Olivia Sparks

Waking up after her rhinoplasty procedure, Olivia winced. She felt a stabbing pain on her nose that radiated to her head, forcing her eyes closed.

"Take it easy," Maxen murmured. He cupped her elbow and put a little pressure on her hand as he peeled her off the bed.

"My face hurts," she complained, feeling the discomfort exponentially intensify with her every move. Seeing Maxen open a bottle of painkiller, Olivia grabbed his forearm. "No. I can still tolerate the pain. Those painkillers are addictive."

"How did you know?"

"I was sent to rehab because I got addicted before," she deadpanned. Her belly felt ticklish upon seeing Maxen's brows furrow, forming three creases on his forehead. She wanted to laugh but her nose was numb and painful at the same time so she just g.r.o.a.n.e.d. "Joke. That's a joke. I researched the medications that I'll be receiving, so please relax."

Maxen shook his head. "Just so you know, whatever comes out of that pretty mouth, I will believe it no matter what others say." Facing Olivia, he asked, "If you don't want a painkiller, then what do you want, Your Highness?"

Spreading her arms wide open, Olivia's eyes turned into a crescent moon, swooning over his proclamation. "You. You're my painkiller. Now give your wife a hug."

It didn't take a beat for Maxen to dive onto the bed, hugging Olivia until their stomachs growled from hunger.

Nighttime fell, painting the skies with scattered glittering stars. Up in Notios Estate where there was less pollution, the stars were more visible and the moon felt closer that they didn't need to leave a lamp on at night.

Waking up in the dead of the night, Olivia was suddenly on high alert.

"Max," she whispered, nudging Maxen awake. "Maaaax," she tried one more time, successfully waking him up.

"Mmm."

"Someone's trying to open the door," Olivia croaked, a trickle of cold sweat broke out on her nape.

Maxen heightened his senses, but couldn't detect anything, so he grabbed his phone and opened the surveillance camera app that was installed in it, checking if anything registered on the tapes but saw none.

Beside him, Olivia bit the inside of her cheek upon seeing the same thing. She took Maxen's phone away from him, locking the screen. "Let's go back to sleep. I'm sorry I have to disturb you."

He saw apprehension pool in her eyes, and he knew her nightmares were back haunting her. Snuggling with her on the bed, he kissed the side of her head, and said, "I'll have someone stand guard outside at night tomorrow. Just in case."

He hoped that would at least give her the sense of assurance that she's safe and nobody would come and terrorize her at night. However, the same nightmare haunted Olivia every night after her rhinoplasty procedure. 

Six weeks had passed and her nose was supposedly healed as attested by the scans and examinations by different teams of doctors, yet somehow, she would wake up at night, drenched in sweat and her nose throbbing in pain.

One night, they were brushing their teeth when Maxen offered, "Do you want me to schedule a meeting with Dr. Aila Zhang? Maybe she has some answers for us."

Swiping his hand up and down the length of her arm, Maxen waited for Olivia's answer. Her nightmares were getting out of hand, and he wouldn't deny her of seeking professional help.

Relief flooded his face when Olivia nodded her head, planting a chaste kiss on his lips, leaving a trail of toothpaste foam on it.

After meeting with Dr. Aila Zhang, she forwarded them to a known therapist who specializes in hypnosis. Olivia almost didn't want to meet the doctor but Maxen dragged her to the clinic. Left with no choice, she found herself sitting comfortably inside, undergoing hypnotherapy once a week. 

Every week, she would meet the same doctor. She would sit on the chair for an hour, visualizing anything that she would see as soon as she closes her eyes. 

In the first week, Olivia saw herself laying down on the bed.

One. Two. Three. Four. Olivia started counting in her head as the monster behind her door twisted the knob four times in the dead of the night when everyone in her pad was in deep slumber.

One. Two. Three. Four. Olivia counted along as the monster tried one more time to force her door open. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart down from ramming against her c.h.e.s.t.

She bit the duvet to keep herself from screaming. One. The monster stopped in the count of one, leaving her alone to stay up for the rest of the night.

In the second week of her therapy, she saw and felt the same thing.

One. Two. Three. Four. the monster behind her door twisted the knob four times in the dead of the night when everyone in Olivia's pad was in deep slumber.

One. Two. Olivia's lips curled upward, thankful that the monster finally left her alone, the fading footsteps in the hallway told her that the monster was gone.

In the third week of her therapy, to her surprise, she saw something different. It was as if she had uncovered a buried memory.

"Hello? Dad? It's me, Olivia. I just want… there's someone trying to open my door at night. No, I'm not making it up. It's true. Hello? Dad? Daddy?"

She placed the phone back on its holder, her eyes lingered there for a while. She picked it up again, dialing Oliver's number that she knew by heart. To her surprise, when the line came through, Ollie was magically standing by her bedroom door.

Running towards her brother, Olivia was jumping for joy upon seeing him in the flesh.

"Ollie! I missed you!" She gave Oliver a big hug.

"I���m here for a week with a friend, but I won't be staying in your place. Auntie Martha told me to drop by and check in on you."

"Oh." Olivia frowned. "Can you stay for one night? Just one?"

Her eyes pooled tears as it darted around, afraid that the monster was lurking behind. 

Her lack of sleep was evident on her face that Oliver pitied her, so he nodded his head. "Just one night, then that's it."

That night, Oliver stayed, sitting beside her bed as Olivia let the weight in her eyes close it shut. For the first time in a while, she let her exhaustion take over, watching her brother glow green, the color of his hoodie whilst her hands clung on his sleeve.

Deeper in the night, Ollie tried to pry his arm off from her clutches, but Olivia was hanging on for her dear life. Left with no choice, Oliver hissed, peeling the hoodie off of his body.

"Oof," he breathed out. He scratched the back of his head as he watched Olivia hug the hoodie, snuggling and sniffing it for comfort. Seeing a drool drop on the clothing, Oliver cringed and said, "Eew, don't drool on that. That hoodie's not mine."

When Olivia stirred on the bed, Oliver took a step back away, slowly and quietly with his hands raised to his c.h.e.s.t. "I'll be back later, Livi. Sleep tight," he whispered, closing the door behind him.

One. Two. Three. Four. the monster behind her door twisted the knob four times in the dead of the night when everyone in Olivia's pad was in deep slumber.

One. Two. Three. Four. This time, the monster successfully unlocked the door, stealthily stalking towards the princess bed where Olivia was snuggling on her new security blanket.

"Ollie? Is that you?" Olivia roused upon hearing the floorboard creak. She flipped the lamplight on and was shocked when her bedroom door banged close. Bringing her knees up to her c.h.e.s.t, she chanted a prayer until the sun rose, spilling its rays on the window and into the room.

She waited and waited, but Ollie never returned that night… or the days that followed. Finding solace in her brother's hoodie, Olivia wore it every night. It comforted her knowing that a piece of her brother was with her as she braved on for the night.

On Olivia's fourth session, the therapist felt positive that they were nearer in freeing Olivia from her fear, tapping deeper into her subconsciousness, yet nothing happened during their session.

Little did they know, it would be later that night when Olivia's nightmare, a fragment of her lost memory, would come back and haunt her.

One. Two. Three. Four. the monster behind her door twisted the knob four times in the dead of the night. She told her family about the recurring incident but nobody listened. Nobody cared. Nobody came to help her fight the monster.

"Ollie," she cried, frisking the sleeves of her loose green hoodie, praying that her brother would magically appear, yet she knew it couldn't happen. 

One. Two. Three. Four. Olivia could feel his shadow crawl near her bed that goosebumps scattered her body. She pretended to be asleep as the monster forced its way into her bedroom.

But unlike the other nights it haunted her, Olivia finally came in prepared. Clinging for her dear life onto her silver envelope knife, she lunged and attacked the monster who haunted her for weeks. 

Dropping the knife on the floor, Olivia felt a warm liquid soak her feet. And when the monster gasped for air and reached for her leg, she ran as fast as she could, slipping and rolling over the flight of stairs, hitting her nose on a sharp edge in the process.

"One. Two. Three. Four," Olivia counted, her eyes fluttered as she lost consciousness on the cold wooden floor.