~~Ashley’s POV~~
With piqued interest and a heightened state of alertness, I sat upright to read through the entire news article.
**“Similar to the murder incident that took place on the 18th of July 2023, another student of the International University of Chicago was found dead at her apartment early this morning around 5:00 am by a neighbor who first witnessed the scene and called it in. An unconscious body – whose identity is yet to be known – lying next to the victim was rushed to the hospital after confirming her state.
The victim was brutally murdered by incurring countless stab wounds on multiple spots ranging from her abdominal to chest region. On the wall, a bloody inscription which read “Deep Ocean Blue Eyes” was found…”** I minimized it for I’d seen enough. The incident that was referenced in the article was Makayla’s. The very fact the two cases were similar gave me the chills, not gonna lie.
To know the intensity of the hullabaloo in Chicago, I went online to confirm. Lo and behold! “Deep Ocean Blue Eyes” was leading the searches that morning. There were already countless articles, posts, blogs, etc, flooding the internet bearing the same headlines.
I immediately texted Carson.
**“Did you see the news?”
Leaving just the amount of time needed to read through my message, his reply came: “Yes, I did.”
“Where are you right now?”
“Currently on my way to the hospital with my teammates.”
“I wanna visit the…” My typing was interrupted when an incoming call from my mom was displayed on the screen. ‘She must have seen the news.’ I was reluctant, not knowing what to expect from taking her call but I did anyway.
“Yes, mom?”
“Where are you right now? Do you think you could turn the car around and come back home? You don’t need to go to school today.” Her voice was shaky, it’s obvious she’d gotten wind of the current situation and was clearly nervous. I heaved a sigh.
“I’m fine, mom. Don’t worry about me.”
“How could I not worry about you?!!” she cut in almost immediately. “Ashley listen to me this once and tell the driver to turn the car around,” she added after taking deep breaths.
“Sure.” I hung up. ‘Sure,’ my foot. I wasn’t going to say shit to Maverick. There was no way in this lifetime I was going to miss school that very Monday. So much work had to be done. I went back to texting Carson.
**“I wanna visit the crime scene.” Unlike the other replies, this one took quite some time. My weird request must have left him dumbfounded.
“Yes ma’am,” Maverick’s voice called my attention to himself. … “We’re almost at her school.” I deduced it was my mom on the line. “Alright, ma’am.” He hung up.
Just then, he turned the wheel in an anticlockwise direction, veering the car to take a U-turn.
“The hell are you doing?”
“Your mom asked I take a U-turn.”
“Turn the car back around.”
“Your mom’s my employee, Ash,” he said breezily. ‘Is this guy being serious?’ who gave him the right to nickname me like we were old-time friends or something? ‘He must pull some weight to think of me as a pushover.’
I couldn’t afford to get back home at that point. I had to get that car back on track or lose out entirely. ‘What to do? What to do?’ biting my thumbnail, I pondered. We were the only ones in the car, he was in charge of the wheel, I sat at the back, how could I possibly get him to do as I said? Rolling my eyeballs in different directions, I scanned the car in search of ideas. My eyes – following the trail of his manly biceps bulging his turtle neck – then fell on the Foxtail chain hanging around his neck. A comical idea crept in at that point. Here goes nothing.
I switched seats discreetly to sit behind him instead. Acting normal I took my hands around his headrest before grabbing with every ounce of strength in my body, the chain around his neck.
“Turn the car around,” I whispered maniacally, strangling him as hard as I could. Unable to let go completely of the steering wheel, I had a major advantage. ‘What stunt I dared to pull against someone huger and most definitely stronger than me.’
Against all odds, he tried to struggle by digging his fingers through my skin but the jacket I had on gave me another edge over him.
“Turn the car around.” Fingers crossed, his resilience will yield in my favor. I was already getting tired but refused to loosen up. Soonest, I could see all the veins in his head pop through, a reddish color intruded his olive skin tone. ‘I must be holding him too tight. What if he chokes to death?’ I don’t want to be a murderer, I thought. I wanted to give up. But the skies were in my favor.
“I’ll… I’ll … turn the car around,” he managed to let out of a stifling throat.
“You will?”
He shook his head in a nod-like direction, unable to get it down completely.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if you go back on your word when I let go. My dad should’ve told you how crazy this girl is.” He raised both hands in the air, slowly losing control of the car considering how it was swerving in zigzags. I let go.
While coughing rigorously, he managed to swerve the car back on course before forcefully parking it by the roadside causing the tires to screech. He then bent over the wheel with a hand on his chest as he coughed non-stop. Unbowing, he adjusted the rearview mirror, glowering at me but I looked out the window instead. Nonetheless, I could tell he was a bit frightened by the show. He least expected I’d take a drastic turn that’d end up putting both our lives in danger if it derailed.
“To the International University of Chicago, miss.” The honorifics returned with a hoarse tone, formerly smooth as ice.
I recalled Carson’s words when he said: “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.” To the best of my knowledge, when a series of murders take the same form and style, it qualifies as a serial killer case. A fresh wave of thrill coursed through me like I was patiently waiting for another to die. “He’s back,” I whispered, my cheeks bulging with an icy smile.
Just then my phone buzzed.
**“I’ll come pick you up later today,” read Carson’s reply.
Feeling oddly at ease in contrast to the earlier hours, I put my headphones back on and relaxed comfortably like a boss.