Chapter 169: Win-win
Lies.
Fil sat on the floor, hugging her knees, eyes staring blankly at the wall across from her. She didn’t know what was she thinking at the moment, but she knew she was alone. Trapped in this web of lies, drowning in the nets of the people around her.
It scared her.
What... had she been doing all this time? Retaliating against an illusion, breaking all her beliefs and principles, letting the anger consume her, for what? To break the broken? To drag down what was already beneath her?
Fil felt trapped in a house of fire and locked herself in it, breaking all forms of communication to call for help. Instead, she went upstairs — in the attic — to watch the house burn from the little window.
’I should’ve stopped,’ she told herself, burying her face in her knees, ignoring the faint knocks on the door. ’I’m scared.’
The knocks continued until the door slowly creaked. Light footsteps caressed her ears until they stopped. She sensed a presence before her, making her lift her head. Jackson squatted down in front of her, allowing the tears she had been holding back to fall.
"I’m scared," she whispered. "I feel... trapped, Jack."
Jackson didn’t say anything, tilting his head a little to the side.
"Marianne... she..." she trailed off as she hiccuped, biting her lips. "I should’ve known I’ve been pushing her beyond her limits, but I didn’t. Now, not only did I have one psycho in my life, but I invited another one. What am I going to do now, Jack?"
"Just one psycho?" this time, Jackson spoke in a questioning and hissing tone. "Are you sure it’s just one? Or there’s more?"