Chapter 2
In my previous life, they'd been too ashamed to face anyone because of me.
My father sold our house to pay legal fees. My mother cried herself sick every day. She died before I ever got out of prison, bitterness etched into her final days.
This time, I couldn't leave.
It was the only way I could protect them.
The police were preparing to release me thanks to my parents' efforts.
When suddenly, I leapt to my feet, pointing wildly at an empty corner.
"I'm not leaving! I committed a crime! I want to go to jail!" I screamed, my hysteria making my mother stumble back. "He made me do it! He's been following me! Can't you see him?!"
I pointed again, shaking violently. "He's laughing, right there! He's laughing at me!"
My parents froze, speechless.
My mom clapped a hand over her mouth, huge tears rolling down her cheeks.
"There's nothing there, Rosemary," she whispered.
My father's entire body shook as he turned to the officers. "Officer... something's wrong with her. She's never acted like this."
I seized the moment and shouted, "Exactly! I'm crazy! I need a psychiatric evaluation!"
I clutched my head and spun in circles.
"They're all after me! Everyone wants to hurt me! I need to stay here. This is the only safe place!"
The officers exchanged helpless looks but had no choice but to follow protocol.
A younger officer tried to approach me gently, but I slapped his hand away and curled into the corner.
I said, "Don't touch me! You're all in on it!"
My mother collapsed to the floor, sobbing.
"It's my fault... I shouldn't have let you go out alone. Please, Rosemary. Let us take you home. Let's see a doctor..."
Watching her break like that nearly destroyed my resolve.
But I couldn't.
"I don't know you!" I screamed. "You're trying to hurt me too!"
My father lunged forward, trying to drag me out.
I shrieked until my throat burned. "Help! They're kidnapping me!"
The police restrained him as chaos erupted.
Eventually, they escorted my parents out into the hallway.
Through the crack in the door, I saw my mother collapsed on a bench, hollow-eyed and unmoving.
My father stood nearby, chain-smoking, hunched over like he'd aged a decade overnight.
They argued quietly, my mother shaking her head, my father slamming his fist into the wall.
Even after being sent away, they refused to leave.
Through the door, Mom's muffled sobs drifted in, each one felt like a dull knife carving me up inside.
A young female cop brought over a cup of hot water, her voice soft. "Here, honey, have some water. Just take it slow, you can tell us anything."
I knocked the cup away, hot water splashed all over the floor, some even hit her uniform.
"It's all a lie! You're all trying to hurt me!" I curled up in the chair, shaking all over.
Her expression hardened, and she clearly gave up on trying to calm me down.
She wiped off her uniform and stepped back, her eyes guarded and full of helpless resignation.
From the hallway, Mom's desperate voice called out, "Let me in! I need to see my daughter!"
Footsteps rushed closer. The door burst open. My mother ran in, my father struggling to hold her back.
"Rosemary!" she cried. "Please. Let's go to the hospital. I'm begging you!"
The clock on the wall read 8:25.
My heart was racing. The time had come.
On their side, the final operation should be starting.
I shoved my mother away and hid behind the officers, screaming, "Don't touch me! You're all trying to kill me!"
My father caught her as she collapsed. When he looked at me, his eyes were filled with pain and disbelief.
That look pierced deeper than any blade.
"Rosemary, what's wrong with you?" Dad's voice shook. "Have your mom and I ever done anything to hurt you?"
It was 8:28... 8:29... 8:30...
As the second hand clicked forward, something inside me finally snapped free.
The tragedy of my past life was repeating itself, but in a different timeline.
This time, I wasn't there.
I suddenly stopped screaming, as if a switch had been flipped, I became eerily calm.
"Sir, I'm exhausted," I said, my voice steady. "I admit it. Go ahead and lock me up."
Everyone was left speechless by how I flipped from one extreme to the other in an instant.
Just moments ago, I was acting completely crazy, and now I was scarily calm, like a whole different person.