RJ

Feb 15, 2014, Saturday.

The bus ride to Tropic Falls feels much longer than usual. Jon is bombarding me with apology messages, so I turn my phone off and resort to staring out the window for the whole trip.

The bar is busy, but it is still comparatively quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Clementine is drinking a glass of wine at her usual spot, the red liquid contrasting sharply with her blue hair. She raises her glass at me when she spots me.

"Oh, RJ! Welcome back," she says in her usual American accent. "How have you been?"

"Okay lah. Surviving. You?"

Clementine chuckles. "Are you here to see Cherry today? She's not in yet."

I frown. Chloe texted me a while back that she was heading out. "She should be."

"Oh?" The bar owner tilts her head and gives me a knowing smile. "Well, then she might be in the changing room getting ready."

My eyes flick over to the dimly-lit corridor marked with a giant 'Employees Only' sign.

"And I take it you want to book a room with her today?" Clementine continues, taking out her tablet. "VIP or regular?"

I hesitate for a while as I fiddle with my oversized jacket. My eyes are still glued to the secretive hallway. "Can I do the regular KTV room? For... an hour?"

"Sure thing."

Clementine's long nails click on her tablet screen as she prepares my reservation. I suppress a small sigh as I hand over the last bit of cash in my wallet for this. There goes the money for my dinner today. I really need to work harder to find more tutoring jobs.

As I stow my wallet in my pocket, I hear the faintest scream. I perk as my attention focuses back on the 'Employees Only' section.

"What was that?" I demand.

"Hm?" Clementine frowns. Her focus is on her tablet, and the scream was short and faint. "What was what?"

"Someone screamed." I point frantically towards the dark hallway. "From in there!"

It is quiet now, but the sound still lingers in my ears. There is something about the high-pitched scream—an uncanny familiarity to it—that is sending a shiver down my spine.

"Is there trouble?" Clementine's brows furrow as well. "Hold on, let me get a bouncer right now."

With that, she walks away.

Panic rises in me. There is a scream, and Clementine is just going to slowly walk somewhere to find someone to help? What if something is happening right now? What if something is happening... to Chloe?

Chloe.

I ignore the 'Employees Only' sign and bolt into the corridor. I hear Clementine yelling at me to stop but at this point, all I'm hearing in my mind is that scream—Chloe's scream—intensified a million times and echoing over and over again.

I push past a bargirl wearing a yellow mask and barge straight into a room labeled 'changing room'.

Chloe is inside, but there is a man holding her. He is pushing her against the dressing table, and his hands are under her shirt. It is the same checkered button-up shirt she wore to the study session, but now, half of the buttons have popped off.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I bellow.

My mind is spinning, and it swirls even more when I see Chloe's shorts on the floor. And then it goes blank when I see her face—her swollen, crying face.

I dash forward and yank the man by his collar. He's bigger and taller than me, but my rage gives me more than enough strength to swing him to the wall opposite Chloe, and then swing my fist at his face.

"I'll fucking kill you!"

My first punch is a critical hit; the man's nose starts to bleed as he rolls his head around. Images of him on top of Chloe flash across my mind again, and I throw a few more punches. And a few more. And another. And another—

Despite the growing pain in my hand, I don't stop—I don't want to stop—until a strong pair of hands grabs me and pulls me back. I don't know who it is, but I don't care. I struggle against their hold as I bark, "Let me go! I'm gonna fucking kill this guy!"

"RJ, stop!"

Chloe's voice snaps me from my blind rage.

I stop rampaging and blink.

As the world calms down around me, I begin to realize just how blurry my vision is. Wait, are these tears?

Wiping them away, the room comes back to focus. What used to be an empty room is now filled with bouncers and other employees. The pulverized man is being dragged out of the room, with Clementine giving orders outside.

Slowly, I turn my head. Chloe is standing next to me, a large jacket enveloping her body. Her hands are trembling as they tug on the jacket, as though it is protecting her from the cold, harsh world.

"RJ..." she calls in between her sobs. With her hunched body inside the large jacket, she looks extra small... extra weak.

All the strength in my body vanishes. A soft cry escapes my throat. "Chloe."

She pounces on me and weeps into my chest. Her every sob stabs me in my heart. I wrap my throbbing hands around her and pull her close.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," I whisper. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

She continues crying, and I let her body melt into mine.