Secrets Of His Playhouse

Eight

Jermany's POV

After I told Eva about Gerald and my incident, we suddenly became closer. We ate together at lunch, dinner and sometimes breakfast. She protected me from all those weird guards and better yet; she kept telling Shawn I was still in a state of trauma. Although lately it seemed like my free time was almost over. I wake up in the morning ready for my training with Eva, but it seems she had other plans.

"Shawn came over this morning." she says and I freeze.

"What did he say?" I ask.

"Jerma, he said, your time is up"

I feel my heart beat out of my chest.

"w-wh-what?"

"The welcome party is this Saturday, and I can't protect you anymore. After that day you are one of us regardless of what ever trauma you might go through, I'm sorry"

I sigh; relieved that I would not die, but still worried about my future.

"But Eva, there has to be something we can do, I... I I can't, I c... can't." I say.

Eva bows her head down for a while, looking defeated. The only person who can help me is helpless. There's nothing I can do if she is helpless. I sit down on a chair, defeated.

Everyone was right, if they could see me now...

That's all I keep repeating for I don't know how long until Eva speaks.

"I want to show you something, come with me."

I follow Eva through some unknown halls. To be honest, I can't believe this playhouse is this big. After some twists and turns, we appear in front of a white door. My curiosity levels are up to the roof as Eva opens the white door.

It's a medium-sized room filled with tons of medical equipments. There's a man standing there with a notepad; probably a doctor. It was then that I noticed a young lady sleeping peacefully on a bed; they connected most of the medical equipments to her.

"How is she doing?" Eva asks.

"She's stable." The man says with a smile.

"Could you give us a moment with her?" Eva asks again.

"Sure, I'll be right outside if you need me." he says before dropping his notepad and leaving.

I study the girl as she breathes steadily, her chest rising and falling.

"Is she asleep?" I ask Eva.

"Something like that" Eva says as she moves closer to the girl. She sits at the edge of the bed and holds the girl's hand.

"Is she sick?" I ask again.

"She's in a coma." Eva whispers. "The doctor says she can hear us so we're supposed to speak positively, no one ever does though; no one but me."

Realization hit me like a rushing wave; this was Paula, The Paula.

"Don't let her looks fool you, she's as soft as a marshmallow." Eva says with a sad smile.

Paula had pink hair, a nose piercing and several ear piercings and also a tattoo of the word "purple rose" in Chinese on her left arm.

"Did the playhouse make her this way?" I ask, eyeing her from head to toe.

"Oh no," Eva chuckles. "Paula always loved to dress in a way that attracted attention to her."

I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"How did this happen, the coma?" I ask.

"Paula lost her parents in a terrorist attack at the tender age of ten, she's been living with her grandmother since then. Things became difficult for her after high school, she couldn't further her education because they didn't have enough money. Paula resulted to doing minor jobs to take care of herself and her grandmother. She eventually gave up on her dreams of going to college and instead concentrated on staying alive. Soon after she made this decision, her grandmother fell very ill; breast cancer"

I gasp.

"She was helpless and chemotherapy cost a lot. She had nowhere to go to and no one to turn to until..."

"She met Shawn." I add and Eva nods.

"He promised her a lot, and he fulfilled his promises, but all on one condition."

"Become one of his dolls." I say bitterly as my irritation towards Shawn Phillips increases.

"She had no other option; she had to agree. True to his words, her grandmother's chemotherapy started immediately. Paula was ecstatic when she found out that her grandmother was slowly recovering. The inevitable moment came for Paula and she had to hold up her end of the bargain. It was her first night after her welcome party. She was ready to go. She walked into her clients' room but never walked out." A tear runs down Eva's cheeks. "She's asthmatic. No one knew until that day. Her client had tried to choke her when she refused to have sex with him, and then she had a serious asthma attack. The guy ran away, telling no one what had happened. He left Paula alone, gasping for breath. After the time the man paid for had elapsed, Paula's personal bodyguard went to get her and found her unconscious on the floor. She's very lucky that she didn't die. She's been in a coma for the past three months."

I feel my own tears running freely down my cheeks after Eva's story. This petite girl in front of me had gone through a lot.

"You know," Eva starts quietly. "I don't tell her but I'm scared for her, it's been a while." I move quickly to Eva's side and lightly squeeze her shoulders.

"She'll be fine, she's a fighter" I say, but even I didn't believe myself. "How could Shawn do this?" I ask rhetorically, but Eva answers anyway.

"It's not his fault, you'll understand one day." She pauses. "He is merely a puppet like the rest of us." she adds quietly.

Shawn Phillips, a puppet?

"Listen to me Jermany," Eva says and turns to face me taking my hand. "Promise me you won't resist anymore, promise me you will be cooperative, you could end up worse than her, promise me."

When you think about it, me and Paula were exactly alike. We were both weak, but we put up a tough face. We were both only here because of our debt to Shawn. We were both doing this for our family. We both have no other choice than to do as Shawn says. Hopefully, one day we will both be free. But for now - till whenever - we both have to be cooperative no matter what. We have to be strong and endure for no matter how long. I glance at Paula, who's calmly breathing behind Eva. More than anything, we have to this for ourselves. I turn back to Eva and nod.

"I promise you Eva, I will do my best to not get killed because of my stubbornness. But I could get killed for other reasons." I say and grin widely.

Eva chuckles. "Don't get killed at all, no matter what."

"Alright, I promise." Eva pulls me into a warm embrace that I unconsciously drown in. I cry silently in Eva's arms.

It was in that moment that I realised that shit just got real, like real real.

*********

Iamisoken

Signing out....