~~Ashley’s POV~~
In Carson’s car…
“I had to lie to my teammates to be here alone. So we’ll be as quick as possible before they visit the crime scene.”
“Oh, thanks,” I replied nonchalantly. He went quiet for a while. I guess he wanted a more heartfelt appreciation for his sacrifice. ‘I’m sorry I’m in no mood to get emotional right now. Not like I ever am anyway. Let’s get right on to business, man.’
“Name: Anna Donovan. Major: Fine arts. She was in her final level,” he summarized the document I read through on his phone, saving me the stress.
“But…” I paused, putting on the thinking face.” What connection could she possibly have with Makayla? They were neither in the same major nor did they even know each other. I mean, I knew all of her friends.” I tried to brainstorm.
“To be honest, I’m yet to figure that out.”
“Do victims of serial killer cases not usually have some sort of connection?”
“I know, right? But this one’s quite a difficult one.”
I heaved a deep sigh and leaned against the headrest with my eyes closed.
Silence…
“By the way, are you okay?” he ended the brief hush.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a case like Makayla’s. Isn’t it taking a toll on you?” My eyes came open abruptly. This dude was yet to fully understand Ashley Sinclair. How come he couldn’t take any hints up until now? I was fired up!! The reason he indirectly belittled my efforts of trying to get a perfect portrait of the culprit on paper was because he claimed it wasn’t a serial killer case and now? ‘Bro!’
“This isn’t a serial killer case, Ashley. There’s no guarantee he’d reappear on the streets with a black hoodie and nose mask,” I quoted then tilted my head to the side to look at him. “You said that yourself. I hope the painting’s still intact.”
Dumbfounded by how calmly and normally I emphasized my thrill, apparently over someone’s death, he gave off two loud huffs. He must have heard: “What are you saying? I was waiting for someone else to die!’”
‘You’re impossible!’ the gape he wore while taking occasional glances at me, cried out. I tilted back to face the road.
“You haven’t visited the hospital yet, right? Let’s go together.”
“How did you know that?”
“You just said you lied to your teammates,” I reminded with minute traces of sarcasm escaping alongside those words. I bet he came running as soon as he could after I called.
“Oh… yeah… but I didn’t exactly say I didn’t go to the hospital though.” He uttered the last part under his lips.
“You couldn’t have gone and gotten here so quickly at the same time, Carson. The first period wasn’t even over yet when you showed up,” I pointed out the obvious. Darn my over calculative mind. Makayla’s case must have turned me into a mini-detective overnight.
“To the crime scene then.” He accepted defeat with a sigh.
The crime scene…
With my hands tightly within his grip, we forced our way through the crowd in front of the apartment, until we met the yellow police line used to set a boundary. Charging through, one of the men placed to keep guard tried to stop us.
“The police,” Carson told, flashing the uniformed man his ID. His eyes drifted to me. “She’s with me.” Carson used a part of his broad shoulder to shield me.
He stepped aside.
I took advantage of his well-built physique to support me while walking through the sentimental crowd outside. Now we were inside, there was no longer a need to. I withdrew my hand.
Different investigative units were present. While some collected fingerprints from the bloodstained areas, others took pictures of the scene, filling my ears with the camera shutters. A particular crew dressed in all-white was busy examining the corpse yet to be taken away. I assumed they’d wrap her in cloth as white as the one they had on, and take her away with the ambulance I saw outside like I see in the movies.
Shortly after we said our greetings, I became greatly indulged in the crime scene, scrutinizing it. For starters, the girl’s stab wounds were around ten in all – five around her abdomen, and five around her chest. How cruel. Her mouth was bruised like the gag used was too tight. In my case, I remained asleep until the deed was done so yeah, that was a plausible guess. Blood-tainted cards and disposable cups were littered all over, I assumed they were also having fun like I and Makayla. The bloody footprints and splatters giving the room a bright red color didn’t escape my eyes. While I kept scanning the entire room, my eyes then met with the bloody inscription on the wall: “Deep Ocean Blue Eyes.” Like a paused movie, I stopped moving. I zoned out.
My head went blank. The scene from “That Night” started playing out with me at the center of it all. Makayla’s lifeless body lay there while I ran to and fro like a cat on hot bricks. Slowly but surely, my heartbeat gained pace. I knew it was only a matter of seconds until it felt like exploding. Tremors set in, and my left hand started shaking. I nervously used the other to try to make it stop.
My heart raced in a fury. I didn’t understand what was going on. But I knew I needed to save Makayla and myself pacing around. I knew I was from the future, and that I needed to take action before passing out. “Ma – ” Just when I was about to take a step further to Makayla’s body, a dark shade covered my eyes. Next, I felt a sturdy hand over my shoulders. That was when I came to my senses. My heart raced slower, and my tremors seized.
I turned to my side to see Carson holding me protectively. My eyes subconsciously fell on his shirt’s placket. The shades were gone. That was when I realized who those were really for. With Makayla’s memories jogged up once again, my eyes welled up. I didn’t bother to clean them because they were shielded until they streamed down my cheeks.
At that point, he shot me a reassuring look. “If it’s too much for you, we can go,” he suggested gently. At a loss for words, I huffed and just stared with a mixture of anger and sadness. He always managed to see me at my worst.
I sniffled, cleaned my face, and shook my head. “No. I want to stay. After this, we’ll visit the hospital.”
~~Daniil’s POV~~
It was almost lunchtime and this was the most uneventful day of my life so far. I’d seen a couple of policemen stroll in and out of campus to take statements from students. Apparently, someone died. Barely any classes were being held. Some students even left, like Ashley. Speaking of Ashley, she hadn’t returned since the morning hours.
Just when I thought the day couldn’t get more boring…
“Hey, Daniil!” A girl with a peculiar fashion sense I’d like to call “weird,” walked up to me. She was wearing a black leather jacket, white crop top – which betoned her juicy jugs – over a short black box pleat skirt, and square heel ankle boots to go with it. She looked like an excerpt from a Japanese movie considering those long slender legs she flaunted. Her white skin and oval-shaped eyes slanted upward confirmed she wasn’t American. Just like me.
“What are you doing all alone?” she asked, with a hand on my shoulder while playing with her long straight jet-black falling to her waist. I rolled my fists in a ball within my hoodie’s pockets, unsatisfied with her touchiness. Tilting my head to the right, I looked down at the hand caressing me.
“I’m Charlotte Yoshida. Or you could call me Sakura just like everyone.” Her name put the last piece to the puzzle. She was Japanese. Or maybe a crossbreed considering her flawless American accent. It was called the International University of Chicago for a reason. I looked her up and down, precisely at her hand extended towards me for a handshake, with contempt. Someone reasonable could have taken a hint but I guess she wasn’t. Then I raised my eyes to directly look into hers glistening with infatuation. I could tell she was one of the numerous lovers I earned myself without knowing.
I didn’t want to burst in anger so I begrudgingly played along.
“Nice to meet you.” I took her hand. In case you’re wondering why I hadn’t sent her flying yet, this was the condition I had to strictly obey if I wanted to school here. No one here was allowed to know what I truly was like.
“Oh, that’s the bell. Wanna grab a bite?”
I heaved a sigh silently, unwilling to leave my seat. But I also didn’t want to give my beastly instincts any chance to erupt so I begrudgingly yielded. “Sure.”
I followed her. The school became rowdy in just a matter of seconds. I guess it was indeed lunchtime for them. While on it, I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea if she showed me around campus.
We came to a sudden stop at the doorway when Andrei was face-to-face with us. I heaved a sigh of exhaustion at that moment. Exhaustion from the fact he wouldn’t give me space!
“It’s lunchtime, young master.” Sakura looked at us at seconds intervals, clearly lost.
“Isn’t there nothing else to do? Why are you still hovering around me?”
“There’s nothing to do, Young master.” ‘Cut it out, Andrei. You’re embarrassing me with this cringy “young master.”’
“There is actually.” He wore a ‘huh?’ look. “You could stay away from me.”
Without a word, he gave a slight bow, passing his message. His duties remained the same irrespective of my wishes. He knew how to piss me off. Really.
“Yoshida here will show me around.” Her presence around me finally gained use – an excuse to avert Andrei!
“Let me escort you to the cafeteria, then,” he cordially insisted.
“Suit yourself.” I walked on, Sakura followed by my side, while he walked a few paces behind us.
My movements slowed down slightly when I unexpectedly sighted Ashley from a distance, walking against us. My eyes remained glued to her path. Her eyes were gleaming with anger and spite, in contrast to the emotionless look she had earlier. I was curious to know what caused the change. One thing was crystal clear though – her outing went anything but well.
I unwittingly hoped she’d look my way as she advanced towards us, but she didn’t. She just passed us by. The space between us was almost empty for she not to notice my presence. Pretty obvious she intentionally ignored everything and everyone around her. Without stopping, I followed her with my eyes until she went out of eyeshot, into the class. It was confirmed. She bothered me.