He stood up quickly and nervously took my hand. “Erin, we were just playing dare, I…”

I interrupted with a smile. “I believe you.”

He hesitated and put his arm around my shoulder in a panic. “You all should stop making trouble. If you scare my baby, I will punish you.”

Melissa stood up. She was wearing a tight suspender skirt and walked over with a swaying curve.

“Long time no see, Erin. I heard that you and Elmer are getting married.”

Before I answered, Elmer blurted out, “No.”

Melissa covered her mouth and laughed with an ambiguous meaning. Everyone looked at each other and soon someone changed the topic and started playing again.

Elmer looked at me nervously and wanted to say something, but I had already walked to the corner and sat down.

He followed me and poured me juice, but his eyes were always glued to Melissa, who was drinking with someone not far away.

Until the juice overflowed, I was about to remind him.

He suddenly stood up and grabbed Melissa, who was about to take off her clothes after losing a dare game.

“Are you crazy? Do you know what you are doing?”

Melissa shook off his hand and raised her lips, half drunk and half awake. “What does it have to do with you? Who are you to me? Don’t you know I’m single now? Don’t even mention taking off clothes. As long as I want, I can find anyone to have sex with…”

They made a lot of noise and everyone around them subconsciously quieted down. Rolf drunkenly bumped Melissa with his elbow.

Seeing that she was about to fall, Elmer hugged her in his arms without thinking.

Melissa suddenly struggled and burst into tears. “Let me go, since you don’t want me, don’t bother me. I don’t need your pity.”

Elmer’s face was full of heartache that he couldn’t hide and he said loudly with red eyes, “Who said no one wants you? I want you! I only want you!”

Melissa was stunned for a moment and soon shook her head and cried, “You lied to me, you are going to get married soon; you don’t want me. I will find a man now, whoever wants me, I will sleep with him.” She staggered out.

Elmer’s face was livid and he couldn’t bear it anymore. He went forward and picked her up horizontally and left the box quickly. Most of the people at the scene were Elmer’s friends and former classmates.

They seemed to be used to such scenes. They sighed for a while and then played by themselves. No one remembered that Elmer had a forgotten girlfriend sitting in the corner. Only the intern looked at me awkwardly and helplessly. “Mr. Elmer’s girlfriend, are you okay?”

I guess I must look very embarrassed now, which made him look like he was about to cry. I pulled the corners of my numb mouth, but I couldn’t smile, so I had to leave alone.

But just as I walked out of the box, someone suddenly covered my mouth and nose and dragged me back.

Fear made me struggle desperately. The other party was surprisingly strong and the stench of the breath made my hair stand on end.

“Melissa really didn’t lie to me. This delicate skin and tender flesh look so strong.”

I was pushed into an empty box randomly. My hands and feet were numb, looking at the man who pounced on me, I bit my tongue hard to wake up, picked up the ashtray on the coffee table and threw it at him.

“Fuck, you dare to attack me as a prostitute. You are a slut who has been played by a man, pretending to be a chaste heroine.”

He wanted to pounce on me, but there was a sound of something smashing at the door.

The man shuddered, covered his forehead, cursed and ran away.

I forced back my tears, pressed my trembling arms and left the box without stopping.

At the corner of the stairs, Melissa stood there leisurely.

Seeing my torn sleeves, she smiled maliciously. “You came out so soon? Not satisfied, right? How about I find a few more for you?”

I knew long ago that Melissa was a rotten person and her evilness was never hidden from me.

From Lance to Elmer, she never compromised and refreshed my bottom line of disgust again and again.

Thinking of what the man said just now, I couldn’t bear it anymore and slapped her hard.

When I realized something was wrong, she not only didn’t hide, but even raised a familiar grin at the corner of her mouth. She had already rolled down the stairs.

“Melissa!”

The excessive force rushed over and hit me hard against the decorative corner of the handrail.

The sharp pain exploded from my spine, making half of my body unconscious instantly.

When I recovered from the pain, Elmer’s eyes were already on me.

It was the cold, angry and violent aura that I had never seen in the past five years.

“Elmer, Erin just lost Lance and my appearance made her a little stressed. I’m fine, don’t be angry–”

Before she finished speaking, she hissed and held her wrist in pain.

Elmer’s face was like ink. “Erin, apologize.”

His voice was calm, full of a sense of coercion without anger.

I bit my lips tightly, grievances hit my brain and asked with red eyes, “Why don’t you ask what she did?”

Elmer’s face became colder. “No matter what Melissa did, it’s not a reason for you to hurt people. If I hadn’t appeared in time, would you want to kill her? I never knew that you were such a vicious person! I’ll ask you one last time, do you apologize?”

My heart seemed to be pierced by a sharp blade.

For five years, he knew exactly what kind of person I was. I was soft and optimistic and I had never hurt anyone or animals.

He even worried that I would be bullied because of this.

But now, when he met Melissa, he didn’t even bother to check and convicted me.

I tried hard to hold back the tears that were about to overflow and looked at him stubbornly. “I did nothing wrong, I won’t apologize. It was Melissa who hurt people.”

“Elmer, don’t quarrel because of me anymore, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come back, this hand is broken. It’s all my fault.”

Elmer hugged her tightly in his arms, looked at me expressionlessly and suddenly smiled strangely. “Okay, you go back first.”

Then, he picked up Melissa and left without looking back.

I fell down the stairs, the pain in my body and the fear in my heart made me unable to hold back anymore, I lowered my head and let the tears fall.

I cried enough, limped, endured the pain like a needle and left with difficulty.

I took a hot bath at home and wrapped myself tightly in the quilt.

In a daze, someone came to my side and gently stroked my arm.

I woke up suddenly and Elmer’s figure overlapped with the man’s figure for a moment.

I screamed in fear, but he covered my mouth.

“Erin, I spoiled you. But you have to know that you will be punished for doing wrong things.”

He got close to my face, ignored my desperate shaking of my head and kissed my forehead gently.

“It doesn’t matter. You give Melissa a hand as compensation and we’ll be even. Don’t worry, our wedding date will not change, I will take good care of you in the future and I won’t let you owe her.”

He raised the hammer and aimed at my wrist...

***

At dawn, Elmer went to the hospital with a nutritious meal.

I gritted my teeth, endured the pain of the broken hand, took my ID and took a taxi to the airport without stopping.