Chapter 15

Darker. Darker. Darker. A deep darkness that seemed endless surrounded Veronica. It was cold. She felt as if the temperature in the black space was piercing her very soul, cutting into all the thick walls she's built around her.

It then started fading, letting bright colors replace it. When the muddled colors finally cleared, her eyes revealed her to be in a coffee shop. The place seemed oddly familiar, but it wasn't the usual coffee shop she goes to.

There was the powerful scent of coffee around the shop.

There was the same placement and number of tables, her standing in front of the one she used to always go to since it was close to the window and the air conditioner.

There was the same jazz music, resounding throughout the space, making her want to dance to the melody, but she felt as if the place paralyzed her. The coffee shop somehow kept her in place, frozen.

Suddenly she heard a voice behind her calling her name. It was deep, but cheery, making it sound sweet. She was forced to turn to see a man, his physique and silhouette recognizable, making Veronica widen her eyes. However, only his body and features were definitely visible. Black muddled his eyes, making his identity unsure.

Other than the man, she saw another person who looked… like her. The person looked like her, but she figures it is a younger version of her, considering the daintier shape of the body and the shorter hair. They sat across each other, her replica typing away on her laptop as the familiar man sat in front, watching her. He spoke.

"Veronica, let's go to the mall!" He said. He wore a wide smile, pearly white teeth contrasting to the blurry black replacing his eyes. Her younger replica said something, judging from the moving of her lips, but to Veronica, it was inaudible.

After a second his smile fell, mouth forming a frown. The previous cheery aura turned into devastation and disappointment. "You don't want to? Why? It's our first date! A-alright, I get it, you're busy. I-I'm sorry, just don't get mad."

Veronica frowned at the sight. Her surroundings suddenly turned black once again, the darkness returning. She started wracking her brain, confused about what's happening. The scenery changed once more. Now, she was outside an apartment, the same replica being in front of her, her hand reaching to knock on the door. It opened, the same man from a while ago greeting her with a smile.

"Welcome home, Veronica! How was work?" He asked, inviting her in. Veronica walked to see closer, witnessing the replica shake her head and move her lips, voice still unheard. "Ah, you don't want to talk about it? I'm sorry."

The scenery changed once more, transitioning into blackness, then into the inside of the apartment. Veronica seemed to be in a bedroom, judging from the bed and the table beside it. She turned to see her replica and the man once more. The man was on the bed sobbing; the tears rolling down his face rapidly while your replica just turned away. He stood up from the bed and started crying harder.

"You want to break up? But, why? Why?! I-I'm sorry, it was my mistake. I'll be bett—" Before he can continue, Veronica's replica slapped him across the face, making the man land on the floor. For a moment, he laid on the ground, shocked. After a few seconds, he looked up to her replica, eyes wide and glassy, full with tears. She opened her mouth to speak, this time, audible.

"Just leave." She said, eyes cold.

"V-veronica…" He breathed out; eyes still wide. He finally stood up, looking at her with devastation before turning to walk away. "Fine!"

Veronica tried to stop the man, but the apartment seemed to stick her in place, just like how it had been in the coffee shop When she turned around, her replica disappeared. She turned once more to see that the man had already left too. It was then she realized she was alone.

Darker. Darker. Darker. The darkness started seeping in once more, blank blackness reaching out that once again seemed endless. Unable to do anything but feel helpless, she cried.

Her tears continued to roll down as her knees became weak. Her shoulders bunched up as a small squeak left her trembling mouth. She cried harder, her back hunched over as her shoulders shook while sobbing. The image of her hitting the man continued to show in her mind, making her sob even harder, whaling out as she pulled on her hair.

She deserved this. She deserved all the pain that crashed into her. She deserved to be alone in her own cage. She can't hurt anyone else if she was just… left alone.

All these thoughts continued to replay, the voices from inside her gradually became louder. They became loud enough to shout at her from outside and inside. It was as if her mind was pounding, desperate to make her feel terrible.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry!" She screamed out; however, her voice didn't come out, only making her scream out some more. Her throat felt rough and sore, but she continued to scream.

Suddenly, a line of gold seeped through. Her crying and screaming halted as she turned to see the light becoming brighter. A silhouette of a woman Veronica was immensely familiar with started walking out from the radiance.

"Ashley?" She blurted out. The woman smiled and reached a hand out to her.

"Ms. Reyes…"

…

"Ms. Reyes, Ms. Reyes? Ms. Reyes, are you awake?" Veronica's eyes fluttered open. She squeezed them close again, having a hard time adjusting to the bright light. Ashley smiled widely, heaving out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank fuck. How are you?"

"Ashley?" The said woman's eyes widened. "God, my head is pounding. What happened?" Veronica sat up slowly, groaning as she did so. It took Ashley a few seconds before she could answer.

"U-umm, you fainted, and I rushed you to the hospital." She stuttered, trying to ignore Veronica's first word. "The doctor said it was because of your fatigue and you have a fever too! You should take care of yourself more."

"I do."

"What do you mean you do?! If you actually had been taking care of yourself, I wouldn't have driven you all the damn way to the hospital. Sammy was literally crying for fuck's sake."

"Ah, Sammy!" She said, eyes widening as she sat up straight. "We didn't get to eat the cake with them!"

"Relax." She said, cutting Veronica off. She pushed her shoulder slowly to make her lean against the hospital bed again. "They said that they'd make a new one since they knew how to. Besides, what you need to do is recover. You cannot move at all for the next 3 days."

"Yes, I can. I have to. I have work on Monday."

"Work, my ass! You're staying at the big ass mansion with Sammy so you don't get lonely. You need to rest!" Ashley yelled, standing up. She panted lightly after exerting her effort into screaming. Veronica stared at her with wide eyes, the space becoming quiet. She went back to normal again, an eyebrow raised.

"… Ms. Johnson, you're getting pretty gutsy these days." Veronica said as Ashley jumped, cheeks flushing.

"Ah! Sorry, Ms. Reyes…" She said, sitting back down. "I just… I was so worried. I was right beside you all the time, but I never…" She trailed off as she hunched her shoulders, head hung down. Veronica sighed at the sight, looking away.

"It is not your fault, so stop crying."

"I'm not crying!"

"Oh, really?"

"Well, other than that. The doctor said you can get discharged." She said. She then sat closer to Veronica to make sure she pays attention, eyebrows furrowed as she scolded her boss. "You just have to take it easy. I'll do my work along with yours so you don't have to worry. I'll send the documents you have to sign over to you so you don't move too much. I'll be visiting once in a while to deliver those. Sammy will keep you company since you haven't spent time with them much either. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just stop getting so close to me and we can go home and taste Sammy's cake."

"Yes, Ms. Reyes!"