BTS: I Think I Love You

Chapter 23

My ears are the first to start working. I can slowly hear things coming back to me.

The birds from outside

The leaves blowing in the wind

The hum of electricity from the lights

The loud voices arguing above me

I can hear them all loud and clear as they pace in their places.

"Why does this have to happen to her?"

I recognize Rap monster's voice as he yells the question out loud, looking for some answer. I know why they do it, but I can't tell them. My mouth won't cooperate with me right now. It's as if my brain isn't connected to my body.

"My question is why would they do such a terrible thing to her?" Suga asks, his voice relatively calm.

"What do you mean hyung?"

That was Jhope. I can see his worried face in my mind, the edges of his lips tilted downward like how he gets when he is sad or confused. I expect Suga to respond, but it is Jungkook who does instead.

"What do you mean? You saw what was written-no carved-into the skin of her leg. Some bastard hurt her, in more ways than one."

I'm surprised by his tone. I'm not used to Jungkook being like this. He is usually so soft spoken and calm, his attitude always happy and bubbly.

"What do you mean by more ways than one?" Jimin asks tentatively. He knows that everyone is on edge right now. This times it's V who answers the question.

"He means that she is hurt both mentally and physically. It's one thing to beat someone up so that they can't move. It's another to call them names every day to lower their self-esteem. If you continue to call someone a slut and worthless, they will start to believe it themselves. That's why Z was always so distant. No one was there for her when she needed it. No one was there to dispel any of her bad thoughts about actually being a whore like they said she was. All she needed was a friend to help her see how amazing and strong she was, but all she got were bullies. It gets...lonely...after a while. Everyone looks at you like you're trash and not worthy of living."

"That's not try though!" Jin yells suddenly.

"She isn't trash or worthless. She is the strongest person I have ever met. Even when we were all playing into the school's trap and being mean to her she didn't bat an eye. She took all of the criticism by herself with no one to dispel her worries or doubts. While we were off hanging out and having fun, she was alone thinking about how much her life sucks. She is so strong. I can only dream about being as strong as she has been."

A tear rolls down my cheek without me even realizing. I want to reach up and wipe it away, but I can't. My body is still not responding to me.

I mull over their words, my heart growing heavier and heavier. I didn't know how much they cared about my safety. They actually care about me. Not about having their way with me, but for me as a person. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my whole life. Finding out that you're not as worthless as everybody said you were feels absolutely amazing.

"Z?!? Are you awake?"

Jungkook comes to stand by my side, his breath right next to my ear. I can feel his fingers as he brushes my tear away, his touch sending tingles down my spine. I have never felt this way before. Whenever someone touches me, I either feel disgusted or get hurt. His touch is calming and nice, his fingers soft against my skin.

It's like that was what I was waiting for. My brain finally lets me reach up and touch his hand, my fingers curling around his. My eyelids flutter as I force them open, the sunlight too bright for my eyes. I shut them tightly before opening them again once they have had a chance to adjust to the light. I am pleasantly surprised when I see Jungkook's face just inches away from mine. His nose brushes against mine as he smiles down at me, relief clear in his expression.

"You're awake" he says while grinning even wider, his eyes glowing.

For the first time in over a year, something warms up inside of me. I feel happy, overjoyed to be in this boy's presence. He has been so nice to me, taken such good care of me. He didn't have to, but he did. For the first time in over a year I feel the corners of my lips curve upwards. It's like I can't stop. My eyes crinkle in the corners as I gaze into his brown ones. My lips pull over my teeth in a smile so wide that it almost hurts. I feel like I finally can smile again. I feel like I can be myself again.