Chapter 11

I entered the building slowly because I wanted to savour the whole evening again. I sat on the floor with my back against the wall, looking at the stars. Why did Justin interest me so much? He was a boy like any other, yet I felt the need to be close to him.

That evening the sky was full of stars, which made me even happier. As a child I loved looking at the stars, in fact every Christmas I always asked for the same present: a telescope. I could never get one because it cost too much, and the nuns had many children to look after. They would always give me the same gift, a blanket (which sometimes had holes in it) and a pair of socks (also with holes in them), ah and sometimes they would give me hairpins, but I would sell them to buy candy. I didn't keep them because my hair always had to be free, I couldn't remember the last time I had tied it up. Hair is and was a part of me that described my rebellious character. It was wavy and black and had always been my favourite part of my body. I also had beautiful eyes, green like the grass of a meadow, but they did not describe my character, they only showed my moods and sometimes they didn't show that either.

I looked at my mobile phone and saw that it was two o'clock. I got up from the floor and hurried inside. I arrived at my room and saw that the door was ajar, who knows why? I didn't think Ali would leave the door open at two in the morning. I walked in and couldn't believe my eyes!

Ali was lying on the floor, bleeding.

"Ali!" I shrieked as I approached her. She wasn't moving, giving no signs of life. I felt her pulse and luckily her heart was still beating. I was anxious and a panic attack was threatening to make my brain go haywire. It was strange that I was getting agitated, I usually kept calm even in the most desperate situations but seeing a girl in a lake of blood was a scene that had messed up my mind as well. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to move her, whether to leave her there, whether to call someone... then I saw her phone and instinctively grabbed it. I couldn't call a friend of his I didn't know them well. I saw Justin's name in the address book and decided to call him. I just hoped he would answer.

"What the fuck do you want?" asked the voice on the other end of the phone. The voice was hoarse, maybe he was sleeping?

"Um, Justin it's Amber," I said uncertainly.

"Oh, Amber, why are you calling on Ali's mobile phone?" he asked, definitely changing his tone.

"Ali was attacked and she's here in our room, in a pool of blood" I mumbled agitatedly.

"What!!!?" he shrieked. "Ali was attacked?!"

"Listen I don't know what to do, you can come. I was going to take her to the hospital, but I don't have a car and from what I understand she's not quite right with the law," I explained.

"Yes, you were right to call me. Lock yourself in the room, I'm on my way,' he said and ended the call. I did as he told me. I began to clean up the blood. From time to time, I checked if there was still a pulse. I had known her for a short time, but I didn't want her to leave me. Seeing her in that state reminded me that I too had been at risk of being attacked. I had been fighting my death phobia for years and only after a long time had I overcome it.

I took his mobile phone and started looking at the gallery. There were a lot of pictures of her with her group, but Justin wasn't in any of them. I saw Justin's number and pressed to see the chats. Nothing. No chats. I grabbed my phone and copied the number. I didn't know why I had done it, but something in me had driven me to it. I heard a knock at the door and was abruptly brought back to reality. I went to answer it. It was Justin, as I imagined and as I knew. He rushed into the room saying to me:

"Nice to see you again after not even two hours". I didn't answer and pointed to Ali's body on the floor. He bent down and I felt for a pulse. He lifted her head and I saw a cut from which blood was pouring out. Her whole body was covered in bruises, but I didn't want to imagine what they had done to her, even though I already knew the answer.

"Let's take her to my house, I'll medicate her there," Justin told me, taking her in his arms. I grabbed my backpack and put a T-shirt and my mobile phone in it. I left the room and locked it. Justin was already almost outside the building, and I had to run to catch up with him.

"I didn't know you lived outside the university," I told him as I got into the car. He laid Ali on the back seat, stretched out, with a towel under her head.

"Yes, I live outside because I can pay for a flat," he replied. How much did I not know about him? I heard the phone vibrate and pulled it out. There was a message from Harry. Shit. -Back from the party? - But who was it, my father? Yes- I replied a little impatient.

- I'll pick you up early tomorrow morning, I have to introduce you to some people – he wrote.

- I can't tomorrow. –

- Since when do you say no to me? -

- Tomorrow, I told you I can't I'm already in trouble so let's do it another time. - I wrote quickly, trying not to let my anger over Harry's messages take over.

-In trouble? – He asked me.

 - You can stop being my daddy, I can take care of myself, I am nineteen years old I can take care of myself. -

After this last message I switched off the phone. I was annoyed that Harry was rubbing my nose in the fact that I was saying no to him. It wasn't like I was his little girl, if I wasn't there, we would have done it another time.

"Who was that?" asked Justin casting me a quick glance.

"No one," I replied annoyed. He didn't ask any more questions and for that I was grateful, I really didn't need the interrogation.

The drive to Justin's house was silent. We stayed quiet, and from time to time, we both turned to look at Ali. My mind began to think about who could have done this to her? And why? Ali though she might not have been a very diligent girl, she wasn't bad. Yeah, our relationship hadn't started out in the best of ways, but I wanted her to be able to live peacefully. No one deserved to suffer at such a young age.

The car stopped in an isolated and almost deserted car park. There were only three cars, one of which was Justin's. I saw a mid-rise apartment building, lit by dim lights. The plaster was yellow, and there were few windows. In some flats there were balconies, in others not. We climbed the stairs quickly. We made it three flights before Justin pulled the house keys out of his jeans pocket. He opened it and motioned me to come in. Without bending down he took off his shoes just inside the door and I did the same. I followed Justin into the large living room. The kitchen was only a few steps away, with nothing separating it from the conversation room. I saw a blue table and white appliances. The wall in front of the table was covered with embossed tiles, which gave an elegant touch to the décor.

Justin placed Ali on a large black sofa.

'Wait here, I'll go get Ali's medication,' he told me as he walked away. I nodded and took some time to look around. The living room was very large, and I imagined it was very bright during the day thanks to the large window overlooking the well-kept garden full of flowers. Next to the sofa was a small oak table, and on the wall in front of me hung the TV; the wall was adorned with white doodles on a black background. That picturesque detail made the room look more youthful, a bit more Justin-like let's say. Leaning against the wall to my right was a huge bookcase, full of books. There was also an armchair in the room and a grey carpet under the coffee table, which helped keep my feet from freezing. But then I took a step back and discovered that the tiles were heated. I had to admit that Justin had a really nice house, I wish I could have lived there. In the nunnery we would freeze to death in the winter as the radiators would not work, our slippers had broken soles, so we froze our bare feet and the jackets we wore were not heavy enough to withstand the cold of the winter season. I know all this might seem exaggerated because we were not in the Middle Ages but living in one of the poorest convents in the country, without parents, without a foster family and with nuns who struggled to meet all the expenses, that was the life we children had to live. The rooms were always very damp because the walls were made of stone, so very often, we spent entire winters with colds and coughs. I had never lived in a well-furnished house, warm and with good company, so Justin's house was extraordinary in my eyes.

I had always dreamed of my daddy (who had become a billionaire, I didn't know how) coming to take me away from the life of hell my mother was putting me through. I had lived with my broken family until I was three years old, only to be left alone with my mother, a drug addict by the way, because my father had left without even putting me in a safe place, or even better, taking me away with him. I dreamt of my father coming back in a nice car, taking me away from my mother, so that I could live in a nice villa, with a nice garden, with a swimming pool with crystal clear water and a deckchair on the edge. I dreamed of a big house to share with my father, a room to myself, a big wardrobe with all my clothes neatly stored away. But the thing I wanted most was to feel loved by someone, to be cuddled gently when I had bad dreams and to be told that I was the most beautiful thing anyone could ever have. I had stopped dreaming this at the age of ten, when I realised that if I wanted a better future than the one fate was offering me, I had to roll up my sleeves and see reality as it was and stop fantasising about...