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“I’m scared,” she sobs, reaching out to tug on my sleeve. I reach a hand out for her, but she shakes her head no. She doesn’t want to be any closer to the threat. A crash sounds, glass shatters, and my heart leaps. Charlotte takes off running down the stairs, screaming for me to come with her.
Fuck.
I turn and follow her down, gathering in a huddle at the bottom next to Mrs. Briggs front door.
“Cat Guy?” I call out. Movement sounds from above, a shuffling of feet and grunting, I peek up the stairwell core to see his body hit the railing and topple over it.
No.
It’s a dead drop down the centre. His body lands in front of us with a heavy thud, the bones crunching on impact before I can fully compute it’s happened.
“No, no, no!” Charlotte chokes out, ripping away from me and rushing toward the exit door, pushing through it and falling out into the street.
Cat Guy’s broken body lays at my feet. Blood splatter coats my flesh like someone played blow paints in front of me. A fluttering of news articles begin raining down the stairwell like horror confetti. Every inch of my body is trembling as I tilt my head upwards to see a flash of black material followed by more news clippings. My keepsakes.
Arms grab me from behind. I open my mouth to scream, but my voice gets trapped in my throat. “Come on!” a man’s voice booms into my ear, heaving me away from the scene. I’m hauled outside our building. A crowd has gathered. Charlotte sits on the curb sobbing. “He’s still in there.” I point inside urgently. “He’s still in there.” I’m getting louder, erratic.
“It’s okay. Police are on their way.”
Thud.
Blood. Blood. Blood.
Charlotte’s date? Where is he? Sickness rushes up my gullet. I turn and race to the gutter, throwing up acid. Tears burn my eyes. He’s back. Willis has come back for me.NineMy jaw aches from my clenched teeth. The buzzing and police lights bring out a sickness within me. I’m wrapped in an itchy blanket sitting in the back of an ambulance being treated for shock. Cat Guy’s body is eventually wheeled out in a black bag, and with it, memories of my mother’s murder.
Jack. Jack. Jack.
“Ms. West,” Detective Barnett nods his head toward me in greeting. I think he knew this was inevitable. They have a six sense about this kinda thing, right?
“I’d like to introduce you to a colleague of mine who has agreed to assist us with this investigation,” he tells me, turning and gesturing with his hand to the man coming toward me. “This is Detective Hernandez.”
My head whips up to the man in question. His hair is a little thinner now, but apart from that, he looks the same as he did over a decade ago. The first couple years after my mother’s death, he would visit my aunt’s. He started showing up less and less, and eventually, I forgot about him or he did me. “Ms. West.” He holds his hand out to me.
“I remember you,” I tell him, refusing the hand he offers.
“I wasn’t sure if you would.” He looks bashful between Barnett and me. “I’d like to ask you some questions if that’s okay,” he says, dropping his hand.
“Okay.”
“Do you think you’d be okay coming to the station?”
Shrugging off the blanket, I stand. “Sure.” Stepping down from the ambulance, I move toward the car he gestures to, slipping inside the backseat. I feel guilty of something. It’s wriggling around inside me like a virus. The side of my neck heats, and I just know before I turn my head Green Eyes is in the gathering crowd. I feel him. Our eyes meet, and the pulse in my wrists flicker, the old scars coming to life. Who are you? I want to scream it, shake him, slap him. It’s madness. Am I crazy?
“Where is Charlotte?” I croak out when Detective Hernandez gets into the car.
“She’s being taken by my colleague.”
Why are they separating us? Because this is about you, not her.
Pulling away from the curb, a tug in my heart makes me check behind me to see if Green Eyes is still there. It’s impossible to see from this distance. Settling into the leather seat, I allow my eyes to close.
Blood. Pain. Gore.
A jarring panic forces them to open. The lights from the world flicker past the window like fireworks. “You okay back there?” Detective Hernandez asks.
“Fine,” I lie. I’ll never be fine again.The florescent lights hurt my eyes. The small square room is cold and dull. I’ve been waiting for ages. Just me, these four walls, a table…I wish I’d kept the itchy blanket now. I can’t breathe. I’m drowning, sinking deeper and deeper into nightmares. Finally, the door opens, and in walks Detective Hernandez holding a cup. “I hope black is okay.” He smiles, placing the cup of coffee in front of me. My hands wrap around it, stealing the heat. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long.” He places a folder on the table and inserts a tape into a recorder device.
