Ghost of your past

Diffusion, built up?

Natalia saw someone in the corner of her eye "Mila?" 

Mila felt she was hallucinating, with the overwhelming fear she currently held she thought she had heard Natalia's voice. 

"Mila?" there it was again, had he drugged her?

"Mila!" she heard the voice getting closer and saw what she swore was Natalia wearing the same outfit she had on at the party. 

"oh my goodness thank god you're okay" said Natalia running over to Mila. Once she had registered that it actually was Natalia and not a figment of her imagination she started crying and ran straight to hug her.

The two started crying as they hugged, Natalia pulling back to examine her "are you okay? what happened let me look at you" she said putting her hands on her face to examine every inch of it. "Oh my god who did this to you?" she said slightly touching her face where it was obvious she had been punched. Mila winced at her touch due to the pain still present but only hugged her again and cried some more. 

"Hartman!" said Mia running over to hug her as well "where the hell were you what happened?" she said as she cried as well. "I-" Mila could not speak as she was so choked up from pent up emotions. 

That was when Natalia saw Jackie and realized that she was no longer Mila's girlfriend and Jackie was the one who needed to comfort her. 

"Jackie," said Mila, turning over to hug her. Jackie hugged Mila, feeling happier than before, but just as empty. 

"I'm so glad you're okay." 

"Hartman, what happened?" asked Henry.

"I'll explain everything later but first I want to get out of here."

They all agree and started to make their way towards an exit when they heard other, larger, footsteps approaching. "Oh no he's awake," whispered Mila 

"Who's awake?" asked Jackie in concern

"The man who did this to me, we better run." 

"You guys go ahead I'll deal with this" said Henry 

"No, we're stronger together, I'll help you" said Mia 

"We'll all go," said Natalia who has recently showed everyone she has what it takes to be a leader. "Are you okay with that Mila?" Mila looked at all of them willing to put their lives at risk for her, how could she say no "Yeah, lets do it."

All five of them started cautiously walking towards the foot steps and the man emerging from his own shadow 

"Well well well, what do we have here, you brought your own army kid?" he said looking directly at Mila who had nothing but pure rage in her eyes. 

"She brought more than that," said Henry now taking his gun out from his holster and pointed it at the man, Mark raised his hands "I come in peace," he said "Yeah I don't think so" said Henry approaching him getting his gun ready to shoot. 

Mark then looked around at the girls behind him, making eye contact with every single one of them until he landed on Natalia, he stopped when he got to her, stared at her almost as if he had seen her before. 

Mila then approached Mark after she saw him staring. "Stay away from her." 

"Ah, see, now all of this makes sense" said Mark going back and forth between Mila and Natalia.

"She's the reason I'm here" he said pointing at Natalia 

Everyone then suddenly stared in her direction and Natalia was just as confused and as scared as everyone else 

"Yeah see, little miss Hartman didn't know who Miss Astor is, but you do, don't ya" he said, forming a smile as he finished his sentence. 

Everyone stared at Natalia with more intensity, she was confused, but felt a monumental lump forming in her throat and no matter what she did it would not go away.

"You know about this ?" asked Mila 

"I swear to you I have no idea" said Natalia 

"But you do know this Miss Astor he's talking about?" asked Mila

Natalia took a second to catch a breath 

"Yeah. It's Ana."

Mila's face suddenly turned into full rage and disappointment, everyones else's turned into disbelief.

"I was hired by Miss Astor" said Mark  "shooting me won't help, just let me go and I'll be out of your hair" he said casually relaxed 

Natalia now grew furious and approached Mark herself 

"She hired you? to kill Mila?what the hell is wrong with her?! what was she thinking!" yelled Natalia clearly pissed. 

"She wasn't. I guess she felt Mila was a threat."

"This is unbelievable," said Jackie 

"But it is sweetheart, see Ana saw something between these two, and wanted Mila out of the picture, can't really blame her for that" he said in his clear narcissistic voice.

"Shut up" said Mia 

Mila then stepped back towards the girls as Natalia remained in her spot trying to process. 

"Well you know what you guys should work this out I'm going to head out" but as he was taking two steps towards an exit Henry shot him directly in the heart, he was an excellent gunman, prompting Mark to fall 6 feet to the ground below him. 

"He couldn't be trusted." 

Needless to say they all walked out of there anrgy, confused, disappointed and plain upset. 

None of them saying a single word to the other.

Instead, they all went home, 

alone. 

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Natalia went straight to her room sitting on her bed like a liveless zombie, she felt tears starting to drop one by one until they become a river. 

This was all her fault, she had caused this, if she had never insisted Ana come meet her small town, this never would have happened. 

Just when she was thinking the worst, she heard a knock on her door, she didn't reply but saw the door opened anyway.

It was her sister. 

"Babygirl" 

All Natalia could do was start crying while Mia went and gave her a giant hug

"I know what you're thinking" she said while muffled into her sisters shoulder "It's not your fault babygirl, It's not your fault." 

Needless to say Mia stepped up as the older sister she is, and comforted her young one, all night long. 

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"Honey?" said Pamela when she saw her adoptive daughter walk in through the front door.

"Hi Pam" 

"Oh my gosh what happened to you?" she quickly ran over to Mila and examined her, "who did this to you?" she said in a concerned tone of voice 

"It's okay just got into it with someone at a party nothing to worry about, I'm going to take a shower." 

She gave Pamela a quick hug and headed for her shower 

Mila did not know what to think or how to feel, all she knew was that she was alive and lucky to be so. 

She looked at her nasty scar in the mirror, long and bloody, reminding her of what she had been through. She put some water on her face and looked at it again, still there. As she stared longer at her reflection and let the water and dried out blood now drip from her face, she felt tears start to fall in companionship. 

What did she do to deserve this, any and every of it.