking from a big distance and not by her side. If I only knew three weeks ago that today I would be like this, I would never get involved with the boy next door. 

You know that kind of friendship that starts even before you are born and you’re sure that it’s going to last forever? Well, that was me and Carla. Our mothers were friends and got pregnant by the same time, we were born within the difference of one month and we were inseparable since then. We were always gossiping about boys, buying things together, or just trying them and leaving it in the store, because, you know… teenagers. And like if that wasn’t good enough, we became neighbors a few months ago. 

Carla had a brother, Lucas. He was older, already in college, athletic, dangler, the kind of boy that our parents use to say that we should keep our distance, so I did it. For me he was only the brother of my best friend, nothing more. 

Days gone by, until I received an envelope. The addresser was unknown. It had a ticket to the Beatles cover show and a note saying “I could be in a room full of the most beautiful women in the world, and I would still choose you”. The festival would be thereof a week, so I had that time to find out who sent me that. But I didn’t need to put my effort on that, the next day Lucas ringed my bell and asked if I had received his gift. 

“That was you…” I said, astonished. 

“Well… yeah” He replied. 

In my head a thousand questions were hitting like there was no tomorrow. Why was he doing that? Did I send the wrong message? Did I miss the signs? Why me? He never even had spoken to me before. I mean… at least not a real conversation. What is going on?

“So, is it ‘yes’ or ‘no’?” He said.

“Yes”

“Great! I’ll pick you up by seven.”

“No… I mean: ‘yes, I received you envelope’.” 

“I see… so the answer is no?”

What the hell do I say now? I didn’t know what to do. Deep inside I knew that going would be a mistake, but at the same time I didn’t want to be rude. Besides, I would see him practically every day, would be awkward if I reject him now. 

“Yes. I mean, no. I mean… I’ll go with you.”

He just smiled and got away. 

The five days before the show were set up by Carla for me to know her brother better. “Imagine how awesome would be my best friend with my brother”. I tried to make her stop, but when she puts something on her mind, she follows that to the ground, so I let it. Were actually pretty nice days, Lucas could be very romantic when he wanted. He would make me laugh, smile, admire him. So it went.

Everything had to be perfect in the day of the festival. Carla got into my wardrobe, went through my things to find the perfect dress, shoe, purse and everything. She did my makeup, my hair style, even my nails. I wasn’t as happy as her, but I was excited too. That would be my first real date, so I also wanted it to be great. Carla had experience on that. She had dated before, so I didn’t mind her helping me out in the end. 

Lucas called me seven o’clock and I walked to his car. He was a gentleman, opened the door, gave me a flower, said I looked beautiful. The show was going great, and I love Beatles, so that was a plus. Everything was perfect until one moment that I felt his hand going on my body. I looked at him surprised and he smiled and stopped. Took only a few minutes for him to start again. I asked him to stop, he said it was ok, but moments later there he was grabbing me again. I exploded, yelled at him and slapped his hand. He said he was sorry, and would go take some water for me to calm down and we would go home. Moments later he came with the water, I drank it, and the last thing I saw was his smiley face. 

I woke up in a room that I didn’t know, a bed that I didn’t know, naked, alone. I felt violated, weak, and hopeless. I was young, but I wasn’t dumb, I knew what had happened, I felt it. My head was turning around, my body was hurting, I tried to cry for help, but the words couldn’t get out of my mouth. Tears were rolling down, I saw blood on the covers, and I couldn’t believe it. I took my clothes from the floor and got dressed. The room was in a little hotel close by. I knew the attendant, she was my salvation. 

I told Maria what had happened and she called the police. When the officers arrived I reported everything. In the next moment I was in the police car in front of my house while the policeman asked to see Lucas and the house next door. He got out already cuffed. His parents got out too, Carla got out. They were yelling, crying. 

The days passed by, Lucas’s parents payed his bail, I moved to another neighborhood and started to have professional help to the damage that boy had caused me and my friendship with Carla broke. She never believed me, even after seeing me, even after the medical report, even after looking me in the eyes. She stood with her blood, and I don’t blame her, I just wish she had sticked to the women’s side, to the human’s side, to me. 

So now, in my last day in this school, I see her there, gossiping to others what she would gossip to me, but the difference is that right now she is not saying how much Lucas annoys her by going through her stuff, but she is talking about a story that had everything to be perfect, to be about love, and soul mates, but went wrong, she is saying how much her brother is strong for going through the words of a liar. 

I am not a liar. You are not a liar. I believe you girl, I’ll be here for you.