Chapter 18: Hopes Of Freedom
"No, it wasn’t him. And I have no idea who that is," Naomi said, her voice shaking slightly. She felt the weight of her emotions, struggling to keep herself composed she did not want remember last night. Rose paused, sensing the tension in the air, before speaking again, her voice laced with concern. "Who did this to you?"
"I was just overwhelmed," Naomi replied, her gaze dropping to the ground as if seeking comfort in the earth beneath her feet.
Rose knew better than to press Naomi when she was in this state. She understood the unspoken rule that if Naomi didn’t want to share, she would wait patiently until her friend was ready. After a moment of silence, Rose spoke again, her tone softening. "About yesterday. I’m so sorry, Naomi. I’m so, so sorry. It was all my fault. If I hadn’t been careless, none of this would have happened."
Naomi could hear the frustration in Rose’s voice, a reflection of the turmoil they both felt. Rose was the type of person who didn’t usually care about cursing, but in front of Naomi, she tried to keep her language in check. She had only cursed in front of Naomi a few times, typically when she was incredibly frustrated.
"I would have arrived earlier if it weren’t for that Fu....," Rose hesitated, taking a deep breath to calm herself. The word she held back lingered in the air, a reminder of the chaos that had ensued.
"It’s fine, actually. It was my fault," Naomi said, shaking her head. "I shouldn’t have created an escape plan. We could have just said it out loud. I don’t know why I did that; I made a promise that we would escape and—"
"Let’s just forget about it. What’s done is done now," Rose interjected, her eyes brightening with determination. "Let’s move on to the next plan. Do you think we should try again this time around? Let’s not make the mistakes we made before."
Naomi hesitated, contemplating the enormity of their situation. "I’m not really sure. I feel like there’s something strange about this place. I can’t quite pinpoint it, but something feels off. It’s like I’m seeing people appear and disappear."
"That’s exactly what happened to me last night," Rose said, her tone serious. "I don’t think this is a coincidence. There’s something really strange about this house—something eerie, something dark. I can’t explain it. I think we need to get out of here before things turn bad."