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9- Au revoir

August 25, 2016.

Same world: World I.

Dakota starts telling me her story, and with every word she tells, I start feeling worse. I dare say that I regret asking her to tell me in the first place. The wretched Rod, besides being her boyfriend when she was not old enough to give consent, mentally, physically, and sexually abused her for months. She saw in him a protective figure that she didn't have before; she believed that his jealous outbursts, having to ask permission to go anywhere, him accompanying her everywhere, and other aspects, were all correct.

Dakota was fourteen years old. That guy is now thirty years old, but back then, he was twenty-two years old. She swore he was everything, and that it was love. She even said that she took the movie "Three Meters Above the Sky" as an example of love, a Spanish film translated into English. I know it because I saw it once in Spanish class. I hated it with all my life.

I even feel my stomach churn when she tells me about an episode where she wanted to go to another orphanage to spend time with a friend of hers, and the guy conditioned her to have permission to go without him. Basically, according to his twisted mind, she had to perform oral sex on him to be sure that she wouldn't think about anyone else but him. When she refused, the guy was capable of calling her a bitch, and yanking her hair so she would perform oral sex against her will.

If you're wondering, that was the beginning of the end of that relationship.

And, truly, I don't want to think about everything she's telling me. Incredibly, I've been listening to her for over an hour without saying anything at all. Anything I say would be nonsense.

I'm shocked. I thought her story was limited to a toxic relationship, not an abusive and violent one. And I could never have imagined that she was just a child experiencing her first love when she went through all those things.

"I go to therapy for the psychological aftermath, and I have to take medication for anxiety because of it. Faven got me psychology and psychiatry services with her sister. Since I was diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, she arranged the funding through the orphanage. I left that relationship when I turned fifteen, and I was able to go to therapy for the first time at sixteen."

Seeing that I'm not saying anything, she continues speaking.

"And I say 'able,' because even though Faven was able to get everything I just mentioned for you, a part of me couldn't stop blaming myself for it, and I thought I wasn't worthy of receiving help. But Faven moved heaven and earth. Her sister, who is a doctor, knows my story. She treated me almost like a daughter, and she was the only one who could convince me that he was to blame, not me," she concludes.

The calmness of her voice when she tells me the last part makes me nauseous. I even have to call a waiter to bring me a dark soda.

"There you have it. Along with the importance of Faven in my life, you know the most significant things to me. It's your turn," she puts her head back on her intertwined hands. "Ah, and there's nothing worse than the caffeine in a soda for someone with anxiety symptoms."

It's not that hard to leave me speechless, but she manages to do it in the most incredible way. It takes me about a minute to process the last information and also receive the drink I ordered. Only when I hear the sound of the lid being opened, and I take a sip, do I muster the courage to form a sentence.

"I don't know what you want me to say."

"I don't know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or something like that," she smiles half-heartedly. "It's been six years already. It's easier to talk about it now, but it's not trivial to me. I hope that's enough for you to trust me. And, if you don't mind me returning the favor, tell me something important about yourself so that I can trust your word."

And, being an idiot who is being tamed by a girl I just met, I obey her order, and there goes a piece of my ridiculous family history.

"It seems like now we understand each other," she assures once I finish my story. "Do you trust me now?"

"Somewhat," I murmur. I take the opportunity to drink.

"Enough to participate in my plan to find out what really happened with Faven?"

"That… I think so."

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow at the same place at seven," she blows a kiss in the air. Damn it. How out of place and bad-timed is that.

"But… what…?"

"You pay today. Au revoir."

And, as quickly as she intruded in my life, she vanishes from the place.

I'm going to have to gather patience every day of my life from now on.

וו×

August 27, 2016.

World shift: world II.

I raise my eyelids in a room that appears blurry to my eyes, so I have to blink to adjust to the light. Once I manage to do so, I realize that this place is the bedroom of the house that my partner and I are paying for. So, it seems that I moved and I don't remember anything about the process…

There she is, sitting next to me on the double bed that her mother gave us a few months ago. A sigh of relief escapes her lips, and she slides closer to me. Then she proceeds to tell me the details that I couldn't remember; because, it was impossible to do so, since I wasn't awake when I experienced it.

"Are you saying that I fainted before kissing you at the wedding?"

"That's right," she responds.

"And…did I lose consciousness for over a day?" I inquire.

"Yes. I am now thankful that we decided not to have a party after the wedding," she begins to stroke my hair, "Although, it seems strange… It had been a while since this happened to you, but this time you were crying while unconscious."

"Did I talk in my sleep too?" I decide to make a joke, "I probably mentioned Bugs Bunny."

I take the opportunity to laugh at my bad joke.

"Yes, you said my name and the name Rod Hart," she confirms. My laughter fades.

"Oh, Dakota. It's normal for me to mention you while unconscious, but I don't know who that guy is," I allow myself to enjoy her caresses, "Did I say anything else?"

"You were shouting Faven's name," she asserts, "You said he committed suicide because he was a coward or something… Did Faven tell you something that I didn't know?"

I shake my head in denial, and I now take Dakota's words seriously. If I think about it, it's not normal for a person to be unconscious for so long and, in the midst of that, start saying strange things and names of strangers. Plus, every time I have a medical examination to find the cause of all this, they always tell me that I am a healthy person and everything is going great with me. So I don't understand it.

"Are you developing cancer?" concern tinges her voice.

"I don't think so. Faven accompanied me to get tested with a colleague of her sister. Everything is fine with me," I assure her, and smile at her to calm her down.

"Oh, please don't faint again. We haven't even had newlywed sex," she complains, as I feel my eyelids drooping.

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