Hidden Sanity

Chapter 23 - Escape

Alice drove her way back home, exhausted from work. She checked her phone again, but quickly so to focus on driving. She knew by herself that she still yearned to see a reply from Jack.

But she still hadn't found any.

She thought of the unfairness of a brief happiness can reverse to subsequent, tragic events.

Seeing no reply was enough to make her realize that all her hopes of becoming close again were too much of a moonshine.

It was the first time she acknowledged to herself that she no longer really meant anything to him.

There were times when she longed for him to come back and times when she never wanted to see or hear from him again. But now she just doesn't know what to feel, except empty.

While Alice is still on her way home, Jack arrived at his apartment, took a quick bath to wash his body and toss his clothes to the washing machine to wash the remnants of blood.

After taking a bath, refreshed, like he didn't just kill two people tonight, he walked to his bedroom with a towel rolled around his lower body and his hair dripping wet. He gets his phone and typed in, "Alice are you up?" and slid it to the table beside his bed after he sent it and get dressed up.

He wore a sweater and trousers to complete the look because it's cold. He knew the heat doesn't do him good in any situation so he didn't turn on the heater.

He got dressed and checked his phone but saw no reply so he thought of just buzzing her from next door.

He got out of his room and rang the doorbell of her apartment.

Once...

There was no response. He rang it twice...

Four times, even.

But still no sign of Alice. He wondered why.

"Must not be home yet?"

He texted her again, "Are you home?"

He waited for a few minutes and still no reply. He then decided to go out of the building to wait for her outside. He brushed his hair back, still damp from shower and as he walked out of the elevator on the ground floor, he bumped into Alice who was about to go inside the elevator.

They both stopped.

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Alice was surprised to see him again at a close distance like this. But she remembered what he did and can't look at him the same way again so she turned her back and walked out of the building again.

Jack shouted, "Alice! Where are you going?"

He followed her. She walked fast so he can't chase her but Jack walked faster.

"Alice! Why are you running away from me? What's wrong?"

She didn't talk. She kept walking.

"Alice! Please stop and talk to me!"

Jack caught her pace and grabbed her by the hand.

She finally stopped.

Jack walked in front of her and faced her. "What happened?"

She glared at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

She finally talked, "Why are you here now?"