014
014
Cassian
"Does it hurt sir?" Penny asked again for the umpteenth time, literally poking my sides and causing more tendrils of pain to shoot up my body. She glanced at me with a small smile, and even though I wanted nothing more than to roll my eyes and send her back to her office, I only returned the gesture. "I can get you more..."
"It's fine Penny." I shook my head once , hoping that she'd get the message and leave me alone, but unfortunately for me, that didn't work out. “I'm fine, you can get back to grading those scripts I gave you ."
"Okay." She straightened, her puppy dog eyes pleading to spend more time with me, but I just wasn't in the mood. “Just call me if you need anything else. I'm only a door away. Literally.”
"Sure." I watched her retreating figure make its way into the smaller office. “I'll hold you to that.”
"More like good riddance," I mumbled as I slumped into my swivel chair, before running a hand through my hair.
A small sigh slid past my lips as I did a quick recap of what had gone down, and how I'd ended up in this mess in the first place.
Penny was a nice girl, and definitely an efficient TA. I enjoyed messing with her a few times but I just wasn't in the mood today. I hadn't been in the mood ever since ‘she ' walked into my life. It'd been chaos after chaos, not to mention the mysterious creep that just wouldn't let me be.
Being aggravatingly handsome was definitely a blessing and a curse.
I heaved open my desk drawer and pulled out an envelope that'd come in for me earlier this morning. It was pink and cutesy, with red and white hearts pasted around it and some scribbled doodles around its edges. A large bouquet also accompanied this beautiful surprise. I was flattered at first and thought probably one of my students had sent it to wish me a speedy recovery, but that elation died when I ripped open the letter and read its contents.
I didn't mean for you to get hurt the other night. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you.
My blood ran cold as my eyes skimmed over those words and an unnatural chill spread through my body. The letter was definitely printed out so there was no way I could try to match who the handwriting belonged to.
Even if I tried to fish for thumbprints, that would have already been wiped out because it was brought in here by the postman, with no returning address whatsoever. The bouquet, on the other hand, stunk of a particularly nauseous perfume I was sure no one I knew of wore.
Basically, all I was left with was a dead end to any sort of clue to who this person was and a shit load of questions.
Perfect. Just what I needed. A psycho with a fondness for stationery.
"Cassian Corvin speaking." I picked up my phone that'd been vibrating for a while now."
How can I help you?"
"I believe I'm in a better position to be asking that." The voice on the voice held a deep but cheery baritone, one I recognized the moment he introduced himself. “It's Chief Keith here."
"I figured." I grinned. “How are you, sir?"
"Again, I should be asking you that." He replied. “It's nice to know someone cares about this old handsome hunk."
"Of course, of course." I chuckled. “Not to be rude, but is there a reason you're calling me right now?"
"Yes, I just wanted to check up on you and know the status of your health." He was calm and cool, his playful demeanor vanishing bit by bit and being replaced with a more professional one. “And the nurses in charge informed me you were discharged yesterday of your own will. Weren't the security details we got you safe enough?"
"No, no. Not that." I shook my head vigorously, my glasses threatening to fall off my nose. “I really don't like hospitals. They're not exactly my scene so I try my best to stay away from them as much as possible."
"Okay okay." Chief Keith rasped. “But you're better now though right?"
"Affirmative." I nodded. “The wound's still a bit sore, but nothing a couple of medications can't fix. On the emotional front, I can't quite say the same thing."
"What do you mean Mr. Corvin?" I seemed to have piqued his interest. “Is there something you're not telling me?"
"Actually, yes." I sighed, one of my hands massaging my temple. “A letter came in for me today. "
"I thought it was a kind of get well soon letter from one of my students who'd heard about the accident." I picked up the letter which was now crumpled from me folding and refolding it again. “But it was just from the stalker again."
"What does it say?"
"I didn't mean for you to get hurt the other night. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you." I repeated the contents of the letter, my heart beating wildly. "And the letter was typed, so there's no way to try to match it with someone's handwriting. The bouquet that came alongside it also has no return address."
"So a dead end then?" Chief sounded genuinely deflated. I heard him sigh before saying. “It's fine Mr. Corvin. Thank you for telling us. I'll get someone to come by your office today to pick up the evidence and some other details too. If that's fine with you."
"Of course, of course." I huffed. “Anything to help you get to the bottom of this."
"Thank you. And please don't worry about it. That's our job. Just be alert and report anything you feel is strange or out of place." He lectured. “Even if it's a gut feeling or an instinct, do contact us. This case is becoming more complicated to crack than I expected. "
"I will , Chief." I folded the letter back into its envelope. “Thank you. "
Staring at the letter one last time before popping it back into my drawer, I muttered
"My life is officially screwed."
It was a miracle how I was able to get through the rest of the day. Luckily for me, the school hours came to an end, and I couldn't wait till I got home. Penny, on the other hand, offered to make sure I got home safely, but it took a shit ton of persuasion to finally let me be.
The night was cold and damp as I made my way towards the front door of my apartment. The neighborhood was quiet, except for the faint sounds of owls hooting and birds chirping in the air. I was used to the silence because I lived alone and my environment wasn't exactly a bustling one, but tonight was different; tonight's silence was unnerving.
Pushing all thoughts to the back of my mind, I inserted my keys and pushed open the front door to an extremely dark living room. This was weird because my apartment was wired to switch on all the lights the moment I stepped in through the front door.
Fumbling around for the light switch, I staggered further into the house and a strange smell hit me; the same perfume that bouquet and letter were doused in.
Today had been the first time I'd perceived that, and the letter and bouquet were no longer with me, so how the fuck was I still smelling that?
Something definitely wasn't right.
Still trying to locate the light switch, my eyes caught something glinting at the far end of the room, a couple of steps away from the kitchen.
“Is someone there?” I'd seen a handful of horror movies to know that this was a bad idea, but I couldn't help myself. “Hello?”
Silence. Silence was what I got back. Finally finding the switch I flipped it and bright lights illuminated the entire room, almost blinding me.
"Come out." I snarled, in contrast to the rhythmic thumping of my heart. “I'm warning you."
I counted till ten and when I didn't get a response, I just let it go. Tossing my bag to the couch, I reached the dining table in two long strides, where something ominous caught my eye, another letter tucked under the table cloth.
With trembling hands I picked up the letter and read
“Dinner for two tonight, are you in?”
"No." Pure fear and shock radiated off me as I searched the house frantically. My eyes jumped from one surface to another, but I didn't catch anybody. “Who are you? Where are you and what do you want?"
As if on cue, the back door in the kitchen slammed shut, a loud bang filling the night.
"That's it." I mumbled, as I frantically reached for my phone. “Someone's definitely in here."
"Hello, Mr. Corvin." Chief's voice came through immediately. “Is there any....."
"I need your help." I wheezed in one breath. "I think the stalker is in my house!"