KILL THIS LOVE | JENLISA

Chapter 148

Jennie

"Worse than that." I replied within a heartbeat. "And most of the time I think I'm crazy for seeking things out that I know should be left alone. But I can't sleep at night, it's too loud." I shook my head, "I thought this would give me some peace and quiet in here."

I peered at the woman, my bottom lip quivering. "My friend, she has done terrible things. Things that make me wonder if she's human in the first place. Is she even real?" I breathed in, "Sometimes I have to remind myself that she's capable of smiling. Riding her horse made her happy, she told me. I'd like to think it's true."

I realized I had been going on and on for a while, blabbering out my mind to a random person. As I opened my mouth to apologize, the woman beat me to it.

"Horse you said?" She mused, "If you say she's from around town, only one family ever owned horses here." She appeared deep in thought, before turning her face up towards my general direction. "The Manobans. They had stables and all. And their child, Lalisa, was at Yongin Psychiatric Hospital yes, but she lost her life in the fire."

Lalisa.

My eyes widened by epic proportions as I took all that information in. "Well... well, what happened to the... Manobans? Are they still around?"

"No, last I heard they left town after what happened to their child."

I stood up, the chair mildly scraping against the floor with my action. "Thank you so very much Ma'am, you have been of great help. Um, one last thing, do you think you could give me The Manobans' address?"

The woman proceeded to explain that it would be of no use, considering the house had been vacant for a decade. But I was hearing none of it, my heart thumping in my chest like never before.

I wrote down the address and took my leave. As I sat in the driver's seat, I had to take in three large breaths to regulate my breathing.

Lalisa.

My fingers brushed against my right pocket, feeling the outline of the pocket knife that I had brought along for protection. With that, I stepped on the gas. The ride was only about 20 minutes long. Nearly not long enough for me to reconsider going there alone. All I could do was pray I wouldn't encounter a certain someone, and even if I did, the pocket knife would suffice.

Soon I found myself pulling up in front of a fairly large house, ungroomed and dilapidated. An ounce of doubt infiltrated my mind; for all I knew, Lisa could have lied about the horse bit and the Manoban family had nothing to do with her.

But the second I looked out the window, at the other side of the road, I froze. There, on the other end, was a large willow tree. It was like deja vù, except I knew exactly why the tree looked so familiar. It was the same as the one in Lisa's repertoire, one of the first pieces of her art I had ever seen that was left emblazoned in my brain. It was real, it was happening. This is it.

I got out of the car warily, glancing around in all directions as I entered the yard. The moonlight mocked me as I walked around the property, high on adrenaline and fear. Instead of going straight inside the house, I decided to check out the backyard.

It was huge. Just about the size of the park that faced my dormitory. Deeper into the land, I could spot three vacant stable stalls and pen gates right adjacent to the stalls. Clearly it had been many years since this place last saw any signs of life.

Feeling a sudden chill run down my spine, I decided to retreat. I backed away from the farm-like yard, hastily walking over to where the front door of the house was. On one hand, I wished to call Sergeant Cha and show him what I'd found, on the other I realized, there was no solid proof to back my claims.

I sighed as I realized the only thing between me and a slew of answers was that front door. Carefully reaching down my pocket, I brandished the knife in my hands as I approached the door, stealthy like a fox.

The entrance may as well have had "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" inscribed all over its surface.

I'd almost touched the door handle when I felt a small weight on my right shoulder, one very akin to a touch. With paralyzing fear spreading through my veins rapidly, I turned around and screamed at the sight of a certain person.