I ended up falling asleep at the top of the clock tower. I couldn't convince myself to go back home or go after him. He wouldn't change his mind.
When the clock chimed 8am, I was jolted awake. My whole body ached from sleeping on the hard surface.
I walked down the street gloomily, still thinking about that kiss. Guess I had to find something new to do with my days.
Before heading home I stopped by Ban's parent's house. I would just glance in the windows to see if he'd actually left. I had no intentions of going inside, that's where his horrible parents reside.
As I peeked into his bedroom window his father walked outside, I groaned quietly and tried to leave before he noticed me.
He grabbed my collar and I sighed. "Where's your boyfriend, girl?"
There's no way Ban ever spoke to his parents enough for him to know we were just friends. I squirmed in his hold. I just wanted him to let go so I could go home and mope for an hour or so before I had to head back to work.
"Buzz off. I am not Ban's girlfriend," I murmured, swatting at his hand. My short height was disadvantageous as I tried to escape his hold.
He released my shirt and spun me around getting all up in my face. I scowled at his chubby face and horrible breath. I would have ran, but he immediately grabbed my shirt again.
"You brat. Where's my son?" He spat.
"Psshh, he's hardly your son you fucking creep, now get out of my face." I probably should have played nice, because unsurprisingly, he punched my jaw. I should've known better, that man has severe anger issues. I clenched my eyes trying to ignore the stinging of my face. I'd be lucky if he left me off with just the one punch.
Some people say it's rude or ill mannered to hit a girl. He clearly had no qualms with it.
"If I see you snooping around my house again I'll fuckin kill ya, ya whore." He dropped me and I promptly turned around and left.
"Always a pleasure." I muttered under my breath when I knew I was far enough that he wouldn't hear me. I was sarcastic and arrogant, but I was smart enough to not poke the sleeping bear.
Back at home I left most of the money I had made on the kitchen table to appease the birth givers and keep them off my back. They tended to be less aggressive when I simply paid them off. Despite that they were still ill tempered and I preferred to keep my distance. If the cost of living wasn't so god damn expensive, I'm sure Ban and I would've bought our own house and moved in together years and years ago.
I walk on eggshells, not knowing if they were home. I glance around corners and moved like a ninja not wanting to deal with them.
Once established that they are both out, I grab some food in the kitchen; some bread and an apple will do since no one in this house cooks.
From there, I had to adapt to a new normal. Sure my days were the same; work, eat, sleep, repeat, but after work when I typically spent hours with Ban I just wandered the streets mindlessly.
I half expected him to come back a week later, but after months without seeing him, I stopped waiting for him to appear.
I couldn't blame him for leaving, this place sucked, but it hurt like hell that he left me behind. We had always been a team, and he just left me here. I could only hope that he's not hurt. I would rather have him moved on and forgotten me than been in danger or dead.
Nearly a year later and I grew resentful of Ban and began to even hate myself. I was so miserable and lonely but didn't do a damn thing to change anything about it. I had grown used to my dreadfully monotonous and lousy life.
Was I really that reliant on Ban that I couldn't hold my own or remove myself from my own misery. I contemplated this and more on my nightly walks after work.
It had been a particularly bad week with my parents, as one could probably tell from my bruised arms and split lip. I was so close to breaking down and leaving forever to a new town that I would never be able to afford.
I began to mentally calculate how much money it would cost to move to a big kingdom like Liones or Camelot. Getting there would be difficult enough it would be a long journey. Then I'd have to consider prices of housing, food, taxes. I was overwhelmed considering how little I had saved up in comparison to all those costs combined.
While caught up in my head, I didn't notice someone tracking closely behind me. My carelessness would be my own undoing.
As arms grab me from behind I go into full blown panic mode. Ban's not here, Ban's not here, I repeated in my head. Usually he'd help me in these scenarios but I was on my own. I had to get out of this alone.
Fight or flight kicked in and I tried to remove his hands from me and book it out of there. Unfortunately, I was a tiny weakling and couldn't easily escape, so I tried to fight, which went about as well as I could've expected.
I kicked and screamed flailing my arms around trying to just hit him somewhere, or scare him off, or attract someone else's attention, but my lame defense mechanisms proved fruitless.
Panic really sets in when I feel a second set of hands, I know I'm screwed. One person holds me still as I continue my thrashing in efforts to escape, I then feel the second person hold some kind of fabric up to my nose and mouth. I breathe in and completely lose it when I realize there's some sort of chemical smell on the rag intended to stop my struggles.
I attempt to hold my breath while I continue to fight, but it's only a matter of seconds before I need oxygen and I inhale heavily, followed by a woozy, drugged feeling. Only a couple of breaths later, I fall unconscious.
I am such a fucking idiot.
