Falak's POV

I woke up early in the morning, around 4 AM, to study and to complete my assignment because I knew that I wouldn't get time to study later. After that, I hurried went in the kitchen to prepare the breakfast Crumbled Bacon and Hard-boiled Egg Sandwiches, and fresh orange juice for everyone. Thankfully, I didn't have to prepare lunch because no one stayed at home during lunchtime.
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I was waiting for the local bus at the bus stop and saw Dad taking Lance to the school in his car. They saw me but acted as if I was not there. Well, this was nothing new, so I didn't feel bad about it, right? I have someone to love me now.
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'Did he send any message in the morning?', I thought and checked my mobile, taking it out from my shoes as I couldn't take the risk to leave it at home or school bag with a fear that I may get caught.
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"Good Morning, Senorita."
"Will you just smile while reading my message, or will you message me back?", He had sent me that message with a wink expression at the end. I started smiling more.
'How does he know that I will be smiling after reading his message?'
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"Good Morning. Can you please tell me how do you know me?" I sent him that message and again hid my mobile. The moment I entered the school premises, I saw the gang of bad boys who were staring at me with a wicked smile on their face, and guess what Lance was the one who asked them to trouble me. After all, he was also a part of them. I knew that I was in trouble by the look on their face.
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I tried to go, ignoring their presence, but Lance held my schoolbag and pulled me toward him.
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"Seems like you are in a hurry to attend the class. Huh", He mocked.
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"Please let me go, Lance.", I pleaded.
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"Okay, you can go.", He said by didn't leave my schoolbag. I tried to snatch it from his hand, but l was like a doe between those wolves.
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"Enough, Lance.", There came a strong and deep voice of...umm Jacob? He was a friend of Lance's and stayed with him all the time. He was also a part of a bad boy's gang, but he was different from others. Neither he troubled me nor saved me; he just gave me a disappointed look. If I was guessing it right then, he felt pity for me.
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"Are you trying to save him, Jacob?" Lance asked.
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"No.", He said in a cold tone. "I am saving all of us. If anyone sees us troubling her, then we will be in danger.", He said, and immediately Lance let me go, and I didn't waste my time in running toward my classroom.
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During lunchtime, I hid myself in the library because I knew that those boys never come here and I would be safe here. I spent my time reading books. I was feeling hungry, and as usual, I hadn't brought a tiffin box. I always used to drink water to quench my hunger. I left from there to drink some water.
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"Don't worry, Falak. This is not the first time you are hungry. You are strong enough to handle all this." I talked with myself, and when I returned back to my place where I was studying, there was a small parcel from McDonald's and chocolate shakes. In short, it was a complete meal for one person.
There was a Double McChicken and fries inside it with small note 'Now onwards I won't let you stay hungry.' with a smiling face.
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'Did he come here to keep this?' I thought, and I smiled thinking that. I ate it silently, but not once did I stop myself from thinking about my mysterious lover. I wonder who he could be? And why was he hiding his identity with me?
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After school hours, I spent the rest of the day by doing my part-time jobs till 8 PM, and then after reaching home, I did household work, the same old life. Everything around me was the same except for one thing. i.e., HIM.
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I was about to knock on the door of my parents when my legs froze after hearing mom's word. "When are you planning to sell that bitch?" I listened to my mom asking with dad.
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"She has just hit puberty. And no one pays well for those girls who look like a kid. So, at least let her be young. By the age of 15 or 16 years, I will sell her.", Dad answered, and I gasped in shock and ran back to my room. I burst into cries. My ears were filled with my dad's words.
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How could my dad even think of selling me? This thought killed the last hope I had for my family. I was always left out. I had no one with me. Today I felt a thousand times lonelier than I had ever been.
One thing was sure, now that I had to run away from here before they could sell me.
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I tried to sleep; I was not feeling sleepy at all after this new discovery. At the same time, my mobile vibrated.
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"Slept?"
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I checked my mobile and found two incoming messages, which I had received hours before.
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"I know you because you are my classmate.", This was a message which I had received four hours back. "It feels so good to talk with you finally.", There came his second message an hour before.
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"No. I haven't slept.", I messaged him back.
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"Would this sound creepy if I say that your reply is the best thing that I received today?" I smiled after reading his message.
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"I don't know. But that's cheesy." I hit the send button after reading my message thrice.
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"Hahahha...Well, I am glad that I am the reason behind your smile. You look more beautiful whenever you smile.", My smile widened after reading this message. I think He is the first person who said that I am beautiful; otherwise, even my parents don't find me beautiful or cute.
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"When did you see me smiling?" I asked because I rarely smile in school, as I don't have any reason to smile because my school life sucks.
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"When you were thinking about me during the lunchtime while having your lunch.", My jaws dropped after reading it. I was happy to get his attention, but in the meantime, it made me scared. I have read so many creepy things about stalkers. Didn't all of them start with all goody goody nature and then show the true colors? Even that thought freaked me out.
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"Don't be scared of me. I mean no harm. I mean, at least not for you, but someone I will surely going to break the nose of your stupid father who keeps hurting my princess."
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"You know about my family?",
"I know each and everything about you and your family." Tears started welling in my eyes after reading this.
"I know that Lance is your brother, and your family doesn't treat you well.", I read his second message. Even after knowing all this, why was he wasting his time on me? He might be knowing how pathetic my life was! A normal person would have hated me; then why was he interested in me?
"You there?" I received his third message, but I didn't reply to him. Instead, my mind was filled with a lot of questions and confusion.
"Falak, are you are ignoring me?" I could imagine his serious face while texting this message.
"Fine. I'm coming over to your house."
'Wait, what?'
'He can do that?'
'Now I was sure of one thing that whoever he was! Either he was from a powerful family, or he had lost his mind.'
"I'm here.", I replied before he was really here. Though I loved that idea for a while because in that way, I would come to know who he was, but then I might land in serious trouble.
"Christ, Seno! I was going to ask my driver to take me to your home." I read his message, and the suspicion which I had earlier on him got cleared that he was literally very rich. I meant, not any middle-class people could afford driver along with the car.
"Why me?" I asked the question which was troubling in my mind for a long.
"Is it because of bet or dare?" I asked another question that came to my mind after reading so many books where rich kids do these types of things for dare or bet between their friends.
"It's not what you're thinking."
"I can't answer your question of 'WHY ME' because if I will, then you will figure out who I am. But as I said earlier, I mean NO HARM. And I promise to take you out of that hell once you're eighteen."
I smiled at his message. I couldn't decipher whether he was really as good as he seemed as per his messages?
Immediately I recalled the conversation between mom and dad
'When are you planning to sell that bitch?
'She has just hit puberty. And no one pays well for those girls who look like a kid. So, at least let her be young. By the age of 15 or 16 years, I will sell her.'
"Can you do anything before that? I mean, before I turn eighteen?"
"I can't, but there's someone who can do that for me.",
"Then please help me.", I wrote desperately.
"I had to run away from here, but I have no idea about anything. I don't know how to manage it and where I should go if I will run away!" I confessed to my mysterious lover. At the same time, I was not sure whether he was a good person or not. He might take advantage of this situation or worst, but my situation in this house was also not that very great.
"Keeping my curiosity aside by asking infinite questions, I just want you to know that I will help you."
"You will?",
"Yes! But I need some time. Approx a week." I read his reply. He might be taking the time of a week to arrange all the things which he would need in escaping me from here!
Or he would be giving excuses so that I wouldn't feel bad if he directly said NO as his answer.
"I will wait.", I typed and really hoped that my second thought about him come out to be wrong.
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#TBC