Eloise - the secret behind the mask

Chapter 6

I was nervous, however, as soon as I realized the apartment was empty I calmed down.
     It was very nearly midnight, but I decided to try and get some sleep anyway.  I was tired so I fell asleep very quickly.
     It was a short sleep.  Dreamless, and empty, fortunately perhaps.
     I was awoken by the annoying sound of the alarm, and I got out of bed reluctantly.
     My limbs were aching and I did not feel at all like going back onto the streets, but the idea of                 Mark returning home to find me still there brought me back to reality and I ran into the bathroom to get ready.
      After a good half hour I was ready:  short, tight bright red dress, almost in fact the same colour as the lipstick, usual black boots and hair tied back in a tidy ponytail.
     I called the lift and observed my reflection in the mirror in there.
     I looked terrible.  I looked at least ten years more than my real age.
     I put my open hand over the mirror as if I wanted to hide my reflection, and as soon as the lift stopped I was relieved that I did not have to spend any further time in the company of that squallid image.
     When I reached my usual stool, I realized that Caroline had not arrived yet.  This was odd for her as she was always there when I arrived.
     I did not think much about this. Maybe she had already gone off with a client, maybe.
     I did not sit down straightaway possibly because I felt a bit lost without Car.  So I started to walk around the stool, observing my feet, but as soon as I raised my eyes I noticed a bright light in the woods. Who was in there again?
     I approached cautiously, and I soon became aware that the light came from a lit fire.

     I approached the source of the light anyway, partially out of curiosity and partially worried by the idea that the woods were on fire.
     Fortunately there was nothing burning out of control.  There was just a campfire with about ten youths drinking and joking around it.  How I envied them.
     I hid myself in the trees so that I could get closer without being seen, and in some way feel as if I were participating in their little party, however, I accidentally knocked a dead branch which broke off from the tree making a lot of noise.
     Despite the youths' laughter, a couple of the boys noticed immediately that something was wrong and they turned to look in my direction, without seeing me, though.
     "Oh, Gian, what's in those trees?" The oldest boy stared at the youngster who had asked him the question.  "How the fuck do I know?  Go and check it out if you really want to."  And he went back to fooling around with the girl sitting next to him.
     The youngest boy continued to stare into the trees, and a little fearfully he returned his gaze to the party, but the boy whose name was Gian exclaimed, "what's wrong?  Why aren't you checking it out?" He laughed loudly staring at the others who copied him, joining in with the teasing of the younger boy.
     "What a chicken!" contined Gian, "I'll go and have a look myself!"
     He stood up, letting the empty beer bottle which he was holding fall to the ground, and he headed for the trees.
     I did not know what to do.  If I moved I risked making a noise and being found.  Maybe it would have been better to crouch down on the ground and wait until Gian had gone back to the others, convinced that there was nothing to fear.
       I remained silent, I brought a hand up to my mouth to hide the light sound of my breath, but it was not long before Gian found me and dragged me out of my hiding place.

     He pulled me by my wrist and shouted until his friends a little further away heard him above the noise they were making.
     "I've found the monster of the woods! More than a monster I would say it's the slut of the woods!"  And he burst out laughing after that dreary joke.
     He took me to his friends, and raised my arm, almost as if he were demonstrating something he had just captured, a trophy to show off with pride.
     I felt humiliated to my core and I wanted to cry. My eyes were shining with tears, however, fortunately no one noticed.
     The boys continued to laugh. Was I so ridiculous, or were they ridiculous to find such a pitiful scene amusing?
     Thinking about the situation, I would say that the later hypothosis is probably the correct one, but in that moment I tried to concentrate on how to get away from the scene of the joke.
     Gian must have been the group leader, or rather in this case maybe it would be better to say the pack leader. He had the whole situation under control. He had the other youths under control, and they seemed ready to happily accept this fact.
     "Okay, you little tart, let's see what you can do," he said pushing me into the middle of the group.  I observed him and knew I could not win against him, just looking at him I could tell that he was about one meter and ninety centimetres tall, and about one hundred kg in weight.
     I thus tried to escape, however, he grabbed my wrist again and showered me with insults.  I contined to resist, hurting myself more and more.  I was now livid and upset.
     I tried to kick him, this simply caused the group to laugh at me even more, and for me to feel worse.
      I was full of anger and humiliation.
     I felt like an electrically charged cable.

     Suddenly, the flames of the campfire went out for no reason, leaving everyone perplexed.
     A girl started shouting.
     I twisted round until I was bending forward and with all my strength I bit into the idiot's hand in front of all the others, who just stared at me, surprised.
     Gian let out an almost animalistic sound, a mixture between anger and pain and he would have wanted to punish me for it, but I had managed to escape into the trees.
      I knew that if they followed me they would have found me soon after, but I was counting on the idea that they were not all that interested in me.
     The situation had been embarrassing and frustrating for me, not just in terms of the event itself, but for the fact that I had been a victim of my peer group, people who if I had led a normal life would probably have been my friends, I might even have been a part of their group.
     Who knows, if I had seen the event from a different perspective, sitting by the campfire, talking and drinking with my friends, maybe I too would have laughed at a girl looking like I did at that moment.
     Or maybe I would have felt really sorry for her.
     I remained stock still for a moment as they approached with a menacing air, ready to do their worst.
     I took a step back, and found Gian and another smaller boy ready to attack me.
     While one boy held my arms the other one had already put his arms round my neck.  However, on this night, just as it had happened the night before, the sharp sound of a car braking saved my life.
     My aggressors were blinded by the car and scared. They let me go and ran off into the trees.
     Despite the fact that I was still in a state of shock I quickly recognised the car.
     It was him, he had come back. He had come back for me.
   

     I could not help but smile as I walked towards the car.
     To my great surprise the passenger car door opened before I reached the vehicle and Caroline got out.
     I turned to stone.
     Why?
     He had not returned for me, he was not different from all of  the others.  He was one of those digusting pigs who before returning home to their wives go out whoring, maybe even spending a whole lot of money to do so.
     Or perhaps he had turned up, asked about me, and Caroline had lied about me and stolen my client.
     I was angry, furious, in fact I was really, really pissed off.
     Caroline closed the car door behind her and the car drove off.  I felt my blood turn to ice in my veins, especially when I noticed that Car had not even greated me, or even acknowleged my presence.
     What was her problem?
     I was the one who was pissed off, I was the one who had been betrayed and humiliated.  I was the one who felt as if she was falling into a chasm of loneliness.
     It was I who had lost the hope in something which I did not fully comprehend yet.
     So what was her problem?
     Who did she think she was, snubbing me in that way?  Betraying me in such a way without motivation?
     I stared at her challengingly, angrily and as if I could not have cared less, but she did not even seem to notice.  Instead she continued to fix her make up with a little grubby sponge.
     I walked over to her with a quick, hostile step, and as soon as I was close enough I asked in an

extremely aggressive tone.
    "What happened with him?"
     She looked at me shocked.  Caroline had a tired, strange air.  I did not understand what was the cause of it, but I had the sensation once again that she had manipulated my heart since the previous day.
     "Nothing," she said, going back to what she was doing.
     This vague answer made me see red.
     What the fuck did she mean that nothing happened with a client?
     Had she just gone for a ride for the sake of getting into his car?
     She was hiding something from me and this was clear.
     I turned away, furious, disappointed, and hurt.  I snatched my bag angrily off the stool and left.
     If I had been in a room, I would surely have slammed the door behind me!
     Despite my almost hysterical departure, Caroline did not even glance at me for a second, nor did she try to ask for explanations.
     My presence did not seem to matter to her as she continued to stare at herself in her little compact mirror while she fixed make up that did not need fixing.

     As soon as I was far away enough I pulled off my boots, and holding them in my hands, I started running.
     I was running so fast that I barely realised that my tears were staining my face.
     I shook my head from side to side, almost as if I wanted to shake off my tears, but I did not stop.  I continued to run towards a destination that even I did not know, but it did not matter.
     I needed to escape, to feel the air on my face despite the prison in which I had been incarcerated for years.

I felt the need to grow with every step, the need to leave this place, to run away for ever.