Chapter 94.

Before me, stood a girl in a white frilly tank top with straps and short pink hot pants. With a popsicle dangling between her lips, she looked back at me with surprise and confusion written all over her face.

Her long straight white hair was of course, all too familiar to me, but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; thus without a second thought, I immediately fled and escaped from her. I hurried to my apartment, opened the door, then slammed it shut and locked it behind me.

I slid to the ground with my back against the door while holding my head refusing to believe who I’d just seen and where I’d seen her.

My neighbor? It couldn’t be. Why? No, how could she be there?

Just like this past week was an illusion, that was surely my eyes playing tricks on me again.

Am I missing her despite everything that happened between us? Was the reason behind the change in the world due to my sense of loss from bottling up my feelings towards her?

Just what is going on with me? Why are the hallucinations and strange dreams still happening? I thought that by moving on, putting things behind me, and by burying the hatchet something might change; but in reality, isn’t everything still the same?

Is it actually not my mind playing tricks on me? Am I really haunted by a vengeful ghost who’s upset I’m trying to avoid becoming their boyfriend at all costs?

Like hell!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Startled by the sudden knocks, my back inadvertently slammed against the door a bit.

“Mister, it’s you, isn’t it?”

I naturally refused to answer. It was all just in my head. It was all in my head! She’s not really there.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“I know you’re there. At least say something!”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Go away.

“Why did you lie to me and leave without saying anything?”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Go away!

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“Do you really hate me that much?”

No.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Get out of my head! You’re not real! You’re not Adele, you’re an imposter! I don’t know you. I don’t know you. I don’t know you!

My nails were digging deep into the skin on top of my head, but I didn’t feel the pain in the state I was presently in.

I felt cornered. Trapped. With nowhere to run or hide. After I spent the last week completely alone in the darkness, I felt more vulnerable than ever. I was a nervous wreck and hysterical.

When the knocks on the door finally died down, I took the chance to recompose myself. After several minutes passed by without any knocks, another knock finally came. I was taken by shock earlier, but I realized I’d definitely overreacted as a result of the overwhelming rapid changes that had taken place in the world. I stood up, turned toward the door, and resolved myself to face whatever reality awaited me on the other side.

I placed my hand on the doorknob, jerked it to the side, and flung the door open only for my eyes to land on the scenery of the tall buildings in the background through the long glass window that stretched from one end of the passage to the other. Adele was gone.

I stepped out of my room in a rush and looked about left and right in a panic trying to locate her. I stopped in my tracks and froze in place when I saw someone I never expected to see.

“Mr. Genovese, you’re so slow. We’ll be late for work if you don’t hurry.”

My brain shut down. I heard her words, but I couldn’t comprehend the present situation.

“Val… why… are you here? Shouldn’t you... be at work?”

“What are you talking about? How can I already be at work? We just got up a few minutes ago.”

“What do you mean we just got up?”

No. No. No. No. No.

It can’t be what I’m thinking of. Tell me it’s a misunderstanding. Please!

While observing her look of confusion, chills continuously ran down my back. All the bones in my body were tingling in fear while I was overcome with a deep sense of sudden dread. Cold sweat immediately built up and I felt extremely dizzy and disoriented like I couldn’t tell up from down or left from right. The world felt topsy-turvy, twisted, convoluted, and warped to the point I could hardly understand a thing.

“Mr. Genovese, is something wrong with you? You don’t look too good.”

“Val… what day is it today?”

“Tuesday obviously. You skipped yesterday after all. It’s your fault I’m here, did you already forget that.”

Liquid accumulated at the ridge of my eyes and I nearly broke down on the spot. I was tired. So tired of it all. Two weeks. Two entire weeks flashed before me in the span of an instant? Everything was a delusion? It can’t possibly be true.

I fell to my knees powerlessly as my body slumped to the ground.

“Mr. Genovese?! What’s wrong with you?!”

I couldn’t focus and it was difficult to comprehend anything she said. Chaotic thoughts ran rampant and wrought destruction through my mind. It was enough to make me want to just die.

“Uweh.”

“Mr. Genovese?! Mr. Genovese! Can you hear me, Mr. Genovese! Mr. Genovese! Answer me!”

My vision was locked on the ground that was painted with spaghettini. Whatever was previously in my stomach was plastered all over the ground.

“Cough. Cough.” I covered my mouth with my hand. When I examined my hand I realized it was stained with blood.

In a drunken-like madness, Val’s voice was drowned out in the distorted world seen through my eyes. Unable to process it, the world turned sideways and-

…