The door creaked open, and Anele's heart raced as she saw Kenji swaying slightly on her doorstep, a half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey clutched tightly in one hand. A mix of emotions flooded her—fear, anger, and an involuntary twinge of pity at the sight of the man who had once been so charming, now reduced to this pitiful state.
"What do you want, Kenji?"
She stepped back, instinctively protecting the threshold of her home. The memories of the past—bitter, raw, and unrelenting—flooded her mind. The last time they were alone together had left her scarred, her life irrevocably changed. He blinked at her, attempting to muster a semblance of a smirk, but it fell flat, revealing a vulnerability she hadn't anticipated.
"Just wanted to see you, Anele. Talk... you know, catch up."
His words slurred, and with every syllable, the walls she had carefully built around herself began to tremble. Anele's heart thudded painfully in her chest.
"We don't need to talk,"
she said firmly, her voice trembling slightly.
"I think it's best you leave."
She had no intention of letting him inside, no matter how much she had tried to forgive him.
"Come on, don't be like that."
His tone took on a pleading edge, coupled with a drunken bravado that made her skin crawl.
"I just want a little chat. It's been a while. Isn't there something we need to discuss?"
Anele felt her breath hitch as a realization settled in: he shouldn't be here. Not now, not ever. She had worked too hard to reclaim her life, and forget about that faithful night he raped her. She couldn't let him invoke the ghosts of their shared past, the shame and the pain that lingered like a shadow.
"Kenji,"
she said, steel sharpening her tone.
"I'm not interested in whatever you have to say. Please, just go."
He managed the push her and the door back, letting himself in. Anele readied herself to fight for her life this time around . The memory surged like a tsunami, and the adrenaline coursing through her veins told her this was a battle she could not afford to lose again.
Anele took a step back, narrowing her eyes at Kenji. The whiskey bottle slipped, crashing to the ground and splattering a dark puddle on her welcome mat. It mirrored the chaos swirling in her mind. She could almost hear her past shouting at her, drowning out the present, but she fought to silence it.
"Get out, Kenji,"
she said, her voice steadier now, laced with an authority that she didn't feel but desperately needed to portray. He swayed, his brows furrowing in confusion, as if he couldn't process the frigid rejection.
"but... we were good together, right? I can change. I can be better—"
"Better?"
The word tasted like broken glass on her tongue.
"You're standing here drunk on my doorstep, begging for a chat like a lost child but I'm not your mother, and I do not owe you anything."
He was silent for a moment, his expression morphing from desperation to anger.
"You think you can just forget? You think you can erase what happened between us? All the good times? The fun?"
Anele clenched her fists, focusing on the memory of her own survival, the countless nights spent stitching herself back together.
"Fun? You call it fun, Kenji?"
The anger within her began to simmer, thick and palpable.
"That night wasn't fun. It was a crime. You stole something from me that I will never get back and I will not be a prisoner to your nostalgia."
He stepped forward, fingers gripping the empty space where the whiskey bottle had been, as if he could crush the pain radiating between them simply by asserting his presence.
"I didn't mean to hurt you,"
he mumbled, though it sounded more like a drunk's excuse than genuine remorse. The air felt heavy, suffocating, and Anele could feel every heartbeat reverberating in her chest, each one reminding her of what she had fought so hard to escape.
"You can't undo what you've done,"
she replied, her voice a hard whip of conviction.
" I can try."
In that moment Kyoko rushed in with her security. The security man wasted no time, moving in swiftly to separate Kenji from Anele. With a firm grip around Kenji's arm, he pulled him away and pushed him toward the open door.
Anele stumbled backward, shaking as adrenaline surged through her body. Tears pricked her eyes, not from sadness but from the whirlwind of anger and fear that had gripped her. Kyoko's instincts flared as she assessed the situation, her eyes darting between Kenji and Anele.
"You don't belong here, Kenji. Go home."
"You're making a mistake,"
he muttered, dangerously low, his confidence crumbling under the weight of reality. The security guard tightened his grip, sensing the shift in Kenji's demeanor. Finally, with a resigned grunt and a last attempt to regain some semblance of control, Kenji staggered back, his eyes darting between the two women.
"You'll regret this."
With a final glare, Kenji turned and stepped out of the doorway. As the door finally clicked shut behind him, Anele felt all the breath leave her body, a mix of relief and exhaustion washing over her. She leaned against the door, eyes closing as she tried to catch her breath.
YOU ARE READING
WHEN I NEEDED YOU. ( Lesbian Slow Updates.)
General Fiction" Stupid me. I thought you were different." " But I-" " Get away from me! I don't ever want to see your fat face again." Nothing hurt more than her words and the look of disgust on her face. The one person who she thought would believe her did not...
