Hannah leaves the office, forcing a smile as she says goodbye to her co-workers. She has been out of humor for days, and everyone can see it, but no one asks what's going on because they realize that the girl won't tell them anything about her private life.
She is a person who prefers to keep everything deep inside.
It's already getting colder outside, so the brunette rubs her shoulders as she walks outside. Dark clouds are beginning to appear in the sky. It's going to rain.
It's long since fallen apart in her life, and there's no indication that the sun will come out in the near future to brighten her cloudy mood.
She looks in her purse to find her car remote control, but her attention is caught by a black Mercedes that stops by the sidewalk. Joseph opens the passenger-side window and looks at her with a grim expression. With a movement of his head, he shows her to get inside.
— Did you remember that you have a girlfriend? — Hannah is furious, considering that for the past few days he has only written messages to her, constantly clinging and resenting her. Now he appears out of nowhere, pulling up in front of the office where she works, in a new car. — I see you have replaced me with a breakaway toy. Great.
— But humor — mutters the boy, grimacing. — I did not replace you with a new toy. It's a gift from my father, we came to an agreement.
— Oh yeah? You told him that you would break up with me, and he presented you with a luxury car?
Joseph can no longer stand her whining and gets out of the car. He slams the door and faces her. He tilts his face and looks at her with stern eyes.
— Do you know that I'm the one who should hold a grudge against you? You don't trust me after so many years of relationship.
— And how am I supposed to trust you when you deny that you had nothing to do with Solar's death, and I know very well that you initiated everything!!!?
— Well, that's right, I initiated it, not brought it to fruition! — He raises his voice, drawing the attention of passersby. He takes a deep breath to control his nerves since they are both in a public place. — You got hooked and keep talking about it. I didn't do anything to that girl, damn it! Frankly speaking, she had problems with her head, and you are becoming more and more like her — he finishes in a whisper.
— I'm becoming more like her? — She looks at him with disbelief in her eyes. — Maybe it's your influence that makes people sick in the head?
Hannah realizes that she overreacted, and now she can't take those words back.
Occasionally, she should just bite her tongue.
— So this is how you perceive me? — She sees pain in his eyes. — If it's because of me that you feel bad and get tired of my company, then why are you with me?
— Joseph... — The girl touches his hand and closes her eyelids, trying to alleviate the situation, but when she opens her eyes, she perceives that he is disappointed with the way she is treating him. — Sorry, that's not what I meant.
— A man in nerves says exactly what he means, so don't try to take back your words now, Hannah.
The brunette puts her hand to her forehead, feeling slightly dizzy. She blames it on low blood pressure.
— I'm just angry at you for not wanting to confess the truth to me. If you are not guilty of anything, why are you making me lose trust in you? Our relationship is heading in the wrong direction. I'm afraid of that. It's never been this bad before.
— And you think it's my fault? Because I would rather not tell you anything about that cursed student!!!? — Hannah feels tears gathering under her eyelids. — You also hid secrets about your past for many years, and I didn't forcefully try to get it out of you. I waited until you were ready to tell me about it. Why? Because I know that there are issues when a person has to be willing to open up about them.
She doesn't want their relationship to be like this. It hurts her that she introduced complications into their relationship, especially since Joseph has a difficult character, and it will be difficult for her to fix it.
Should she just let the Solar thing go before she leads the person she loves most in the world to leave her?
— I'm sorry — she says in a contrite voice, lifting her face and looking into his eyes. — I realize that I've been acting strangely lately. At one time, everything came down on my head, and I'm lost.
— So shouldn't I be by your side and support you? Apparently you prefer to dump it all on me, not trusting me for a penny. I feel hurt, Hannah, and very much so.
The girl embraces his hand and strokes it with cold fingers.
— I feel a black cloud hovering over my head. I want to get away from it, I ideally would like to disappear from this place. I am afraid that any moment it will thunder and my whole life will be in ruins. If you also turn away from me, I can't cope.
He lowers his head and closes his eyes, feeling tears gathering under his eyelids. A moment later, she hears him sighing loudly.
— Come here, baby.
He grabs her forearm and pulls her close. He embraces her tightly, and she takes advantage of this and presses her face into his chest.
— You are the person I trust the most, Joseph. Never think otherwise — she says in a whisper.
He rests his chin against her head, looking at the young woman who is standing in front of the entrance to the building. He thinks he knows her. And when she smiles at him, he has no doubt about it.
It's Lana.
— Hannah? — The brunette looks back, hearing a familiar voice. A young woman approaches them with a smile on her face. — I was hoping to take you out for coffee, but I see you already have company.
— This is my boyfriend, Joseph.
— I know, we know each other.
Hannah crinkles her eyebrows, feeling a slight sting of jealousy.
Is there even one person he doesn't know?
— This comes as a giant surprise to me. — She tries to make her voice sound gentle. — I would not have guessed that Joseph even knows you — she turns to Lana.
— We used to attend the same parties.
— What a small world this is — mutters Hannah, causing a faint smile to appear on the boy's face.
He can see that she is jealous.
— You've grown weaker, Scott. — The boss's daughter looks delighted with this meeting.
— It sounds like you're trying to hit on me, so I'll remind you that my girlfriend is standing next to us.
Lana attempts to maintain a fake smile.
— It was just a compliment, come on. Hannah is certainly not angry. She has managed to get to know me.
— That's why I'm surprised she still wants to go for coffee with you — Joseph replies to her dryly. — Hannah is the only woman who can pay me compliments, so next time just bite your tongue.
His approach to Lana is quite cool. That's odd, considering that she looks happy. No doubt she enjoys Joseph's presence.
— You have lost your youthful features, but not your character.
— And that character will not allow you to take my girlfriend out for coffee. I do not wish it. — He grabs Hannah's hand and opens the passenger side door for her.
The girl gets in obediently, guessing that Joseph in no way has any affection for Lana. She is happy about this, but on the other hand, she is a little worried because this meeting may reflect on her work.
Let's just hope Lana doesn't hold it against her.
— Do you dislike me that much, Joseph? — The young woman crosses her arms on her chest, not taking her eyes off him.
— You are impossible to like, false woman — he says a little quieter, sitting down behind the wheel. — And you don't keep in touch with her, even if she is your boss's daughter — he turns to Hannah. — She is the type of person who only pretends to be friendly, while in her head she devises how to stab you in the back.
— Am I a child? — The brunette is outraged by his behavior.
— No, but you are naive and everyone around you is trying to take advantage of it.
Is she, in his eyes, a little sheep that he has to protect from the evil of the whole world? That's cool, but sporadically, she believes he thinks she can't protect herself and won't make it in life without him.
Danielle was right when she said that she needs to become a strong, independent woman.
*
Hannah lies on her side, staring at her boyfriend's profile. He is silent, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. He is thoughtful, looking as if something is not giving him peace.
— Are you still angry with me, thinking that I don't trust you? Joseph, you are important to me, and finally understand that my behavior is because I am worried about you. If something happened in the past, I want to know about it. It's not because I don't trust you, but things have been going badly with me lately. Something is wrong because I see Solar more and more often. I don't know myself anymore, is it an illusion created by an illness, or does the ghost of this girl really exist? What if she left behind a curse in the boarding school? You said yourself that I remind you of her from her behavior. Perhaps there is a rational explanation for this? For the fact that I was possessed by her?
He turns his face toward her and crinkles his eyebrows.
— I would rather you see ghosts than turn out to have a relapse.
— Joseph, what if I was never sick? Oddly enough, it all started when I joined Horace Mann.
— Didn't you tell me that before you started high school, it was after your sister's accident that you talked to her?
Hannah is confused, but tries to find a sensible solution to this.
— I hit my head pretty hard and lost my memory, so in a way I can blame it on that, but what if it was that hit that caused something to be wrong with my head? Maybe I started seeing ghosts because of it? There's a small lump left here — she claims, touching it with her fingers. — Do you think I should go for a head x-ray? Apparently I had a concussion and the tests didn't show anything more dangerous, but there's always a chance that something might have changed over time, right? Many years have passed.
— Sometimes, when you talk to me like this, I wonder if things are really coming together in your head. Possibly, you should actually get yourself x-rayed?
There are days when he can be particularly rude. This is unlikely to ever change.
— I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you, and you're sticking pins in me as usual.
— I'm angry with you and don't try to wriggle out. You've overplayed your hand.
She pinches his stomach, unable to bear the fact that he resents her. Joseph is a difficult man, so he will not forget the words she said for a long time, and what's worse, he will reproach her for not trusting him for a penny.
— Okay, I exaggerated. I shouldn't have questioned you about Solar. I pressed too much. You might have thought I didn't trust you.
Joseph puffs out his lips and looks at her for a moment with amusement in his eyes.
— You get a funny look on your face when you try to sound serious.
The girl squints her eyes.
— Why did you forbid me to contact Lana? How well do you know her?
He leans with his elbow against the pillow and places his head on his hand.
— I've gotten used to you jumping out with a new topic like corn from a cannon.
— That what?
— Just that — he replies, looking at her with laughing eyes. — You are strange, exactly like this example.
Hannah looks confused.
— Why should I pay attention to the boss's daughter? What do you have in common with her?
— Air.
— Joseph! — You can hear disappointment in her voice. — For the moment, I'll let you off the case with Solar because I realize that I'm a bit out of my mind, but now it's about a living woman, not a ghost!
— The likelihood of me touching her with at least a stick is just as possible as playing with a ghost.
He bounces back. Today it is impossible to have a serious conversation with him.
— What's wrong with you?
He lies down on top of her, cuddling his face into her hair. He doesn't respond to her screams when she makes him realize she's having difficulty breathing.
— I was taken aback by you the moment I saw you for the first time — he whispers in her ear, causing pleasant tickles to spread through her body.
— So your desire was so strong that you oppressed me from the very beginning?
— It was even tearing me apart from the inside.
He lifts his head and the girl pulls back the bangs that overlap his eyes.
— There are moments when I think you are also an illusion. I still can't believe that we've been together for so many years already, especially when I remember high school and how you treated me. Who would have thought that I would be able to win the heart of the devil?
— And I still can't believe that I was able to love you so madly. It was only with you that I felt what true love is, which is why can't I stay angry with you for long. You are the only person I won't let out of my arms, even if you bite me painfully.
She bursts into laughter.
— I still don't know how I managed to wrap you around my little finger. I'm sure you would give your life for me.
— Even after death, I won't let go of your hand and take you with me to hell.
— What a romantic you are....
He presses his face into her neck, tickling her with kisses. The girl laughs throatily as he whispers her words, which cause her to slap him on the back.
Now she is happy, but tomorrow everything will change. This joy will burst like a soap bubble. A nightmare will begin in her life, and if Joseph actually wants to take her to hell with him, he will first have to help her overcome her demons.