3.4

It's a few minutes past twenty-three when Hannah rouses herself from sleep. With a concerned look, she looks around the bedroom, wondering if she is hallucinating again or if there is actually someone roaming around her apartment.

The first person who comes to mind is Joseph, but what would he be doing at this hour, since he went back to his place in the evening? It's impossible for him to come to her at night and not even look in the bedroom.

Instantly, her heart goes up to her throat. Something is wrong.

In her head she has the darkest scenarios. It reminds her of situations from high school, when the boarding school supervisor harassed her at night, driving the girl completely crazy over time.

Is it possible that someone is in her apartment?

She slides off the bed and creeps to the door. As quietly as she can, she presses on the handle and looks uncertainly at the dark living room. She doesn't see anything, yet she is afraid to cross the threshold, telling herself that someone will attack her suddenly.

— Joseph? — she asks in a trembling voice, hoping it's him.

Unfortunately, a deafening silence answers her.

The girl swallows her saliva harder and steps forward, blindly finding the switch on the wall. A bright light appears in the room, and she sees nothing strange.

Fortunately.

Nevertheless, she is sure she heard something. She was awakened by a loud bang in the living room. Did something simply slide off a shelf and fall to the floor?

She walks closer to the kitchenette, but here, too, everything is fine. Then her attention is drawn to the bathroom. This is the only room she still hasn't looked into.

Why does she feel such apprehension when she puts her hand on the doorknob?

She steps inside and hastily slaps her hand on the switch, and the flare of light in the room, calms her heart when she realizes that no one is here either.

She supposes that this restlessness may be related to stress. Her sister has been giving her a good kick lately.

Hannah faces the mirror. She takes a tranquilizer pill from the cabinet and sips one, then leans against the sink with her hands. She lowers her head and closes her eyelids, taking a deep breath.

— It's because of the past few days. I was nervous — she repeats quietly.

She lifts her face and looks in the mirror, and then her eyes seem much bigger.

She freezes.

— It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Hannah says.

The girl turns to face her, and then her knees buckle under her. She falls down on the cool tiles. She opens her mouth to say something, but fear robs her of speech, and she can't get a word out. Hannah looks at the girl clad in black clothes as she removes the hood from her head. She leans with her back against the shower stall and crosses her arms over her chest, looking satisfied.

— Did you call me because you are mentally weak again and need my help?

The brunette shakes her head.

— I didn't call you — she says in a trembling voice, feeling tears coming to her eyes. — It's impossible for me to see you again.

— I came back because you require me, Hannah. You can't deal with your sister alone. She is dangerous. — The brunette's face pales. — I should be angry at you for pouncing on me and reaching out for psychiatric help. You are not sick. They made you believe that.

— You are an illusion.

— I may be an illusion, but I used to have a life too. Remember the day you wrote about Jin and Joseph. I was by your side. That's when you heard the whole story from me, found out why I took my life in that room.

Hannah tightens her lips as she recalls one of the winter days when she was still living in the boarding school and late at night she sat in her room, talking to the entity about the past. It was then that she helped her write all those words on a piece of paper, which Hannah no longer remembered the next day.

She also revealed to her the truth about the room and what had happened in the past. For the entity that at that time took the form of her sister had committed suicide there.

— Why do you look like me this time?

— Since your sister is alive, or rather, you hate her, then it would be better for me to use your reflection.

— I am definitely dreaming. It's impossible for me to see you again. I have been cured, I have been on medication for many years.

— You are not sick. I've been telling you this from the very beginning. You don't believe me.

— So how do you explain the fact that I'm creating illusions in my head again?

— Maybe this is happening because of your sister? Think that she is the one who is finishing you off. She has caused you a lot of stress lately, hasn't she? Isn't that how you try to protect yourself from her? You know that I will help you.

— Why do you want to help me?

— Because my name is Solar, and your sister is the worst bitch among the race, since she destroyed me.

Chills run through Hannah's body as she realizes how she knows this name. Solar... The girl from whom it all started. The person through whom Johnny tried to kill Danielle.

She was the one who committed suicide in the boarding school. In the room where Hannah lived for six months.

— I'm weak — the brunette whispers as nausea overwhelms her. A cold sweat covers her, and then she gets the impression that the whole picture is blurring before her eyes.

She loses consciousness.

*

Her breathing accelerates as she opens her eyelids and realizes that she is lying on the bathroom floor. With anxiety in her eyes, she looks around the room to make sure she is alone and that she was just dreaming the entire thing.

She leans her hands against the sink and faces the mirror, looking at her pale reflection. She doesn't look her best, and she doesn't feel excellent either.

Hannah rinses her face with cold water and sighs loudly.

She keeps telling herself that it's a bad dream, and she just started sleepwalking through the nightmare. She has no other explanation for this, and doesn't even allow herself to think that the illusions from the past could be renewed. The girl realizes that the psychiatrist made her aware that often, medication only helps for a while, and the illness can return at any time, especially if something stressful starts happening in the patient's life.

Nevertheless, Hannah is not going to accept the idea that she actually saw something during the night. She prefers to explain to herself that it was just an ordinary nightmare that just seemed realistic to her....

The girl comes out of the bathroom, and her gaze finds a clock hanging on the wall. It's seven o'clock in the morning, so she still has some time to herself to gain strength and get ready for work. Above all, she needs to calm down, as her heart is still pounding like a hammer.

She takes the phone in her hand when a text message sounds. The message is from Joseph, who notifies her that he has arranged an evening out with the guys and if she feels up to it, he would like her to spend time with them.

After that night, Hannah doesn't have any energy in her, but she supposes that she will recuperate by the evening. She doesn't intend to give up meeting her friends. She needs to at least have a little fun to forget everything, especially her dangerous sister, who poses a threat to her.

If she locks herself in the house, she will go completely insane over time.

*

— What about you? You look so gloomy that if you dressed up in a costume of a mortician, people would run away from you, rushing. — Bella tries to amuse her friend as the two sit down at the bar, for a moment wanting a break from the male company, who have been dipping their toes into the topic of sports.

The brunette picks up a juice from the bartender and drinks the entire contents of the glass.

— It's about my sister. I'm worried because I know she's up to something. She has clarified it that she wants to destroy my perfect life. She will take away everything I care about most. — Hannah looks at the boys. — She knows perfectly well that outside of Joseph I can't see the world, and friends are like family to me. — The girl tightens her lips. — After the last meeting with her, I found out how unpredictable she is. I don't know what she's planning, but I'm terrified of it. She is stronger than I. It seems to me that she has turned off all feelings and has no heart at all. She acts like a monster.

— Have you forgotten that you have a beast with you that devours monsters smaller than itself? — Bella smiles at her friend, discreetly pointing at Joseph. — It's a matter of time when you will see his true face again. So far, you've managed to silence this beast.

Hannah starts laughing at these words.

— I think I'd rather have that beast silenced for life already. When I think back to my high school days.... — The brunette wrinkles her eyebrows. — Then I have no doubt that this version of Joseph is a thousand times better. Back then, he was simply an immature shithead.

— Your sister apparently still hasn't grown up.

— Maybe so, but she has a problem. I'm sure she's not thinking soberly. She suffers because she doesn't have anyone around her who sincerely loves her, or at least likes her. She's jealous of that, so she wants to take all that happiness away from me. I know what she means. She wants me to join her and become a wronged sheep like her.

Jin approaches, who stands between the girls and puts his arm around them.

— What's up? Why are you sitting at the bar? Does our company tire you out? — He asks in an amused voice, and Bella starts jumping up.

— I have to use the bathroom urgently. I'll be right back. — The girl gets down from the chair.

— Get those paws off her! — Jin rolls his eyes, hearing Joseph's voice, and obediently sits down on the seat that Bella had just occupied.

— If a strange guy touched you, I'm sure that Joseph would tear him to shreds.

— That's why I still haven't introduced him to my friend who came back from abroad. I'm worried what the meeting will be like.

They both simultaneously start laughing.

— Danielle is too quiet so far. I'm sure this is the calm before the storm.

— Haven't you had any contact with her recently?

Jin shakes his head.

— Since I talked to her in the bar, I haven't received calls from her or answered her messages. I know that I've already succeeded in driving her crazy, as she communicated this to me in her last text message. Nevertheless, I have no desire to contact her. Certainly not for the moment.

— Do you know that she wants to destroy the lives of both me and you? To take everything away from us? She thinks that we will then tuck our tails and stay with her.

— It was her mother who raised her this way. She was strict with her and instilled in her the foolishness that a woman must be strong. She messed with her head. Danielle freed herself from her seven years ago, but now I'm the one fighting the battle with this woman. She intends to take the company away from me at all costs. What kind of mother, what kind of daughter. Horror. I have to put up with both of them.

— I've heard that her mother is strict, which is why Danielle can't stand the fact that I was adopted by a good family. Maybe not so good, since my father left me and my mother when I was fifteen. He did this to marry another woman. He had an affair with her for a long time.

— Do you have contact with him?

Hannah smiles sourly.

— He calls when he remembers that he has a daughter. You know... I don't give a damn for a long time. All my life, it was my mother who raised me anyway. She is a wonderful woman and I can't say a bad word about her. I will never do that.

— Some people are not so lucky. Take Danielle, for example. And I admire her so much that she put up with her mother for so many years. I don't know what my father saw in her and why he married her. This only makes me have problems after his death.

Jin picks up a drink from the bartender he ordered moments earlier.

— Is she really trying to take over the company that belongs to your family?

— She can't stand me, besides, she thinks I'm the reason Danielle died. If only she knew that her little girl was all right.... — The boy twists his lips in a smile. — It seems to me that in this way she wants to take revenge on me, trying to take away my company.

— Why don't you confess the truth to her in that case? Tell her that Danielle is alive.

— Maybe one day Danielle will do it herself because I'm not going to get involved. I have enough issues.

Hannah smiles as Joseph embraces her from behind and rests his chin on her head.

— What are you talking about so intensely?

— We are groping for you — Jin explains.

— I'm a perfect man, so it's impossible for anyone to talk about me behind my back.

— Just remember that Jin and I know your worst flaws — Hannah announces, glancing at her friend out of the corner of her eye.

— We would run out of numbers to list them all.

Joseph squeezes the girl tighter.

— So list at least one. I'm curious — he turns to Hannah.

The brunette answers him without a second thought:

— You are morbidly jealous.

She would like to tell him that his character is terrible, especially when he has mood swings, but she doesn't want to accidentally cause an unnecessary argument. Joseph is an irritable person. Sometimes worse than a woman during her period.

— If I wasn't jealous, it would mean I don't love you.

She gets warmer at heart.

— Tom, some old pervert accosted me outside the bathroom! — Bella's shout spreads throughout the bar as soon as she enters the room.

— Then you should have kicked him in the appendage. What did I teach you?

Joseph smiles under his breath.

— See? This is the difference. Tom teaches his girlfriend self-defense, and I'm there to protect you.

His words make her feel better.

— So you will beat up any pervert who touches me?

Jin leans his elbow against the countertop without taking his eyes off them. Hannah is the first girl around whom Joseph can be open about his feelings. The naked eye can see how much he cares about her.

— First, I'll start with your childhood friend. When will you introduce me to him?

Hannah glances at Jin as he starts laughing at the look on her face. The girl blindly grabs the phone in her hand as the message sounds.

"Behind your back, beloved, and you look into the eyes of another?"

The brunette looks frantically around the bar, realizing that this is a message from her twin.

She is here. She's watching them.

— Why have you gone pale? What's wrong with you? — Joseph asks, seeing that Hannah is upset.

— My sister... She's here somewhere and looking at us.

Jin takes his phone out of his pants pocket, seeing that he also received a text message from Danielle.

"Don't lie that you only like her. I see the way you look at her."

The boy gets up from his chair and carefully looks around the room.

Where is she hiding? Where is she watching them from?

Sitting with her back to one of the tables, the girl, accompanied by her friends, smiles at the sight of her friends' worried faces. She puts her cell phone to her ear, meanwhile sipping her drink.

— It's funny that they're looking for you. They looked concerned.

— Good job. Tire them out for a while longer. Let them have a warm-up before the real hell I have prepared for them.