Out of all the offices in the long corridor, the sound of footsteps disappeared right behind her.
She was scared out of her wits.
Just then, she heard a knock on the office door.
She covered her mouth and a startled yelp slipped out of her lips.
There was another knock on the door.
She quickly let go of the hand that was covering her mouth, put her hands together in a praying motion and started pray-shouting anxiously, “My apologies to you dear senior, I… I have nowhere to return to tonight, so this is my last resort. I hope you won’t haunt me for staying the night here, and I promise that I won’t disturb your slumber. Please spare me, dear senior. I’ll remember to burn some incense for you tomorrow,”
Henson, who was standing at the door, frowned. What was this woman saying?
“Open up, it’s me,” he said.
Upon hearing this voice, the anxiety in her heart disappeared almost instantly.
She hurriedly turned around and opened the door. “Oh, it’s you,” she said after heaving a sigh of relief inside when she saw his face.
“Who else do you think it is? What were you talking about just now?” he probed.
“N… nothing,” she muttered and shook her head. “How come you’re here?” she asked while she tried to regain her composure.
“I’m here to fetch you after work,” he replied with a chilly expression.
“Huh? But I’m… working overtime,” she said sheepishly.
“With ghosts?” he teased.
She quickly stomped her feet and covered his mouth with both hands. “Don’t say that,” she huffed.
“Wait, you actually thought that the person at the door just now was a ghost?” he teased with a smirk.
He lifted a hand and gently bonked her on the head. “I always thought that you weren’t afraid of anything in your life, but it turns out you have your weaknesses too,”
She narrowed her eyes at him and released both hands which were covering his mouth. “I don’t,” she countered.
“Then what was that bit about burning incense?” he teased.
Her face flushed pink. “Hmph, it’s nothing,” she brushed it off casually.
She then hurriedly opened the doors of the cabinet to grab her handbag, and walked over to him. “We should go now, I mean like, right now,” she urged.
After switching off all the lights, she pushed him out of the office.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that she scared herself and that she herself was still reeling from shock,
that she quickened her pace and clung tightly to his side.
He turned his head to the side and saw that
she kept looking behind her periodically.
“Boo,” he suddenly yelled into her ears with a mischievous grin plastered on his face.
She jumped with a yelp and grabbed onto his arm.
When she finally regained her senses, she realized that he’d scared her on purpose.
Displeased by his gesture, she pinched him and scoffed before quickly descending the stairs.
When she finally arrived at the entrance of the building, she lifted her head and breathed a sigh of relief. She swore to never work overtime again.
A life was taken in this building after all. Even if they didn’t haunt the place, the mere thought of it was already enough to send shivers up her spine.
He eventually caught up to her and gazed at her with a calm look on his face. “If I hadn’t come over, were you planning on not returning home tonight?” he asked.
She didn’t reply.
“I overheard you saying that the reason you decided to stay the night was because you had no other choice,” he explained with a smirk.
She turned to look at him. “Since you already heard it, you have any more questions for me?” she asked.
A devilish grin formed on his face. “Then tell me why you suddenly decided to come home with me now. Is it because you’re afraid of ghosts? Or is it because you don’t want me to worry?” he pressed.
“Would it kill him to stop being so sarcastic all the time?!” she thought.
She could sense that someone was coming towards them in the distance. Afraid of being spotted with him, she quickly ran down the front steps of the building and sprinted to the car. “You’re not coming?” she asked.
He followed her and opened the car door to the driver’s seat.
He didn’t drive off after igniting the engines though. “Were you trying to avoid me tonight?” he asked.
“I really had work to do, by the way, which is why I opted to work overtime,” she said with a pout.
“You were the only one doing overtime in the entire building, by the way. Was it because you’re too good at your job, or was it because you’re not efficient enough, which was why you had to stay back to finish your work?” he probed.
He raised an eyebrow and continued, “But if you were to ask me, I don’t think either was the case. I still think that you’re trying to avoid me. If I didn’t come over tonight, what were your plans after that?”
“I don’t have any plans yet. I just feel that it’d be best if we kept our distance since I’ve already made my stance clear. I feel it’s best if we just remain friends and that we don’t move to the next step anymore,” she said while biting her lip.
“So, what? You’re planning to camp out in your office from now on? Will you still stay the night knowing that it’s scary?” he asked.
“I actually thought of heading back to Big City to take a look at my place tomorrow. I figured if it was still swarming with paparazzi, I’d move out of your place and find another place to stay in,” she said with a serious look on her face. “After all, I can’t stay at your place forever,”
“What makes you think I’m giving up on your after everything you said to me last night?” he asked softly.
“At least now you know how I feel. I know you’re not the type to make things difficult for me either,” she said.
He turned his head towards her and gave her a calm smile. “Wendy, the moment I met you, it felt like I’d stumbled across a really hard piece of bone. I figured since I managed to stumbled across it, then I shouldn’t throw it away willy-nilly. If you feel that I’m pressuring you, I can hold back just for you, but don’t you try to escape from me, because the more you try to escape, the harder I’ll fall for you, alright?” he teased.
She looked at him, flabbergasted at his response. So, all her words were for naught that night?
“Do you really think we can be an item together?” she blurted.
“You should believe in yourself more and give things a try without always rejecting them outright,” he said as he started the engines to drive away from the compound. “You shouldn’t work overtime by yourself in the middle of the night since you’re scared of ghosts. Also, you can just tell me if you don’t feel like seeing my face one day. I’ll be happy to give you some space,” he continued.
She merely pouted and said nothing.
“By the way, most universities were constructed on top of tombs, but why is it that you only hear of these kinds of supernatural things in universities and hospitals? Wanna know why?” he asked.
She gulped and rolled her eyes at him. “Can you not,” she ordered.
“From what I’ve heard, if you manage to stumble across a student with unkempt hair wandering about on campus in the dead of night clothed in white, it’s best not to approach them, lest you gets entangled with the occult,” he continued explaining with a smirk.
She felt a chill run down her spine as she coincidentally saw a girl with unkempt hair who was dressed in white and currently strolling leisurely on a field not far away.
She instinctively lifted a hand to slug him on the arm. “Argh, Henson! Stop scaring me,” she whined.
He started laughing heartily.
He felt amused even though this was the first time in his life that he’d been slugged in the arm by a woman.
“How dare you laugh at me,” she said with a frown.
“I’m just amused now that I know what your weakness is. You better watch your back in the future, Wendy,” he teased.
“This isn’t a weakness, okay? I’m not afraid of ghosts in the first place. It’s just that you kept bringing up ghosts, is all. I’ve heard of scarier stories in the past,” she retorted.
Judy was the true master of telling ghost stories as she possessed the ability to tell stories that can make people hide under their covers.
She recalled to one fine night when Judy had finished telling a scary story that made Gill so scared, she daren’t go to the bathroom alone upon waking up in the middle of the night.
She couldn’t keep track of the number of times Gill woke her up for her to accompany her to go to the toilet all those years ago.
It was probably due to the fact that she knew the kind of person Judy was, and that she knew stories were merely fiction, which was why she wasn’t scared of them in the past.
But it was hard not to believe him now, what with him spouting nonsense with a straight face and all.
“Do you know where’s the best place in the whole of San Diego?” he suddenly asked.
“Where is it?” she asked as she looked at him.