Remember. (Sally Face)

Chapter 10. "Don't Tell Sal"

P.O.V: Liliana

I was trembling uncontrollably and still had my body slumped against the cold bathroom wall. The slashes felt rough beneath my fingertips. I had gotten it to stop bleeding about an hour ago but now I was stuck in this unstable mental block.

The shock from my father was momentarily forgotten now that my life seemed to be in immediate danger. I didn't know what to do or who to go to. The thing said he would be watching and Meghan told me not to mention anything to Sal.

I took my free hand and ran it through my tangled hair as my other hand continued to cradle my wound. I could feel more tears fall past my eyes as my panic attack increased. I quickly stood up and began to try different breathing exercises. "C'mon Liliana, you got this. Calm down" I continued to encourage myself in the bathroom mirror but my body only trembled more.

I stumbled into my kitchen and with shaky hands, I called the only person I could think of. I quickly hovered over the contact information on my flip phone and pressed it desperately to my ear.

I could hear a couple of rings and then a soft yawn. "Yo Lily, you know it's like almost three in the morning right?"

Larry's exhausted voice rang through the speaker and I felt my hold on the phone tighten.

"I need you...to come over" My voice shook and I forced myself to choke back the tears. I heard movement and then a more awake Larry. 

"I'm coming, just hold on. What's going on? I'll grab Sal too"

I felt fear spike in my chest. "No! No Sal!"

"Uh..okay then." His voice held concern and I frantically felt my eyes searching my apartment for anything out of the ordinary. 

"I'll explain when you get here" With that I hung up and sat next to the front door, I kept my eyes trained on the fully lit apartment as I waited for Larry to arrive. I felt my fingers nervously tapping against the wooden frame.

A faint knock rapped against the wooden door. I fumbled with the door knob and frantically yanked it open. Larry took in my wild state and his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Liliana, you look like a mess! What's going on?"

He closed the door behind him and he went to sit on my couch, when his eyes found a blood stain on one of the cushions. "Start explaining" I saw his eyes observing me, looking for any wounds until he noticed my shirt was stained around my lower stomach.

I felt my hands frantically run through my hair. "Okay, so this may sound crazy. But..just listen to everything I say to you." 

He nodded slowly and I stood in front of him, a ball of anxiety as my eyes averted all over my apartment as if searching for something.

"For the past couple of month's I've been having dreams of being on the fifth floor. Sal told me he introduced you to Meghan." 

Larry nodded as a small confirmation.

I cleared my throat. "Well these dreams have been happening because Meghan keeps reaching out to me. Every time, she warns me not to say anything to Sal, she says that this 'thing' will take him."

Larry sighed and ran a hand over his face. "What thing? And why would it take Sal? Jesus Lily, we shouldn't be hiding something like this from him, right?"

I frantically shook my hands out in front of me. "I..I don't know what it is, but it's highly dangerous." I lifted my shirt slightly and he quickly stood as he saw my wounds. 

"What happened?!"

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "The first time I saw him, I saw him take Meghan and ever since, she looks weaker the more we visit. But she didn't want me to say anything!" Desperation lingered in my tone as the guilt for not being able to help the poor ghost girl was boiling over the top of my emotions.

"But.. I passed out earlier and when I had the usual dream, it was me and this.. 'thing'. He.." I remembered how he made himself look like Sal and how I watched as he sliced at me.

"He hurt me in the dream! And when I woke up, I actually was wounded! Do you know what this means Larry?!" I frantically looked at him and he looked bewildered.

He sighed and stared at the green carpet. "We're going to tell Sal"

My eyes grew wider and I backed up from him. "Did you not just hear me?! Meghan said not to!"

Larry shot me an irritated look. "Who knows more about this shit then anyone we know? That's right, Sal does." His eyes fell on his discarded scarf from earlier this week and he grabbed it as he began to make his way to my front door.

I frantically grabbed the back of his coat. "Larry don't! If we tell him about this 'thing', he's going to seek it out!"

Larry angrily turned back to me and yanked his coat out of my grasp. "Exactly, so we can get rid of this thing! Don't you have any faith in us?"

I shook my head wildly. "It's not like that! Meghan told me that if Sal seeks this creature out, it'll be the downfall of Addison Apartments." I gave him a firm look and a foreboding silence hung heavy in the air.

Larry gave me a hard look and gripped my door tightly. "I'm telling him and we're going to stop this 'thing'" He slammed the door as he left and I stared blankly at it.

I let out a disheartened chuckle. "I don't know what to do.."