Sticky Shattered Glass Pieces

Chapter 18-The Red Dress Woman

"I need to speak with you. It is urgent," I said to Yoongi as I came into the house.

Yoongi looked at me and followed me to the nearest room. I closed the room door and paced back and forth in the room. Yoongi looked at me and stopped me. He noticed that I was shivering and cold.

"What is wrong? Is something bothering you?" Yoongi asked me curiously.

"I don't know how to start, actually. The lake-a woman's face-bloody hands," I stammered as I spoke.

My hands were still shivering from the fear and I couldn't speak properly. My hands were all wet and the mark was gone by the time I came back to the house. Yoongi took a towel from the cupboard and wiped my hands and arms which were soaking wet.

"Take a deep breath and slowly tell me what happened," Yoongi said as he wiped my hands and arms.

"I think I saw a face in the water just now. Her hands grabbed mine and it was so bloody. She looked pale but angry," I said as I looked at Yoongi.

"A face? Okay, I think you are just too tired from the trip. Have some sleep, and you will be okay," Yoongi made me sit on the bed.

"No, you don't understand. It was so real. Look, my hands are wet too. There were marks of her hand on mine but now-" I looked down at my hand and the marks were gone.

Yoongi held me and hugged me tightly as I was shivering badly. He kissed my forehead slowly and made me lie down on the bed in the room.

"You think I am crazy, right? I am telling you that I saw a woman with bloody hands in the water. I- I- It is real, believe me," I tried to convince him.

"Okay, I believe you. Now just get some sleep," Yoongi said as he tucked me to bed.

I knew that Yoongi didn't believe me and I knew that he just said that to make me get some rest. I felt if I slept a while, the whole nightmare would vanish and the shivers in my body would disappear too. I turned over to the other side of the bed and closed my eyes slowly trying not to think about the lady in the water and her scary face.

"I will be out there if you need me, princess. Just get some rest now," Yoongi said as he adjusted the blanket on me.

As soon as Yoongi walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, I dozed off a while later. I didn't realize that I started to dream about the same lady but this time she was trying to say something to me. It was as if she was trying to ask for my help with something but couldn't because her head was tied to a noose, and she was struggling to reach my hand for help. I didn't realize that I was tossing and turning around the bed frantically while I yelled a name that was unknown to me. Just then, I sensed a hand touching my face and I opened my eyes. It was Yoongi's hand on my face. He was trying to get me to wake up.

"I am here. I am here now. It is okay. It is just a bad dream. You are fine now," Yoongi was genuinely worried to see me.

"Ashley. Her name is Ashley," I recollected her name.

"Who?" Yoongi asked me curiously.

I looked around the room and I saw Yoongi's brother and his girlfriend standing there looking confused at what was going on.

"The woman in the water, her name is Ashley," I repeated her name.

This time there was an awkward silence in the room and I noticed Yoongi's brother's facial expression changed a little.

"I think your girlfriend needs more rest. She is homesick I guess", Yoongi's brother said as he looked at me.

Yoongi looked back at his brother and back at me. He was confused but remained silent. I was confused at how silent Yoongi went when he heard the name from me. I got up from the bed and drank some water. I clearly could hear her screams in my head even after I woke up so I am not being delusional or just like Yoongi said, "It is just a dream". I opened the door wider so that I could get out of the room. I heard Yoongi telling his brother and the woman to get freshen up first before dinner and that he would talk to me. Yoongi followed me slowly and stopped me.

"Are you sure that you are okay?" Yoongi asked me.

"I am fine. I think I am just not used to this new place. I will be fine soon," I said as I looked at him.

"Let me show you something first if you don't mind," Yoongi pulled my arms.

Yoongi brought me to that particular small room that I noticed when I came to the house earlier. He reached his back pocket and brought up a key.

"I thought you didn't know where is the key," I asked him curiously.

"I have a spare key," Yoongi said as he opened the door slowly.

I noticed there was a stairway leading down to the basement of the house. It was dark and eerie as the light of the staircase was at the end of the stairs.

"Wait here. I will switch on the light for you," Yoongi said as he walked down the stairs.

As soon as he switched on the light down there, the stairways became clearer to me and I guess Yoongi knows his way around these dark steps leading down well. Yoongi told me to close the door behind me and all of a sudden I felt I couldn't breathe as I was a major claustrophobic person. Yoongi rushed towards me and held my face.

"Just breathe. Hold my hand, and you will be fine," Yoongi offered his hand.

I held his hand and walked down the stairs. Even his house basement looked like a museum as I looked around. Something stopped me from taking another step forward, and I looked up at one of the huge photos hung on the wall of the basement. My eyes widened as I scanned the photo on the wall and pointed it out to one woman in a red dress.

"Who is that?" I asked Yoongi who was right behind me.

"The woman in that red dress?" Yoongi asked me back.

I shook my head and looked at him. His expressions changed quickly just like his brother's. I knew Yoongi was hiding something from me and I know that he knows something about the woman in that red dress.

"My old Yoongi would not hide anything from me. Just saying, you know," I purposely provoked him.

Yoongi looked at me and waited a while as he was afraid I would look into this too much. He took a deep breath and looked back at the photo.

"Her name is Ashley. Ashley Green. She was our housekeeper when we moved 10 years ago," Yoongi said as he looked at the photo.

Should I ask Yoongi what happened to her, or should I just ignore everything? I was so confused about what I am supposed to do as I didn't want to pry into their family issues because I felt it was too early to be doing that.