The teenager leans her elbows against the railing, absent-mindedly staring at a single point.
She is trying to put everything together. Slowly, she recalls every moment when the ghost of her dead grandmother haunted her. Only now is she beginning to realize that she has repeatedly had to deal with a menacing entity that impersonated her relative.
She does not understand: why? What is the reason that this menacing soul wants the death of a teenager at all costs?
Sara wants to uncover the mysteries about the building and, at all costs, solve the problems that encompass the place. But there is too much of it, and above all, the center is inhabited by people who add to the problems and want innocent teenagers dead.
- I get the impression that you are specifically avoiding me. Are you running away from me, Sara?
She shudders. Not out of fear, but for the sake of what their last conversation was like. Alan behaved despicably and made her cry.
He is right — she avoids him. However, not because she is afraid of him, but because of the feelings that stir in her heart, causing a real conflict. Despite everything he has done, she still loves him, although at times she feels expressions of hatred when she recalls his recent behavior.
- I'm not running away from you. You were the one who told me to get out last time. You would rather not see me again," she replies in a brittle voice, not taking her eyes off the gray wall.
- I didn't mean it," he snorts under his breath. - I was angry, so you shouldn't take it to heart.
The girl finally shifts her gaze to him, not believing what he just said. He made a comment as if his earlier behavior were nothing offensive.
- You mean I should just forget about it? Erase from my memory the moment you threw food and made me starve or eat leftovers off the floor because I'm shameless?
- Ok. I behaved immaturely, I admit it," he declares, raising his hands in a defensive gesture. - But wouldn't you be furious if you were me? Wouldn't you have reacted in any way to unload? - he asks, coming closer to her. - Sara, I saw with my own eyes how that bastard kissed you, and you did nothing to push him away. You weren't even angry. I got the impression that you enjoyed it.
- So you got the wrong impression, because at that moment I was surprised by his behavior," she defends himself.
- How would you act in my place? Tell me, please. Wouldn't you be furious? - he asks her question without taking his eyes off her.
- I don't know how I would act if I were you, Alan," she declares, shrugging her shoulders. - But I certainly wouldn't hurt you in any way. I would stew all my anger inside me, because that's the kind of person I am.
She wants to leave and go back to her room, but he doesn't allow her to do so, as he grabs her hand and keeps her with him.
- We are not finished. You will stay here until we explain everything to each other.
- Let me go, Alan," she grunts through her throat, hoping that he will listen to her; however, the boy is not going to let her go.
- Let's talk frankly. I've noticed that lately you've stopped being interested in me. You spend time with Oliver and keep secrets from me. Tell me: do you still care about me? - Sara closes her eyelids as he asked her a question she is unable to answer at the moment.
She loves him, despite how much he has changed, she still cares about Alan, but she can't tell him to his face because she wants him to suffer at least a little. She is not going to forgive him so easily. First, she wants to see the old Alan — the boy she fell in love with, not the man who looks more and more like the General.
She would like to give him time to think things over and understand his mistakes before he can get close to her again.
- Why don't you answer?
- Because I'm not in the mood," she claims frigidly and hisses in pain as she jerks her around.
She stands in front of him and looks at his face with pain in her eyes.
- Why can't you tell me the truth?
- Give me a break! - she screams unexpectedly, losing control of herself. It's all over her, and she's sick of living in this cruel place. - I wish you were the least of all the problems that plague me, but that's not the case. Why? - Her voice breaks down, but she still drills him with her gaze. - Why do you add to my pain when I have so many worries on my mind? - He wants to embrace her, but she doesn't let him and starts to pound his chest with her fists. - Why have you become such an asshole!
When she lunges, she drops her strength rather quickly, and the boy takes advantage of this and takes her in his embrace, letting her cry. Sara snuggles her face into his shirt, inhaling the scent of her favorite perfume.
She misses it so much...
She misses Alan, who was once her angel. Furthermore, she misses the time when she thought of him as walking perfection — an ideal who would never let her get hurt. And now? He alone can add to her pain.
- I don't trust you, Alan," she whispers. She does so uncertainly, but she does not intend to stifle her feelings any longer. She needs to know the truth, to find out how awful she feels at the moment. Furthermore, she wants him to finally see through and understand his past actions.
The blond man pushes her away and grabs her shoulders, carefully looking at her sad face.
- Why did you say that? What do you mean you don't trust me? - His eyes express a panic he can't define.
- At this point I don't trust you and I have a reason.
- The reason? - She hears disbelief in his voice. - What are you talking about, Sara?
- So tell me that you are not cooperating with the General. Do it by looking me in the eye, then I'll believe you," she declares.
Her words are brave. Currently, she does not at all resemble the frightened chick she is every day.
- I do not cooperate with the General," he declares in a loud voice, looking into her eyes. He does not turn his face away. He does not run away with his eyes. All the while, he looks at her certain of the truth that lies in the words he has spoken.
She flutters her eyelids, not anticipating such an answer. She was prepared that he would confess the truth to her and communicate that he is cooperating with the General, but he most simply denies it. He does it so convincingly that she is unable to suspect him of lying. She can't tell if he's just being a good actor or if he's telling the truth and her suspicions are exaggerated.
At this point, she is lost.
- I think this is the right opportunity for me to return to the room. - She slowly backs away when she sees Alan shake his head. He rubs his brow with his hand, clearly annoyed by her behavior.
- Are you going to run away again? Sara, this is no longer funny," he says, leaning against the railing with his hand.
- We will talk another time. This is not the right time.
- But you know you can't get away from me anyway? - She stops in place and plunges a puzzled look into him. - You can run away, but I will always find you," he communicates, heading for the stairs. - See you later.
The teenager leans with her back against the wall, taking a deep breath to soothe the nerves that have taken over her body.
How did this happen? When did it come to the point where she doesn't feel at ease in the presence of a boy who means so much to her? What is going on with her? Should she blame herself or Alan, who has recently started behaving in a disturbing manner?
- I should say that Oliver chose the wrong girl. - She lifts her face and looks at Eric as he emerges from the darkness. - But love doesn't decide, because I can say the same about you and the man who just left.
He runs his fingers through his black hair, lazily making his way to Sarah.
- Why are you here? Have you been eavesdropping? Shouldn't you be stuck with a psychologist?
- Don't avoid the subject. - She raises an eyebrow, measuring him with a penetrating gaze. - Oliver has suffered enough in life. He went through hell as a child, which may hit him double when the memories start coming back to him," he announces, crouching down next to the girl. He pats a spot on the floor with his hand, letting her know to sit next to him.
She does so because she hopes Erik will reveal to her the shred of mystery that concerns her friend.
- It would have been better if he had matured with these memories, but for him, it was all so traumatic that he himself erased it from his memory. He was too weak to bear it.
- Can you tell me more about his childhood? - Erik rubs his face with his hand and shakes his head.
- I'm sorry, but I can't. I think the psychologist made a mistake in revealing anything to him about the past. It would have been better if Oliver had never remembered those events.
- Is it really so... frightening?
- That's too small a word to describe what was happening before his eyes. He saw hell. He watched hell, which left a scar on his soul," he declares in a stifled voice. Sara gets the impression that Erik is suppressing his tears. Could it be that he, too, witnessed the event that left such a mark on Oliver's psyche?
- Your words make me shudder, so what is the story you would rather not tell me?
- Believe me, this center is a paradise compared to where I used to live," he declares, and his eyes begin to sparkle unexpectedly when he spots Laura. The girl sticks her head out through a crack in the door to inspect the corridor. - This place is a definite paradise, and this angel is my favorite," he adds, picking herself off the floor.
The girl panics when Erik gets to the door. He is fast, and since his physique shows that he exercises a lot, he easily bursts into the room. Laura screams as if she has at least seen a psychopath of the General's ilk.
Sara smiles under her breath and goes inside, watching as her roommate jumps into bed and carefully covers herself with a quilt.
- So quick to invite me into your down kingdom? Not too soon? - jokes Erik, taking off his shoes. Laura opens her eyes wider, looking horrified and confused at the same time by his behavior.
No peer has yet managed to frighten Laura. This boy is the first young man who has brought her to such a state.
- Sara, take him away! - she shouts, pointing her finger at the amused Eric. - This person is a complete lunatic! Look what he's doing!
The brown-haired girl watches him as he pulls off his shirt. Sara isn't the only one enchanted by the sight of him displaying his muscled belly, as Laura blinks her eyelids in awe. However, this state lasts for a brief moment and is drastically broken when the boy jumps on top of her.
The girl's scream is so loud that the whole building can probably hear her.
His hands and legs embrace her body through the bedclothes. She screams and tearfully asks her roommate for help, but it looks so funny that Sara can't stifle her laughter.
- Don't pretend you don't like it, because you did it to Matthew yourself before," Oliver says, standing behind his friend. - You finally got your male reflection. Feel what it's like to be harassed.
- Oliver, are you starting to be mean to her again? - Sara looks at him with feigned indignation in her eyes, but the boy ignores her remark.
- Are you all right? Are you feeling well? - he asks, looking at her face with a caring gaze.
- Get off me, you perverted beast! - Laura tries to lift herself up to push Eric off her, but the boy is adamant.
- I like that. Keep doing that, battle girl.
- I'm fine," Sara says with a pale smile on her face, recalling the events of last night.
Eric's face is too close, making Laura uncomfortable. In addition, the weight of his body makes her feel all numb.
- I beg you. Get off me, or I will never get out of bed again.
- But you are pretty," he declares with a killer smile on his face, kissing her on the forehead in surprise. He slides off Laura, thinking that he has sufficiently provided himself with entertainment; however, the girl does not move from her place. She threatens the brunet with a murderous gaze, and in her performance this means that she is in serious trouble.
- You are already dead," she communicates through clenched teeth.
*
- Don't you think the General has been silent for too long? He's too quiet, and I don't like that.
Oliver twists on his side and plunges his eyes into the girl lying next to him. Sara relaxes on the bed, and he accompanies her.
- I think the psychologist has a big role in the fact that the General is calm for now. He's a smart man, so he knows exactly how to deal with him.
The teenager looks at her friend as she is surprised that he first expresses himself nicely about the psychologist.
- Why didn't you reveal to me that you were working with him?
- Because I knew that in due time, you would find out about it anyway, but not from me," he declares, to which she laughs quietly.
- What is the answer?
- Simply put, the answer.
The girl sighs and turns to face Oliver. The boy swallows his saliva harder, he is nervous because her lips are far too close.
- You know what puzzles me?
- What - he looks at her carefully, while she plays with a strand of hair, twirling it on her finger.
- That a moment ago it was morning, and now night has come. - Oliver looks around the room with confused eyes, realizing that Sara is telling the truth. So... there is indeed something wrong.
He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he wakes up from a dream. He blinks his eyelids, hearing the laughter of the girls who are sitting on the opposite bed.
Furthermore, he understands that he has been squatting at Sarah's place because he hasn't slept a wink for two days.
- Sleeping Beauty is awake. - Oliver forces a fake smile, directing it to Laura.
- Yeah, it's just too bad that no prince kissed me. It would have been more realistic," he mocks, lazily rising from the bed.
He glances at his watch, which indicates fifteen o'clock.
- How much time did I sleep?
- Long enough to forget the nightmare that is this place," Laura replies, resting her hand on her roommate's shoulder. - But too short to finally wake up from it.
Oliver wrinkles his forehead, completely not understanding what she is talking about. He heads for the door and is already about to press on the handle when he is stopped by Sarah's words.
- Don't. Don't leave here," she declares in a nervous voice. - If you do, this door will open your mind and the whole nightmare will return.
- Sara, I think you should get a decent night's sleep. You, as well as both your friend," he says, ignoring her words. He presses on the door handle, but before he finally leaves, his attention is caught by Sara's hands, which the girl clenches into a fist. He then looks ahead, noticing disturbing darkness.
Furthermore, he opens his eyes and looks around the room in which he woke up with frightened eyes. Leaning over him is Sara, who scans him with a caring gaze.
- Are you all right, Oliver? - She asks as he rises to a sitting position. - You fell asleep in my room. I was out to eat something, and when I came back, I noticed that you were very tense in your sleep, even numb, and clenched your hands into fists. I got scared.
- I'm fine. I just had a strange dream, that's all," he announces, shrugging his shoulders.
- You should eat something.
- I will. See you later," he says, sending her a smile. He turns his back to her and as he walks to the door, he freezes, touching the handle.
- Are you sure you're okay? - The girl notices that his hand is trembling.
- In the best possible way. - He takes a deep breath, then opens the door ajar and, noticing that everything is in order, walks out into the hallway to go to the cafeteria as soon as possible.
He tells himself it's simply from hunger.