Chapter 2
I instinctively pulled away from Frank's hand and looked at his lips. There was a faint lipstick stain at the corner of his mouth.
His movement froze.
Just then, Janelle appeared, wearing a light pink dress and flawless makeup.
She and Frank stood together, looking like models who stepped off a poster.
Meanwhile, I was drenched from head to toe.
A wave of inferiority crashed over me.
I looked away, my voice hoarse. "I'll go change first."
After I slipped out of my soaked dress, the changing room door burst open.
Janelle and three other girls crowded the entrance, their phone cameras aimed straight at me.
"What are you doing?" I wrapped my arms around myself, my voice shaking.
They swarmed in.
I reached for the clean clothes draped over the chair, but a short-haired girl got there first. She grabbed everything and flung it hard to the floor.
She ground her shoe into them, leaving dirty marks all over.
"Frank..." Panic made me blurt out his name.
"Just like he said," Janelle said, almost shoving her phone camera right into my chest. "You're not just ugly in the face. Your body's even nastier."
I froze, my heart clenching. "Who told you that?"
Janelle didn't answer, just laughed.
Her laughter was like needles piercing my eardrums.
I crouched down, reaching for my clothes, but they stepped on them down even more, making it impossible for me to pull them free.
The fact that my body was covered in burn scars was a secret only my parents and Frank knew.
Frank was the one who let it slip.
Suddenly, memories came flooding back.
I was wrapped head to toe in bandages, my gaze empty, lost in shock.
At that time, Ten-year-old Frank stood by my bed, sobbing. "Eva, I'll protect you for the rest of your life, I swear."
Two of the girls grabbed my arms and dragged me forcefully right in front of the camera.
I curled up as best I could, but Janelle stuffed a wad of fabric into my mouth, choking off my cries.
"No wonder Frank was so hungry for me in bed," Janelle said, patting my scarred shoulder with a mocking grin. "You must've turned him off completely."
"No guy could get it up for a body like this," one of her friends chimed in.
It felt like an ice-cold blade pierced right through my heart.
I struggled desperately, my throat raw with broken sobs as I cried out Frank's name.
But no one came.
My arms were twisted painfully behind my back, and I couldn't break free from their grip.
Once they'd finished filming, Janelle swung her hand and slapped me right across the face.
It stung like hell.
But that was nothing compared to the wreck inside my chest.
At last, they left.
I collapsed on the floor, drained and weak. It took forever before I could muster the strength to pull on the dirty dress they'd stomped on.
My hands shook so much I couldn't manage the buttons at the back.
When I finally stepped out, there was no one at the party venue.
Amid the scattered tables and chairs, Frank stood alone, holding a small cake with a candle that was almost out, but still burning.
He saw me and smiled with that familiar warmth. "Eva, come make a wish."
The candlelight flickered, lighting up his face, making it feel like I was the only person left in the world.
"Where were you just now?" I asked, keeping my voice calm.
Frank's smile stiffened a bit. "I was getting your cake. I've been waiting forever for you to come back—"
What a liar.
I cut him off. "You were standing right outside the changing room door. When I was crying out your name, you hesitated.
"But you still decided not to come in and help me."
Funny how, when the pain hit its peak, everything suddenly became crystal clear.
Frank slowly lowered the hand holding the cake.
The candle wax dripped down, pooling messily on the frosting.
"Eva, it's not what you think," Frank said, looking away from me. "Last time I hit her in front of everyone. She's a girl, you know. I couldn't just go all out."
I had only made a worst-case guess, but I never expected it to turn out to be true.
"What about me?" I shouted, my arm knocking the cake out of his hand and sending it crashing to the floor. "Didn't she go way too far with what she did to me?
"Frank, you swore you'd always protect me."
He stared silently at the wreck on the floor, and when he finally looked up, there was a kind of indifference and weariness on his face that I'd never seen before.
"Yeah, I said that," Frank's voice was soft, but sharp as a blade. "But I get tired too, Eva.
"All these years, no matter how hard I tried to encourage you, make you smile, or introduce you to new friends, you always kept your head down, always acted like everyone was mocking you.
"Being with you is exhausting. Even I need some space to breathe."
He paused, his gaze drifting toward the door. "Janelle's not like you.
"Even after I slapped her, she could still laugh and argue with me the very next day. She always holds her head high, never once acting like she's less than anyone else."