1.24

Her knees buckle under her as she takes unsteady steps and heads toward the person sitting on her bed. She opens her mouth and puts out a trembling hand, as if she wants to touch the girl, but immediately withdraws it. The girl is afraid. She can't do it.

Eventually, she falls to the floor, directly under the visitor's feet. She shakes, unable to lift her head and look her in the face.

— Why? — She asks, with tear-stained eyes staring at the floor. — Why do you look like her?

— Because it's the face you miss the most.

Pressing her lips together, she lifts her head and looks at the person, who begins to inspire fear in her.

— You can't do that. By doing so, you cause me more pain. Is this what you mean?

The girl crosses her arms on her chest and looks at Hannah haughtily.

— You are strong. You are the only one who survived in this room. I thought it was time for us to get to know each other, don't you think?

He leans with his hands on the floor, not taking his eyes off her. She can't control her body, so she shakes harder and harder.

— Why do you come to me every night? Why do you claim to be my dead sister? Why did you take her face! — she screams unexpectedly, and her lip trembles. — What do you want from me?

— I want to make friends with you. I plan to replace your sister, whom you miss so much.

— You can't... you are just a ghost who inhabits this room. You will never replace her. Do you know why? Because you are her dark reflection. Danielle warned me about the entity that can claim to be her. I don't trust you — she said.

Standing in Jin's threshold, he watches the younger girl through the ajar door. He watches her speak into the space, staring at a single point. She sees someone. Her mind creates an image that is not real.

Joseph was right. Things are getting worse. She needs help.

Jin found out about Hannah's problem completely accidentally. Only then did he understand what her strange behavior was caused by. A friend talked him out at the end of the semester. Joseph tried to question him about his aunt, who is one of the better psychiatrists in the city, until he finally couldn't stand it and shared the secret with him. He concluded that this was the only way they could help Hannah before tragedy struck.

During the holidays, something occurred to him. He unexpectedly changed his mind and revealed to Jin that he should be the one to take care of the mental girl. He decided that he wanted nothing to do with her and certainly would not help her.

There are days when Jin can't understand his friend. His mood swings are severe, and he is difficult to get along with. He has moods that sometimes do not allow for normal conversation and then unnecessary arguments arise.

Whether with or without Joseph's help, Jin must help Hannah before it's too late. He needs to take small steps to get closer to her and eventually communicate to her that she needs help. He realizes that forcibly sending the girl to a psychiatrist and telling her to her face that she is sick could further develop her illness.

He has to be careful and at the same time keep an eye on Joseph to make sure he doesn't commit any foolishness, as his attitude toward the girl has recently become hostile again.

*

That morning, Hannah skips breakfast. She's not hungry, so instead of going to the cafeteria, she heads outside the classroom where she starts classes.

She squats on the windowsill and, swinging her legs, looks at a single spot on the wall. The poster she's looking at doesn't interest her at all, yet she can't take her eyes off it. She doesn't read what is written there, as her thoughts revolve around the entity that accompanied her for hours tonight. The spirit urged her to do many evil deeds, most importantly to teach a lesson to an older student who humiliates her.

Should she react to this in any way?

At the end of the corridor stands Joseph, who, leaning with his shoulder against the wall, does not take his eyes off her. With his arms crossed over his chest, he squints his eyes, watching her carefully. The boy only now sees how strikingly similar to her, she is, in profile.

— Things are getting worse with Hannah, so let her go. We promised ourselves to be kind to her. I shouldn't forgive her for what she did, but this is the beginning of a developing disease, and I can turn a blind eye to her behavior. Why are you making her life miserable again? You know that in such a situation you should let go.

The brunet tears his gaze away from the girl and moves it to his friend. They have been arguing about Hannah since the holidays, as each of them has begun to have a different opinion about her. Jin wants to help her at all costs, while Joseph on the last day of school stated that he only wants to watch the suffering on her face.

— So far, she doesn't look bad. This disease develops gradually and only in the last phase will it fall on her roof. Maybe in time, make a phone call to your aunt and schedule an appointment for her?

— Don't be rude. Earlier, you told me yourself that this is a dangerous disease, and it can come to the point where she inadvertently harms herself.

— Then report it to the director. Have him call her mommy. Possibly, she can immediately lock her up in a psychiatric hospital.

— That way I would rather not hurt Hannah either — he denies as Joseph sits down on the windowsill. — Do you know how the parents emotionally approach this? Her mother will immediately enroll her in a psychiatrist and make her daughter sick. This can only make her condition worse. You should know better yourself, since you've been through it.

Joseph swallows his saliva nervously as he thinks back to those days. Although he was a child who does not remember much of it, he will never forget some of the images that stuck in his mind. Especially the person's eyes when she tenderly embraced him and assured him that he was not the only child in the house. He was accompanied by girls to play with, even though he was the only one in the room.

— I will not take pity on her just because she is sick in mind. I have a reason to hate her, and on my account she can slit her wrists. I don't give a damn.

She walks away, and Jin uncertainly heads to the girl sitting alone. He can see that she is nervous, but she smiles at the sight of him.

— Didn't you go to breakfast? — In response, she shakes her head. — I haven't either. I haven't had an appetite since this morning. I hope it's not some kind of virus because most people have refused to eat. Suspicious.

She merely nods. She thinks about something for a moment; she looks like she's not sure if she can ask the question.

— Don't you know what Joseph's reason might be for treating me so meanly again? I thought the second semester would go by relatively peacefully.

— I have no idea why he is doing this, but just try to ignore him. He's been my roommate for more than two years, so I've managed to get used to his strange moods. Occasionally, he is insufferable.

— Is that why you've been arguing so often lately?

— Perhaps — he replies, shrugging his shoulders. The boy smiles at her in a friendly way as she looks at him with sad eyes. He can see that she is in pain. He feels sorry for the girl and really wishes he could help her. The boy feels silly at the thought of how he treated her at the end of the first semester. He should have been gentler. If he had known beforehand what her problem was....

— I don't know if I'll survive here until the end of the year.

He looks at her with concern in his eyes as he says these words.

— Why?

— Before I came to this school, I was so excited. I thought it was the best place in New York and that it was an honor to study in such an institution because after graduating from it, all universities are waiting with their doors wide open. — She lowered her face and looked at her hands, which she nervously played with. — I was wrong. I don't fit in here. Danielle was right when she told me that this is the worst shit and I shouldn't submit my papers here.

— It's true. Danielle hated this place.

— Now I am able to confirm her words. She was right. I am also starting to hate this place. I would rather not be here.

— Because of Joseph? — He tries to trick her to get the truth out of her, although he guesses that she will not reveal it to him so easily.

— In fact, he is the least problem of all — she replies. — The biggest is this building, especially the room I sleep in. I'm sleep-deprived and can't concentrate on my lessons. Eventually, I'll get to the bottom of the list, and then I'll burn with shame.

The boy doesn't want to delve into the subject because he knows perfectly well that for the moment she won't tell him anything else.

— Maybe you should again talk to the director about changing rooms?

— Do you think he will agree? He probably hates me after I destroyed his daughter's life. I prefer to stay away from him. — He sticks his hands out in front of him, assuring that he will not go to the director's office of his accord.

— Right. I completely forgot about it.

— Possibly I'll survive somehow. I'll wait and see how it goes. — He shrugs his shoulders with indifference.

*

She is tired and hungry. After class is over, she finally heads to the cafeteria to fill her belly, since she hasn't eaten anything since the morning. She is about to enter the room, but stops at the threshold when her attention is caught by Joseph, who is accompanied by Ashley. The young woman is explaining something to him, he seems to be furious. He throws her a nervous glance, and although Hannah longs to hear at least part of the conversation, she is unable to because he is standing too far away. She can only guess that they are talking about Halsey.

— Will you take a long time to go inside? — She looks over her shoulder and throws a hateful glance at the boy who drew her attention.

— Yes, I'll be thinking for a long time. If you would rather not wait, you can enter from the kitchen side or through the window. As you prefer — he replies spitefully, as he interrupted her peeping.

The student tightens his lips and unexpectedly grabs her arm.

— Step back.

— Leave me alone! — he yells, with which he draws the attention of the attendant. The woman is about to approach, but is stopped by Joseph. He looks in the direction of Hannah and the boy, who squeezes her shoulder. With one whistle and a stern look, it's enough for the student to let her go. She lets go of the seventeen-year-old and looks nervously at the floor.

The fact that Joseph stands up for her is a good sign for her.

Walking past him, she smiles cheerfully. The boy crinkles his eyebrows and simply returns to his conversation with the sitter.

The teenager looks around the room and looks for a table to sit at. She hopes to see some people she knows somewhere, but the only student she has contact with is Nick, who is eating his meal alone. Mariah is not with him.

— May I? — She asks as she walks up to him. With a nod, the boy indicates for her to sit down. — Today without company?

He snottily nods in response.

— I was left alone. Mariah has no appetite, but I'm sure she has found something else to do.

— What's wrong with this day? Most people don't have an appetite. Did they add something to last night's dinner to save money on food today? — Hannah's words amuse the boy.

— I'd say there's some kind of virus prevailing. — He stiffens when he notices that Joseph is looking in their direction. — If he comes up here, I assure you I'll be out of here in two seconds. I don't want anything to do with him.

The 17-year-old follows his gaze, understanding that he is talking about the dark prince. In response, she merely shrugs her shoulders.

Her attention is caught by something else this time. She opens her eyes wider and breathes out nervously, feeling a strange lump in her throat. She lowers her gaze hoping it will go away, but when she raises it again, that figure is getting closer.

The girl blanches with fear and with frightened eyes watches the entity, which looks like her sister. With a smile on his face, he heads to her table.

— Hannah, we should become friends. Why don't you want that? — she repeats in an innocent voice.

With trembling hands, she grabs a glass of water that belongs to Nick. She can't control her nerves and spills it all over the table. The boy looks at her with clear concern in his eyes, noticing that something wrong is happening.

— Are you all right? — he asks, but she gets the impression that his voice is echoing in her head. Everything spins before her eyes and she feels like screaming, but she restrains herself, clenching her fists tightly. She digs her nails into her skin; however, she feels no pain at all.

She sees only one point. Her attention is drawn to an approaching figure, and everything around her looks as if it is hiding behind a fog.

Joseph notices that something disturbing is happening to Hannah. She is staring at one point with frantic eyes, looking like a frightened child who, in times of danger, is ready to attack the perpetrator, just to protect herself.

The guardian intends to approach the student, but Joseph stops her.

— I'll take care of it. It's because of me that she looks like this. I gave her a good thrashing earlier — he announces, then with a jaunty step he heads to the table where the teenager is sitting. He helps her up from her chair and forcibly leads her out of the cafeteria, when she still does not take her eyes off something she is the only one able to see.

It doesn't exist. It's just an image she imagines.