"Soo respectively...
I'm not a piece of cake."
Present
I wake up to the sound of ongoing beeps. I sigh deeply, already having an idea of where I have ended up. It smells like medication and gloom. The sheets are cold, and I shift my head uneasily to the side, only to recognize Austin staring at me.
"Mmmh." He slightly groans, still staring at me, and I quickly get up to wipe my droll. "Isn't he supposed to be in Italy?" I think.
The silence is mind numbing and yet I don't dare to break it. After what feels like hours of just staring at each other, I can't read what his eyes say, but I do know what mine will forever say: "Why?"
"What are you doing here?" I crack the silence. He scoffs, giving the wall a brief stare and staring back at me.
"And what are you doing here, manichino?" (dummy) He asks, not genuinely, but to make a point. I try hard not to squint in confusion at the last word he lets out, but I do anyway.
He walks closer to my bed and places his hand on my forehead, then slowly to my chin and onto my neck. He plays with his fingers continuously down to my chest, giving my skin small brown patches that spread my skin like wildfire.
"Your heart-" He reaches upon it, which beats uncontrollably, still so fond of him.
"...is weak." He finishes off with his Italian accent being wide and thick enough for me to catch on.
"Angela!" Diana suddenly comes in, with Kimberly by her side, to the attendance of her phone.
It wasn't our first gathering since I had left her home. We had met there and there with Diana to brush off the fight we had years ago.
She explained that the investigators had found my mother's drawing, given it to her because it was of no use to the case and pretty much that's it.
"Are you okay?" Diana reaches for a hug. Austin steps aside, making gestures for Kimberly to also give me a greeting. She gives an eye roll and proceeds with her texting.
"What are you doing to yourself?" Diana sighs dramatically. "You barely even visit; the media itself is worried," I interrupt her with disbelief.
"The media?" I ask. How did the media find out I was here?
"Yes, they found out you were here, and we're all worried, sweetie. I think you should make a statement." She advises.
"For what?" A statement? A fucking statement? I couldn't help but curl my hand into a fist in anger.
"We all think you're crazy; maybe finding professional help will stop the media from wanting statements and us coming over." Kimberly shrugs, with Diana trying to playfully hush her.
"Maybe Diana should give a statement on how she raises you, because it's absolutely disgusting." Austin argues.
"Maybe you should go back to Italy." Kimberly glares.
"Maybe you should come with, brat." He glares back; her phone rings at that moment, and she swings her middle finger at Austin, then walks out.
"Uhm, Angela. Maybe she isn't wrong. I'm worried." Diana says.
"Diana, can you please just stop?" Austin begs. I give him a brief stare before looking away. I didn't have the time for this.
"Fine, but we're having Austin's welcome party tonight; you have to show up or-" I knew right then what she'd say. "The media, right? I know." I guessed just right.
"You may leave then." I was done, and I wanted them out.
*knock *knock*
"Miss Brown?" The doctor peeped in, and I consciously thanked God for that.
"May we speak?" He asked politely.
Austin and Diana left while I listened to the doctor tell me about how sensitive my heart is. "Asthma," my heart couldn't bear much of anything that got me too excited or too frightened.
Bummer,so what do I do best?
I left the hospital and found a driver outside. "Miss Brown, I was told to wait here for you and to drop you home safely."
Curiousity sparked me as I squinted my eyes, trying to focus on the tall white man with a black suit on.
"Who?" I ask.
"Mr Rossi." He responds. It was Austin.
Funny how he used his grandfather's surname. Diana was supposed to share the surname 'Rossi' but she didn't. She stayed with the surname "Miller," while Ronald stayed with the surname 'Rossi' despite their marriage.
I arrived home to the sound of my phone buzzing. "Hello?" I greeted.
"Hey, are you okay?" Summer asks honestly, while Jane scolds me in the background.
"Mmmh, mmmh, mmh." I hum continuously to the scolding while I walk into my room, weary-eyed, only to come across something so alarming.
A coat. The very same coat had made me faint, so it wasn't a dream. That wasn't a dream, and I am almost convinced that I'm crazy. The coat disappears into thick air, fading into nothingness as I watch it with ideas that I can't believe.
I drop the phone, which is barely pinned to my ear anymore. I reach to the ground right near the fading coat and hang up the call, which exclaims my name.
"No way..." I whisper. I hit my chest roughly while trying to grasp air. I make excuses for what lies before me, but they're not good enough. I grab the asthma pump that was given to me, and I make use of it.
I briefly look away from the necklace, which settles on the bed, and right back to the coat, which is marked with words now.
"Whichever object belongs to the other world with no existence in the second world shall fade away from presence."
"Other world?" I question it, but my phone rings with Summer's name on it.
"Are you okay?" Summer asks with worry and rushes to her tone. No, I'm not okay. I'm insane; I'm seeing sh*t.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to take a video of something right now and send it to you. Just tell me if you see it okay."I had this idea in my mind: if anyone else could see what I was seeing, then it'd be real.
I didn't give Summer the chance to say anything else and just hung up.
I stood in a still position and took the video of the weird object that disappeared into thick air, along with the necklace that was beginning to fade away.
The video would be unrealistic for Summer or Jane since bits of the coat and necklace were disappearing. It would seem like an edit, but I didn't care; it was happening, and that's all that mattered, so I sent it right away.
Summer called immediately after receiving the video. "And what's this?" Summer sighs.
"We're coming over!" Jane yells.
My heart doesn't know how to work anymore. I can feel it skip a beat, and I can't catch on. "So you can see it?" My breath is hasty, and I can barely speak.
"Can I see sh*t disappearing? Yeah, no, I'm worried now."
I didn't hear anything more from their scolding and worrying. They saw what I was seeing, and that was it. I hung up as I stood before nothing. They were gone; they faded away.