"How did he even go from being drunk to stone-cold sober in a matter of few minutes?" Emily thought to herself as she fixed the man standing before her with a glare, even her heart was beating fast, out of fear.
"Should I tell you what I really want?" The man repeated his question as he realized the first one was being ignored.
"No, actually there is no need for that." Emily spoke up, firmly.
"You should leave now. I don't have any business with you here." She added dismissively but from the man's stance, she knew she wouldn't be having it easier.
A smirk crept up the man's face, his eyes glinting with mischief.
"Well, I am going to tell you, anyway. You don't think you can embarrass me like that and get away with it, do you?" He was saying gently but his voice rose at the last part.
The question angered Emily greatly and that tightened her courage. She scoffed in annoyance.
"You embarrassed yourself by getting touchy when you weren't supposed to. My job was to serve you drinks not my body!" Emily sneered at him.
The man chuckled dryly, then his eyes darkened.
"Well, I want your body. And if I can't have you, then no one can!" He snapped at her and started approaching her slowly and menacingly.
His statement made Emily's skin crawled.
"You need to learn that I don't belong to you. And you can never have me!" She spat back. She could no longer contain her anger.
Without warning, Emily sprang into action. She lunged at the man and used her foot to kick him at where the sun never risen.
"What the f--?" The man yelled, doubling over in pain.
"You...you bitch! You can't do this to me!" He wheezed in pain.
Emily scoffed again.
"You shouldn't have messed with me." She said and wanted to walk out of the room but stopped as an afterthought.
Then she balled her hand into a fist and punched him hard on the face.
"That is for being a creep!" She spat at him in disgust.
The man collapsed to the ground, yelling in pain and Emily turned on her heels.
She flung open the door and rushed back into the bustling bar, the noise enveloping her like a shield.
"Thanks Dad! What would I have done without your frequent training of self protection?" She mumbled gratefully and a smile crept up her face.
"I think I have had enough for today." She concluded and headed outside.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, as Emily battled with her life challenges, across town, Alexander was also battling with his own inner demons as he drove home.
"That wasn't real, right?" He mumbled and exhaled sharply.
"No, it can't be." He shook his head firmly. His mind lingered on the mysterious woman who claimed to have saved his life.
"But she spoke to me! And her touch..." He whispered then let out an exasperated huff.
After few minutes of driving, he finally pulled into his parking lot. There, he grabbed his phone and his hands were shaking as he dialed his therapist, Maxwell's number.
"Maxwell, it happened again!" Alexander said as the receiver accepted the call.
"Is that so?" Maxwell's voice was calm but that did nothing to soothe Alexander's nerves.
"I saw her again. Charlotte. And this time around, she asked me to follow her, maintaining that I needed to save her. I did and we got to a road. Then she became playful... Then ..." Alexander's voice broke and he had to stop.
"Take a deep breath and calm down, Alexander. Then share with me what happened." Maxwell said carefully and gently.
Alexander did as he was told then continued his narration.
"But then...then she got hit by a car, right in my presence as she wanted to run into my open arms." He recounted, sounding pained.
Maxwell paused for a moment before responding.
"Alexander, we have discussed this. It is just hallucinations." He said gently.
Alexander scoffed in annoyance as he was getting frustrated.
"I know that is what you would say but no, Maxwell! It was so real this time around! Totally different from before!" Alexander insisted.
"Why did you think so?" Maxwell asked gently.
"She spoke to me. You know that has never happened before. She even touched me. After she got hit by the car, I don't know what happened but I just saw her by my side, asking me if I was okay."
"She said she just saved my life. She even demanded appreciation." Alexander explained.
"So, did you talk back to her?" Maxwell asked, his gentle voice sounding curious then.
"Weren't you the one who said I should never talk back no matter what she said?" Alexander snapped angrily.
"I did say that, Alexander. But it is for your own good. It is so your condition won't deepen and develop into schizophrenia." Maxwell stated calmly.
Alexander heaved a heavy sigh.
"Well, I was too taken aback to even do so. Scared. But her touch... Maxwell, it felt so real. He confessed.
"Okay, we both know that that won't be hallucination since she actually touched you. Maybe it was someone who resembles Charlotte." Maxwell pointed out, his tone remained measured
"No, Maxwell! It was her! I know it!" Alexander insisted desperately.
Maxwell paused as he tried to process the information.
He wanted to tell Alexander that it wasn't possible as his beloved fiancee had died and been cremated over a year ago but he understood his condition as his therapist and knew saying that at that critical moment would worsen his mood.
"I think we should find this lady that you saw. Let's see if she is real or not." Maxwell said instead.
Alexander sucked in a breath.
"What if it is really her, Maxwell? What if she is trying to tell me something?" He asked, sounding hopeful.
"We will explore all possibilities, Alexander. But first, let's focus on finding this woman." Maxwell maintained firmly.