dyad | ᵇᵒᵒᵏ ᵒⁿᵉ

¹⁸ ⁻ ᵗʰᵉ qᵘᵉᵉⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵉʳ ᵖᵘⁿᵏ. ᵖᵗ ²

                                     ¹⁸ ⁻ ᵗʰᵉ qᵘᵉᵉⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵉʳ ᵖᵘⁿᵏ. 

                                             ᵖᵗ ²

"I have a rose, a rose that's lost all it's thorns, and is now bare, unable to brace the world's harsh reality."

❀

I turned around, going up the stairs. Josiah followed, and I tried to close the door in his face, but he slid in the room before I could. I stood by the window, unable to turn around and face his disappointed expression. My heart was racing, and I couldn't stop playing with my fingers. "You want to explain why you lied to me, huh?" He asked me, trying to mask his obvious anger in my voice.

"Because..I didn't want you to not talk to me because of my status."

I heard him sigh. The tension between us was thick, and it was almost sucking the life out of the room. The feeling described my room. I felt the same way. Sad. My room barely had anything in it, and the things that were in the room looked like they were falling apart at the seams. I sighed, not saying a word, only wrapping her arms around herself.

"I was afraid that you would tell everyone that I had lied to you, and acted like I was a Bloom. I was scared, alright?" I briefly looked over my shoulder at him, "I was scared that if you found out who I really was, you wouldn't like me anymore. I hear the way people talk about Wilts at school, Josiah. I just didn't want to be humiliated in front of everyone."

I couldn't read his expression, but he seemed hurt, disappointed that I had lied to him. I had lied to him, and led him to believe that I was a Bloom. Now he was seeing things for what it really was, and I was afraid.

Terrified.

"What makes you think that I'd humiliate you?" He asked me.

I didn't answer, and he began to tap his foot. It wasn't hard to see that I was embarrassed. I hoped he could understand why I lied to him, and I hoped he could imagine himself in my shoes. But why was I afraid? He's shown me respect, and that he didn't care what anyone thought about us. Maybe it was his kindness that had scared me. I had grown up around ignorant Blooms, who talked down on Wilts. What else was I supposed to think?

I understood his hurt though. He thought I trusted him enough to tell him everything, like he had did with me. But what if he was in my shoes? Would he have told me that he was a Wilt? It's not something that you go around parading.

"How'd you become a Wilt?" He asked me, slowly.

The question hit me like a bullet.

"W-What?" I fully turned to him, really looking at him. I was taken aback by his question, and I was debating whether to tell him or not. "What did you just ask me?" I questioned, tears building up in my eyes.

Just thinking about it brought me back, to that terrifying night. 

It put me in the world of hurt. I screamed, I begged, I tried to do everything to get him to stop. I felt so stupid for trusting him. I was humiliated. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him, but I didn't listen to my friend, and I had paid the price for it. I was naive, to think that he would want me, fourteen year old, me. I felt even worse about it when I had told my so called "parents". They acted like I ruined their life, but really, I was the one in shambles. 

"I want to know, how you became a Wilt."

He sat down on my bed, looking at me with a sad expression. He leaned over, and pulled me toward him. Looking up at me, he took hold my hands, squeezing tightly. My heart skipped a beat, his eyes staring into mine, looking for an answer. "I want the truth, Monroe. I need the truth. Joshua said that someone hurt you..but..how bad did they hurt you?" He was pleading with me, begging to know what happened. 

I couldn't hold my tears anymore.

He sat me in his lap, beginning to cry in my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her close to me. "I promise, I won't tell anyone. It'll be our secret," he told me, softly. He wiped my tears, pushing my hair out of my face. Maybe it would be good to let it out. My shoulders felt heavy from carrying that weight. I leaned in close to his ear, letting the words slip off my tongue.

"I was raped."

He squeezed her side tightly, listening to her sob. It felt good to get it out. My shoulders felt a whole lot lighter, but hopefully, he wouldn't think any less of me. I had my innocence stolen. A sick, cold-hearted person had destroyed my confidence, and self-esteem. It was like..I could almost see it, and hear my own screams. I took a deep breath, biting my lip. "It wasn't my fault," I whimpered, over and over. He nodded, kissing my forehead.

"I know it wasn't, Monroe."

We both sighed, and he linked our hands. Sitting in silence, He rubbed her thigh, my leg tingling where his hand left. I started to feel warm all over, and I gasped, feeling his lips brush against mine. He started a gentle kiss, and it took me by surprise, Josiah turning me so that I straddled him. He ran his tongue over my bottom lip, and I opened up, his tongue slipping inside. My lips tingled, and I felt on cloud mine as we kissed, my pulse racing. It felt like my whole body was on fire. He unlaced our fingers, his hands sliding down my back. 

He pulled away from the kiss, and I felt like for once..I didn't feel like I had to act like something I wasn't. I truly felt like I could tell him anything. We had kissed. Josiah gave me a soft smile, toying with my peace bracelet.

"What was that for?" I asked him.

"I wanted my Yin-Yang Queen to know how I truly feel about her," he said, looking down. "You mean so much to me, and now you know it. I'm sorry that happened to you, my Queen." 

I nodded, blushing at his words. He was so sweet, it was crazy that he liked me. He bit his lip, hugging me tightly. "We'll be truthful with each other, right?" He asked. "From now on, I'll tell you everything." He pecked my lips, and I giggled. 

"Am I still your Peace Punk?"

I softly smiled, my cheeks heating up.

"Of course."