My hair hung loose, plastered to my neck as rain pelted down. Thunder boomed close by; I’d seen lightning strike not long ago. But the storm wasn’t what had my chest twisting in knots. It was him—Antonio.

I was running through the downpour, lungs burning, fighting back sobs. I had to reach him before she did. Before she ruined everything.

—

It had happened two weeks ago. Me and Cici at a bar on our freeday. I didn’t really like bars—the noise, the smell—but I wanted to treat her. So we went.

I took a few gulps of my drink and caught a strange look on her face. A small smirk. I brushed it off as my imagination. But minutes later, something felt wrong. My limbs turned heavy, the room blurred at the edges.

Cici led me into a private room, talking to some guy I didn’t recognize. I sank onto the couch, too dizzy to speak. My heart pounded in my ears. What did she do? No—she wouldn’t.

Then she walked out, leaving me alone with him. His shadow fell over me, and panic surged as he forced his mouth onto mine. My body wouldn’t listen, weighed down by whatever she’d slipped into my drink.

Somehow, through the haze, I managed to knee him hard enough to make him stumble back. I pushed past him, fighting to stay upright. It wasn’t until later I realized what Cici had planned—to use the footage of those forced kisses against me.

—

And now, two weeks later, I stood at Antonio’s door, drenched and shaking.

Please, please, please…

I rang the bell again and again until it finally opened.

There she was. Cici. Standing next to him. Antonio’s eyes met mine—confused, maybe even cold.

Tears blurred my vision. My voice caught in my throat.

He won’t believe me.

And in that moment, everything I was trying to save felt like it was slipping through my fingers.