Believe Me

8 I Emily's Struggle

  After the incident at the police station, Emily's demeanor shifted dramatically. Jason noticed the change immediately. Where once she had been lively and engaging, now she seemed withdrawn, haunted by shadows he couldn't reach.

  Jason tried to approach her gently, but Emily's responses were erratic. Some days, she laughed hysterically at nothing, only to dissolve into tears moments later. Other times, she retreated into silence, staring blankly into space as if lost in a world of her own making.

  One evening, Jason found her in the bathroom, a faint whimper escaping her lips. He knocked softly, concern etched into every line of his face.

"Emily, are you okay?"

  Silence greeted him at first, but then a muffled sob broke through. Jason's heart clenched as he pushed open the door to find Emily sitting on the edge of the bathtub, tears streaming down her face. Blood trickled from a small cut on her arm.

"Emily, what happened?" Jason's voice was urgent, his hands trembling as he reached for a towel to staunch the bleeding.

Emily shook her head, unable to meet his gaze. "I don't know," she whispered hoarsely. "I don't know why I did it."

  Jason's mind raced, fear gripping him tightly. He had seen signs of Emily's distress before — the sudden mood swings, the sleepless nights — but this was different. This was Emily hurting herself, and he didn't know how to stop it.

"Emily," Jason said softly, kneeling in front of her, "Please, talk to me."

She looked up at him then, eyes filled with a mixture of shame and fear. "I'm scared, Jason," she admitted, her voice barely audible.

Jason held her hands gently, his heart breaking for her. "I'm right here with you Emily, Let me help you."

"I'm scared of you Jason. I'm afraid, you might kill me at anytime", her words passed an arrow at his heart.

  Without warning, Emily's eyes blazed with anger. She slapped Jason hard across the face, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry Jason. I didn't mean to...", he hugged her tightly as she told. 

  But she refused his touch and Jason could only watch as she disappeared down the hallway, her footsteps echoing through the house.

  That night, Jason lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, haunted by Emily's erratic behavior. As the hours crept by, he began to hear strange sounds. At first, it was the soft murmur of Emily's voice, singing a haunting melody that sent chills down his spine. The song was eerily beautiful but filled with sorrow and desperation.

  Suddenly, the singing turned to sobs. Jason's heart ached at the sound of Emily crying, her wails echoing through the otherwise silent house. He got up, intending to find her, to comfort her, but as he stepped into the hallway, the sobbing ceased.

  The air felt heavy, thick with an unsettling stillness. Jason called out softly, "Emily?" But there was no response. Just as he was about to return to bed, he heard it — the unmistakable sound of running footsteps, light and rapid, darting through the house. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, a spectral dance that made his skin crawl.

  Jason followed the sounds, his heart pounding, the atmosphere around him growing colder with each step. He reached the living room, only to find it empty. The singing resumed, this time accompanied by a faint, ghostly laughter that seemed to seep from the walls themselves.

  Desperation clawed at him. "Emily!" he shouted, but the only reply was the eerie, disembodied laughter echoing through the house. It was as if Emily had become a part of the house, a restless spirit bound by sorrow and pain.

  Jason returned to his room, his mind a whirlwind of fear and confusion. He lay down, unable to shake the feeling that something was terribly, irrevocably wrong. As he drifted into an uneasy sleep, the haunting melody of Emily's song filled his dreams, promising a night of restless, haunted slumber.