CHAPTER 22
“Malcom?” Helene looked around the building’s rooftop, but she can’t find the man who just disappeared. “Malcolm? Where are you?”
When no one answered her, a sudden chill ran along her spine. Helene knotted her forehead as she tried to look for Malcolm again. She glanced at his apartment and wondered if he has gotten inside that fast. But that’s quite impossible. If he walked towards his door, he might have heard his footsteps and the creaking sound of the door as he opened and closed it.
“But I heard nothing…” she said and turned the doorknob to open her door. “Where did he go?”
Helene stepped inside her apartment. She intentionally left her door unlocked just in case Malcolm decided to knock and apologized to her. She dropped all her things to the coffee table and plopped down. Helene sighed. She doesn’t have an intention to shun Malcolm. She just wanted to ask him why he lied to her.
“Malcolm…” she murmured as she stared at the table where she put down her bag. “I’m sorry…”
Helene then remembered the new phone that she bought using the money that Minerva lend to her. Using her toes, she pulled the strap of her bag and brought it to her. She laughed at her laziness, but she’s too tired to do things right now. All she ever wanted to do is lie on the couch and wait for Malcolm to cook their dinner, but sadly, Malcolm was mad at her.
She took out her phone and gasped when she saw that Minerva has sent her almost a hundred messages. She clicked open the latest one.
‘Hey, where’s the picture that you owe to me?’ —Minerva.
‘I wanna see how handsome your boyfriend is!’ —Minerva.
As she scrolled on the last messages, a new set of numbers caught Helene’s eyes. It wasn’t familiar to her. She clicked it opened and was surprised to see that it came from Adam. Helene felt the faint tremble inside her chest as she read Adam’s text message.
‘Hi, Helene…Hmm, I really don’t know what I will say to you, but I just want to say sorry for all the bad things that Bela has done to you. I hope you’re okay.’ —Adam.
Helene curled her lips and stared at her screen. She imagined the man as he typed his message for her. He must be hesitant, or maybe just nothing. She heaved a sigh. Why does he have to send the wrong signals to me? She asked herself and leaned on the couch.
She looked at the time she received his message. Adam sent her the message an hour after their class was dismissed at four-thirty p.m. It was already six p.m.
“Should I reply to him?” she asked and stared at her reflections on the TV screen. Her brows furrowed when she saw a shadow behind the couch. When she looked back, nothing was there. “What was that?”
Helene ditched the thoughts inside her head and started to think about her reply to Adam, but once again, she sensed that somebody is watching her from her back. Helene raised her phone a little to see the reflection on the screen, and what she saw made her heart jumped in shock.
***
Adam doesn’t know how many times he had attempted to knock on Helene’s door but did not succeed in any of those attempts. After Helene just left him in the pizza parlor as if she’s chasing somebody on the road, Adam noticed something odd is happening to her. And it started when she befriends the repeater student Minerva.
Minerva was called the repeater student because her multiple failed subjects prevented her from graduating and taking her diploma. Minerva was also known at the university as a sponsored student. Despite all her failed subjects, all her bills on the accounting were settled. All the students envied Minerva for having a lot of money to spend. Everybody wished to be her. Adam was also impressed by how hardworking Minerva was. Despite her night duties, she still managed to attend their class on time.
Until Adam found out about her job. And, since then, Adam kept an eye on Minerva. But he never thought that Helene would fall on her charms and be one of her victims.
To have a moment with Helene, Adam went into her house after their class to speak to her, but she wasn’t home yet, so he decided to send her a message. But, when he hasn’t received any response from her, Adam thought of visiting her.
The lights inside her apartment were dim, but Adam can see Helene’s shadows walking back and forth in the living room. The blinds were a bit ripped off. That’s why he can see a little what’s happening inside.
“What is she doing?” Adam asked and tried to peek inside. Her shadow stopped moving and stood behind the couch. “Wait for a second…” Adam’s brows furrowed when his eyes caught Helene sitting on the sofa while looking at her phone.
‘If Helene was on the couch, then who is that shadow standing behind her?’ he asked as he tried to see the face of the shadow.
“Excuse me, do you need something?”
Adam stood straight and turned around. An old lady is looking at him suspiciously. “Good afternoon, Ma’am. I’m Adam, Helene’s classmates.”
The woman nodded. “I see…Then why don’t you knock on her door? I saw her arrived just a while ago.”
Adam shook his head. “I’ll come back tomorrow. She has a visitor. I don’t want to disturb them.”
“Visitor?” The old lady laughed. “She’s been my tenant for almost four years, and I haven’t seen her had a visitor.”
Adam smiled awkwardly. “Maybe she met somebody now…” He was about to leave when his eyes caught the door on the room beside Helene’s apartment. “Maybe she has a chit-chat with her new neighbor.”
The old lady knotted her forehead as if he said something out of this world. Her eyes followed her gaze. “Helene lives here alone. She doesn’t have a neighbor.”
***