Chapter 25: Twenty five

"I call you, and I know it's crazy. That's stupid, but it's the truth."

-Christina Aguilera-

***

Being in the hospital for too long bored me to death. I miss the outside air, feeling the hustle and bustle of people busy with their world. What I miss most is my work, completing the tasks given by Mr. Lawren, reviewing susceptible company income data, or just listening to Ketty's endless nagging.

As I stood behind the glass wall of my room to feel how warm the sun's embrace was this morning, one thought bothered me. Sometimes, I feel like my mental and physical health problems are often unstable lately. You must know that something has suddenly made me drop out since starting work. Not to mention panic attacks that suddenly come uninvited, destroying good intentions to live life after being trapped in the darkness of the past.

Just remembering it, I immediately burst into tears. My hands were shaking again, and the surroundings became very busy with my stepfather's voices. The air here feels like it's getting thinner and thinner, along with the sun's glow, which feels like it's burning like it wants to torture me alive.

The pulling in my chest got stronger until it sounded like someone was having asthma. I held the IV pole tightly while stroking my chest, taking as many breaths as possible to neutralize the heart rhythm, which still wouldn't slow down. My tears became more intense when the nightmare fragments were forced to be confronted with the reality that it was all just a flower of sleep that was not always beautiful.

"God... why is it like this?" I said softly.

"Lizzie?" the soft voice made me turn my head. Mother came carrying a package and a bouquet and hurriedly approached me with a worried face after putting the items on the table.

"I don't know why I suddenly cried, Mom," I honestly said. "I... I feel so scared..."

"Hey, hey, look at Mom, Lizzie." She cupped my face. "Whatever things are in your mind, they're not real. You're here; they're not there, Lizzie."

Nodding my head, she said it was true; then I hugged my mother tightly. Ah, forgive my sickly child. It doesn't mean that Elizabeth Khan brags that everyone is a fragile girl with a dark past.

"Take a deep breath, Lizzie... it will make you calmer," my mother whispered, caressing my back. "Remember the dreams you make, Dear; only they can make you stronger in life."

"Mom is right." I let go of the hug and looked at her lovingly, then wiped away the traces of tears that had not yet dried. The feeling of panic began to fade even though the pounding in my chest still made me breathless. Take a breath and then exhale, do this over and over again, and convince myself that what is in my head is just a hallucination.

"This afternoon, we will go home according to the doctor's instructions, right?" Mother asked, leading me to sit on the edge of the bed. "Mom bought you some fruit. Want me to help you peel it?"

"Yes. The doctor said my hemoglobin is much better, and I need to take supplements regularly."

"Do you always eat well? The man named Mr. Johnson said that you rarely eat," said Mother, peeling an apple.

"Really? He's a damn braggart who likes to complain. He's lying--"

"But he didn't lie about the incident that happened to you, Elizabeth," interrupted Mother, making me freeze for a moment. A trace of sadness shone in those eyes that were starting to twilight. "You must be very hurt, Elizabeth... you must--"

"I'm fine, Mom," I interrupted.

"I hope he dies soon because he injured my daughter," she pleaded, which God and thousands of angels in the sky heard.

Perpetrators of sexual harassment do not deserve a foothold on earth. They are just a group of immoral people who are ungrateful for being given life in the world. What they think is animal-like lust, ignoring the psychology of their victims, including me. Even animals still know how to differentiate between those they need to love and those they need to bear.

Therefore, Lord, I always pray to punish them harshly. Don't give them a glimmer of Your light, Lord. They are just despicable humans who destroy other people's futures.

###

While waiting for Mom to complete the hospital administration, which Andre said she helped with, I opened the Instagram page. Just for fun, I opened Johnson's account, which was quite popular. Unfortunately, this man rarely updates photos like men in general to attract swarms of female bees. The last post was already a year ago, but many people have also stopped by the picture of Andre sitting with several people wearing luxurious and expensive clothes.

'He is handsome.'

'He should be starring in films, not managing his father's company.'

'Do you know who his latest girlfriend is?'

With that comment, my finger immediately slid to the search site and typed in Alexandre Jhonson's love story. Immediately, my eyes widened. Gotcha! I was right! Which man can survive with one woman? Just look all over the internet; many websites report that he was with women A to Z, relationships that never lasted six months for the reason of 'personal incompatibility.' Tch! In his eyes, are women some fish that can easily be caught with one net?

Luckily, what I said the day before yesterday was just wind in his ears. I had fortified myself with layers of armor and almost opened the layers to let Johnson in. If not, I might have cried uncontrollably, considering he is a liar with a mouth as sweet as honey.

A knock on the door interrupted the curse I wanted to throw at Johnson. A man was tall and thin but had sideburns adorning his face and was wearing a cleaning service uniform. I couldn't see his face clearly because he wore a hat matching the orange uniform.

"Room service, Miss," he said. "I got a call that the bathroom was a little problematic."

I nodded, and then the man strolled with his feet dragging like something was holding his legs. But the way he looked implied something hidden that I couldn't read. The sound of water draining in the toilet was heard for a few moments, and then he reappeared, washing his hands in the sink. Immediately, I pretended to be playing with my cell phone while the corner of my eye watched his movements as he watched from the mirror.

Whether this was my imagination or not, I heard his laughter. It's soft but sounds like mocking. The atmosphere here suddenly became hot and stiff, feeling the nape of my neck as he again forced his right leg which looked slightly paralyzed. I'm not sure, but it's true. He stopped for a moment when my thumb unconsciously called my mother.

"Are you calling your Mom?" whispered the man, bringing his face closer to me, instantly making me pale.

That voice...

"Wh-who are you?" I asked, shaking.

"Lizzie... what's wrong?" Mother's voice was heard. Unfortunately, my tongue suddenly became numb, and I couldn't say a word when the man paralyzed my brain with his sparkling irises.

After a while, the door opened loud enough to make us both turn around. In a split second, the cleaning service officer received a raw fist from the man whose tie was not neat. I screamed hysterically when Andre continued throwing punches non-stop, and the man he hit just accepted without replying. I hastily hung up the phone simultaneously as two medical officers stopped Andre and the janitor.

"Andre! Stop it!" I shouted, which Andre ignored until one of the medical officers who was about to pull him fell backward.

It wasn't until the janitor was completely battered that Andre stopped with a gasp, glancing at me furiously. The man who had been badly beaten coughed; blood came out of his nostrils, and the two medical officers helped him up.

He grinned slightly as if the pain he received wasn't that painful. With a limp, he walked out with the medical staff, leaving behind a sentence that made me shudder.

"I'm back for you and you'll remember me."

, my body stiffened. A flash of memory from a dream from the previous night came back and strangled me until my chest became tight again. I fell to my knees, hugging my knees to push away the memory. The world felt like it was spinning, tearing itself apart, hitting a considerable object, and then falling at high speed until it crashed to the bottom of the earth.

The feeling emerged in waves that made my stomach nauseous; I immediately ran to the bathroom and expelled all the contents of my stomach. That voice... was not a stranger but someone who had disappeared and had now returned—my stepfather. I'm sure it's him, but... how can his appearance be so different?

"Lizzie!"

That's my mother's voice.

"He returns!" I exclaimed hoarsely in fear. "I'm sure it's him, ma'am!"

"Wh-who?"

"Hey... hey... are you okay?" asked Andre, standing behind my mother.

I didn't answer, so I pointed at the room's exit and shouted, "Go!"

"Lizzie, what's wrong?" Mother looked at me, not understanding. "Mr. Johnson, what's wrong? What's wrong with her?"

"What are you hiding from me, Mr. Johnson?" I asked, looking sharply at him, who was frozen in place as if at a loss for words.

He has a secret that I can't reach.