𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄, damiano david

━━𝟒𝟏.𝐌𝐞𝐧

My heartbeat accelerated. The men's voices were loud behind me as I stumbled over the uneven pavement. I searched in my trouser pocket for my keys to put them between my knuckles, but I couldn't find them. I had left them at home, along with my wallet.

I was so hot with panic that the wind, which was actually warm, suddenly felt ice cold on my body.

One of the men called out to me, I could tell by his tone that he was drunk.My steps on the cobblestones became faster, but I kept tripping over the protruding paving stones. I was breathing fast, almost hysterically, I knew exactly what men were capable of and here in this dark alley there was no one who would hear me if I screamed.

"Hey sweetie, stop for a second, I just want to talk!" the one guy shouted and I took a gasping breath, of course he just wanted to talk.

Even though I was so panicked, I managed to keep running instead of freezing in mid-motion like I used to do when my father chased me.

I thought about getting back to Damiano's house unharmed and the thought drove me on.The voices and footsteps behind me grew louder, I wanted to run, but I tripped over a stone and then a hand closed around my wrist, stopping me from falling to the ground.
"Oops," he man said and grinned at me.

"Nice to meet you, sweetie," it was the same one who had called out to me earlier, his mates ducking into the shadows behind him.
"Don't you want to spend some time with us?" the guy asked.

I wanted to speak forcefully, strongly, just as I had in the club, but all that came out of my throat was another raspy, "No".

The man grinned again, "What did you say, sweetie?" he moved his face closer to mine and I recognised brown eyes that looked at me hungrily, as if I wasn't a person at all but an object he desired.

A shiver ran through me when he looked at me like that, anger throbbed in my chest and I wanted to scream, but I knew it was useless, no one would hear me.
He smelled strongly of alcohol, probably whiskey, the smell burned into my brain.
"Come on," he urged me, his grip on my wrist tightening, "don't be like that."

I felt like I was going to throw up, if my stomach had turned before it was now on a roller coaster, I was so panicked.
"Let go of me," I demanded softly but with a firmer voice than before.

"Oh sweetie-", the guy started, but I interrupted him. I had to get home unharmed to Sophia, Damiano and the others, they wouldn't bear it if something happened to me.
"Let go of me," I said between clenched teeth, this time louder than before, my voice firmer. All I could think about was that I had to escape from this situation somehow, no matter how. My heart was pounding in my chest, faster than I had ever thought possible.

The guy's buddies were laughing softly, he too had put on that smug grin again, while he tried to grab my free wrist with his other hand to hold me better.

I slapped his hand away and at the same moment turned my other arm so that my wrist slipped away from him. Years of practice by my father, who had constantly grabbed me and pulled me along, paid off.

I was not weak, I did not want to be weak, I wanted to fight back.

"I told you to let go of me. And don't ever call me sweetie again," I murmured, then I ran off. The guy tried to reach for me, but only managed to grab the thin fabric of my shirt, which slipped from his fingers.

I sprinted down the alley, the men's footsteps and their shouting following me. I felt like I was on a hunt, they were the hunters and I was the victim.

If they hadn't been so drunk, I wouldn't have had a chance to escape from them, I wasn't unathletic but my body was weak from little food and I wasn't in much condition.