Love is Pain

in your arms

School days passed, one after another, and with them, Andrea and Jane were facing the challenges of adolescence. While Andrea focused on her studies, keeping a low profile and trying not to attract too much attention, Jane couldn't avoid the sharp looks and whispered comments that surrounded her every day. At first, they seemed to be innocent jokes, but soon those words began to become harder, more malicious.

Andrea noticed the change before anyone else. She was a careful sister, able to read between the lines, to catch the small signs of discomfort that Jane tried to hide. Every day when they came home, Jane seemed more tired, quieter, and her usual energy began to fade away, as if she had been sucked into something she could not understand.

One evening, while Andrea was doing her homework on her bed, she looked at Jane's phone, which she had left unattended on the desk. Curiosity prompted her to take a look, thinking it was just another message. But the one who found the frostbite.

There was a series of messages on the phone. They were not innocent messages, but insults, cruel words, jokes about his appearance, his behavior, his personality. And then, there was a chat group, a place where some schoolmates teased her, insulted her publicly and threatened her.

"That Jane is so ridiculous, always making herself noticed." " If we meet her alone, we make her regret coming to school."

Andrea felt a rage build inside of her, an uncontrollable impulse that pushed her to protect her sister at all costs. Without thinking too much, she ran to the door of Jane's room. Her heart was beating fast. When she came in, Jane wasn't there. The house seemed quiet, but something in the air told her that something was wrong.

Andrea knew where she was going. A place he had been to all too often during his school years: the parking lot behind the school, a hidden corner where students would gather to do what they wanted away from the teachers' eyes.

When he got there, his heart sank. Jane was surrounded by a group of boys, and among them was a girl that Andrea knew well, one of the meanest, who had been targeting her for months. Jane was backing away, tears in her eyes, but she could not escape.

"What is it, Jane? Are you trying to be a good girl?" said one of them, laughing, while another was shoving her shoulder. " Look what you've become."

Andrea didn't think for a moment. Without pausing to reflect, he ran towards them, shouting: "Enough! Leave her alone!"

When the others saw it coming, some stood still, uncertain. But the girl who was leading the group, with a cruel smile, stepped forward. "And you think you are, the sister-protector? Go away, Andrea, if you don't want me to do the same thing to you."

Andrea felt the anger grow inside her. He would not have let his sister be hurt, he would never have let anyone touch her. Without thinking twice, he pushed the girl holding Jane away. His hand was shaking, but his heart was firm in determination.

"Go away!" she cried, as she helped Jane get up.

Jane, however, seemed disoriented, as if she could not understand what was happening. His legs were soft, and when he tried to get up, he staggered, before collapsing into Andrea's arms.

"Jane, come on, get up please!" said Andrea, her face swollen with worry. But Jane did not respond. It was as if her strength had abandoned her, and the body gave way to a fatigue that Andrea could not comprehend.

"Sister..." she managed to whisper Jane, her lips trembling, before passing out in Andrea's arms.

Panicked, Andrea squeezed her to himself. "It's not possible... it can't happen like this."

The boys around them had stopped laughing. Someone tried to run away, but Andrea looked at them all with a hatred she had never felt before. "You must leave now. Right now."

He looked at them until they had gone away. Then, without wasting time, he lifted Jane into his arms, despite her body being heavy. With every step she took, her heart was beating faster and faster. He had to take her home, he had to make her better, he had to protect her.

When they finally reached the car, Andrea stopped, looking at her sister's face, pale and unable to answer. " Excuse me, Jane," she whispered, feeling the tension in her chest. "I will not let them hurt you again." Andrea whispered, "I will never leave you alone."

They came home and, while Piper and Alex noticed something was wrong, Andrea quickly explained what had happened. The concern in their eyes was visible, but they also understood: things would never be the same. That night, as Jane was recovering in her bed, Andrea sat next to her, watching over her with the watchful eye of a sister who would do anything to protect her.