Chapter 54.

I chose to continue ignoring her and approached the counter partitioned with what appeared to be bullet proof glass.

“Excuse me, I’m here to pay a visit to Adele.”

The person behind the counter glanced up with a crooked smile before he pointed down and spoke through a mic, “place your ID on the scanner so we can verify your identity.”

I followed as instructed and a light passed over my drivers license.

“Mr. Genovese is it? Oh, the boyfriend she’s talked so highly of over the last five years despite having not visited her even once? Aren’t you the dedicated man? To be lucky enough to have a woman as madly in love as her, I really envy you. Place your hand on the scanner.”

I refrained from responding to him as the guy gave me a rather off putting feeling. Do the people who work in mental asylums like this also lose a few screws after working here for too long?

Once my fingerprints were taken, the guy behind the counter pressed a button and told me, “go in. Proceed straight down the hall and enter the room second to your right. You’ll be able to speak to her through the microphones connected to the observation room. There are also recordings in case you wanted to see how she’s been over the last five years. Despite her being a beauty, she really doesn’t get any visitors. Mr. Boyfriend, you should really value and treasure a gem like her more.”

I once again chose not to say anything. I maintained my silence, but out of courtesy I still nodded in his direction then entered the hallway. I stopped outside the second door to the right as he’d instructed and looked to my side before I entered. Adele still stood there quietly, only one meter away from me now.

Silent.

Still staring.

At me.

Quietly.

Unwaveringly.

Expressionlessly.

Unblinking.

Only at me and nothing else.

Why do you haunt me so? Are you really just a figment of my imagination? Are you just the symbol of guilt in my heart? What are you? Do you exist? What is existence?

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

She felt ethereal.

My stomach churned and I felt more nauseous the closer my hand drew to the door knob. When I finally opened the door I stepped inside and found four LCD monitors mounted behind a desk with a chair. The room was very simple, on top of the desk was a PC, camera and microphone. The room was completely white, similar to the one depicted on the four LCD monitors mounted on the wall. The four monitors simultaneously showed the entire room Adele was inside from four separate corners. Adele was lying on her back in the center of the room blankly looking directly into one of the cameras.

When I verified she was there, I was somehow slightly relieved in a way. I was now certain the one behind me definitely was a figment of my imagination. At least, that’s what I thought until I took a seat in front of the desk.

Gone. The room displayed on the four monitors was completely barren. I rubbed my eyes to make sure my eyes weren’t playing some sort of twisted trick on me, but she’d really vanished from directly before my eyes. Slightly flustered I turned to the recorded footage on the PC and rummaged through the footage for the last half hour, but she was nowhere to be found during that time. She did appear in the footage over half an hour ago, but she abruptly disappeared into thin air.

When I thought back to it, the timing lined up perfectly with when Adele appeared in my car. Slowly, I turned my head to check behind me and sure enough... Adele was there. This time her face was only a short centimetre away from mine, similar to how it had been back in the car.

It felt like she was peering into the depths of my soul. If she wasn’t inside her room... did that mean this one was real after all? I hesitantly raised my hand and moved it closer to her face beside her cheek. I gulped down a mouthful of saliva as I slowly moved my hand closer until I made contact. The silky soft sensation of her skin which I expected to feel through my hand turned out to be nothing but empty space. My hand passed directly through her cheek as her face distorted, like smoke she mysteriously faded out of existence before my eyes without having uttered a single word.

What is wrong with me? I really have lost my mind. Aren’t I far more suitable to be the one staying in this mental asylum?

When I turned back towards the monitors the room was still empty. I pressed the button on the microphone and said, “Adele, it’s Dio. Are you in there? If you are, please answer me. There are things I really want to ask you about.”

There wasn’t any sign of movement in the room and even after waiting five minutes for a response from the speakers, nothing returned my query.

It didn’t take long before I lost hope towards receiving an answer. I decided to immediately report her disappearance to the staff. Just as I was about to exit the room though, I heard a voice from the speakers behind me that whispered faintly, “if you want to ask me anything, then come visit me at my home alone like we promised.”

I immediately turned around when I heard her answer only to be greeted by the vacant room I was in with the still empty room depicted on the four monitors.

I took in a breath of cold air and calmed myself down before I proceeded towards the room’s exit without investigating any further. This was the second time she said this. To meet her there alone though… I’d be digging deeper into that traumatic experience again. The day I discovered she was a psychopath. However, if I never went, would I keep being haunted like this all the time?

Wouldn’t death be better than living a life where I’m constantly put through scary shit like this?

Fuck it! Whatever! If she wants me to go there, then fine! I’ll go! If she kills me that’s fine by me. I don’t even care anymore, just stop it with these damn nightmares and hallucinations!

As soon as I stepped out the door of the room, the first thing that came into view was…