Carol sat on the living room sofa, occasionally glancing at the door, then checking the clock. It's ten o'clock, but Troy isn't home yet. Carol thought about Troy's words earlier. If it's night, the road is dark. Maybe… something happened to that man.
Carol then remembered, on the road earlier, she had seen the figures of people in black coats. A moment, before she retrieved Troy's cell phone that had fallen in the car earlier. Carol was sure the men were looking for her. However, after this day of nothing happening, Carol was worried.
What if those guys catch Troy? Maybe they caught Troy trying to find out about Carol. Since Carol is still fine up until now, it could be that the man refuses to say anything and …
Carol immediately stood up at the thought of the possibility. She looked around frantically. She had to do something. First, she had to call Troy and check on the man, but Carol didn't know how to contact him.
She had to calm down and think. Now, she had to check into the restaurant. If something really bad happened to Troy, she would ask James to report it to the authorities. Without waiting any longer, Carol dashed out.
However, as soon as Carol stood on the main street in front of the house, she froze. As Troy said, the path was dark. There was a street light but at least it was still about twenty meters from where she was standing. Carol took a deep breath, tried to calm herself and started walking down the dark street.
However, when she came under the first street light she passed, she heard footsteps behind her. Carol thought it was just another citizen. Carol stopped and was about to turn around, but the man also stopped. Carol didn't turn around.
She continued walking and the person behind her stepped back. After the first light, the street went dark again. Carol quickened her pace, but the pace behind her was also accelerating. Until finally, her fast pace turned into running.
Carol then sees the garden Troy had mentioned. The garden where Troy found her. The garden that connected to the forest. If Carol gets in there, she can hide . After all, she had never entered there.
Carol was about to turn into the garden when someone grabbed her arm. Carol screamed and struggled, trying to fight back, but she heard Troy's voice,
"What are you doing?!"
Carol stopped struggling and turned around. She was instantly relieved when she saw Troy who was there. Remembering what had made her run earlier, Carol turned towards Troy's house, but no one was there.
"Where are you going at this time of night?!" snapped Troy, making Carol look back at him.
"J-just now … there was someone behind me." Carol pointed at Troy's house. "You didn't see it?"
Troy frowned. "Are you sure?"
Carol nodded. "When I stopped, he stopped too. When I quickened my pace, he was also walking fast. That's why I ran earlier," she explained.
"Then why did you want to enter the garden? Do you know, the garden ends in a forest and…"
"Precisely because I know!" interrupted Carol in frustration. "At least, I can hide there."
Troy snorted in disbelief. "Hide in there? You can die there. After all, no one is after you."
"I am not lying! There was actually someone following me earlier!" Carol tried to convince the man.
"I didn't see anyone other than you running earlier," said the man.
Carol shook her head. "Since the road is dark, you might not see it, but just now…"
"You may be mistaken. It could be the residents who walked with you for fear of walking alone," said Troy.
Carol thought about the possibility. "But why doesn't he talk to me? That was really scary!" The possibility suddenly annoyed Carol. She looks like an idiot now.
"When you're done exercising, let's go home," said Troy.
"Exercise?" Carol hissed in annoyance.
"You ran all the way here, you really worked hard." The man shook his head in amazement, then walked first toward his house.
Carol looked at the man's back and raised a fist, but immediately lowered it when Troy said,
"You want to stand there all night? There is a ghost in the garden."
Carol turned to the garden and immediately chased after Troy. "You think I believe?"
"I've seen it myself. A female ghost wearing white clothes and bleeding…"
"Enough," said Carol. "I'm not curious."
After saying that, Carol walked faster past the man.
***
Troy walked around the house to check before going inside. He made sure the front door, back, and all the windows were locked, before going into the kitchen, where Rose was standing in front of the refrigerator dreaming, bottle in hand.
"What happened to you?" asked Troy.
Rose blinked, her gaze focused on Troy for a moment, then the girl shook her head. "Just thinking about what happened earlier. I should have looked back and checked who was following me. Instead of running like an idiot." The girl snorted in amusement.
No. In fact, the girl could be in danger if she turned around.
"But why were you out at this time of night?" asked Troy. "I told you not to go out alone at night. The road is dark."
"Oh, that's right. It's your fault," the girl accused.
Troy raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
Rose nodded. "You didn't give me a cell phone, so I couldn't reach you."
"What is going on? Has anyone come to the house?" Troy suddenly remembered the people in the black coats.
Rose shook her head. "I just… thought you might have been kidnapped on the way home."
"What?"
"It's ten o'clock and you're not home yet. How can I not be worried?" shout the girl.
Troy blinked. "You… worried?"
Rose nodded.
Troy stared at the girl intently. In all his life, he had never heard of anyone worrying about him. No one was worried about him. No one ever felt the need to do that. Apart from this girl whose identity Troy didn't even know yet.
"How can I not be worried? If something happens to you, what about me?" The girl pointed to herself. "I can't even remember who I am, no one knows me in this village. How can I live alone here without you?"
Troy snorted in amusement at that. Worried about Troy? It seemed she was only worried about herself.
"If something bad happens to me, go to James. He'll take good care of you," Troy said.
Rose stared at him, looking disapproving. "Can you easily shift your responsibilities?"
Troy raised his eyebrows. "Shifting my responsibilities?"
Rose nodded. "I'm your responsibility. You found me, so you should be responsible for me."
Troy snorted again in amusement. "That is true. It was my fault for bringing the garden ghost to my house." Troy turned and went into the living room.
"Wait. What did you say? Garden ghost? That female ghost in white and bloody clothes?" Rose sounded annoyed.
"That's what I saw when I first saw you," Troy replied casually.
"Hey, you!" shouted Rose angrily.
Troy smiled at the girl's angry voice. Her voice goes up an octave when she's angry. Casually, Troy threw himself on the sofa and lay there.
"I'm talking to you!" cried Rose.
Troy closed his eyes, trying to hold back a smile.
"Open your eyes!" the girl shouted.
Troy refused to do so. However, when for a while there was no more sound, Troy finally opened his eyes and he found the girl's face so close above his. Troy frowned.
"You weren't really sleeping, were you?" the girl hissed. "You just want to piss me off."
Troy cleared his throat. "It's late. Go to sleep," he whispered, closing his eyes again.
Troy heard the girl grumble and walked away. As soon as he heard the bedroom door close, Troy opened his eyes again and sighed. He rubbed his chest which for some reason felt so itchy. Was it because he hadn't showered in the afternoon?
Tsk, it's never been like this before. Is there something wrong with his body? Maybe allergies? Troy thought of many possibilities to find the reason behind this strange reaction of his body.
***