SUMMER LOVE

XX - Theodor is my knight-errant in shining armour and bruised eye

*Amanda*

It's 9am. I did not sleep last night. Just lied down on my empty bed, looking at my empty ceiling, and let the emptiness of my bedroom consume me. I totally forgot to call Theodor. Better do it now.

The phone rang and rang; he didn't answer.

Must be sleeping.

And I didn't care much. To be honest, the last thing I wanted was to be with someone; even if that someone was my boyfriend.

I just stayed there. I had nothing to do and no one to be with. So I just stayed there; me and my insignificant existence.

(After dinner)

I was tired of being at home so I decided to go out. Once again, I had nowhere to go so I just followed my own steps.

I shut the door behind me and leave the house. Thankfully, my mom didn't ask where I was going.

And I just walk. I pass by the other houses of my street, listen to the wind blow and admire the leaves as they dance in circles in the side walk. And I just drown in my own thoughts and feelings. I think about my dad, Theodor, and about the fact that summer holidays are almost over. That sucked as well.

After walking for about half an hour and even passing by Theodor's house without knocking, I get to the town centre. It was Friday night so everyone was out, having fun, and the night was pleasant.

There were a lot of prostitutes on the streets, leaning against the brick walls, smoking and being approached by nasty men. I am ok with prostitutes. They don't disgust me like they disgust everyone else because I know that their life isn't easy.

One of them comes to me and unsuccessfully asks for a lighter. I say I don't have one and I move on, trying to avoid looking at the cigarettes or breathing their smoke.

I pass by this cafe and I see a young prostitute, she was probably my age, making out with a fat man. He was at least two decades older than her. They are leaning against a waste container. I turn my face away.

Don't look, Amanda, don't look.

The man is aggressively touching her and she is starting to push him off.

'Get off.' - She moaned. He was touching her small breasts underneath her small top. 'Get off.'

She is struggling to push him off so I step in.

'Hey, asshole, leave her alone.' He ignored me. 'Hey...' - I hit him in the back - '...leave her alone!' He turned to me and the girl left, as if nothing had happened.

'What? Are you jealous, bitch?' - He faced me; anger in his eyes.

'Just leave her alone...' - I stuttered, trying to look tough, but shaking inside.

'You're right, bitch. I should leave her alone... you seem much more interesting.' - He started grabbing my arms. 'Let's go.'

He starts pulling me closer and holding my wrists soo tight that I swear the blood stopped running in my hands' veins.

I struggle to fight back. He puts his nasty hand under my chin. 'You're a bad girl... but I can teach you how to behave.'

I spit in his face. And I wish I hadn't because then I see his face turn red with anger.

'You shouldn't have done that, you hooker.' He pushes me against a brick wall so hard that it felt like all my ribs were broken. I groan in pain.

'You filthy-' - I don't have time to finish my insult, once his hand slaps my face and my head hits the wall. For a few moments, my head gets dizzy, as if I had drank 20 shots of vodka, and my eyesight starts blurring.

Then, all of a sudden, another guy pulls the man away from me and punches him in the face; the old man leaves.

'Amanda, are you ok?' It was Theodor.

'Yes, it's just my head... What are you doing here? And what's wrong with your eye?!' Despite the darkness on the streets, I could see he had a bruised eye and his bottom lip was bleeding.

'What did that son of a bitch do to you?'

'Theodor, I'm fine, unlike you! You need to go to the hospital.' I get up and start walking back home with him. 'You are limping, Theodor!'

'No, no hospitals.'

'Then let's go to your place.'

*Theodor*

'Ouch!' - I moan, as she disinfects my lip. Her serious expression was evident.

She gives a few stitches in my eye too. 'I didn't know you could do this.' - I ask, as she places the needle and the alcohol in the aid box.

'Those are the advantages of having had a father that was a doctor' - She answered me, briefly.

'What do you mean 'having had'?' She stopped was she was doing and then looked at me.

'He died yesterday.'

I didn't know what to say, so I just kept my mouth shut.

'Now let's talk about you. What's happening? And please don't lie to me.'

Should I tell her?

'I'm not sure if you want to know.'

She grabbed my hand. 'I'm your girlfriend. No secrets, remember?'

I take a deep breath. 'There's this group of guys that has been following me everywhere I go. I didn't know what they wanted so when I went to buy my mom's present the other day, I approached one of them and asked. Looks like they want my money.'

'I knew that it hadn't been a random situation. How much do they want?'

'I'm not sure. But I just know that if I don't give them what they want, I'm not gonna be here for much longer.'

'Then give them the money.'

'The problem's not the money, Amanda. Is how am I going to ask my parents for it.'

'You can say you want to buy a car.'

'I could buy five cars with that much money.'

'How much are we talking about?' - She asked me, worried.

'Half a million.'

Her mouth dropped with chock.

'Half a million dollars? Who are you, the president of the United States?'

'No, that's my dad.' She was chocked. 'Hey, just kidding.'

'I don't know how you can make fun of this situation.'

'Amanda, don't worry. I'll figure it out.' I give her a comforting hug. 'Now, what plans do you have for tomorrow?'

***

Hello, everyone. Hope you liked this chapter! A lot more surprises to come! Please leave a comment down below. xx