Page 24 of Game of Revenge
I walked out, my hands slightly trembling, but I was proud of myself, even as I heard his mocking laugh resonate behind me. I almost ran to the bedroom when I was no longer in his sight. I got to the room and started pacing angrily.
I closed my eyes, trying to erase the image of that woman kissing him, rubbing her toned body all over him. That woman, Karina, was the one who had treated me like trash when I got abducted. I recognized her name and her voice. And of course, she was his girl. She was the reason why Dolores urgently interrupted us the night before probably Alejandro had left me to go to her, and as Karina had insinuated, they had spent the night together.
The pain I was feeling was well deserved, because I must have been out of my darn mind and borderline delirious for thinking that a man like Alejandro would take me seriously, and I was borderline psychopathic for wanting him to.
Last night, I had, for a few seconds, allowed myself to get confused, to lose sight of my end goal, just for a little bit. I hated him with all my heart, for kidnapping me, for playing with me, for making me weak––even for just a moment.
But no more.
I would not allow myself to lust so much for such a despicable person. Because that was all this was—lust for a man who did not deserve anything from me. My games had somehow turned against me, but he wouldn’t win. I would get a grip on the situation.
I needed something to keep myself occupied. Being left alone for so long with my imagination was torture and probably the reason why this man managed to have such an impact on me in the first place. I had made and remade the bed, cleaned my bathroom, washed and straightened my hair, and refolded my clothes. I was going mad.
In one of the vanity drawers, I found some office supplies, including a notepad and pens. I sat at the vanity and started to write, pouring all of my frustration, anger, and confusion through the ink. I always did that when I was overwhelmed about something. It was my own way to open up while sharing my troubles with the silent pages of what normally would be my diary. Putting ink on paper always soothed me, provided me with peace, clarity, and even closure. It was therapeutic for me. I wasn’t the writer in my group of friends, but no skills were needed to write one’s inner thoughts. I was so focused that I barely heard when Dolores entered the room, bringing me some food on a tray.
It was nine p.m. when I realized that I had been writing all day, only taking breaks to eat or use the bathroom. I needed some fresh air, so I decided to grab a glass of water and sit on the patio. The weather here in the month of July was still warm, and it had rained all day. I was enjoying the unusual cooler night, with the smell of wet soil still softly filling the air. I loved the little balcony, just sitting there, breathing it all in, and staring at a sky full of stars. It was beautiful and peaceful. One did not get clear skies like this in LA, with the pollution in California.
Every night that I stepped on that balcony I was in awe. It felt wide, spacious, suburban, relaxing, even in my circumstance. I got distracted when I saw a couple guards doing their nightly walks. I had been quite annoyed the first time I had seen them just randomly appear and disappear, interrupting my view, reminding me that I wasn’t on vacation. I would never be able to escape from this house—at least, it wouldn’t be easy.
Chapter 10
I woke up feeling a little more at peace that morning. Putting my emotions on paper had seemed to be all the therapy I needed, or at least enough that I wouldn’t lose it. I was pleased with myself, feeling like I had regained a bit of my sanity. Lying to Alejandro, telling him that our kisses meant nothing to me, had made me anxious, but now I knew I had done the right thing, and my pride was healing. My ridiculous confusion subsided, and my irrational attraction reduced.
When Dolores brought me lunch, she had a smile going from one ear to the other. She had brought a man with her, who was setting up a Bose stereo system on one of the nightstands. She dismissed him as soon as he was done, very excited to show me what looked like a new distraction.
“What’s all this?”
“Gift from Don Alejandro!” she squealed.
I sighed. “I don’t want anything from him.”
“Please, it will do you well. You spend your days bored, and this will bring light to your days,” she said. “Look, he even sent CDs with great music.” Indeed, the man had put some CDs down next to the stereo before he left.
I wanted to insist that Dolores take it back, but she was right. I loved to listen to music. I could spend hours in a day just listening to songs and daydreaming. This would help keep me sane. When Dolores left the room, satisfied that I had given in, I grabbed the pile of CDs.
There was a note on one of them that read, Play track five.
Fingers shaking, I took the CD out of its case and put it in the player, skipping to track five. I recognized the song in the first second. It was the song, sung by Luis Miguel, to which he had taken me into his arms, moving me around so sweetly to the rhythm of the melody. I could feel my stomach warming up as I sat on the bed.
He wanted to remind me of that night—the night I would have given him anything, the night that had shaken me, made me ashamed to have wanted him. I got off the bed and angrily turned off the music. A slow smile appeared on my lips as I felt some happiness crawl its way back into my heart.
No, there was no point thinking about that night and fantasizing a different ending. The reality was that Alejandro was playing with me, enjoying torturing me, the way cats played with mice, the way I had intended to do with him. I was not going to give him that pleasure. I quickly changed the CD to a more palpable one, took my notepad and proceeded to write, the pressure of my pen on the paper offering me some solace.
When I woke up the next day, I was in a better mood. Waking up in this house had gotten a lot easier, the night before being specifically therapeutic. The power of music had taken over. I had fallen asleep listening to the melodies, and it helped me to stop thinking and reduced my anxiety.
I still couldn’t get over the ‘gift’ Alejandro sent over last night. Perhaps it was Dolores’s idea, but considering the note telling me to play track five, I doubted it.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a very sweet gesture. Perhaps, in this instance, it was his attempt to keep me distracted so that I was less of a thorn in his side.
Dolores had served me breakfast in my room again that day. She also replaced the flowers with a fresh bouquet of white Dahlia’s. After I was done with my food, I took my glass of orange juice and headed to the balcony.
As I was opening the door, I heard a splash. Someone was using the pool. I peeked to see Alejandro swimming from one end to the other, his wet muscles glistening under the sun, his movements strong but measured. He was swimming with such precision, such graceful force, my mouth opened ever so slightly, and my breath started to accelerate. He was apparently a good swimmer—of course he was. I sighed. He turned around when he was done with his lap and looked up in my direction. I quickly took a step back, but when I saw a devilish smile slowly appear on his face, I knew he had seen me. He continued to swim, and I couldn’t help but lean forward a bit to shamelessly get a better view.
As I was starting to allow myself to enjoy all the small currents that were starting to trickle down my body, Karina came to the pool, wearing a very revealing green bikini. She took a perfect dive into the pool and swam toward Alejandro. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her for a kiss. As her lips touched his, I felt my heart sink. But almost immediately, Alejandro reached out and untied her hands from his neck. He whispered something I was unable to hear, and he swam away from Karina, exiting the pool.
I took a step back so he wouldn’t see me when he started to dry himself, but he looked up in my direction one more time and then walked away. I went to sit on the bed. That was a weird interaction, to say the least. Why would he push her away like that if Karina was his girlfriend? I felt a little bit of hope and happiness take flame inside of me. It didn’t make much sense, and I was dying to know what exactly was going on between those two.
It doesn’t matter, I reminded myself. At best, it just meant that Alejandro was the kind of man who treated women as nothing and only used them for sex. I shouldn’t see his rejection or mistreatment of another woman as a victory for me. Rather, it was probably an indication of Alejandro being one more jackass in the world. Karina wasn’t a great person either, so my sympathies were limited, and I couldn’t help somehow feeling vindicated as I remembered how hard Karina had hit me.