Jack was surprised by her sudden reaction. “What is it? You saw those visions again?” Jack asked in a worried tone.
Robyn shook her head lightly. “No. But he was here. I felt it.” She stared out the window and wondered if that man was watching her from outside the window. She felt a cold chill down her spine at that very thought. Does that mean he has been watching my every movement?
Jack gave out a sigh that one would have missed if not paying attention and looked around the room, too. “Nobody’s here, Robyn. Go back to sleep, all right? I’ll keep you safe. I promised, didn’t I?” And he pulled her into his arms and rested her head on his chest.
“Did you and Damien skip school?”
Jack chuckled. “Yeah. Can’t believe it myself, too. I mean, me and Quinn.”
“I can understand where Damien is coming from. But you...why?” Robyn asked in a soft voice.
Jack didn’t answer immediately. Robyn knew something was going through his mind. “What do you mean why? We’re friends. And I’m worried about you.”
There was another pause. “Is that it?” Robyn asked, still in his arms.
Jack never answered. He just pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her forehead. She could hear his heart beating madly against his chest but she didn’t push him any further. She could never tell what he was thinking, and what’s true and what’s not. But she knew one thing — she felt safe in his arms.
****
And there she was, standing in the dark again. The eerie tick-tocking sound of the old clock echoed throughout the darkness more loudly than ever; the malicious, bloody red moon hung high up in the inky black sky; the sorrowful but beautifully chilling melody rang in the air when the clock struck twelve; and the dark shadow that passed through her and stabbed her in the abdomen. Then, there were those tiny little nail-like things that stung deep into her skin. The pain increased by the second and it had become unbearable.
Robyn gave a short cry when she woke up, sitting on her bed. The room was dark and so was the sky outside the window. Small drops of rain lashed on the glass and thunders could be heard. It was midnight already. She must have slept for a long time, she thought. And thanks to Jack, she was able to sleep peacefully, until she had the same nightmare again. And evidently, Jack had laid her on her bed and tucked her in before he left.
She turned to her bedside lamp and switched it on. She could still feel the stinging pain from those nails and the chilliness of the thing that the shadow used to stab her with. She couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to forget those pains immediately. That’s when she thought of having a hot bubble bath and she ran off to her bathroom. She turned on all the lights at once and started filling the bathtub with soothing hot water.
The thunders got louder when she walked over to the sink to wash her face a little. She closed the tap and took the towel hanging next to the basin on the wall to dry her face. She looked up at the mirror and saw her own reflection looking back at her — that’s what everybody would expect.
No. She thought it was her in the mirror but when she looked closely, it wasn’t. The girl in the mirror had the same face as Robyn, but she had darker and curlier hair; her eyes were of icy grey; and there was a beauty mark on the corner of her left eye.
Robyn took a step backward, still looking at the face of a stranger on the mirror. Her breathing became heavy, or rather, she couldn’t breathe at all. There was nothing in her mind at that moment, except to remove that face from the mirror. She raised her hands high up and threw them onto the mirror. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” she shouted as loud as she could, hoping that the visions would stop coming to her.
The mirror cracked and a few pieces fell onto the tiled floor. Robyn dropped onto the floor, tired, physically and emotionally. Her throat felt sore from the shout and not long after that, she could feel a stinging pain on both of her hands. They were wet, sort of greasy, and she could get a whiff of the smell of rusty iron. But that didn’t bother her. She’s too tired to think and move again.
About a second later, she could hear Nelly’s non-stop barking and hasty footsteps leading towards her room. “Robyn? Robyn!” Ashley shouted anxiously.
But there was another person with her, its footsteps heavier and faster than Ashley’s. “Lizzie!”
They were so taken aback when they saw her like that in the bathroom that no word could come out from their mouth. They knelt next to her and held her hands. Nelly was circling Robyn anxiously and moaning.
“What happened?” Ashley asked so anxiously that her voice was shaky.
“You...you’re bleeding,” said Jack, stunned. He turned pale, even paler than usual, in a matter of seconds. He breathed rapidly and he looked like he was about to be sick. He ripped his handkerchief into halves and tied one onto each of her hands, while trying his best to look away from her bleeding hands.
Ashley shook her a little on the shoulders. “Robyn, what happened?” She stared at Robyn intensely, demanding an answer from her, and so was Jack.
But she couldn’t even get a word out of her mouth. Her jaw was shaking. The rest of her body felt numb. And her head felt lighter and lighter until she couldn’t sit up straight any longer. Before everything blacked out, she could hear Jack shouting to Ashley. “Take her to the hospital. Now!”
****
When Robyn opened her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness. Her heart skipped a beat. She had become more terrified of the dark than before. But her eyes began to adjust to the darkness and she could see lights coming through the blinds on the windows. And then, she realised she was lying on a bed.
Her body felt stiff, as if she had been immobilised for a long time. She tried to move her hands a little, but she felt something had tied up her hands. She sat up on the bed and brought her hands closer to the dim light rays which came through the blinds. Both of her hands were bandaged; from her palms, and all the way up to her wrists. She tried gripping her hands and they felt a bit raw. She groaned. She massaged her hands gently to make the pain go away.
Robyn looked around the dark room and she saw a figure sitting on a sofa, with its back against the window. It looked like it was sleeping. She cleared her dry throat softly. “Excuse me,” she said politely.
The figure twitched. It sat up straight swiftly. “You’re awake,” it said in a relieved voice. It walked over to her bed and switched on the bedside lamp. The sudden brightness blinded her eyes for a moment. After a few seconds, she could see the figure’s face.
The yellowish light shone on a delicate boy’s face. He had a pair of beautiful golden eyes, and his face was so stunningly beautiful as if it was crafted. Robyn couldn’t say anything when she looked at him. She was only staring at him, eyes unblinking.
“How do you feel?” the boy asked delicately. He looked concerned.
Robyn finally regained herself. “Fine,” she answered softly. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital.” He smiled weakly and caressed her head gently. His touch felt familiar to her; and the more she looked at him, the more it felt like she knew him.
However, she was confused. Why is she in the hospital, she thought. But she was worried about another thing, too. “Does my father know about this?”
He smiled again as if to make her feel relieve. “No. We haven’t called your parents. But Ashley was here just a minute ago. She went back to get some of your belongings. You need to stay here for two nights,” he explained.
But she didn’t understand what he just told her. “Who’s Ashley?” she asked curiously.
The smile on his face disappeared almost immediately. He stared at her like she had just said something strange. “She’s your sister.”
That answer had made her even more confused. “I don’t have a sister. I’m the only child.”
The boy grabbed her on the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “What’s your name?” he asked swiftly.
She told him the only name she remembered she was being called by. “Elizabeth.”
He looked even more worried than before. “No. That’s your middle name. What’s your first name?”
First name? No, that’s not my first name. She searched deep into her mind and remembered very dimly. “Ro...byn.” Yes, that’s her name, she shouted in her head. She looked into those golden eyes again and she remembered seeing them many times before. She did know the boy. “Jack?”
Jack put his palm on her cheek caringly. “Robyn, what was that about?” he asked. Anxiety could be seen in his eyes.
She couldn’t answer his question. She simply didn’t know. She couldn’t understand why she said those things herself. “I...don’t know. I don’t know.” she repeated to herself.
“Do you remember what happened in the bathroom? Or how did you get yourself cut?”
Robyn thought for awhile. It was all blank initially, but the memories began to come back piece by piece. “I had the nightmare again. And then, I was going to take a bath to calm myself but...I saw something...in the mirror,” she explained, more to herself than to Jack.
“What? What did you see?” he asked impatiently.
“Me.”
Jack frowned, so hard that his brows almost stuck together. He obviously thinks she’s crazy, she thought.
“I mean, it was me, but it wasn’t me,” she added after seeing Jack’s worried face. However, that did not help at all as Jack looked even more worried and confused. “The girl looked almost exactly like me, except that she had curlier and darker hair, grey eyes, and a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye,” she said breathlessly. “She was hauntingly beautiful.” Robyn couldn’t believe she said that. She couldn’t believe she just thought someone who may not even be a human beautiful.
“And then, the only thing that kept swirling in my mind at that moment was to get her out of sight.” Robyn looked at her bandaged hands. She didn’t understand why she had chosen to smash up the mirror with her bare hands.
Jack sighed heavily. She didn’t know if he was relieved or he had become more apprehensive. He then chuckled to himself. “We thought you were trying to...kill yourself.”
Robyn gave him a “what?” look. She laughed at his idea of her committing suicide. “I’m sorry I made you worried.”
There was a pause. They were looking at each other, both trying to say something to one another, but no words were sounded.
“Hang on. You were there when I passed out. I thought you left?” Robyn asked curiously.
“I didn’t. I was planning to stay overnight.” Jack smiled gently at her.
“Isn’t that too much? You’re treating me like a baby,” she said, irritated.
“Well, your bodyguard did ask me to look after you while he’s gone,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Damien? Where did he go?”
“Well...he has to take care of something. But he did come back after you were asleep. Speaking of which, where the hell is that guy? He should be here any minute now,” Jack explained while looking at his watch.
The door flung opened almost right after that; at the doorway stood a silhouetted figure, seemingly out of breath.
“Ah, speak of the devil,” Jack scoffed.
Damien quickly went over to her bedside and grabbed her shoulders. “Robyn, are you all right?” He stared at her bandaged hands. “Why the hell did you do that?” Robyn could hear it from his voice that he was fuming. He must have been very worried, she thought.
The only thing Robyn could do was to apologise and explain everything to him. However, she somehow regretted explaining every single detail to him, making him all frustrated.
Though, she was surprised that Damien didn’t jump on the conclusion that Jack was the one who caused her injuries. Instead, they discussed over how to get rid of the stalker and how to keep her safe at all times. It was the first time they actually got along. And the three of them had decided not to tell Ashley about the stalker unless the situation doesn’t get any better, because letting Ashley know would mean they will be letting Robyn’s parents know, too.
After Ashley came back with Robyn’s stuff, the boys somehow succeeded in convincing her to go home, despite her being unhappy about the possibility of them skipping school, and leave Robyn to them. And so, the boys stayed for the night, without the knowledge of the nurses, of course.
****
Jack Kennington closed the white wooden door behind him quietly, trying not to disturb Damien and Robyn who were sleeping soundly. A nurse walked by and looked at him for a moment. She smiled weakly and walked off.
Jack knew she was trying to tell him to leave since it’s already after visiting hours and Robyn wasn’t in much of a life-threatening condition. But who would ever be brave enough to say that to the blood relative of the two directors of the hospital?
Hugh and Annabel Kennington — the directors and owners of the Donnsville Hospital. The staffs were informed immediately after they took over the hospital from the last owner that Jack Kennington is Hugh’s brother, and the hospital rules do not apply to him. He was pretty much known as “the prince” in the hospital. However, he would never step into the hospital unless necessary. It’s much too embarrassing to show his face after such an announcement.
Jack walked towards the vending machine and bought himself a can of soda. He was about to turn around when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He didn’t have to look to know who it was. “Hi, Hugh.”
“Why do you always do that? At least take a look at people first before you greet them,” said a boyish voice unhappily.
Jack hove a sigh and turned to look at a face that was so alike to his. The man had short brownish red hair, slightly wavy, and a pair of piercing golden eyes. He was only slightly taller than Jack. His face did not give people the impression of a twenty-nine years old, dependable and accomplished doctor. Instead, people would think he’s a good-for-nothing college playboy at first glance, much attributed to his exceptionally beautiful boyish face.
“So how’s your girlfriend doing?” said Hugh with a big smile on his face.
“That’s not funny,” Jack replied emotionlessly.
“What? So she’s not your girlfriend?”
“We broke up two years ago. You knew that. So stop teasing.”
“Ah...yes, yes. It happened two years ago around this time. If I remember correctly, it was the full moon of September.” Hugh gave Jack another seemingly innocent big smile.
“You don’t have to remind me about that. I could never forget it even if I want to,” said Jack before taking a sip of his soda.
Hugh raised an eyebrow, not convinced by Jack at all.
“We’re friends. Just friends and nothing more. Savvy?”
“Savvy.” There was a pause. “So how is she?” Hugh added.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Like you really care.”
“Well, it’s only proper to ask. Anyway, I reckoned you won’t be coming home tonight?”
“No,” Jack answered flatly.
Hugh sighed. “Annabel is not going to be happy,” he added in a sing-song tone.
Jack patted on Hugh’s shoulder. “It’s your job to take care of that.” Jack gave Hugh the same smile Hugh gave him earlier. Hugh could only laugh bitterly.
There was another pause.
“Hey, Hugh. Do you know why that best friend of yours kinda went cuckoo back then? Something really appalling must’ve happened to make him went into slumber. Did he, perhaps, lose something?” Jack asked solemnly, determined to have a satisfying answer.
Hugh eyes were widened. “Am I hearing it correctly? You concerning about his affair?
“Would you please just answer my questions?”
Hugh pondered a moment and cleared his throat. “Well, he didn’t really tell me anything about why he was so grief-stricken. But he did mention that he lost something and he came here to look for it.”
Jack did not say anything. He stood there, deep in his own thought.
****
The next day Stella came visiting after school, finally found out about Robyn being hospitalised when she called Ashley to ask about Robyn’s absences. She walked into the room quietly and threw her bag on the sofa. She crossed her arms and stared at Robyn, who was sitting on the bed, and the boys, who were standing beside the bed.
“I am so freaking happy that you guys forgot to tell me about this,” Stella said sarcastically.
“Well, we didn’t go to school, so we didn’t get to tell you about it,” Damien explained matter-of-factly, and smiled.
Robyn and Jack just smiled apologetically at her.
“And that’s where the best invention from Alexander Graham Bell comes in — a phone!”
The three of them went quiet as they watched Stella pacing back and forth at the end of the bed.
“Can’t believe that nobody even bothered to tell me that my best friend is hospitalised! Absolutely unbelievable.” She stopped suddenly and looked at Robyn. “Anything else that I don’t know?”
Robyn blinked. She turned to the boys, biting her lower lip. And they gave her the same look that she gave them.
Stella was completely dumb stricken when she saw their reactions. “What now?”
Robyn knew she had to tell her about everything, just because she was her best friend. And she did, after pondering for a long time. Stella gave the same reaction as Jack and Damien did when Robyn told them everything.
“Wow,” that was the only thing Stella managed to say.
There was a pause. Everybody else was looking at Stella. She only stood there, blinking her eyes.
“By the way, did anything happen in school?” Damien asked.
“Not that I know. Everything was just like usual — going to boring classes, Leroy torturing every student he could get his hands on...nothing much, really, except that Leroy has been in a really bad mood since yesterday and it’s unfortunate for a lot of people,” Stella said tonelessly, like she couldn’t be bothered. “Oh, and the two of you—” she pointed at Damien and Jack “—have gotten yourselves into a week worth of detention.”
“What?”
“Aww, man...”
Both Jack and Damien voiced at the same time. Robyn giggled.
“Why was he so grumpy?” Robyn asked without knowing that she did.
“Do you really think I would know?” Stella raised an eyebrow. “Though, I heard he’s been like that when he knew the three of you weren’t in school.”
Jack and Damien gave each other a look.
Robyn was quiet. Somehow, she knew Leroy’s bad mood had something to do with her. Maybe she’s being full of herself, she thought. And she slapped herself mentally. It felt weird to have her head filled with Leroy.
The three of them stayed with Robyn until Ashley came in the evening, being off from work in usual time without any extra hours. It was then that Robyn begged to be released from the hospital. It killed her to be restrained in such a dull place, even if it’s only for another night. And she knew the boys wouldn’t go away until she’s released. She tried to convince Ashley that she’s still sane and that she won’t do anything to hurt herself again. It could be seen in Ashley’s eyes that she was only half convinced but she agreed to talk to the doctor in the end. And as a result, Robyn was allowed to go home on that very night.
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