Mafia's Mate

Petty tasks

>>Clio

A feeling of unease settled upon me like a heavy fog. The air seemed to be charged with an inexplicable tension, and an eerie stillness filled the space. The dim lighting only added to the unsettling atmosphere, casting elongated shadows that danced on the walls.

With each step, the creaking floorboards echoed through the house. My heart was strangely calm as I made my way to the kitchen as if my emotions had gone numb. The kitchen was dimly lit by a single overhead light, casting elongated shadows across the countertops and cabinets. The silence was almost deafening, interrupted only by the faint hum of the refrigerator, followed by a fainter sound of liquid droplets falling.

I walked to the middle and stopped when I noticed a weary figure sitting on the floor, right by the kitchen table's side. With a butcher's knife in her hands, she trembled with blood all over her front, staining mostly her apron. The knife had thick red liquid streaming down it, stopping at the edge before they jumped down to the crimson pool on the floor.

"Mom," I whispered and she froze.

Then she raised her head and looked at me.

"Clio," Her voice was trembling while my gaze traveled to the body of the man lying on the floor.

"Mom," I felt my throat get dry, "What have you done?" The fear was grasping my bones, seeping into my soul

My mother didn't answer me, she kept staring at me. At my disheveled appearance. The buttons of my shirt were hanging loose while a few had popped off. I had zipped up my pants back up but the belt button was broken so that part remained awkwardly open.

My hair was a mess but I knew that none of it was her focus.

"Clio," My mother's hands began to shake even more, "Why do you have blood on you?"

***

I woke up with a gasp and had to take a few deep breaths before I calmed down

God...

As I calmed down I wiped the sweat on my skin away with my shirt.

Is it going to be like this every time I see Dani?? I felt sick at the thought.

Is it just him? Or is it because I came to live in City A? This city has brought a lot of trauma for me...

I got up from bed.

The day I left, I thought I'd never be coming back but here I am again... And I'm only here because of Nolan.

I took a shower, got ready for work, and left the apartment early as I usually do.

"Nolan, I can't come back yet?" I called him myself because I had the same nightmare again and he just wasn't calling me first.

"Matthew got out, there's no charge on him, you can't come back yet." I was making my way towards the office, "That sly bastard, that interview he gave made people think he's innocent."

"But,"

"You've only been there for a few days, how can you come back so early?" He didn't let me say much.

"But, I get the feeling Matthew isn't the killer." I protested, "What if we're chasing a ghost here?"

"No Clio, stay there, get whatever you can on him." He huffed, "Besides he got out!" He seemed ticked off, "And he's free of all his charges too, why would you come back?"

Right... I paused. He got out... So I'll have to stay and try to get something out again.

"Nolan," I felt a little sick, "What makes you so sure Matthew is the bad guy here?"