Change

Chapter 11

Colette huffed as she dusted a wooden counter. 

"At least I can practice being a 'house wife,'"  Colette joked to herself.

After cleaning the kitchen, she continued to find anything else she could possibly clean. Owen was right- the hotel was filthy. On the way, she met Edgar, who was helping to put away boxes. He winked at Colette- flirting? Just when Colette was about to wink back, she saw Owen and immediately turned away. Edgar noticed and pretended to be busy with the boxes. "My goodness- this place is sparkly clean already! Good job, everyone. Keep it up!" Owen encouraged.

Everyone, except for Colette and Edgar, cheered. While Colette was walking around, she noticed something very strange. Each person she checked on before was cleaning the same thing, even if it was already cleaned. They also kept staring at Colette and Edgar- strange. She met a few glimpses, and they looked away whenever Colette made eye contact. They acted like they weren't spying on them. "Edgar," Colette boldly whispered. "We have to get out of here. These people are watching us; they're actors!" 

"How do you know?" Edgar asked.

"Look at them."

Edgar turned his gaze to the "actors", and their faces immediately turned away. Edgar nodded, understanding what Colette meant. "I'll go tell Owen."

Edgar disappeared into Owen's room, and Colette cleared her throat. "Please stop looking at me." She stated. Then added, "I can see you all staring at me."

One of the workers yelped, fear rushing on their face. Another worker had to drag them out of the room, trying to make it look like they were innocent. Owen and Edgar soon came out, and Colette overheard their conversation. "Leave? Already? Why, it's only the afternoon!" Owen protested.

"I'm sorry, Owen. We really need to get going. Your hotel is amazing, but we can't stay here forever." Edgar explained.

"Well then... you can go. I can't trap you two here, either." Owen said sorrowfully.

"Great then. I'll go pack our bags, okay Edgar?" Colette responded. She went upstairs, using the room key to open the door. After making sure all their stuff was packed, she went downstairs. 

"Farewell, travelers. It was lovely meeting you." Owen sighed, surprising Colette. 

"I guess he changed- the rumors were... fake? I can't really tell,"  Colette thought.

When they were about the leave, the entrance doors closed tightly. Edgar and Colette gasped, while Owen laughed manically. "No one gets away that easily, lovebirds." He hissed.

"I knew it, dang it!" Colette cursed as she took out her scrapbook. 

Edgar took out his scarf, and he hung it around his neck hurriedly. The workers seemed to be like Owen's minions; they pounced like wild cats and attacked. Edgar punched each one in the face, saying sorry as he did. "Don't apologize, they're like Satan!" Colette fumed.

"I just feel bad-," Edgar began.

Owen brought out a weapon- she could barely see it, but it was shiny and stained with red. Blood? Yes, blood. This man was about to kill them! Owen joined in the fight, and Colette and Edgar found themselves in a bad position. They kept assisting each other, and surprisingly, they started taking the advantage. Most of the workers were knocked out, weak and vulnerable. Owen cursed under his breath and charged, aiming towards Edgar, who was busy fighting a worker. "Edgar, look out!" Colette screeched as she ran towards them. 

Then, at that point, everything happened so quickly.

Blood...

Cries...

And something else...

Sorrow?

"Colette, wake up." A sobbing voice said weakly. "Please, I can't lose you now. I promised I would stay by your side. If you aren't alive, I can't be with you."

"Edgar..." Colette groaned, forcing herself to wake up.

She saw a blurry Edgar, his face bruised and beat up. His scarf was torn and dirty, and cuts were on his arms. "What happened?" Colette asked as she tried to get up.

"Don't get up," Edgar instructed, forcing her to stay still.

"Edgar, your beautiful face..." Colette reached her arm up to touch his face. 

"You think my face is the serious problem here? You almost died! I... almost lost you." 

"What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine-." Colette started coughing. She spat up a warm liquid- it was currently night, so she couldn't see the color. She wiped her mouth and realized it was blood. 

"You're not fine," Edgar whimpered. "You were stabbed... by Owen."

"H-how did you escape?" Colette questioned.

"I used my scarf to break the door open. Owen's minions were hurting me, but I didn't care. I ran out and continued running, until they stopped chasing me." 

"What about Owen?" 

"I..." Edgar tried to hold in tears. "I-I killed him. It was an accident, I swear. I d-didn't mean to kill him... I just thought he killed you, and I got so upset. I stabbed him with his own knife."

"Edgar, if it was an accident, it's okay. Plus, Owen was a huge jerk anyways," Colette tried to laugh, but coughed up more blood.

"We'll head back home and I'll get help, I promise. I'll stay by your side until you fully heal; until you feel better." Edgar promised.

"That's a nice promise, looking forward to it-."

"What a lovely sight." A voice intersected. 

Colette and Edgar turned towards the voice. There, a beautiful woman was standing. She had a silky dress the color of the night, and a matching headpiece to cover her face. "Who are you?" Edgar demanded, covering Colette protectively. 

"Now, now, I do not mean harm. I am simply your friend, Edgar."

"H-how do you know my name-?" Edgar said with a tone of surprise in his voice.

"Your personalities, do you know who swapped them?" She continued. "It was me- I'm the woman you're looking for, my friends."