Chapter 17

"Oh, hey Vesper," Regan drawled, trying to shake the boredom in her voice. Vesper had a smile on her face and was holding her schoolbag.

"Hey, Reggie," she greeted.

Regan couldn't help but frown a little when her friend entered in. She knew Vesper was her friend but all she wanted was to stay alone now.

"So, what's up?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

Vesper shrugged, "Oh, you know. Just thought we'd have some fun. I was bored."

"Yeah, me too," Regan said, sitting down on the couch.

Vesper sat beside her, "So, why did you leave so abruptly from school? I mean, I was waiting for you after detention."

Regan sighed, "Oh, that. I just don't want to talk about it."

Vesper was going to speak but Monica stepped in. She greeted Vesper and told Regan to come upstairs with her for a moment and Regan only nodded.

As they entered Monica's room, she closed the door.

"Regan, look. I'm not saying you're delusional. I'm just saying that your psychology is a little tangled. But that doesn't mean you're crazy," she said, her voice filled with a hint of frustration.

"I'm not messed up," Regan retorted, "he's real and he's around here." As she finished her words, she caught a glimpse of the one she was talking about, but when she blinked, he disappeared.

"Regan, you're under a lot of stress and pressure. These pills and psychological therapy with help," Monica said with a sigh.

Regan smacked her forehead, feeling the tears prickle her eyes. She wanted to make Monica understand, to make her realize that paranormal stuff existed but Monica wasn't going to believe her.

She was tired from explaining it anymore.

"I'm not going to drink them," she stated, not looking at her aunt and wiped the tears.

Then, she walked away from the room and stepped downstairs, trying to collect herself. Vesper was still there, looking down at her phone.

Monica stepped down as well, and Vesper looked at them both, sensing the tension in the air. Monica said that she was going out to do some work and left.

"You're gonna tell me now," Vesper then said. "We're friends, right? Did your aunt do something?"

"No, she didn't," Regan said, looking away.

Vesper noticed something was wrong. "Hey, you know you can tell me anything, right? Whatever it is, I'll listen and help."

"I know, but it's just stupid," Regan mumbled, sitting on the couch.

"Come on, spill it," Vesper insisted.

With a sigh, Regan began to tell Vesper about what had happened at the doctor's office, how her aunt and the psychiatrist thought she was crazy, how they thought she was just imagining everything. "And then they said some crap about how I should see some psychotherapy and take some pills," she finished, sounding disgusted. "I can't believe they think I'm making this up."

Vesper smirked for a moment but then put a comforting hand on Regan's shoulder. "Hey, I believe you. I mean, I've felt these creepy crawlies and chills in your house."

Regan felt a shiver run down her spine. Creepy crawlies? Were there even creepy crawlies?

"Thanks Vesper. I'm very grateful you do," she replied, her expression grateful, "but I still don't know how to get rid of that haunting feeling. It's just... I can't shake it off. He talks in my mind, he....he.... he's everywhere! And these damn roses, he leaves them in my room and their thorns are sharper than a knife!"

A frown twisted Vesper's face but she quickly washed it away, "Well, I have an idea about it."

Regan leaned back on the couch and brushed her hair out of her face.

"What idea?" she asked, curiosity spread on her face.

"Listen, I know a ghost hunter out there," Vesper said with a mischievous smile.

"A ghost hunter?" Regan asked surprised.

"Don't tell me now you don't know what a ghost hunter is."

"Someone who tracks paranormal activity." Regan crossed her arms.

"Exactly! She can help you!" 

Regan nearly jumped away, "Me? No way! Just because I know what a ghost hunter is, doesn't mean I believe in this sort of work," she said but the worlds themselves felt hollow.

Vesper rolled her eyes, "See, you're being difficult again. Didn't you earlier say you believe in supernatural stuff? And if you don't need medical help, what other help would you need except for this?"

Regan pondered her words for a moment. After all if she didn't need medical help, she needed some other kind of help. 

"Whatever, that's not possible now," Regan replied when she thought about how her aunt would react to this.

"Why?"

"I need to think about it."

Vesper let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back on the couch. As Regan turned to her, thinking of what to say, she noticed a mark on her neck. It was visible because Vesper had her hair swept on the other side. The mark was an 'S' in purple color.

She couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Ves, why do you have an 'S' on your neck?"

Vesper's expression turned stiff and guarded, "An 'S'?"

"Yeah, on your neck. It's purple. Why do you have it?" Regan asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Vesper hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached up to touch the mark, "Oh, this? It's just something I do," she said, trying to play it off casually.

"But what's the 'S' for?"

"Nothing, really. It's just a thing," Vesper answered evasively.

"Come on, you can tell me."

Her friend looked away, shaking her head, "It's nothing, really. Just a thing I do, okay?"

"It's a tattoo?"

Vesper's eyes narrowed, and she turned to look at Regan, "Why does it matter so much to you?"

"Well... I just asked out of curiosity. I mean, it's not like I'm prying or anything," Regan tried to play it cool.

Vesper studied her for a moment, then seemed to relax a bit, "It's just something personal, okay? I don't want to talk about it if you don't mind."

"Yes, of course," Regan mumbled, although the mark on Vesper's neck still nagged her mind. She was so damn curious about it. Why was Vesper so guarded?

"You know, how about we go shopping? We're both bored and your house doesn't have much fun in it," Vesper suggested.

Regan didn't know what to say. She didn't want to go out but she didn't want to stay home either. And knowing that her aunt would nag about the pills and psychotic stuff, she agreed. She texted her aunt she was going to the mall, and they headed out.

The mall was still buzzing and they entered some stores they found interesting. The whole walk, Vesper brought up the topic of the ghost hunter. She kept insisting that Regan had to agree on it. 

While inside the stores, Vesper was the one who shopped. She spent such a huge amount of money. And for what? For men's clothes.

They ended up in a lingerie store and Vesper insisted on buying some things there too. Regan was embarrassed and awkward but she didn't say anything. After that, they decided to get some food. They sat down on a fastfood and ordered. While they were eating, Vesper took out her phone and started browsing through it.

Regan on the other hand, couldn't help but wonder why Vesper bought men's clothes and lingerie. She decided not to ask, after all, it was embarrassing and she didn't want to pry into personal matters.

After they finished their food, they drove back using Regan's car. When they arrived, they stepped out of the car, Vesper had a smirk on her face. In fact, she had been having it all along.

"I had so much fun," she exclaimed.

"Good for you." Regan's expression took a melancholic and disappointed turn when she stared at her house. Her aunt must be inside as well.

"Well, have a nice weekend," Vesper said and waved.

"You too." Regan waved back, and entered her house.

Once back home , Monica told her to shower, eat and drink the pills. She showered fast, not having enough patience with it. She ate and the fact that Monica was consistently looking after her, got on her nerves. Because it was a look of pity. She was supposed to believe her but sadly, Regan knew it wasn't going to happen.

When the sleep time came, she forced Regan to sleep in her room. Regan couldn't believe it. Right now, Monica was holding a glass of water and the tablet.

But Regan knew she had to play along. She had to convince her aunt she'd drink it and maybe her aunt wouldn't notice.

"Fine, I'm going to drink it, you can go and sleep, aunt," shee said, trying to make up an excuse.

"No, I'm not leaving until I see you drink it," Monica demanded, handing her the tablet and the glass of water.

Regan was caught in a hard situation. She didn't want to drink it. What would happen if she did? 

A thought came to her that if she could do it once, Monica would be convinced.

"Don't do it." 

Regan knew exactly from who the warning came of. It was maddening. But she thought something. Maybe she could not swallow the tablet, just keep it in her mouth.

"Okay," she said and took the pill. She gulped the water down but not the tablet. And Monica actually bought her lie thinking she really drank it.

"Don't worry sweetie, that's for your good only." She stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, "Goodnight," she said and left the room, turning the lights off.

As soon as she did, Regan jumped from the bed and rushed to the bathroom, spitting the pill out of her mouth. It has dissolved when she had drunk water, but at least it didn't end up whole in her stomach. She also washed her mouth to get rid of the bitter taste. Lying was bad, she knew. And if Monica learnt, it would be really bad but Regan didn't had any other way.

She walked out of the bathroom and turned back on her room. It was 10:34, clearly not the time she'd supposedly sleep.

She sat on the bed and waited a few minutes. She waited so that she could go downstairs when her aunt would be asleep. Finally, she went downstairs and sat on the couch, playing a game in her phone. She drank lemonade and ate some chips that had been left in the cupboard. Normally, there wouldn't be left because she'd eaten them all but these days she thought only about one thing only.

The night passed like that for her, she had become insomniac for sure now. Her eyes were red and tired, she had been on her phone the whole night. She didn't know how she'd survive at school. It was Friday.

Before leaving for school, she checked the footage of the cameras. When looking at records, she looked at her own self, when she walked around the house in the middle of the night. She deleted all the recordings. It was useless. The camera's were useless.

At school, she was getting very nasty stares, even worse than before. She tried to ignore them, but that was before one of the girls who were laughing by, said:

"Hey look! It's the schizophrenic freak!" They burst out laughing and Regan's fists clenched. How did they even know....it wasn't true but how did they know anyway?

She kept walking, trying to muffle the words. Everyone was saying the same thing. Maybe someone had seen her at the clinic, and spread it all over the school, she thought. The thought made her angrier.

It was all getting on her nerves. She didn't know how much she could hold anymore. If anyone would come and say it straight on her face, she'd beat them up.

But then she felt a strange sensation, a tingling in her hair. She looked down only to go straight in shock. Her hair was glowing, but not like silky glowing or straight sleek hair. It was glowing with an eerie red light, an otherworldly illumination that sent her heart racing. She touched her hair erratically and then realized almost everyone was staring at her in shock.

Regan quickly disappeared in the bathroom, trying to compose herself. She stared at her reflection, and she was even more shocked. Her eyes were red and her hair indeed had a faint, supernatural glow. Panic surged through her as she splashed cold water on her face, hoping it would dispel the eerie effect.

"I've gone insane," she murmured to herself, gripping the sink tightly. 

But still, even as she said she was insane, she knew he was real. He was real and her life was turned into a mockery of his malicious presence.

She looked at her reflection again and she saw the same crimson glow in her eyes. She tried desperately to blink or wash her eyes, but it didn't work.

Suddenly, a girl stepped in the bathroom and Regan quickly hid behind a stall door, hoping the girl hadn't seen her glowing eyes. She held her breath, heart racing with fear and confusion.

The girl walked to the mirror, fixing her hair and chatting with her friend on the phone, completely unaware of Regan's presence. Regan waited until the bathroom was empty before she cautiously stepped out of the stall. She avoided looking at the mirror, afraid of what she might see.

Finally, after some time, she gathered the courage to face her reflection. She saw that her hair had gone as it was, half red, half black and the red eerie glowing in her eyes had faded. She thanked God for that. 

Still, as she left the bathroom, she realized she was terrified of herself as much as she was terrified of none other than the one who haunted her with those piercing icy eyes....

***

At home, Monica told her she wasn't going to be house at night because of her work. Regan was worried, she didn't want to be 'alone' all night. But her aunt said that she has talked it with Vesper. Regan texted her Vesper replied with 'I'm coming after your aunt leaves."

It was 5 PM when Monica left and before that, Regan had to listen to her lectures and promise she was going to drink the pills. She knew she was going to break it. She hated breaking promises.

After Monica, Regan stayed quiet for the first ten minutes. She paced anxiously in the room, her impatience growing as she waited for Vesper. Thoughts raced through her mind, wondering why her friend hadn't shown up yet. She tried reaching out to her through her phone, but there was no response.

Regan sighed. She decided to go to Vesper's house and knock. But there was no answer.

The fear grew even stronger, knowing that she would have to spend the night alone in her house. And she knew deep down that she wasn't even alone and that terrified her the most.

Regan felt helpless in all the possible ways but straightened back. She reminded herself that she wasn't a little girl and being scared would only make her weak.

"Oh, but you are a little girl."

Regan gritted her teeth. But she needed to get inside her house at least. Returning home, she wanted to find something that would bring her peace. She wanted to do something different, something that would distract her from the unsettling thoughts.

The sky outside got darker and darker, the roads lit by the streetlights only since the moon was obscured by the clouds.

She had to make sure that her phone was fully charged. She didn't even use it at all. She started singing a song, hoping it would make things better. But she was on the edge all the time. As she sang, she checked all the doors, making sure they were locked. She prayed that....that nothing creepy would happen, that she wouldn't find herself in some horror game.

She felt a mix of anger and disappointment towards Vesper, though.

Time passed like that, she ate mac and cheese in anxiety, all eyes and ears opened for any suspicious thing.

It was already eleven o'clock and her eyelids felt heavy. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips because wasn't planning to sleep. Not tonight at least. She had gone other nights with no sleep at all. She could do it that time.

She stood from the couch, wondering if there would appear some rose there. She had turned off the cameras, so it was worth doing it. There was no rose in there thought. But she very very tired, too tired. The thought of just taking a simple nap made her fall straight asleep in her bed.

***

She sat up abruptlly in her bed, her heart pounding like a drum. It was pitch black and the collar of her shirt was wet from the sweat. Regan cursed under her breath. 

Her throat was also dry and she reached to turn on the lamp, but ended up throwing something on the floor. It was her phone's sound, she knew that.

With a shove of her blanket, she stood up and found the phone somehow. It was 2 PM.

"When did I fall asleep?" she murmured.

She turned on the flashlight, illuminating the room with a cold glow. The water pitcher was on the desk and she poured herself a glass. Just as she turned back, she froze.

He was there. Leaning against the window.

The glass dropped from her hand involuntary as her eyes locked with his icy ones. It fell softly on the carpet, at least it didn't break so that she would get some piece of glass stuck on her feet when she'd run away. But that wasn't what she was thinking at all.

He was leaning against the wall near the window, his hands on his pockets. He was staring at her, a smile tugging the corners of his lips.

Regan blinked rapidly, wondering how he wasn't dissapearing. Normally, he would. But when he straightened up and slowly started moving, she realized he had other plans.

As fear overtook her, she sprinted out of the room, her phone in her hands. 

The door wasn't locked, like in horror games, so Regan managed to get downstairs quickly with rapid breathing.

Her mind wasn't working well and she wanted to leave as fast as possible. Using the flashlight, she descended the stairs and ran to the main door but that was locked. She could feel footsteps, along with her erratic pulse. Gladly, the key shone in a shelf, her car's keys were at the same place. She grabbed them both but struggled to unlock the door. Her thin hands couldn't even handle the keys and tears started to fall from clumsy she was being.

After what felt like eternity, the door opened and she quickly slammed it behind her. She locked it two times and then ran to her car to enter in and lock the doors. She turned the engine on with her hands trembling om the wheel. As she locked everything, she wondered where to go. One thing was for sure, to get out of here.

The road was bright to drive, the cars just a few. It was night and there wasn't any place for her to go. But she continued to drive, a relief spreading on her realizing she was far away from her house now.

She pulled near a park, which looked abandoned in the dim lights around. She wasn't planning to go outside, she would stay in her car but every place looked scary. She jumped from her seat when her phone vibrated.

The phone's screen flashed with Vesper's number. Regan frowned. Why was she calling now? She picked up the phone.

"What a great time to call!" Regan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Where are you?"

"In the middle of nowhere."

"Regan, don't play games, where are you?" This time her voice was more annoyed.

"I'm home," Regan replied casually, "What is it?"

"You aren't home," Vesper snapped back. "I'm here, I know you're not."

"Fine, I'm far now and I'm not turning back, not now," Regan said.

"Fine, but where are you?"

"I'll send you my location," Regan replied and hung up. She sent her the location but she didn't want to meet her. Vesper got some explanation to do. 

She looked at the phone's clock and only 15 minutes had passed since she escaped her house. She closed her eyes shut and wondered what she did to deserve all that. It was very creepy, being watched like that while sleeping. 

Regan's eyes opened again and she felt very tired. What was even worse, telling her aunt was no use. She was already diagnosed mentally unstable and her aunt would never believe her. 

She saw bright lights which belonged to a car coming in the way. The car stopped on the sidewalk, and a feminine figure stepped out. 

Regan squinted as the light hit the figure's features. It was Vesper, she realized. Vesper walked towards her car, and Regan slid down the window. Her friend leaned on it, her expression unreadable.

"How did you find a taxi at this time of night?" Regan asked 

"There are plenty out there," Vesper said rolling her eyes, "You tell me, what are you doing here at this time?"

"Long story, I don't think you care," Regan replied with a shrug.

"Will you open the door and let me in?" Vesper shot her a glare.

Regan unlocked the door to her right and let Vesper to come in.

"So now, what's the long story?"

Regan didn't really want to tell her to the depth. Because in truth, she would seem like a coward.

"You tell me first, why did you lie to me? You said you were coming for a damn sleepover after my aunt left."

"Calm down, I didn't lie to you. I was going to come as soon as your aunt left but my sister called me and she needed me to do a deliver to someone. I wasn't even in city," Vesper said with a sigh, searching for something in her purse.

"You could've e answered my calls," Regan replied.

"Oh yea.... sorry bout that, but my phone was dead. Now, tell me, what the hell we are doing here?"

"I...I don't know how to say it."

"It has to do something with your haunting?" Vesper said, her voice filled with a hint of amusement.

"Please, that's not a joke. That crap is real. You would've done the same if you were me," Regan said, glaring at her.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'd do in that situation," Vesper said, shifting her eyes away.

"Well, it doesn't matter, what matters is that he is real and he's hanging around on my house, watching me sleep."

"You seem to exaggerate," Vesper said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm not."

"But what about the ghost hunter?"

At hearing this, Regan put her hands to her face. "Don't start again with that witch."

Vesper let out a lame laugh, "Witch? She's not a witch. And what's so wrong to try it out? She's not going to kill you!" she sneered, "Ruxena has saved many people like you. And we should get the opportunity because she's in town these days. She sells herbs on the market."

Regan gave it a thought, but it seemed nearly impossible. "My aunt would never let me do this."

Vesper scoffed, "Your aunt doesn't have to know everything you do. You're almost nineteen, not a little kid."

"And what would she think if I brought a stranger to my house?"

"That's not your fault, it's her fault that she doesn't believe you. It's just pathetic."

Regan looked through the window, trying to comprehend it. What if she gave it a try? Monica didn't have to know about it.

"Come on, only one time. I can't see you anymore like this," Vesper said and smiled reassuringly.

Regan let out a long sigh, "Fine."

"Yay!" Vesper exclaimed, her eyes glinting. "This takes place tomorrow.... or should I say, today?"