Chapter 99.

Honk. Honk.

Vrrrrrrrvrrrrrvrrrrrvrrrrrvrrrrr.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

For some reason I envisioned myself being hit by a truck the moment I exited the building. Luckily, I wasn't hit by such a horribly cliche event. With my luck the way it was, I would have been bashed straight into another hallucination instead of another world. I contemplated as such over these deeply profound, unfathomable matters as I watched the cars on the street. I took in a deep breath then listened attentively to the familiar sound of engines rumbling and horns honking as traffic whizzed by us. Somehow, these simple mundane events made me really feel like the world had truly returned this time.

Whether things would simply end here, I wasn't entirely certain. It would have been great if it did, but the ominous end of that nightmare left me unsettled. According to that nightmare, Adele would surely turn out to be my neighbor. I wasn't dull enough to not understand what the nightmare implied. It was clearly the gods of foreshadowing picking another fight with me.

A lot of nightmares and hallucinations I had contained some sort of truth or relevance hidden within them. I was certain this one was no exception. Once I'd taken in the scenery outside, I instinctively refused to return to the stuffy hospital room. As such, I requested to be immediately discharged. After talking to a nurse a bit, the process was quickly taken care of when they confirmed I was fit as a fiddle and there was absolutely nothing wrong with me.

I left the hospital with a refreshed feeling alongside Val. She'd apparently gotten her car back within the last two weeks while I was unconscious. When I sat down in her car, a sudden question entered the back of my mind. To begin with, why did I really collapse? Was it really all just simple stress that made me collapse without any warning like that?

They found nothing wrong with me, but for me to effectively be in a coma for an entire two weeks, there surely had to be some other reason besides stress, right? When I looked at Val's side profile, in her present apparel, an image of a certain individual overlapped with her. A terrifying idea suddenly formed in my head, but I tossed it to the back of my mind in fear of the repercussions of what it meant.

That person and Val were too different for that to really be possible. Initially, I thought Val was somewhat cold, but after I got to know her, I found she was a surprisingly kind and caring individual. There was really no way the two of them could be related to each other.

Besides that, what sort of motive did she have to do such a thing? It didn't add up. My boss tried to poison me using some untraceable method that could easily fool the doctors in this hospital? Wouldn't that be way too far fetched? But what about with Rick's mysterious death?

"Mr. Genovese, are you doubting me about something right now?" My back straightened up in my seat when I registered her words.

Shit. I forgot, she could read me like a book.

"Are you suspicious about why you fell ill and are thinking I was somehow involved considering I was the only one with you before it happened?"

My entire body stiffened up.

When she glanced in my direction, I noticed a tinge of melancholy and disappointment in her eyes.

"Sorry, I was jumping to conclusions without any basis. You would be the first person who would be investigated if you were found to be the last person with me if I really died that day. If it was related to you in any way, then you would surely make yourself as distant as possible."

"It's fine to doubt me, Mr. Genovese. You'd much rather doubt someone you can see rather than someone you can't, right?"

"No, it's my fault for thinking something stupid, but what do you mean by that? Are you implying it was the work of a ghost or something?"

"If you're really sorry, why don't you do something to make it up to me? As for whether it was related to a ghost that got jealous, that has nothing to do with me."

"I'm not admitting ghosts are real, but wouldn't it have everything to do with you if it was a ghost? I incurred the wrath of a ghost because of your actions, right?"

"You're really against anything unscientific to the point it's ridiculous. It's also your own fault for being haunted if said ghost really exists, not mine."

"I was born as a man of science, I'd rather find a logical explanation for everything rather than attribute it to the handiwork of ghosts or demons."

"You're certainly the unromantic type. The woman who marries you will definitely have a hard time in the future."

"How rude, I'm perfectly norm-"

She sent me a glance that said I was full of shit right when I tried to finish my sentence.

"Ugh. If we ignore the crazy shit happening to me and my psychotic exes, I'd say I'm pretty normal."

"You are?"

"Maybe."

I was actually losing confidence that I was normal and not some sort of abnormality magnet when I really thought over my life seriously.

"Where shall we go now? Do you want to go home and get a change of clothes first?"

Looking at the hospital attire I donned, I couldn't stop myself from nodding my head.

"Good, we're almost at your place."

"My place…"

"What's wrong? Are you scared to return?"

"A little."

"Oh? Why?"

"It's just a creeping suspicion that's been at the back of my mind. I hope it won't turn out to be true, but I can't seem to get my mind off of it."

"What is it? You've got me a bit curious now."

"If I said that I'm afraid Adele moved in and is now my next-door neighbor, would you think I'm crazy?"

"Does she know where you live?"

"Definitely not. I made sure when we parted ways not to leave her with any clues as to who I was or where she could find me."

"Then aren't you being too paranoid? Why would she suddenly show up again as your neighbor if you cut all ties?"

"How would I know? I'd like to know that too."

"Now you've really piqued my curiosity. What basis is there for you to have such a suspicion?"

"There really isn't much basis for it, but you can call it a hunch of sorts."

"You're lying again. Do you really think you can slip one past my eyes? Is it related to something that happened during your two weeks in that coma? You were having a nightmare the entire time, right?"

So it really was all a nightmare like I theorized?

"Val, when I first stepped outside of my house that day, in your eyes, did I appear to be hallucinating at all?"

"I can't really remember. I was too shocked by your sudden collapse to pay attention to that."

"I see."

"Oh, that was faster than I expected. Mr. Genovese, we're already here. You're pretty lucky your place is so close to a hospital. If it wasn't for that, you might have really wound up a dead man two weeks ago."