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The next morning was even more uncomfortable than the night before.

Outside, the sun hadn't risen, the sky was still gray, and raindrops continued to fall. It hadn't stopped raining all night.

The two girls were in the kitchen, having breakfast. Charlie, as always, tried to start a conversation:

"So... how did you wake up?" she asked.

"How did I wake up? Well, even though you ruined my night by doing things you shouldn't have behind my back instead of sleeping yourself, I woke up pretty well. And you?"

"Well..." Charlie looked away, somewhat embarrassed by last night. "I slept well..."

"You only got four hours of sleep."

"Yes, but..."

"And what time do you even start college?"

"Well... I'm on the evening shift, but... I don't think I can make it today in this weather..."

"Excuses."

"And I bet you weren’t absent even if there was a tsunami.." And this time it was Grace who remained silent.

And they returned to the awkward silence. They barely spoke unless it was related to Lacey, really.

"So...what did you study, Grace?" Charlie asked.

"I studied computer science and programming." It made sense. She used to make video games, after all.

"And that's where you met Rocio?" Grace was silent for a few seconds.

"Yes, that's where I met her. We were classmates."

"What was Rocio like?" Charlie began to question.

"Well, at first I thought she was just a goth girl. She was quite distant, and seemed cold. She was always alone, reading or drawing."

"If i’m not mistaken, Rocio did the illustrations in the games, right?" Charlie asked.

"Of course she did, I would never draw such disturbing things!"

"Hey, hey, I wasn't accusing you of doing the disturbing part of the games. We always knew it was Rocio, right?" Grace sighed.

"Well, but someone doesn't know what to expect from you, you know?"

"How come? The things I do aren't that unexpected, are they?"

"Yesterday I thought you really dropped the subject and went to sleep." Charlie looked away.

"Well... but it's just... Rocio..." Grace sighed.

"Look, Rocio isn't the kind of person who's easy to help. It's a waste of time, and you’ll only end up worse than her."

"But... as someone studying psychology, I should learn to help people like that..."

"And you, as a future psychologist, have to learn that you won't be able to help everyone." Charlie remained silent. Grace was right... but...

"Face it, Charlie. It'll be best for you, me, and Rocío.”

"But... at least... could we try to reason with her?"

"Make Rocío reason? ROCÍO?"

"Yes... convince her that... she can get better... and..." Grace sighed for the tenth time that day.

"You have a serious savior complex, you know? But since you want to help her so much, then...

Do your thing. But don't blame me if something happens to you. I warned you," Grace said. Charlie had the face of a child opening her Christmas presents.

"So I can...?!"

"Yes, Charlie, you can reconnect to the digital world..." Grace... sighed for the millionth time. "But if something happens to you, it's your fault, not mine, okay?"

"Okay!" Charlie smiled.

Charlie quickly got up and started running toward the computer.

"HEY!" Grace exclaimed. "Finish your breakfast first!"

Charlie turned around:

"Yes, Miss Grace..."

Charlie ate her breakfast as quickly as possible, and then, as if she'd just been given a new Xbox, he ran over to Grace's computer, and with her help, connected into the digital world.

"So...can I ask you something, Charlie?"

"Yes, Grace?" Charlie tilted her head to the side.

"How...how did you find Rocio yesterday?"

"Umm...as soon as I connected, she was already there..."

"Oh..." Grace thought for a moment while Charlie was on the page. Rocio only appeared quickly when she wasn't there. It was obvious how Rocio felt about her.

Disappointed

But...that doesn't matter anymore. Doesn't it? It happened years ago...and...

Grace sat with her legs crossed, her gaze fixed on Charlie, but whether she was actually processing what was happening was another subject.Her mind was in a totally different place, far from this world.

Or far from this time actually.

She wasn't really looking at Charlie; her mind was somewhere else. On a feeling of guilt that wouldn't go away. Why did she feel guilty? It was over, it wasn't her fault. Everything was fine. Just...

Grace didn't realize when she ran to her room until she was already there.

That feeling of guilt she'd tried so hard to hide, to ignore, to push to the back of her mind, had returned. And stronger than ever.

She couldn't ignore it anymore. It was everywhere, all around her. No matter where she looked, it was there. And she had to face it.

But she was afraid. She was so afraid to face it all. There was a reason she'd been avoiding it for so long. The thought of having to do it made her nauseous...nauseous...nauseous...

"Grace?"

"HUH?!"

Charlie was inside Grace's room, standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here, Charlie? Weren't you...trying to talk to Rocio?" she asked.

"You left so suddenly."

“...Sorry.”

Charlie and Grace fell silent, Grace looking toward a corner of the room, and Charlie toward her. Charlie could sense something wasn't right. In the...three months she'd known her, Grace had never acted like that. And even if she'd known her longer, acting like that really wasn't normal for anyone.

“Are you okay, Grace?”

“...Just go on with what you were doing…I'll stay here.”

“Are you sure...?”

“Yes.” Grace affirmed.

“But what if something happens to me...?”

“it 's your fault. You wanted it. You signed and agreed.”

“...Uh-huh. Well, see you.”

Charlie closed the door, leaving Grace alone with her million thoughts, including how the hell Charlie learned to disconnect on her own.

Charlie walked down the stairs, that feeling that something wasn't right making her uneasy. She needed to do something, but... she didn't even know why Grace was feeling so bad...

Could it be because of everything with Rocio? Well, that was the obvious answer. Of course it was because of that. Maybe it reminded her of something she didn't want to remember...

She went back upstairs.

"If there's anything you want to tell me, you can always trust me!"

Grace grimaced.

"And you won't upload it to your YouTube channel?"

Charlie remained silent.

"I promise!"

"...You better not. Or I'll report you to the police."

Charlie knew Grace wouldn't. For various reasons, she wouldn't.

"...Will you tell me?"

"...Not yet. Go do what you wanted to do, okay?"

"...Okay."

Charlie went back downstairs. She looked at the computer where the Lacey's flash games HTML file was.

Carefully, she put each item back in its place and connected onto the digital world again.

But this time, it was much harder to find Rocio. First of all, she couldn't even access some games. Yes, she only had Petshop, Wardrobe, and Love Meter, but now she couldn't access Wardrobe anymore.

Well... let's get past Petshop...

Charlie did everything she could to contact Rocio for two hours.

Two hours of just doing whatever on the website and playing Flash games. At this point, they didn't scare Charlie anymore.

Charlie waited for Rocio to give up on hiding and talk to her, but she knew Rocio was hoping she'd give up and leave.

They were both so, so stubborn. Except Charlie was the most stubborn one there.

"Rocíooo..." Charlie sighed, doubting she'd actually listen. "Did you know I'm capable of staying three nights waiting for you to reply?" She joked, but a new text was added to the "about us" section.

<your_body_will_give_up_I_don't_have_a_body>

"You spoke! And you're right, my body will collapse. But are you capable of waiting that long just for me to leave without speaking to you?"

<yes>

"...Really?"

<yes>

"Wouldn't you be bored?"

<bored_in_my_HEAVEN¿>

"...You like this place too much, don't you?"

<SHUT_UP_ALREADY. I_don't_want_to_see_you_talk_about_my_heaven_ever_again>

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything about your heaven, okay? Don't get mad...please. I don't want to go deaf.”

Rocío responded with silence.

"I'm sorry if I offended you, that wasn't my intention."

<what_do_you_want_today>

"What do I want today?"

<yes>

"Just to talk to you! To check on you!" Charlie smiled. Rocío didn't respond.

<check_on_?me>

"Yep!"

<are_you_serious>

"Why would I say this as a joke? Am I forbidden to talk to you now that I know how?"

<?why_are_you_doing_this>

"Well, I just want to talk to you!"

<you_have_GRACE_to_talk_to>

"I know..." Charlie sighed. "But Grace isn't...the best person to talk to, you know?"

<Well_if you_don't_like_talking_to_GRACE_less_will_you_like_talking_with_ME>

"Well, surprise, I'd rather talk to you." Silence.

<?really>

"I mean, you're not telling me every two seconds to go do my college homework."

<you_are_going_to_fail>

Charlie sighed: "Still, it won't hurt to talk to you once in a while, right?"

<I_don't_understand_why_youd_want_to_talk to_me>

"I already told you, Rocío! I just like you, and don't you feel alone here? I mean, no one's really been on this page for years, right?

<flash_died_ofcourse_not>

"And you don't get bored?"

<this_is_my_HEAVEN_made_for_me_of_course_not>

"Well, didn't you miss talking to someone?" Rocío fell silent.

Because, being honest, she didn't think about that. She never thought about that. She's never thought about that in years. In all her time, inside that page, inside that place. She never, ever thought about talking to other people. Because talking to others was always exhausting. They never understood. So...

<no_I_didnt_miss_it>

"Don't you miss talking to anyone? Having some company? Someone to share your thoughts with?" Rocío thought.

<never_had_someone_like_that_in_the_first_place>

"Oh..." Charlie thought. "I guess Grace wasn't...the best company, right?" The other didn't respond.

"...Are you uncomfortable talking about Grace?" Silence.

"...I understand. Sorry.” Charlie thought about what else to tell Rocío, just to talk to her and not leave her alone. She kept calculating what to do.

<youre_lying>

"Huh? Why are you saying that?"

<nobody_talks_to_me_just_to_talk_to_me_you_know_you're_lying>

"Okay, but…”

<what_do_you_want_today? Tell_me_NOW>

"Come on, Rocío... I just want to talk to you..."

<images_videos_or_something_more?

"Rocío, really? Can't you...understand that I just want to talk...god…”

<how_bored_are_you_to_want_to_talk_to_me?>

"So...since you asked, I'm stuck at Grace's house. It's been raining for hours, and she's in a bad mood."

<i_don't_blame_her_for_being_mad_at_you>

"With me? So the issue is with me?"

<?what_did_you_expect>

Charlie thought. She really was very insistent, wasn't he? It was obvious she was going to end up making Grace uncomfortable...

<but_it's_not_just_with_you>

"Huh? Who else?" The screen went blank; there was no response.

“Will you answer?”

...

"Please?"

<enough_for_today>

"Awww...but come on...we only talked for a few minutes. And it was just you insisting I shouldn't talk to you…”

<and_I'm_right>

“Why?”

<what_do_you_mean_WHY¿>

“Why do you think I shouldn't talk to you? What's so bad about talking to you?”

<dont_you_listen_to_GRACE¿>

“Let's take Grace out of this conversation, and answer. Why do you think I shouldn't talk to you?" And as always, everything went blank.

<im_deplorable>

<I_don't_understand_why_you_waste_your_time_talking_to_someone_like_me_when_you_could_be_doing_much_better_things>

“Like what?”

<studying>

“Taking out studying. What could I possibly be doing better than talking to you right now?”

<there_are_a_million_things_better_than_talking_to_me>

<you_could_watch_a_movie_read_a_book_anything_is_better_than_talking_to_me>

“...Why do you think all of that is better than talking to you? Why do you think I could do all of that instead of talking to you?”

<I_already_told_you_I_AM_DEPLORABLE>

“Well...I don't think you're totally horrible, Rocío. And the truth is, talking to you is much more interesting than everything you mentioned...after searching for you for months..."

<it_was_only_a_month>

“Yes, but...it was still hard, you know? Not everyone immediately realizes that the person they're looking for is inside a page…”

<and_why_would_you_want_to_talk_to_me?

“Like I said, Rocío, you're just...interesting. Very interesting. I want to know about you, I want to get to know you! You're actually quite mysterious, and I want to know about you. I'm interested in you, Rocio.”

The other girl only responded by sending Charlie to the 404 error page. Charlie got startled.

"Is this what redemption feels like?

What is the purpose of a girl destined to die over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over?

and over again?

Do you know what it feels like to be cursed with the ironic immortality of a digital body?

It does not matter how many times she bleeds.

It does not matter how many times she suffers.

She will always be back the next time you open your game."

Charlie remembered seeing that page before. Poor kid who got this when the page stopped working.

"Hmm... that was a lot for her, huh?" Charlie disconnected herself out. She was removing everything that connected her, when she turned around and found Grace.

"Oh! Grace, you're out!"

"Yep... I'm out..." Grace replied, trying to maintain her usual enthusiasm.

"How long have you been there?"

"...Half an hour or so?"

"Well... that's quite a while..."

"Uh-huh." She readjusted her glasses and looked at Charlie.

"So you'd rather talk to Rocio than me?" Grace laughed, but she wasn't looking at Charlie.

"Well, she doesn't insist that when she was in college she was better than me..."

"Remember you're talking about Rocio, Charlie."

"Yeah... yeah..."

There was silence for a few minutes.

"So... why did she leave this time? What did you do?"

"Why do you always assume it was me...? But anyway, I told her I really wanted to talk to her and... the page crashed.”

Grace looked somewhat surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Why are you asking?"

"I just...wanted to know."

Silence returned. Grace looked outside.

"Look, it's stopped raining. You can go... if you really want."

"Hmmm... I could study..."

"Could you? No, you have to."

"Leave me alone..." Charlie grabbed her things, preparing to leave.

"But... I can come back, right?"

"...Sure," Grace replied. "If you need something important enough..."

"I want to help Rocio."

"Huh?"

"I want to help Rocio. Just like you heard. And I can't help her in just one day. Can I come back tomorrow?"

"I better get used to you living here..." Grace sighed. "No."

"At least once a week?"

Grace sighed:

"Fine...

"Perfect!" Charlie smiled, her backpack in hand. "See you next week then!" She waved, heading out the door.

"BUT WHEN ARE YOU COMING?!" Grace exclaimed, but Charlie was already gone. She sighed. "These few months will be interesting..."

She tried to show disinterest. But she couldn't help but look at the computer, where the page was still open.

Maybe...

If she tried…