"Open up Lisa!" I banged on the door, rattling it against the frame. It might've been two hours past midnight. But that didn't stop me from shouting at the top of my lungs, voice echoing off the walls of the empty hallway. "Lisa!"
A door squeaked open on the opposite side. A guy stepped out, rubbing his puffy eyes before they landed on me with deep contempt. "Dude are you fucking high? Do you realize what time is it?" He paused, "sick suit by the way."
"I'll be done soon." I waved him off, went back to tearing my vocal chords out.
"Bro, you seriously need to stop, like right now."
I spun to the guy and started pacing in his direction. I didn't realize how intimidating I might've seemed with how he kept stepping back the closer I got, hands rising to level with his head like a kid who'd just been caught keying a car. "Or what?" I asked, nostrils flaring and chest heaving.
Rarely did I ever lose my temper in public, especially with strangers. I was always the quiet guy in school, sitting in the front desk and minding my own business. I was always among the victims of flying pencil sticks and rubber bands and chewed-on erasers. Yet despite all that, I never bullied a soul in my life, rather the exact opposite I'd say, up until now. Standing there, face mere inches away from the guy, I wondered, What the hell is wrong with me?
He recoiled, grimacing. "Chill?" he squealed.
"Sam?" I swung and saw Lisa standing in her pyjamas by the threshold, hair all jumbled and messy, mouth hanging open in shock. Her tired eyes locked on me for a moment, trying to ascertain the reason why I was standing there. "That was you? Jesus Christ you scared the shit outta me!"
I blinked. "You're not hurt? She didn't do anything to you?"
Lisa's eyebrow knitted as she briefly recoiled. "No one did anything to me. Who do you mean by she?"
"Man I am confused as fuck right now." The neighbour scratched the back of his head. "You guys are mad tripping."
Lisa tilted her head to the side. "It's alright Jean, everything's good. You can go back now," she addressed the neighbour with an assuring smile and a gentle wave.
"Just keep your voice down please." The guy skittered back to his apartment, slamming the door shut.
"What are you doing here?" Lisa's hands gripped my arms, guiding me inside her apartment. "And what the hell are you wearing? Oh my God this suit feels so soft to the touch, soo clean."
"I thought you were hurt," I answered as I stepped in. As expected, the living room lights were dimmed. She must've been fast asleep. "I tried calling you many times. You didn't answer." I sat myself on the couch, kicked up a leg on the table and jerked my head back, a sudden weariness taking over me as my anxiety dissipated.
"Shoot! I forgot my phone on silent before I crashed." She filled a cup of water from the dispenser and handed it to me. "Here, drink some," she said as she plopped down beside me. "You did all that because I didn't answer you?"
"No, no." I shook my head. "It's about-"
"Everything OK?" A familiar, chill-inducing voice reverberated from the hallway, followed by the pattering of bare feet on carpet. Then Euna came into view, dressed in a white nightgown that trailed behind her in a wrinkled mess of silk. Blue eyes shining like marbles in the heart of darkness as she looked at me. "Sam? I didn't expect to see you so soon."
My heart almost stopped thudding in my chest. "Speak of the fucking devil," I said, breath hitching in my throat, legs turning all wobbly and weak. "You didn't think I'd find out about what you did?" I sprung up, body moving by its own accord, finger stabbing the air between us. "Do you have any idea what you caused? Hm? Don't worry I'll explain." I held my fingers up and counted, "Sleepless nights. Confusion. Self-doubt. Betrayal. All the best kind of the nastiest shit that could worm its way down someone's skull. That's what you gave me."
I felt Lisa's grip curl around my elbow. "Easy Sam."
I shrugged my sister off as I approached Euna, her expression becoming clearer the closer I got. She looked...
Scared?
I stopped, still breathing heavily, teeth clenched and brows furrowed. "Why are you cowering?"
Tears welled-up in Euna's eyes. I'd literally driven her into a corner and her lips quivered. "I-I don't understand, Sam," she whispered.
"God. You deserve an Oscar. That line delivery is really impeccable." I clapped. "Go on. We're all invested."
"Is this about me leaving you that night?" She asked. "Do you really not remember?"
"Interesting. So you're not only acting in here, but also deflecting?"
"You kicked me out!" She hissed.
"No such thing happened." My lips contorted in disgust as I spun away and paced about the living room. "This..." I waved my hand around. "Whatever it is that you're doing. It won't work. We're all adults here, Euna."
"Nobody is saying you aren't." Euna's voice rose in pitch. "It's not my fault you don't remember. And frankly, I don't care whether you do or not. Just don't make this about me when it's clearly about you."
At that moment, I couldn't keep myself from bursting into laughter. Euna's attempts to slither out of her perdicament were so obviously desperate and vile. It amazed me how she kept trying to weasle her way out of a dead-end.
Clearly, It was all done.
I had her.
Or at least that's what I thought.
"Alright, since I seem to be the one who's confused here," I said, sniggering. "Why don't you explain what really happened last time we were together to my sister."
Euna's wet stare shifted to Lisa, then darted back at me.
"Go on. We're all ears." I pressed her further.
"I already know, Sam," Lisa said in a hushed tone.
"All the better. I'd still like her to correct me in front of you." My arms folded over my chest as I rested my shoulders against the wall. "We're waiting Euna."
Euna drew a deep breath, then brought a finger to her eye, as if to wipe a tear. Honestly, calling it an oscar-worthy performance was an understatement. "The night we decided to huddle together in bed, you woke up drenched in sweat, screaming your lungs out, yelling 'get out' over and over. I knew it seemed like you were dreaming. But with what happened between us before, I didn't want to take any chances and cause you more harm. So I gathered my stuff and left."
"What the actual fuck!" I scoffed. "And you believed that?" I swung to Lisa. "Tell me you didn't believe that."
Lisa shrugged.
"OK, let's assume that's what happened. Did you know what she did to me before?"
"Sam, that's between you and-"
"Did. She. Tell. You?" I emphasized every syllable, finger prodding at air with each pause I took. Only then did I begin to notice the tremble in my hand.
"She mis-communicated something during an intimate moment between you two and ended up hurting you. She said it devastated her and that she'd do anything to make it right." Lisa's shoulders slumped as she gripped her own elbow and let her eyes drift away from me.
"I went to visit your friends the other day, Rajesh and Aanya, great people." Although I was addressing Euna, my eyes were still locked on my sister. "They had some really interesting stories to tell," I added, finally meeting Euna's icy gaze. "Like how you forced yourself into their relationship, purposefully invading their life by seducing Rajesh while he was engaged. You even shamelessly went to his wedding, inviting me as your own prop just to play the cheap game of getting under his skin. Oh yeah. He told me all about it."
Euna went silent for a heartbeat. Then she hovered in her gown, making her way to the counter where her phone sat hooked to a charger. She unplugged it, brought the screen to my face. There was a text that had been sent a couple hours earlier: I miss you.
Rajesh's name was listed as the contact.
"Did he tell you about that too?" Euna asked. "Did he explain how he's been chasing me ever since we met? Did he ever mention how I kept turning him down? Are you sure you were fully aware of what went happened between us before you decided to come here and drive your fist into your sister's door in the middle of the night?"
My mouth hung open, eyes darting between the screen and Euna's face. "I woke up three days later after that night." My voice broke, losing all the confidence it had moments ago. "You drugged me." Even then, hearing myself say the words out loud. It started to sound ridiculous.
"Curious," she said. "I never knew the human body could survive for three days without food and water. Unless I hooked you up to something. If you think that's that case, mind showing me where are the needle marks on your body? They should be fairly recent."
"I- I think I should leave you two to sort this out amongst yourselves," Lisa cut in. "I'm gonna go smoke a cigarette downstairs." She smiled awkwardly as she snaked between us to grab a pack, then excused herself before she closed the door behind her.
"You saying I'm crazy?" I chuckled bitterly. "You think it's all in my head?"
"I'm not, and I don't. I think I'm being fair. I know I hurt you before, that I admit. But what you're doing right now is just stretching it."
My legs buckled beneath me as I sat on the stool by the kitchen, staring at my own feet while I propped my elbow on the counter. "But the stains on the bed..."
Euna's brows arched. "Stains?"
"The mattress smelled like bleach when I woke up, very similar to the smell of-"
"Bleach? Maybe because that's what people use to clean the sheets?" Euna's cackle rang through the empty apartment. "Sam...what is wrong with you?"
"I-I don't-" I trailed off, thinking about the strange things that had been occuring to me ever since dad died: the red shop with the crazy fortune teller, the nightmares that kept plaguing my sleep, the sudden illness that took over one day only to release me the next...
What if Euna was right?
What if there was something wrong with me?
What if it was all in my head?
All those questions must've been written on my expression as Euna slowly edged closer, placing her palm over the back of my hand. "What is wrong with me?" I asked with a cracked voice.
Eyes full of compassion, a small smile stretched Euna's lips. "It's OK. Sam. I can help."
"Help how?" I asked, shaking my head dismissively. "You don't know the kind of weird shit that I've been experiencing lately." I rubbed at my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut from the sudden migraine that started battering at my skull from within. "Jesus Christ I almost hurt you. I went to the police earlier. I thought that you'd rap-" I paused, couldn't finish the word as my breaths shot louder and faster.
Euna pulled me in for a hug, burrowed her fingers through the back of my head and brought her lips to my ears. "It's gonna be OK. I'm right here."