TWO: LE VISITEUR

NOIR

After a few minutes, my father's limo pulled up in front of the family house and the driver he had sent to pick me up opened the door. This wasn't necessary, but rejecting the offer would've made him sulk like a little girl.

I stepped out, feeling a wave of nausea and anticipation hit me.

I hadn't visited home in a while.

I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell once. A familiar maid opened the door almost immediately. Her eyes widened.

She didn't know I was coming.

Her look of surprise and confusion was replaced with excitement.

"Bonsoir, Monsieur Noir," she said stepping aside. I nodded and walked past her.

As soon as I walked in, another maid rushed upstairs to announce my arrival while the one at the door took my jacket.

Soon, my mother walked down the stairs in a shiny gold dress that flowed around her feet.

She wore her warm smile as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. Her familiar scent almost made me smile.

My father cleared his throat behind her making her pull away abruptly. She shifted from one foot to the other at the uncomfortable tension. My father's inability to exchange pleasantries had turned this moment into an awkward one.

"How was your flight?" He asked, his voice slicing through the silence.

"It was alright," I replied with a straight face.

There was another short while of silence.

"Well I'm sure dinner's ready. Shall we?" My mother said walking away as as fast as she could.

My father followed her into the dining room immediately.

I rolled my eyes and followed him.

Dinner was quite casual. We all sat and ate quietly at the table before my parents decided it was time to talk business.

"Speaking of which," my father said slightly raising his voice to emphasize on his next point.

"Did you come here to waste valuable time? Or is this trip to Paris in any way related to the work you're supposed to be giving all available resources to?"

I released my cutlery, making them drop loudly onto the plate.

Swallow it down and contain it.

I took a small sip of my wine.

"I'm considering stretching out the company. We've concentrated on artists and technology for a very long time now. I'm investing in that hospital you've been telling me about."

My mother smiled at me like I had won award or something.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you would actually listen to me," my father said picking up his phone.

"Did you call–"

"No," I said cutting him off.

He stared at me with a blank expression for a second and somehow I could sense that he wanted to say something. Silently, he unlocked his phone and after a few scrolls and taps, he raised it to his ear.

"Bonsoir...yes...I know...well my son is ready to meet up and talk... Alright then... Have a lovely evening."

He stayed silent, waiting fo me to ask.

"...so?" I asked finally with a frown.

"You'll have dinner with Dr Anderson tomorrow. If all goes well, he'll want to give you a small tour around the hospital which you will have to take. And then you report back to me on the condition of the place. Oh... And I've heard rumors about the mental asylum. Be very observant when you get there."

I rolled my eyes earning a small laugh from my mother. Thankfully, my father didn't notice.

"What kind of rumors?"

He just shrugged. "Shady business. I prefer not to say. Just pay close attention. Just in case you notice anything strange."

That's odd...

Another disadvantage of having to run an entire company at this age. My father thought I was a child that needed him to dictate my every move.

I'm a 25 year old man

After dinner, the rest of the evening was beautiful. I enjoyed catching up with my siblings and having long talks and arguments about the weirdest things.

But sooner or later, I had to return to the hotel to get ready for the next day.

A day that I had no idea I would never forget.

...

NOIR

It was exactly 7:00pm and I was already seated at the agreed restaurant.

He was running late.

I sipped the wine... and it tasted awful.

"Excuse me," I said and the waiter that was passing by turned around immediately with a smile.

"Yes?"

"Can I get something a little..."

How do I say this without sounding arrogant?

"A little less cheap?" He asked with a small laugh. He nodded and was about to leave when he stopped abruptly and stared at me with a frown. "Aren't you–"

"Yes. But please don't draw too much attention"

He smiled. A real smile this time.

"Of course. It's just... I've seen your interviews and how you reply to the press and I just really admire your work," he said with a large smile.

"Merci," I replied with a nod of acknowledgement. I wanted to believe it but I couldn't. I assumed he was just trying to be nice.

Just as he poured the wine and left, a woman walked in. I wouldn't have noticed her but her entire appearance was hard to miss. I shook my head, feeling pity for whoever she had come to meet up with.

I turned on my phone to check the time for the millionth time.

Just as I looked up I saw the same woman approach me. The strong stench of her perfume made it hard to breathe.

I stared at her blankly when she came and stood beside the table with a straight face. And I kept staring at her when she cleared her throat dramatically, inching even closer.

"Can I help you?" I asked finally, annoyed.

She gaped at me for a few seconds, seemingly taken aback.

"You scheduled a meeting?"

"Yes. With Dr Anderson," I said slowly, talking to her like she was a toddler.

A sound escaped from her lips. I forced myself to believe it was a laugh.

"Oh I'm sorry. Didn't your father tell you? He couldn't make it. I'm his daughter."

My eyes widened slightly at the realization that I was the person I had felt pity for earlier..

I stood almost immediately.

"That's fine. He must've been preoccupied. Nice to meet you..."

"Yvonne."

"Right."

She stretched out her hand and I shook it hesitantly before taking my seat.

She sat and grabbed the glass, taking a long sip of the wine. As she set the glass down, I couldn't help but notice the smudge of the bright red lipstick that she was wearing way too much of.

Okay...

"Are you ready to order?"

"Actually I'm not that hungry."

What!?

"Pardon?" I had been waiting for over an hour and quite frankly, I was starving.

She laughed. "Yes. I have a lot to show you and we won't have time to eat."

That accent would've been sexy if you weren't pissing me off!

I dropped the menu, sighing mentally.

"Great idea," I said with a forced smile.

We left for the hospital.

After about an hour she had shown me around all while explaining to me how everything works. I was getting bored and tired. I zoned out of her words and allowed vague thoughts to drift through my mind to keep myself awake.

"And we're here." I dropped back into reality and looked around. There were a lot of doors. They all looked practically the same. Except one at the end of the hall. The exterior of the door was metallic, making it impossible to see through. I'd already taken note of the conditions of the other patients. This one made me curious.

"As you can see, all the patients are in good condition."

I needed to be a hundred percent sure of that because of "the rumors."

"That one seems interesting. Who's in there?" I said, pointing at the dark door.

Her eyes went wide but her smile didn't fade.

"Oh, that's for special cases that need frequent medical attention."

"Who's in there?" I pushed.

She seemed speechless now and it was very strange.

"W–well umm... It's nothing for you to worry about," she said, followed by a nervous laugh.

"Besides, I wouldn't want you to go in there," she said avoiding my eyes.

"Why not?" I said, burying my hands in my pockets.

"It's dangerous. Her condition is really getting out of hand."

"Well is she in a straitjacket?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Then we'll be fine. I insist."

"Very well then," she said.

We walked over to the door and she swiped a different card, unlocking the door.

DANICA

I was lost in thoughts of this visitor.

Was he here for me?

My anxiety grew at the thought.

"Tomorrow is going to be a big day for me," Yvonne said while changing my straitjacket. "And I won't let you mess it up. We have a visitor."

And at that moment, I almost gave a fuck.

Almost.

We'd never had any visitors. Not that I knew of. But I really didn't care.

What could this visitor possibly do that would make my life any better?

Just then, the door opened. This time, I wasn't seated in my usual spot on the floor. I was seated on the bed with my hands crossed in my lap. Composure was what she wanted from me.

The familiar stench of her perfume hit me before I heard footsteps. She wasn't alone.

I chose not to look up. Or maybe I was just afraid. Let's just say it was the fear of being face to face with anyone in Yvonne's company that made me choose to lock my mind away from whoever walked into my white prison.

"She seems calm enough," a man's voice came.

After a moment of silence, I heard footsteps, coming closer to me. I knew it was him because Yvonne in flat shoes was impossible.

I felt his figure tower over me.

"Ummm... You probably shouldn't do that," Yvonne said from behind him.

He didn't respond. I hadn't experienced any form of human contact apart from what Yvonne was doing to me in a very long time.

I flinched as his fingers made contact with my chin, tilting my face up.

The voices in my head screamed as he brushed some of the thick black hair off my face.

I screwed my eyes shut as soon as he could clearly see my face. This was unbearably overwhelming for me.

Open your eyes.

I wanted to. I just couldn't. I felt my heart racing.

He brushed more of my hair away, tucking it behind her ear.

After an inner battle, I finally opened my eyes.

My eyes met his.

They were so intense. It was like I could read his mind through them.

I could see the curiosity, fear and pity all pilled up in them.

I don't know how long he held my gaze, but it felt like forever.

I couldn't breathe. Maybe it was because of the new tension. The kind that I had never felt before.

Suddenly, Yvonne cleared her throat.

The echo's returned. This time, they were louder. But I was already exhausted from the little incident with Yvonne which was just two days back.

The room started spinning and I felt my chest tighten. Painfully.

I felt myself fall to the floor as I tried to escape the agony. This was a bad time for my body to betray me like this. But no one could blame me for this.

"We're leaving," Yvonne said, seemingly afraid of what he might think.

Her voice seemed distant to me in this state. I fought to stay conscious, knowing what I would face if I fell asleep.

"This isn't supposed to happen. You have to help her," he said in what sounded like a calm voice, but laced with worry.

She didn't respond or at least I didn't hear her say anything as I kept gasping for air.

The door closed and that was the last sound I heard before falling back into a nightmare worse than the one I lived in.