The mall from Rocío's point of view.

Then, Charlie returned to Lacey's page, back in front of her, and all around her. And once inside, Charlie went looking for Rocio. You'd think Rocio already understands that she isn't able to hide from Charlie, and that she'd find her one way or another. But not only was Rocio good at hiding when she didn't want to talk (and although there weren't several instances of Rocio completely disappearing when she didn't feel like talking, they weren't zero), but Rocio also had fun watching Charlie search for her. But when she was connected to the computer, it was much easier to find her anyway.

But Charlie didn't care if Rocio wanted to have fun watching her search for her; it was absurd to her, but absurd in a way that amused her, and she'd let her do it as much as she wanted. So Charlie started playing the game of hide-and-seek they played so often.

Half an hour passed, and Charlie was already losing hope. But suddenly, the Lacey in Lacey's wardrobe finally looked at her.

"Hi," Charlie let out a small squeal. Rocio, now looking more like her real self, looked at her, her face completely neutral and unreactive. “Scaredy cat.”

"You scared me... you were totally silent..." Charlie sighed in relief.

"You're welcome," Rocio smiled, her smile completely fake. It was noticeable; it seemed practiced. "What do you want today? What’s that about Grace?"

Charlie looked at her in surprise.

"Wow... your hearing is amazing, isn’t it?"

"Just tell me and get this over with, so I can kick you out of my heaven."

"Okay, okay..." Charlie took a breath. "I wanted to ask you if you remembered... sometime when you and Grace went to the mall, and what happened before that."

Rocio looked at Charlie, somewhat surprised, and began to think. When she and Grace went to the mall...

A new file was added.

"I have mixed feelings about that memory," Rocío murmured.

"If you don't mind...I'd like to hear your point of view...Tell me everything! No fear! I don't judge!"

Rocío remained silent. Everyone said that. Grace said that.

"Okay...but the moment you say anything, you’re out of my heaven," Rocío said, her voice frank and cold, but with an underlying vulnerability.

"Tell me. You have the right to do anything to me if I say something wrong."

Rocío looked at her, confused. Did she really not care? If so, then she could start telling her side of the story:

A few weeks had passed since they went out to eat. Rocío was really happy with Grace. She was good, kind, intelligent, she was perfect. She was Rocío's happiness. But nothing is perfect. There was a problem:

She promised Grace she would go to the mall.

And yes, this wasn't a big problem for normal people. But Rocio wasn't normal people, she was...something. And for her, it was a problem. A huge one.

It wasn't the fear of what people would say, nor the discomfort of everyone's gaze on her—she'd gotten used to that. It was the clothes.

It was obvious that Grace would want her to try on "feminine" clothes, what girls were wearing these days. And she felt nauseous just imagining it.

She didn't hate feminine clothes, she didn't hate the style girls were wearing these days; in fact, she adored it...she loved all those clothes with all her heart, that's why she put them on Lacey. But if there was one thing she hated, it was her own body.

Rocio was skinny; although she'd gained weight now because she was eating better, she was still skinny. But that was the feature that mattered least to her. What mattered most were the scars.

Oh, the scars, there were one all over her body, each one telling a story of abuse, mistreatment, and neglect. Each one told a story that Rocío didn't want to remember. But no matter how much she didn't want to remember it, it was still there. Marked not only on her body, but in her mind as well. And it didn't seem to want to leave her alone anytime soon.

And the place where there were more of these scars—her legs, oh how she hated her legs. He used to use them to put out his cigarettes as punishment. They were completely gray, covered in burns that she had to treat herself, or that got bad enough to send her to the hospital so the school wouldn't say anything. Rocío hated her legs, every mark, every trace, each one a memory she'd rather leave forgotten.

And besides, God. What would Grace think? Any normal person would look at her legs with a look of horror and disgust. Rocío couldn't wear shorts, otherwise they would see the horror that were her burned legs.

And showing her arms? Oh no, no, no. Marks from her hanging out with Tina, desperate to see her, cuts and cuts from frustration with herself, bruises and more scars from the incidents with him... No. Her arms either.

She couldn't take off her jacket in the summer, no matter how hot it was, she couldn't. Nor could she put on shorts.

"...I...didn't like revealing clothes," Rocío excused herself to Charlie. Of course she wouldn't tell her all that.

"Why?"

Silence. She wouldn't tell her that.

So, she tried her best to refuse going to the mall. Every time Grace asked, she received a "maybe another day."

"So...Rocio, are you free today?"

"No, I have to do something at home...maybe another day."

"Damn, why are you always so busy?" Grace seemed to believe it. This was good.

Rocio would just keep going and going, until Grace completely forgot about the mall. Or so she thought.

But one day...

Rocio walked around the school, looking for Grace, until she finally found her. She touched her shoulder, startling her. But then she turned around and saw her.

"Hi," Rocio greeted, as if scaring her hadn't been intentional.

"Ah! Oh...it was you...hi, Rocio," Grace greeted back.

But they didn't talk for long.

When Rocio spoke to her, Grace seemed disinterested, her mind in another world. She only responded vaguely.

And then suddenly...

"Oh, Rocio, I have to go." Grace grabbed her things.

"Where?" Rocio asked, but Grace had already left.

Rocio just sighed, watching Grace leave.

What did she do wrong? Was she mad at her? Those questions popped into her mind, but then she remembered: she had to stay positive. So she pushed all those thoughts to the back of her mind.

Maybe Grace had something important to do! Also, Grace had a lot of friends, so maybe that's why.

Yep, that must be why. She has to hang out with her other friends too, right?

She just wished she was her only friend...

"NO. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, ROCIO! DON'T THINK LIKE THAT!" She told herself. She had to be positive... not possessive... they're similar words, but they don't mean the same thing...

Then she tried to calm down, but when it was time for class...

Rocio sat down and saw that Grace had gone off with a friend. She left her alone.

Well, Grace had to spend time with her friends too, right?

If Grace was happy, she was happy too. She'd come back sometime.

Yeah…

She felt terribly lonely. Oh, how happy she was when she stopped sitting alone. She wanted those moments back. But hey! Grace would come back, so she pushed that feeling back down.

Then, a whole day passed, and Grace didn't speak to Rocio. She didn't even say hello. She tried to stay positive and think of the best. She just sighed and went home. But she couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness. But, hey, she'd talk to her tomorrow, right?

Another day passed, another day that Rocio spent with her. Alone. Grace only said hello and goodbye, their conversations ended in "how are you?" and then Grace went off with her friends.

But Grace hadn't spoken to them in a while; perhaps she wanted to make up for it and didn't have time to talk to her. Besides, Grace's life seemed busier and more fun than hers; she was probably very busy.

And so one day passed, and another, and another. Rocío excused the fact that Grace didn't talk to her more, surely she had this, surely she had that...

It was increasingly difficult to stay positive.

"And... God..." Rocío asked herself whether to continue telling her or not. Charlie noticed her doubtful face.

"Is everything okay there, Rocío?" she asked. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to tell me, but also, consider that I'm not going to judge you. You can tell me anything, I won't judge you.."

Rocío remained silent, thinking.

"You're... you're lying." Charlie tilted her head.

"What? Why do you think I'm lying?" she asked.

"Grace said the same thing. I won't judge you, it's okay to tell me, and then she laughed at how pathetic I am. You're no different, Charlie, so don't even try." Charlie took a step back, thinking of what to say.

"Rocío..." she began, taking a step forward. Rocío took one back. "I... I'm not like that. Look..."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, DAMN IT!" Rocío yelled, trying to push Charlie away from her.

"Rocío, I know several people treated you badly, but that doesn't mean I’ll treat you badly too!" she tried to console her.

"AND HOW DO I KNOW THAT?! HUH!? IS THERE PROOF?!" Rocío was trembling, as was her voice. She wasn't angry. She was scared.

"I..." Charlie thought. "Look, what if we make a deal?" Rocío was taken aback, calming down a little.

"W-what’s the deal?" she asked.

"If I react wrongly, or if you feel hurt, feel free to kick me out of your heaven. Don't let me in again, don't even let me open the HTML file. Cut me off completely, I’d deserve it."

Rocío thought.

"But..." Her voice softened compared to her earlier screams. "You...you have every right to think I'm pathetic...just look at me...I'm a mess..."

"No, Rocío, no one is pathetic. If something made you feel bad, it's that serious. You're not being exaggerated. So what if you're a mess? No one's perfect; we're a, right?"

"But I'm the worst..."

"And that doesn't matter, Rocío. We all fall deep at least once in our lives." Charlie tried to get closer without upsetting Rocio: "I won't judge you, and if I do, please don't let me in here again, okay?"

"...Okay..." Then Rocio continued talking.

Her doubts grew and grew:

"What if Grace was angry with me?"

"What if I said something hurtful and didn't realize it?"

"What if she got mad at me for refusing to go to the mall?"

Grace was angry, this became clear to Rocio. And with this, her self-loathing grew.

"I'm stupid."

"Why can't I be normal?"

"I'm the worst person in the world."

"Grace doesn't deserve me."

Charlie looked at her. She expected the typical "you're being exaggerated." But she didn't say anything, she just listened. She didn't look at her with a face that seemed to feel pity (something she hated so much). She wasn't angry, or mocking.

Rocio felt strange.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Grace is seriously a selfish person..."

"...I'm fine. I'll be fine, it was nothing." Rocio rejected the consolation and continued telling.

The loneliness she felt only grew.

The weeks passed, and every day that Grace didn't speak to her, Rocio felt more and more depressed. She didn't sleep, but getting out of bed was still hard. Why would she do that? To go to college and pursue a future? Grace hated her, it didn't matter.

Then, one day Rocio officially ran out of energy to get up. She didn't have a shred of motivation. Why would she... Grace hated her.

"Then one day... I just didn't go to college... I got tired of being ignored... I preferred to stay home," Rocio lied. She wouldn't tell Charlie about this.

It was already 9 AM and Rocio hadn't gotten up. She felt so... lazy. What happened to all that motivation she once had? All that productivity?

Oh, right.

Grace hates her.

There was no point in doing all that.

Rocio began to reflect on everything she did in those days. Marking every little mistake she made, everything she did to make Grace hate her.

And so the hours passed, with her drowning in self-loathing.

Rocio checked for a message on Her phone. None. Four in the afternoon, and no one seemed to care about her disappearance. She should just disappear.

Rocio spent the rest of the day sleeping. That's what she did until 10 PM. But her distraction from everything bad was invaded by nightmares.

She woke up. Nope. She wouldn't go back to sleep.

But now she'd have to spend the rest of the night thinking about...that...

If only she hadn't been so stupid...

If only she were prettier.

If only he hadn't...

Rocio was crying. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to think anymore. She finally found the energy to get up and went to her computer, entering the world of the internet. She went to that recently founded YouTube site. It was great for distraction.

"I didn't want to see Grace, I felt ashamed..." Rocio excused herself for staying in her room all day. Not even dead would she tell her all that.

And she remembered Lacey's games. What would happen to them? Grace hated her, so they wouldn't continue, right?

She could ask her... but the thought that she hated her kept her stuck in her room. She would not get out.

And so it went until 5 AM. Thinking, and trying to distract herself. Until she had had enough.

"It was time to end this once and for all! If Grace hated me so much, she should say it to my face!" she exclaimed to Charlie.

Rocío got up slowly so she wouldn't pass out after not eating for a whole day, and went to take a shower. Today she would talk to Grace, no matter what.

She put on a white T-shirt and her typical black jacket. She grabbed a piece of bread so she wouldn't faint. Today she would confront Grace.

Rocío remained silent.

"So... Did you do it?"

"... Well... you see... uh..." Rocío hesitated whether to continue or not, but Charlie didn't seem to be quite judging her. "No."

"Why?" She asked.

"Errr... you see..." Rocío let out a small, nervous laugh.

That day, Rocío arrived early. She stared out the window, looking for a certain redhead at the entrance.

Until she felt someone grabbing her from behind.

Rocío felt a wave of panic drown her.

"Surprise!" she exclaimed. Rocío let out a small scream and turned around. It was Grace.

"O-oh! It 's you..." Rocío sighed. "Hi..."

"Hey Rocío!" Grace greeted her. "How are you?"

Rocío was slow to respond. Grace had taken her by surprise, and she was still processing what had happened. But then she replied:

"Oh... I... uh...am... fine..."

"That's great!" Grace grabbed a page with her notes. "Here you go, since you were absent yesterday."

Rocío looked at the notes: at the bottom, it said, big and in a different color, red. To be specific: "See you at 4 PM."

"Thanks..." She already knew what this was going to be about.

"You're welcome!" Grace looked out the window.

"Well, see you." Grace waved to Rocio again.

"See you at 4 PM."

So that's where it would end, huh? That's where Grace would confess that she hates her. That's where it would all end.

Rocio... she didn't want it to end there. Rocio wanted to stay with Grace... maybe... she could fix things, right?

So she waited, and waited until four.

She was in the bathroom, leaning against the wall, watching the minutes tick by on her phone. She wanted already wanted 4PM to come by, but at the same time, she wanted so badly to stay there forever. For time to stop, and for her to never see Grace again. She didn't want to look at her. She felt ashamed, she felt a lot of self-loathing. This was all because of her. If she hadn't made that mistake—whatever it was—she would have been fine. If it she hadn’t done that, this wouldn't have ended here.

But sadly, time passes faster when you least want it to.