Max

She found his throat slit open as a river of blood poured out onto the kitchen floor and yet all she can do was scream. Amanda had woken up with a pounding headache and a sore stomach after blacking out to find her husband’s dead body cold in front of her. Not remembering what happened, she assumed someone broke in and killed him with the door looking as if it had been broken down and male footprints in the blood, leading to the door. This was her only guess. Shaking with fear, Amanda pulled herself up and picked her phone up from the counter and called the police. “Nine-one-one what’s your emergency?” a soft spoken woman on the other line asked. “He’s dead! Someone killed him!” Amanda’s state of shock had her not making sense to the operator. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean. Please calm down and tell me what is the emergency.” Taking deep breaths and trying her best to compose her words, she finally spoke. “Someone broke into my home and killed my husband. I don’t who did it or what happened but right now he is dead on the kitchen floor.” “I understand Miss. just give me your location and we will send help right away.” Amanda gave the information and ended the call. Still in shock, she kept her eyes on her husband's wide and still opened eyes and kept saying to herself, “Who did this?” She repeated the phrase until help came.

Amanda and Devon Stern had a complicated relationship that went back and forth. Devon was the kind of guy who would get mad over the smallest thing and would drop insults on Amanda when he feels she doesn’t get him. The insults started shortly after they begun dating and yes, everytime he apologises. Although Amanda was able to put up with it, she saw it as just something he didn’t mean. The two of them began this relationship in college for all four years of their education. Things seemed normal to Amanda with the verbal abuse, thinking she just needed to avoid his bad side until half way through, Devon became obsessive and jealous with keeping Amanda to himself. Any guy Amanda would talk to, he would assume she was cheating on him. He would get in her face and the verbal abuse would begin whether they were in public or private. Devon’s apologies were the ones to make Amanda forgive him many times and his solemn promises to change for which he did for a while. After graduating, they got married and moved to a suburban neighbourhood in Toronto and lived there for two years. The subject of children was always hard for them. Devon was strict about having children too early and wanted to wait a few more years while Amanda wanted them early. For the next two months, she had been feeling the symptoms of pregnancy. The morning sickness was especially hard on her the most and she found it most difficult to hide it from Devon. She would often say it was food poisoning or menstrual cramps. Amanda finally decided to get herself a blood test to know for sure and when the results came back, it was positive. Amanda contemplated how to tell Devon

the news since he is not thrilled with having children now but she figured he would understand and change his mind. Two days later when he came home from his usual day at work, she sat him down in the kitchen and told him.

This lead to an argument that got heated and it lead to Devon slapping Amanda across the face and pushing her down. Devon’s anger became vicious as he repeatedly kicked her in the stomach. At one point, he grabbed her face with one hand, screamed insults at her, then slammed the back of her head against the floor. She blacked out. The last thing she remembered was how dizzy she felt before things went dark. These blackouts would happen a lot at a young age. It began at a time when her father started drinking and became aggressive toward her mother. Both Amanda and her older sister, Lauren, would hide upstairs in Lauren’s room and cover each others ear to shield them from the noise. Lauren wanted to do something about it but her mother advised her not to. Amanda, however, would reacted differently. The loud noise would affect her mentally as she would start to feel tired and fall asleep. Each time she was unable to recall what happened as she would wake up in a different place. Her parents took her to get tested and discovered Amanda has a sleepwalking disorder. The sleep walking would come and go when Amanda was stressed or scared and her body would shut down to protect itself. Over the years, she has managed to maintain it but ever since her marriage to Devon it became a little worse. The dreams she’d have at night were like nightmares, but she’s unable to remember them after waking up.

The police came and investigated the crime scene as Amanda was being looked at by an EMT. There were signs of a breaking and entering and they took the bloody knife to be analysed. Amanda sat there frozen in fear and confusion as to how this could have happened. She went over the whole event in her head and again, it’s all foggy. Who could have done it? I can’t remember! She repeated over and over in her head until it was all she could hear. “Amanda Stern? Amanda Stern!” an officer screamed her name and snapped his fingers in front of her until she finally looked up. “Hey ma’am did you hear me? I said, is that all you can remember?” Still, Amanda is frozen as if no one else is around her. The officer walked away and her sister, Lauren, came over after the incident and rushed over to her sister and placed her hands on Amanda’s face. “Amanda? Amanda, it’s me Lauren, please say something.” It took Amanda a few seconds before finally hearing her sister’s voice. “Lauren.” Amanda said, moments after snapping out of it. Amanda looked around and realised where she was. “What’s happening to me?” she said in a scared voice. “It’s going to be alright,” Lauren said and held Amanda’s hand as she was taken to the hospital for abdominal pain.

“Amanda? Are you alright?” Lauren asked her quiet sister. The two of them were in the exam room at the hospital as they received bad news. She miscarried. Tears rolled down her face

from the news as it was too much for her. “How did you know I was here?” she asked Lauren. “You called me. You don’t remember?” Amanda tried to think back to when she did but couldn’t remember calling her. She shook her head ‘no’. Lauren suspected that her dizziness returned with it being the reason for her blacking out. “There’s a psychiatrist who is well known for her work,” Lauren began. “She is highly respected in her field and is known to do a harmless method to get to the problem.” She stopped to look at Amanda, who remained silent. Lauren pulled out a card from her purse and gave it to Amanda and she took it. Amanda looked down at the card and read the name on it. “Dr. Layla Masters. I think I’ve heard of her,” Amanda mentioned. “She can really help you. I can give her a call and set up an appointment if you like?” “Thanks.” Lauren smiled and they went home.

Amanda sat across from Dr. Laya in her office located in the centre of downtown Toronto. The room had a professional look with a comfortable setting. Amanda felt nervous, unaware of the type of method Dr. Layla will do to unlock her mind. Playing with her thumbs, she sat there on the couch with a distressing thought running through her mind. Don’t let her kill me! The sentence repeatedly echoed in her mind as she wondered who it was. It was a male voice that she hadn’t heard before and it was driving her mad. She closed her eyes and massaged her temple, hoping the voice would go away. It became too loud for to handle that she was seconds away from snapping. “Amanda Stern?” a woman had said loud and clear enough to break the noise going on in her head. Amanda opened her eyes and looked up to see a well-polished woman stand in front of her. “Is everything alright?” the woman asked. Amanda nodded. “I’m Dr. Layla Masters but you are welcome to just call me Layla.” She extended her hand out to Amanda and the session began.

They talked for about forty-five minutes, which gave Amanda enough time to tell some of her life stories. From the sleepwalking, to the blackouts, to her parent divorce and moving away from them with her sister, to her husband’s murder and the voice she heard in her head. Layla was aware of the murder but decided to focus on one thing. “Tell me about the voice you heard?” she asked. “Well,” Amanda started. “It just started before you came in. The voice I heard was male and it was telling me to not let you kill him.” She finished. A curious look crept onto Layla’s face and she continued with the questions. “Why do you think he would say that?” “I’m not sure but he does sound familiar to me.” An idea came to Layla that could help unlock

Amanda’s mind. “I want to try something that could help regain some memories you’re missing during those blackouts. It might even help you remember what happened to your husband,” Layla said. “It’s called hypnotherapy and it’s a harmless process.” Amanda wasn’t sure about the idea of being hypnotised. She also didn’t believe in that stuff, thinking it’s all made up. “I don’t see how hypnotising me is going to work,” Amanda said. “I know it’s sounds a bit out there but it’s a simple method that I have use on other patients with a high satisfaction rate. If you don’t feel comfortable, I will understand.” Amanda thought about it for a moment and came to a conclusion that she had no other option. She figured if it did work, she will know who did it. “Okay, I’ll give it a chance.” Layla had Amanda relax herself and told her to close her eyes. Layla began.

“I want you to take a deep breath and count backwards from ten,” Amanda did what she said and her entire body was well relaxed. Layla continued. “If you can hear my voice, I want you to think back to the day Devon was murdered. Are you there?” Amanda nodded and said yes. “What happened?”

“We were standing in the kitchen and we were talking about how I might be pregnant. He became mad and threw insults at me and I tried my best to defend myself. He just got even madder. He demanded I get rid of it but I refused and that’s when he grabbed me. I told him to let go of me but all he did was scream louder at me. He pushed me down and kicked me in the stomach so many times. He grabbed my face and hit my head against the floor and then everything went black. I remember waking up to see a man stand near me. He told me he was here to help and and he helped me get up. I asked him who he was and he said is name was Max and he helped me up. Devon continues to yell at me but I ignored him. The next thing I remembered was being pushed towards the counter where the knives were and I saw Max take one and slashed Devon’s throat. He wiped the prints off and trashed the kitchen to make it look like a break in and then he just left. I felt dizzy and passed out.”

Layla wrote every word Amanda said in her notebook and underlined the name, Max, a couple of times. “When I count to three, you will wake up and remember everything. One, two, three.” Amanda opened her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. “It was Max. Max killed my husband.” she said. “Are you absolutely sure about that? The police said that they couldn’t find prints on the knife.” Layla read the report she was given. “I saw him do it.” Layla jotted everything down, including Max’s description. Tall, blonde haired and white. He had a scar on his left eye but the scar is visible and large. His figure was medium build and looked about forty. Layla gave her a copy of what she had written down to submit to the police.

A few weeks had past since Layla gave the notes to Amanda to tell the police about Max. Sketches of him were drawn and distributed out on the news with headlines asking, have you seen this man? No one has come forward or even mentioned about seeing someone like Max, which stressed out Amanda. Did he leave the country? Is he hiding somewhere where we can’t see him? She thought while watching news updates on him while sitting on the couch in her living room. “I’m right here!" Spooked by the voice, she spun around only to see no one there. “Who said that?” “I did. I’m right here.” “Where?” Amanda was now scared as panic and anxiety grew in her as she sat there breathing heavily. Still, no one was there. “Over here.” She heard him say. The lights around her shut off completely for a few seconds before turning back on and there she saw Max, sitting next to her on her right. She jumped. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.” Amanda’s confusion took over her as she looked around for help. “What are you doing here? Why is it so dark?” The lights were dim to a certain point where you would think the room was lit with only candles. “I did this. Don’t you remember? The dark is our safe place.” Max said. He slowly moved over to her and Amanda immediately stood up and backed herself away from him. “Don’t come near me! You killed my husband!” she exclaimed. “I had to. He was going to hurt you. I had to protect you again.” “What do you mean, again?” Amanda couldn’t figure out how to get out of this situation, thinking this man is insane like some sort of stalker. “I’ve been with you since he tried to kill your mother.” A memory triggered in Amanda’s mind and made think back to her childhood. “You mean my dad?” “Yes.”

Amanda’s father was an out of control drunk who took his frustrations out on her mother. Lauren would try her best to shield Amanda from what was going on but still she would witness it. She was about eight at the time the abuse began. She would hear yelling and screaming and things crashing to the floor. Amanda would hide with Lauren in her bedroom and the two comforted each other until it ended. One night when her parents were arguing at the top of the stairs, Amanda sat upon her bed alone and covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly waiting for the yelling to stop. Her mind raced with thoughts as inaudible words voiced their ideas in her head. “Amanda, open your eyes.” she heard a man say. Her eyes fluttered open and noticed how littly dim her room was and there she saw Max for the first time in front of her. “Follow me,” he told her and being an innocent child, she did just that. They went to the stairs where her parents were still arguing and at that moment, they saw her father grab her mother by the arms and shake her near the stairs as if to push her. Shocked by the action, Amanda saw Max go up to them to stop her mother from falling and push the father down the stairs instead. Max disappeared.

“You pushed him. I remember.” “I had to, otherwise your mom would have died.” “Amanda? Amanda, are you there?” She heard Lauren’s voice call out to her from a different room. “Don’t tell anyone about me being here. Remember, we are a team.” Max said to Amanda before leaving the room.

“Amanda?” Lauren said from behind. Amanda spun around fast to look at her sister. It was at that moment, she realised the lights were back to its normal brightness. “Who were you talking to?” Asked Lauren. Amanda looked back and saw no one there, then faced Lauren. “I was just thinking out loud. I also need to tell you something.” Amanda told Lauren about the stairs incident when they were little and Lauren only remembers hearing a loud tumbling noise from her room, When she came out, her dad was at the bottom of the stairs with an awkwardly twisted neck. She swore to Amanda that she didn’t see Max and only saw the three of them.

Layla sat in her simple but welcoming office going over the notes she made about Amanda’s case. She continually looked at the name Max and wondered if there could be another one. What bothered her the most was how upset Amanda was that no one was able to notice him. Was he slick and fast? Was he made up for attention? Too many questions to think about and no answers. A thought popped into her head that gave her an idea of what’s going on. “Yes! That must be it!” Layla thought. Her years of experience and training finally caught up to her as she realised what the problem was. Before submitting the report to the police, she kept her own side notes in her files just in case she was wrong, although she had much confidence that she wasn’t.

Days had pass since she gave the description of Max. sketches of him were plastered all over the city and billboards about him were warning citizens how dangerous he is. Non-stop news reports played the story of what happened and rewards were offered to those that can help find him. Lauren sat alone in her home office typing up draft reports she was asked to do by her boss. Being an executive assistant to a medical administrative company would constantly leave her working from home. Ever since the murder, a schedule like that helps her with the current situation. Lauren being the elder sister, has helped Amanda. Since the stairs incident years ago, Lauren had taken it upon herself to be the other parent she needed. Her cell phone rang and saw that it was Layla. “Hi Dr. Layla,” Lauren said after answering the call. “Lauren, I’m calling about Amanda.” A confused look crept onto Lauren’s face. “Amanda? Why didn’t you just call her?” “Because what I have to say is very critical and could help the situation involving Max.” Now invested in the idea of figuring out who Max is, Lauren encouraged Layla to tell her more.

A five a.m. alarm woke Amanda as she struggled to turn it off. When did I set my alarm to this time? She thought. Right after turning it off, she reached over to the lamp on her right side and switched it on. There stood Max. Amanda was about to scream for Lauren but he reached out and covered her mouth with his hand, stopping her from making noise. “Shh! Don’t say a word!” he whispered then removed his hand. “What do you want now?” Amanda said as she saw the fear and desperation in his eyes while trying not to show fear herself. “You have to stop them,”

said Max as if he didn’t want anyone to know he exist. “Stop who? Who are you talking about?” Max’s face began to tense up and had a look like was ready to explode. “Lauren and that fake doctor! They want to separate us!” he said and began to aggressively pace back and forth.

“We just need a plan,” he continued. “A plan that will get rid of them.” Amanda’s eyes widen from what she heard, for she knew exactly what he meant. “No! You can’t kill them! I won’t let you!” Max shook his head like a disappointed parent. He knelt down by the bed where she laid and looked deep into her brown eyes. “It’s going to happen and you can’t stop it.” The thought of her sister being killed by Max made her mad. Despite not knowing Layla for long, she grew to trust her and the thought of her being killed too made Amanda become enraged. Her eyes opened wider and her brows arched downward and without thinking, she sprang forward at Max. They fell to the ground with Amanda on top of him, squeezing his throat with her small hands. “Don’t do this! You need me!” Max choked through his words as Amanda coughed repeatedly. Amanda herself started to feel as though someone was choking her with no one touching her. “You have to stop.” Max choked out as his face turned a red and purple combination colour. Still feeling like she was being choked, Amanda tightened her grip and was close to blacking out. Lauren charged in the room panicking after hearing so much noise. What Lauren witness was something she had never seen Amanda do. Lying on her back choking herself. “Amanda!” She ran to her sister and struggled to pull her hands from her throat. “Amanda stop!” Lauren managed to remove her hands and Amanda coughed harshly for air and regained full conscious. Amanda looked up at her sister. “Where is he?”

. . . . . . . . . . . .

“Where’s who?” Lauren said as she looked down at her sister and stared at the vulnerability in her eyes. Amanda stood up from the floor and began frantically searching through her room. “Max! He was here!” she choked through her voice. “Amanda, there’s no one here but us.” The sound in Lauren’s voice was the sound of concern for her sister. While trying to hold back tears, she went over to Amanda, who was looking out the window thinking that was probably how Max escaped, and turned around to face her. “I don’t think there is a Max.” Lauren finally stated the theory she and Layla had about Max when talking on the phone. Amanda shook her head in disbelief. “That’s impossible.” she began. “He was here threatening to kill you and Dr. Layla and I was choking him. You saw me choking him, right?” “I saw you choking yourself.” The unusual shock of hearing that she was choking herself made Amanda laugh a little. “Why would I choke myself? What reason do I have to do something like that?” Lauren stayed silent for a while, trying to gather the words to explain why. “Well, what is it?” “Max. I believe he is in your head.” Lauren finally said. Amanda looked insulted by the words she heard from the one person who

looked out for her as a frown formed on her face. “You think I’m crazy? You think I finally lost it after all these years?” “Amanda, no.” Lauren moved in closer to comfort her but she pulled away. “I’m not trying to hurt you. It’s just when Dr. Layla called to tell me. . . “ “Layla?” Amanada’s voice rose in anger. Another person she depended on for help and now she feels betrayed. “The two of you are working against me!” “No body is doing that. We just want to help.” The two sisters looked at eachother. One mad, the other worried. “You can start by believing me.” Amanda stated. Tears rolled down Lauren’s face but Amanda saw it as a plot to test her sympathy. “Amanda please. I do believe you.” “Just not enough to think I’m sane. Well I’m gonna prove you and Layla wrong. I will find Max and bring him to the both of you. Now get out of my room.” The tears in Lauren’s eyes became like waterfalls. She had never seen Amanda angry at her and the thought of a situation like this made her believe she can lose her only sibling. “I said get out!” The anger that filled within Amanda got to a point where she couldn’t even look at her sister. Her back was turned away from Lauren as she heard the door close.

It had been a week since the two sisters had their argument. Lauren tried her best to talk to Amanda, only Amanda would give her the silent treatment. The sketches of Max that were posted around the city had began to fade. Not one call about him was made. Everyday for the past week, Amanda would go out and talk to people about Max. she would go to bars, convenient stores and every so often, local police stations. Still no results came from any of those places and Amanda figured some one was out to get her. By the end of the week, she paid a visit to Layla’s office. Although Amanda was doing her best to avoid Layla no matter how often she called, her paranoia and curiosity took over and she just wanted answers. Amanda marched right into the building, past the front desk ignoring the receptionist and walked straight into Layla’s office and locked the door behind her. Sitting from her desk, Layla looked over at her door and saw a angry looking Amanda standing there. “Why?” Amanda began. “Why would you say that it’s all in my head?” Amanda’s voice sounded calm but you can still hear the anger. Layla got up from behind her desk and cautiously approached Amanda. “Amanda, I have trying to contact you all week to tell you what’s wrong.” The receptionist called out to Layla through the intercome on her phone. “Doctor, is everything alright?” Layla went over to the phone and pressed the call button to respond. “Yes, everything is fine thank you.” She ended the call and stood in front of Amanda again. “There’s nothing wrong. I didn’t make him up. He is as real as you.” Layla’s discomfort level rose to a ten when Amanda started to walk towards her and felt at any moment, Amanda will be getting ready to attack. She would back away from her everytime Amanda took a step forward. “I’m sorry you feel that way Amanda, but you have to listen to me when I say something isn’t right.” Layla tried to explain. Her back was now against a wall and Amanda got right in her face with her eyes so wide, Layla couldn’t even recognise her. “And just what do you think isn’t right?” “Your mind isn’t right because you are Max.” The revelation stunned Amanda as she stayed quiet. She backed away from Layla slowly and turned around to face the door. “You have Dissociative Identity Disorder. More than one personalities and Max is

one of them.” Amanda spun around looking confused. “What do you mean one of them? Who could possibly be the other?”

“Lauren.”

The two women stood there face to face as Amanda shook her head quickly, not believing a word she heard. “You are lying!” Amanda screamed. “You talk to her all the time! Why would you say that?” “Because she was you!” It was now Layla’s turn to scream. “Lauren has always been you. From the time your father’s abuse got worse from when Devon did the same to you, the trauma of both events stressed you out so much you became mentally exhausted. Your mind invented these personalities to protect you and it’s triggered by the dizziness you keep getting.” Amanda’s mind began to spin as she absorbed the new information she had been given about her. Dizziness came over her at that moment and everything went black. Layla looked at Amanda, whose eyes were closed, try to maintain her balance. “Amanda, are you okay? Can you hear me?” Her eyes finally opened and a smile crept on to her mouth. She began to do a few slow claps. “Well done doc. You figured me out.” The tone of her voice was different as it gave off a cocky vibe and half an octave low. “Max,” said Layla. “You’re very good at what you do but I’m gonna have to put an end to it.” The difference between Amanda and Max’s voice spooked Layla. There stood an innocent woman with a problem and the most she can do was watch and observe. “I’ve been taking care of Amanda since she was little,” Max continued. “I am her protector and guardian and I won’t let some one like you get rid of me.” “What about Lauren?” Layla asked. “She’s not important! She’s only there so that Amanda had someone to play with. Like a big sister but you already knew that, didn’t you?”

It’s true that Layla knows all about Lauren. She had been coming to see her for years but always knew Amanda was her full identity. It wasn’t until after her father’s death that her mother took her in to see Layla. Through a few sessions, Layla discovered that her condition was quite severe and recommended to the mother that Amanda should be committed. It was well managed over the years and under control to the point where she was released in her mother’s care. Not until after high school and the first year of college that things changed around the time her mother became ill and died. Layla had since watched over Amanda, keeping tabs on her all the time especially while Devon was constantly abusing her. She would come in as Lauren and then by the time she got home, she’d come back as Amanda and not remember a thing. After Devon’s murder, it was time to do something.

“Lauren is her protector.” “Lauren is getting in the way! No matter what I do, Amanda won’t let me get rid of her.” The two of them are moving around the room, still facing each other like they’re about to have a duel. Luckily for Layla, she had a panic button on her watch that she secretly pushed. When she put her hands behind her back, Max looked away for a brief moment and used the opportunity. The button is there to alert for back up for when things get out of control and to signal the men in white. They stopped moving and Max was standing by the desk while Layla had the couch behind her. “You did enough for her all these years, and I thank you.” Said Max. He looked down at the desk and noticed a gold and sharp letter opener and thought of a solution to his problem. “But now that you know what I’ve done, it’s time for you to die.” With a quick swipe, Max grabbed the letter opener and launched forward at Layla, who fell back on the couch. Max stopped dead in his tracks and froze while the sharp end of the letter opener was pointed between Layla’s eyes, barely touching her. Her breathing was short and heavy in fright but eventually started to calm down when she saw the dizziness take over Amanda’s body. Still holding the letter opener, Amanda’s closed then opened them and the look of fear appeared on her face. “Go now . . . get help . . . save her.” “Lauren,” The feeling of relief escaped Layla although, she was not sure how much time she had incase Max came back. “I can’t hold him . . . save her now.” Three loud knocks were heard at the door and Layla managed to slip past the blade and unlock the door. By the time Layla opened the door, Lauren dropped the letter opener and her body shaked intensely, trying not to let Max out. Two men in white scrubs came in and sedated her and she collapsed in the men’s arms. Layla watched in sadness as they took her away.

. . . . . . . .

The details of how her father died came flooding back to Amanda. She laid there in her hospital bed like a vegetable with her hands tethered down onto the bed. Looking up towards the ceiling, the memories of that moment played in her mind like a scene from a movie.

Amanda tried her best to block the noise coming from outside her bedroom but they were too loud. She kept wondering where Lauren went because she was always there when it happened. She pressed her hands on her ears as tightly as she could but all she heard were insults and the sounds of things crashing and it wasn’t enough. The words her father was saying to her mother were so disturbing and triggering that it caused a feeling of overwhelming dizziness to Amanda. She closed her eyes and opened them and a new feeling took over her. At this moment, Max was created and when she put her arms down and looked over at her mirror by her bed, there

he was in her reflection. She jumped off her bed and went to open her door and left her room. The parents were there at the top of the stairs. Her mother crouched down in a foetal position on the wall near the stairs and her father screaming at her, saying every nasty thing in the book. The mother saw Amanda coming towards them slowly and she got up and told Amanda to go back to her room. The father disagreed and demanded she stay and watch her mother get taught a lesson. He grabbed the mother by her arms and forced her near the edge of the stairs as if to push her. The mother tried her best to fight and keep her balance but he was too strong. As she got closer to the edge, the determination in Amanda sinked in and she raced forward to her mother, pulled her away from the edge by her shirt and gave her father the biggest push. He went tumbling forward down the stairs and landed awkwardly on his neck. The sound of the snapped neck made Amanda smile. Her dizziness came back and Amanda was herself. At that moment she remembered her mother asking what she had done.

She was heavily breathing and crying at the same time while remembering all the details. Yes, she murdered her own father but was not in her right mind. It wasn’t that she wanted him to die but to just stop hurting her mother. Of course, now that means she was the one who killed Devon. The story she told Layla was what she thought happened but after everything, she remembered the real story.

Amanda was knocked to the ground of her kitchen floor when Devon attacked her for possibly being pregnant. When her head collided with the floor, the same dizziness she felt the night of her father’s death came rushing into her. Her eyes closed for a few seconds and then opened again to reveal a whole new side of her. She got up as Devon was screaming insults at her and she just stared at him with a sick smile. She noticed the look of confusion on Devon’s face but he didn’t take it seriously. He continued his verbal attacks and at one point, pushed her hard against the counter, where the knives were. She saw them, took a large knife and with one swing with it, his throat was cut. The shocked expression and him grabbing at his throat while blood poured out was a proud moment for Amanda/Max. His body dropped to the floor as he tried to reach out to Amanda but all she did was look down at him and watch his body give up. The next thing was to cover up the murder by making it look like a break in. She took a kitchen towel and wiped the prints off the knife and took a pair of Devon’s shoes, dipped the bottom in his blood and made tracks with it. She washed them afterward and hid them in the pantry. She then went out the back door of the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her right hand, closed the door and punched through the glass and opened it from the other side. After all she had done, she went back to where she was knocked down and laid there feeling satisfied by the results.

Two Years Later

Layla made her way into the institution where Amanda was later transferred. Amada’s condition was currently under control and she has not seen Max or Lauren for a while, thinking they’re gone for good. Layla comes to visit her every few weeks for an update but most of the time, there would be no change. She was granted a visitors pass by the receptionist and Amanada’s doctor, Martin, came along and lead her to where Amanda is. They arrived at a room for activities and they saw different patients doing their own thing. Amanada was sitting at a table by the window doing a colouring book for adults. Of all the activities, this was the one to make her feel calm. Layla and Martin stood by the door and began discussing about Amanda. “How is her condition like?” Layla asked. “She’s showing signs of improvement with the new medication we put her on, however, she would have to take them for a really long time and every twenty-four hours or it will lose its effect.” Amanda looked up from her book and saw the two doctors there. She gave Layla a wave and a smile and Layla returned the gesture. Amanda continued to colour. “How long do you think she’ll be able to be released?” Layla wondered. “As long as everything is under control and her personalities don’t resurrect, she should be fine.” Layla nodded and felt hopeful and vowed to herself to always be the one to look out for her. Although Max and Lauren hadn’t taken over Amanda’s mind in weeks, she still feels their presence around her like guardian angels and knows now that she will always have the ability to take control.