Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

“No way.” Colin mumbled, his head hanging low, “Phoebe, do you despise me or something?”

Feeling a bit cornered, I had to speak up, “Look, why don’t you head to the office tomorrow, and then you can come with me the day after, okay?”

It was not like one day would make much of a difference.

Colin kept his gaze down and stayed silent.

“Mrs. Langley, I’ve left the new smartphone for you by the door,” Eric set down the phone and left, content that his job was done.

They all had figured it out: Colin only ever listened to me. Even I had to admit it was true.

Yawning, I got out of bed to fetch the phone, powered it on, set it to silent, and then slipped back. into bed.

Colin seemed wide awake, not the least bit sleepy, as he climbed into bed, pulled me into his arms and started toying with my hair.

I was too tired to deal with him, so I just snuggled against his chest and drifted off. After who knew how long, a pressing need to pee woke me up. I wanted to head to the toilet, but when I opened my eyes, I saw Colin was still awake.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at something in his hands.

I rubbed my eyes, not quite understanding at first.

Then, my heart skipped a beat. Could it be the note Finn gave me? I remembered clearly tossing it in the hospital’s trash after memorizing the contents and the phone number. How did it end up with Colin?

I walked over to him and saw that what he was holding was just a piece of toilet paper.

Relieved, I whispered, “What are you doing up in the middle of the night?”

“Just heading to the toilet,” he looked just as sleepy as me.

I nodded.

He was probably just woken up too. After all, we’d been splashing around in the tub for so long. we were both terribly thirsty before bed. As refreshing as it was to drink all that water, the midnight bathroom trip was equally annoying.

“Phoebe…I’m scared,” he clung to me from behind.

I looked up at him, puzzled.

What was there to be afraid of in going to the toilet?

“Phoebe, do you think souls could be lingering around us in a form we can’t see?” Colin asked

softly.

08:05:

A chill ran down my spine, and I clutched at the hem of Colin’s shirt. Now, it wasn’t him who was scared; it was me. Because I knew that souls could indeed exist around us, unseen.

“I think I should step out while you use the toilet,” Colin said innocently but seriously.

The place suddenly felt drafty at every corner.

He knew me too well. I was such a scaredy–cat.

Holding on to Colin’s shirt, I whispered, “Just turn around; don’t look at me.”

Colin grinned obediently, gave an “okay“, turned around and stood by my side. I snorted, knowing he was just messing with me.

“Are you using all your smarts just to torment me?” I muttered under my breath. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Colin didn’t turn around. “You once asked me, if a genius suddenly became a fool one day. what’s the one thing that wouldn’t change?”

I looked up at Colin, with no recollection of such a conversation.

“Even if I became a fool, I’d still love you,” he said softly, his voice so low I could barely hear him.

I wanted him to repeat it, but he had already bowed his head in silence.

Early in the next morning.

When I woke up, Colin had already left for the office. I reached for my phone to see a few missed calls from Stella.

“Sleepyhead, you finally picked up,” Stella whispered in a teasing tone.

I paused. Stella? Was she also treating me as Phoebe now? Before, she would only ever call me “Sleepyhead“.

“Last night, Dexter went bonkers, insisting on seeing you. The doctors couldn’t hold him back. He was so hurt that getting out of bed made him bleed again. His primary doctor is my senior, so he called me. I told him there was nothing I could do, might as well euthanize Dexter.” Stella’s sarcasm was as sharp as ever, “And guess what? Bleeding and all, he took off when the doctors weren’t looking.”