Love Thread: The beginning book one

Chapter seven

Sophia stood in the lab, staring blankly ahead. She looked at the messy table and felt disheartened about what to do next. Eryn had been missing for two weeks since the incident; he left the hospital on his own, and no one had heard from him since. She wished she could have stopped his obsession with that book earlier. When a coworker walked in and saw her standing there, it made her feel sorry for Sophia.

"Sophia, coming back here every single time won't bring him back," she said as she stood beside her and glanced at the messy lab, letting out a sigh. Sophia turned to her and replied, "So we aren’t going to do anything?"

"The police are doing their best to find him. Just stay calm; they will locate him," her coworker encouraged.

"And what if they don’t find him?" Sophia asked.

"They will! Let’s be optimistic. Come on, let’s go grab something to eat," she said with a gentle smile.

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Eryn paced back and forth in his living room, whispering to himself, "What's happening? Why is this happening?" Ever since he left the hospital, strange things had been occurring around him. Whenever he thought about something for too long, it seemed to come true; new thoughts also became real. He sank onto the couch and reflected on his time in the hospital, still puzzled by how he had left without anyone noticing.

At first, he believed it was just his imagination playing tricks on him, but now he wondered if maybe it really happened after all.

Two weeks ago

Eryn woke up to the sound of a beeping machine. When he looked around, he was surprised to find himself in a hospital. Before he could think about how he ended up there or what happened, the doctor entered the room.

“Great to see you awake! How are you feeling?” Eryn found it hard to talk but replied slowly.

“I’m f-fine. What happened?”

“You were brought here because your heart suddenly stopped beating. It’s a miracle you’re alive since we tried for hours to revive you without any response. You’re very lucky,” the doctor explained.

Eryn couldn’t remember what had happened at the lab. He knew he was fine before leaving the lab. Then he recalled the book.

“Please, where are my belongings?”

“Oh, a woman who came with you took them with her.” Eryn sighed in relief.

“You’re stable now; just two more days and you’ll be ready to go home.” After saying that, the doctor left, and Sophia walked in right away.

“Hey, how are you doing?” she asked.

“Good, thanks.” For a moment, they were silent. Eryn noticed something was troubling her.

“What’s wrong?”

“What happened to you? Why did your heart stop? I was so worried; I thought you were going to die,” she said while crying. Eryn felt bad and tried to comfort her.

“I’m fine now. I’m sorry for making you worry. Don’t cry, even though I don’t really understand what happened.”

“It has to do with that book, right?”

“I don’t know; I’m not sure.”

"It's true. That's why I told you not to get involved with that book."

"Okay, just relax. We're not certain about anything, and you don't even believe in this stuff, so why are you blaming the book?"

"Because ever since you discovered that book, you've been acting weird, and now this has happened to you. What am I supposed to think?"

"Where is the book?"

"I don’t know," Sophia said. feeling anxious, Eryn asked again

"Sophia, where's the book?"

"I really don’t know. I gave it to the people at the lab; I have no idea where they took it." He was getting angry.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm worried about you."

"I didn’t ask you to worry about me." Sophia felt hurt by his words.

"I didn't need your permission; I care about you. That's why I did it. If keeping you safe means that you'll never find that book again, then so be it." Then she walked away. Eryn felt furious.

"I need to get out of here."

Later on, a nurse entered to check on him. He thought how much he wished time could freeze so he could escape the hospital when suddenly the nurse stopped moving. Confused by her sudden stillness, he waved his hand in front of her face but got no response. He sat up quickly and called out to her, yet still nothing happened. Frustrated, he pulled out the needle from his hand and climbed off the bed. When he opened the door, he saw everyone outside frozen in place—no one was moving. He felt shocked as he slowly walked past them, not really knowing what was happening. He took the chance to leave the hospital and decided not to return home. Instead, he went to stay with a college friend.

In the present day

Eryn still couldn't wrap his head around what had happened that day. Just a moment ago, he was trying to figure out how to get the book back, and then he imagined it sitting right on top of the table. To his surprise, there it was, right in front of him. He couldn't believe it; something felt off to him.