In the morning, I woke up tired and felt terrible due to stress and lack of sleep. I was inside the publication office with my juniors while recalling the day I confronted her mother about her possible pregnancy.
Flashback…
I came back home late and saw my mother, Lyna De Leon, in the living room. My mother looked like she wanted to explode, but she bit her tongue since my siblings were there. I could feel the dread that she perfectly hid. I felt the same as I looked at her composed face. The seemingly collected woman understood complicated cases, yet she failed to understand her daughter.
“Why are you late? Where were you? I can't contact you for hours, and the security guard back in your school said you left after lunch” There was venom laced in her word
“Wow, sis, talk about obsession. We’re going to need a full-on food date today just to piece all of the puzzles together.” We rode in my car and went to the mall to talk and shop at the same time.“I can’t believe that out of all the guys that you’ve dated, you landed a voodoo addict for a stalker. I mean, I knew you were wild, but I would have never imagined you were wild enough to bag the spawn of Satan’s heart”. Perry tried to lighten up the mood, and I couldn’t help but smile at the support system that I had.“So what did you tell mom and dad for them to let their youngest child come all the way here without a bodyguard?” I’ve noticed; these past few months that the secret bodyguards my parents appointed to tail me, became lesser in numbers, and I assumed Izz
"Please tell me I'm dreaming right now, and this is not real. Please tell me Rian didn't commit suicide," I felt like I could faint, and all I could hear was my ragged breathing and loud heartbeat. "This is all my fault, and I know he wouldn't have killed himself if I didn't leave him." "Shyne, calm down and breathe," Perry held my arm, and Izzy took away my phone. "Don't faint on us, Shyne. You need to calm yourself down and remember that his decision to kill himself was his own choice. Do you hear me, Shyne?" I heard Perry's words, but my vision was getting blurry, and I did my best to avoid passing out completely. Tears kept falling from my eyes as realization dawned on me. "Perry, he killed himself because of me. He killed himself because of me, and he even dared t
The knock on the door repeated again, and this time, it was a bit louder. Izzy was the only one brave enough to open it, and since I've been seeing the shadow all day, I had to hold on to Perry as the three of us went to the door. As soon as Izzy opened the door, no one was there. I screamed as Katherine's smiling face popped up from the left side of the door. "Wow, you guys need to tone down your caffeine intake, you're too jumpy today. You guys need to get a life and get out of this room. You will all turn into one of those hermits if you won’t leave this place." Katherine proceeded to go inside of the house while the three of us calmed ourselves down. She kept laughing, and only stopped a few seconds after we were seated on the sofa. &n
I jumped out of bed, and Perry's head popped up under the covers as my ear-piercing scream echoed in the night. She instantly covered my mouth to stop any scream that threatened to come out."What the heck do you think you're doing under the covers, Perry?! MY GOD! You are going to be the death of me even before this stupid curse could get me!"I felt like I did the ice bucket challenge, and every part of my body was shaking like crazy. It felt like the ice in my veins formed earlier out of fear suddenly melted and turned into lava."You are such a noisy roommate, Shyne. Did you forget that you passed out last night because of the sleeping pills, and you nearly begged me to sleep beside you so you won't be afraid? I only agreed because it saved me time and energy
"Shyne, what is the matter with you? We've called your name three times already. Are you alright?"I snapped out of my hallucination when Perry touched my arm a bit harder than expected. I felt like I was losing my mind, and I began to look straight at Brixton and Rex."I'm sorry, I was in deep thought, and I thought I saw an insect near my leg, so I just froze, but it was nothing."Perry saw right through me and gave me a look that told me we would discuss the scenario later when we got home. I always tried my best to change the subject and focus on the task at hand, which is separating Rex and Brixton."Why are the both of you so tense, Brixton? Seriously, you look like you don't even wanna try the white chocolate
"How does it feel to know the full extent of my love for you?" A man's voice whispered near my ear, but no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't move or open my eyes. "How does it feel to know that my promises were all true and that you could never escape me nor my love for you, Shyne?" My eyes snapped open to search for Rian, but it was pitch black. The chest that I bumped into was nowhere in sight, and I couldn't feel it either. "Are you looking for me, my love? I'm not in front of you, I'm not beside you, nor am I behind you. Look up and look at me, Shyne" I saw Rian hanging with his tongue sticking out long enough to be terrifying like a demon's tongue. His eyes were closed, and his neck was bloody as if the rope was eating his flesh.
"Hey sweetheart, did you miss me, my love?"I screamed, but my voice was stuck in my throat, and I felt a chill run up my spine as Rian walked closer to me. This time, I clearly saw the damage that the rope did to his neck. The flesh was bleeding, and it turned both purple and red.This time, I heard footsteps running in my direction, and I felt relieved when I realized that those footsteps were probably Perry and Kath's. They must have felt that something was wrong or that they heard Rian's voice."Now that you have her, Rian, make sure she doesn't get away from you this time. It will be a pity if you have to sacrifice more for her to be yours."The voice was demonic as if it was multiple men with hoarse voic
The car we rode in was now outside the mansion, and I felt my nerve going haywire. We waited for someone to open the gate, and I saw the look of shock on everyone’s faces as I began to get out of the car with multiple bags as if I was staying for more than two days.I realized that for almost four years, after I changed schools, that I hardly stayed long in our house. Even during the holiday, I celebrated them in our ancestral dwellings all around the country where my grandparents and other relatives lived. It was a rare sight to pack a bag, knowing I would be staying here longer than two days.The people inside the house greeted me respectfully, and as I looked up at the mansion, it felt like I was entering a cage that I wasn’t getting out of. Izzy ran towards me as I was walking up the steps