Her thumping heart found its way back to her. It was unsteady, skipping three beats. Her eyelids felt heavy and they refused to open up. Evelyn felt as though she was trapped in her body, except she couldn't even think straight. 

Voices filled the void she was trapped in. She tried to focus on just one of them but that only led to an increasing migraine. Only then did she realize that her head was throbbing. She was afraid to make a move, afraid that one of the voices belonged to Iris and that this was her end. 

She felt herself become drowsy and that was something she hoped to avoid. She needed her brain to overcome this but it was nowhere to be found. She was afraid that she'd let it slip away and it was too late. 

She waited for her subconscious to rebuke her but that never came. She had left her own side and she was sure that this was worse than being utterly alone. Still, no matter where her brain or subconscious went, a singular thought remained in her head. 

Iris' face haunted her even when she wasn't herself anymore. 

Cold palms made contact with her wrist and her insides writhed away. The physical contact solidified her mind and she felt aware of her surroundings. Somewhat. 

"I can feel her pulse," she heard someone say. 

Although her ears were ringing and a million voices still circled around her head, she knew exactly who was speaking. It was Iris. 

"What do we do now? We can't get into this unplanned," Andrew said, his voice hitching up with alarm. 

"We'll never find another time like this. Besides, who knows what she found in the house," Iris said. She tried to retain the calm in her voice but deep down, she was also afraid. 

"Mom, we need to get her out of here!" Andrew exclaimed, "her head is bleeding, she can't die here!"

The last part shook Evelyn. Although she couldn't feel much, she knew that her head had been throbbing and this was the reason - she was bleeding. 

Panic shot through her body. Her reflexes urged her to inspect her head and see how bad the damage was. She strained both her mind and her body to keep herself from making any movement. One slight misstep and she'd never be able to see herself in the mirror again. 

She felt her throat dry up and her eyes filled with tears. She prayed and begged that her tears wouldn't flow and let her cover away.  She could feel a dark cloud looming over her head which she couldn't push away, not until Iris left. 

Her slowed-down heart found speed again. They sounded like endless gunshots, one following the other almost immediately. She was sure that this would've given her away and she could do nothing but wait. 

She used to believe that the day her world turned upside down was the day she started the fire. She'd promised herself that she'd never replace the worst day of her life but that was just another broken promise now. She was scared and hopeless and this time, no one was on her side. 

"You're right Andrew, we should get her out of here. But how?" Iris asked, talking mainly to herself. 

"There's no way people won't look for her. We can't kill her now, not when we have no idea what we are doing!" Andrew exclaimed. 

"Shut up, Andrew! You don't think I know? And stop screaming when she's around you fucking moron!" Iris said, her veins popping in her forehead. 

Evelyn had no fight left in her. The word kill simply bounced off her mind because she expected this to happen. She was scared but nowhere near surprised. Her palms grew sticky with sweat but there was something in Andrew's words that gave her the slightest hints of hope. 

They didn't know what they were doing. 

They hadn't planned any of this, not yet at least. 

"Andrew, you wait right here. If she shows any movements, call me immediately," Iris said sternly. 

"Where are you going, mom?" he asked. 

"Up. I need some time to think and to bring backup. We are not letting her go tonight," she said. Her footsteps grew softer and soon, they were out of the picture. 

Andrew sighed and moved around the room in his wheelchair. It was only then that Evelyn realized that he wasn't there when she saw Iris. He must have come a few seconds later, but she couldn't be too sure. 

With Iris leaving, the atmosphere of her surroundings changed. She still didn't know where she was but that was okay; she was going to figure it out. 

She was glad that her subconscious returned to her and brought optimism along the way. However, it did prove to have a drawback. She could feel a thick, viscous liquid running down from the back of her head and the pain was unimaginable. The impact happened at least minutes ago but she felt as though someone was constantly banging her head on the way. Her lips faltered for a moment but she kept herself from coughing. 

No movement till I know what to do, she told herself. 

Andrew's presence was far less threatening than Iris' and Evelyn had enough space to think. In a way, this was just like geometry. Evelyn was never fond of it, but right now she had no other choice. 

She tried to recall everything she knew, or the given of the question. Even if she couldn't reach the optimum solution, she'd get something out of it. 

For starters, Iris had come home early. She wasn't supposed to but something made her. With the way they spoke, it seemed they had been considering killing Evelyn before they saw her in their house and there had to be a reason for that. Evelyn thought hard. She tried to remember every single conversation she'd had with either Iris or Andrea but nothing clicked. 

There is a possibility that they know I'm the one who was blackmailing Andrea, Evelyn thought. Levi had blackmailed Andrea into inviting Evelyn home which she only just realized was suspicious. 

Her mind turned to the day she went to their house. She'd thrown a lot of words around and so had they. Perhaps in the mix of all of it, she gave herself away. 

And then, it hit her. She vaguely remembered telling Andrew that he was either a hypocrite or he was oblivious when they were talking about the fire. She sighed mentally, regretting the moment she stepped foot into their house. 

And it's always because of Levi's shitty ideas that I do so, she thought. She tried not to think about it too much but there was nothing else to do but that. She was trapped in a corner until she could figure something out and that was enough for her resentment to grow. 

Not only is he the reason I came here, but he's also the reason Iris saw me, Evelyn thought, If Levi hadn't chosen that moment to pick up the call, I would probably have been out the door. 

Deep down, she knew that he wasn't the cause of everything. If she hadn't given hints to Andrew, he would have never guessed. 

But it was much easier to put the blame on someone else. 

As she thought about the phone call, another thought settled in her mind - they knew where her phone was and they most probably took it from her. 

She imagined herself writing something on a piece of paper. 

Given:
I hinted them off accidentally.
They want me gone because of what I know.
They have my phone.
My head fucking hurts. 

She was missing the most vital information which should have been the easiest to find. If she opened her eyes, she'd get a faint idea of where she was but was something she simply couldn't do. If Andrew saw her, he'd inform Iris almost instantly and she knew she couldn't do a thing with Iris watching her.

So, she stuck to what she could do - assume. By the way Andrew had spoken to Iris, it was clear he didn't want Evelyn to die here. Considering the fact that Iris was still yet to come up with a plan and was rather worried, it was safe to say that Evelyn was still in their house. 

Her time was running out. She was only at an advantage as long as it was only Andrew watching her. The pain in her head would definitely pull her down but she knew she could take him on. 

Even if I can't I can run away before he can catch up, she thought. 

She took in a deep breath. Slowly, she fought her heavy eyelids and opened them. She waited for the flash of bright light to blind her eyes but nothing came. She sat, perplexed for what seemed like minutes. 

Either she was wrong and she wasn't in their house or this was a place she was never supposed to find. 

The room was tiny, about the size of an average kitchen. It was a stark contrast to any other part of their house that she had seen before. The main thing that stuck out to her was the wide range of colors on every wall and every piece of furniture. But this room was black; just black. 

Evelyn's hand went to the back of her head. She had suppressed her urge to do so for so long and she simply couldn't anymore. Her hands soaked a lot of the blood that had been left unattended. 

Her eyes traveled up and she caught Andrew's aghast gaze. She saw him reach for his pocket and didn't waste a second. She sprang up on her feet and rushed towards him. Her head spun with every additional step that she took but the thought of seeing Iris' face pushed her towards him. 

She slammed the phone to the ground and kicked it aside before he could reach out for it. She swung her arms back and landed them on his gut, taking his speech away. 

"How do I make sure he doesn't scream for help," she muttered to herself, finding it hard to breathe. 

Evelyn looked around quickly. Her eyes landed on a bloodied rock that was next to Andrew's chair. In an instant, she knew that it was the weapon they'd used against her. She grabbed it from the table and didn't hesitate. The heavy rock made contact with Andrew's head and before he could scream, she blocked his mouth with her sticky yellow shirt which she had lifted. 

Her mind was running, her eyes were blurring but most of all, her hands were shaking. Andrew slumped back, his head hanging beside his right shoulder. She prayed to god that she hadn't killed him and that he was simply injured. 

She scurried towards the phone she had kicked away and she picked it up. She brought it in front of Andrew's face and let the face recognition do its work. 

Hurriedly, she dialed Levi's number. He was the last person she wanted to speak but he was the only one who knew what was going on. Her mind immediately went back to the last time she called him and how that was the start of everything. 

It's not like I have a choice, she thought, frustrated. 

Her mind subconsciously diverted to Andrew between each ring. Her stomach was in knots and they only grew tighter each time she thought about what happened. She begged herself to stay focused but the aftermath scared her. 

Evelyn was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard Levi's voice on the other line. 

"Hello, who is this?" Levi asked. 

"Levi, it's me, Evelyn. Please, send your father or anyone to Iris' house. Ask them to distract her, please," she said. 

"What happened?" he asked, the blaring of horns vibrating from his side of the line. 

"Please just do as I saw!" Evelyn said, keeping her voice low. 

"Evelyn. I'm right outside," he replied. 

Evelyn's worried expression dropped. Heat rose in her cheek as she scoffed in disbelief,

"Levi, you fucking idiot."