Touch of Deception

THIRTEEN

"It's you," she said. "It's you all along."

She couldn't believe it. It can't be! It can't be him. He's the last person she thought that would be her stalker and yet there he was, standing in front of her.

"That's right. Now, tell me why do you keep on running away from me?" He took out a small knife and pointed it under her chin. She closed her eyes. And then everything came back to her. Her dreams, the flashbacks, everything. It was suddenly hard to breathe. It was suddenly suffocating. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide but it was hard to move. Not when he's pinned her to the wall. 

"Please," she rasped. She can't breathe. Everything flashed before her and she's trembling. But all she could hear was Neil's low laugh as he leaned and whispered, "That's right. Beg." 

"You may be wondering why I was doing this. But I was your classmate in Chemistry. I just wanted to be friends but you didn't even bother to hide that look on your face. Do you hate me? Why do you hate me?" He pressed the knife harder. "I just want to be friends," he crooned. 

And she closed her eyes as Neil leaned and sniffed her neck. "Is it too much to ask?" 

She was trembling hard and Neil must have noticed it because she felt him smile against her neck. 

"Look at you," he said, tracing the tip of the knife on her jaw. "Look at you trembling with fear." He scoffed as his grip on her wrists tightened. "You act so arrogant and so mighty but look at you now. Look at you. You're frightened and I like it." 

Tears started streaming down her face as she felt his tongue tracing her neck. 

Someone, anyone...help! 

She couldn't stop sobbing. She's very scared. Her knees are getting weak but Neil kept her up by holding her wrist tightly. She doesn't know she acted like what he said. She doesn't know any of it at all. And maybe he's right. But she's scared. It was hard to breathe. Her vision is blurred by the tears. 

"You can't ask for help. You're too scared. Just like how I imagined you to be. Do you know how much I've played this moment in my mind? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?" 

"Please...Neil," she rasped but speaking became difficult too. 

Things happened too fast. One moment, Neil was in front of her and the next thing she knew was her body falling to the ground. Neil disappeared. She doesn't know what happened. And then she heard grunts and the sound of a fist connecting to something. And that's when he saw another man in a white shirt. It wasn't Neil. Neil was wearing a black hoodie. 

The newcomer was on top of Neil, punching him endlessly. She doesn't know who it was but his back looked familiar. She was slowly losing consciousness and the man in the white shirt looked at her. 

It was when he crouched down in front of her that she knew who it was. 

"f**k. Celeste, can you hear me?" She could see Matt's worried face as he looked at her but his voice sounded distant. She was like inside a bubble. But Matt was there. He was mumbling something she couldn't comprehend. But she certainly heard him say, "It's alright. You're safe now."

And she believed it. Strange enough. She believed what he said. That she's safe. Matt saved her yet again. She tried to speak but before she knew it, she was pulled into oblivion.

 * * *

Most nights she could bear it. But tonight, she was twice as scared. Because the two men kept coming closer. She couldn't see their faces. The lights from the window disappeared. Two men entered the room and they kept coming closer as she curled her knees on the side of the bed. The one at the back locked the door. She knew he locked it because he clearly heard the tick of the lock. She's shivering with the cold and with fear and her body feels weak. And they kept coming closer. She wanted to say something. She wanted to pick something up and use it to defend herself against whoever they are but her body feels weak. And when one of them sat on the bed, next to her, she saw a glimpse of his face. And horror filled her system as half of Neil's face was illuminated with the little light. And when he extended his hand to touch her, she screamed. 

And she opened her eyes. 

The light was blinding and her throat was sore with all the screaming. She was screaming. They were going to do it again, she thought. She kept protesting but strong hands kept on holding her down. They're coming closer. She couldn't run. She has to run. Or they'll do it again. 

"Celeste, it's me! You're fine. It's fine now. You're safe!" said a man's voice. 

But she doesn't believe him. Whoever he is. They're going to do it again. They're going to molest her again. She has to run. She has to get away. "Get away from me, please. Please don't hurt me! Please don't do it. Please!" 

"Celeste!" someone roared and she stopped protesting. The voice sounded familiar. And the next thing she knew was someone hugging her, caressing her back gently. His voice was gentle as he kept saying, "It's me. I am not going to hurt you. You're safe. It's done. You're safe. Don't be scared." 

The man said it over and over again until she believed it. Until she realized it was all a dream. 

And then she remembered everything. She was walking home when Neil revealed himself to be his stalker and pointed a knife at her. It was Neil. 

She didn't stop her sobs from coming out. She clenched the stranger's shirt as she buried her face into his shirt. Then she remembered somebody came and saved her from her stalker. 

Matt Adams. 

"Matt?" she called, though still sobbing. 

She felt Matt went utterly before he said, "Yes. It's me. I'm here." 

And when she confirmed it was him, she buried her face into his shirt and sobbed uncontrollably. He continued to comfort her, saying that it's all fine and it's alright. And somehow it calmed her down. She was still trembling. Her dream was terrible. Like always, it felt too real. And what happened with Neil made the dream even worse. 

"You're okay," Matt kept saying. And she doesn't know if she really was okay. She was still trembling and her tears won't stop. She could still feel Neil's hands wrapped around her wrists, the knife tracing her jaw and the feel of his breath on the side of her neck. She could still feel it all and it was the worst. It reminded her of the past she was trying so hard to heal from. And it sucked that all of it almost came back to her all over again. The sheer fear she felt that night over a year ago, was the same fear she felt when Neil cornered her. It sucked that it only takes a few minutes of the same horror to destroy what she has built for a very long time.  

She closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself down. 

Breathe. 

Breathe.

Breathe. 

She continued doing so until she calmed down. 

She was back on the bed and Matt was sitting beside it. It was when she took a look around that she realized she was in a hospital. Probably the one near her apartment. She looked at Matt's shirt wet with her tears.

"I'm sorry about your shirt again," she mumbled and fidgeted on her finger. Matt blinked and realized what she said that he looked at his shirt and chuckled as if he just realized it was wet with her tears. 

"Oh. This?" He looked at her and grinned. "You owe me two shirts now," he said and that made her smile a little. But she kept staring at the blood. It was just a splatter. And Matt must have noticed her staring that he said, "It's fine. It's just--" 

"From Neil. When you rained punches on him." Matt just nodded at her statement. 

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for saving me." She looked at him. It might have been the first time she looked at him straight in the eye that he was too surprised to speak. And when he was about to open his mouth, someone arrived and called her and hugged her before she could even greet her back. 

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry!" Gail was crying as she was hugging her tight. 

"It's not your fault, Gail." 

"I didn't answer your call!" Gail exclaimed. "You called me! Twice! I was fighting with Benedict and I thought it was him calling me. And it was when Matt called that I knew what happened. I am so sorry." 

"Gail, you couldn't have known. It wasn't your fault. And besides," she pulled from her hug, "I'm fine. Matt was there too." 

Gail's eyes went to Matt before she wiped her tears as she said, "Thank you." 

Other than the fact that she was scared out of her mind, she was feeling well. She doesn't want to stay in the hospital a little longer so they immediately went home. Matt paid all the expenses and he knows she would be uncomfortable with it as he said, "You're going to pay for that, don't worry." 

And she went home relieved that the stalker's been captured. She was scared to sleep that night. She doesn't want to have that dream again. But she must have been tired with everything that she didn't realize she was already fast asleep. 

* * *