When Perfect Meets Crazy

42 - I was a bull. He was red.

It had been five days and still no sign of Masked Idiot. Tomorrow was his deadline. The day I'd cut him off and he still was a no show.

The thought turned my stomach.

After the third day, I gave in and hit him up on Instagram.

He didn't reply.

Last night, I hit my lowest and asked Tammy of his whereabouts like a proper unsympathetic sociopath, asking about her ex just days after the breakup.

It was a wasted effort at the end. She had no news on him.

I heaved a sigh and threw the novel I had been reading -mostly failing to read- onto my bed in frustration. I had been on the same page for almost an hour.

Gaming wasn't even an option seeing as I couldn't bring myself to concentrate on anything. I would get my ass handed to me and lose points, and since I planned on selling the account soon, I couldn't afford that.

It was a miracle I had managed to keep my distress from those around me.

Actually, no, it wasn't. Nobody was paying attention. Keeping it from them was easy.

Growling lowly, I decided to take a shower to cool off.

I was really going to kill him if he wasn't already dead. My stomach couldn't take any more knots of worry. It felt like I was walking around with a boulder on my chest. Like I couldn't get in enough air, couldn't breath deeply enough.

How he ever managed living like this, with a constant worry at the back of his mind, was beyond me. I couldn't stand it. I hated it. I brought it on myself and that made me hate it even more. It was all me. Me and my wilful caretaker tendencies. He was a grown man, he didn't need me worrying about him but of course, it was my nature and I couldn't help it.

•

"I swear this is all my fault." I growled, slipping on pajama shorts and a vest with my hair wrapped in a towel.

"I should've called my dad on him when I had the chance," I muttered under my breath.

Roughly pulling open the door to my room, I continued viciously, "Or thrown him out the day he showed beaten and bruised."

I flicked on the lights, bathing the room with a golden glow.

"I should never have eve--"

I jumped back reflexively, eyes widening in shock as I gazed at the figure sitting on my bed.

I unconsciously bared my teeth.

My eyes narrowed to slits, enmity radiating from my pores.

"You." I snarled, taking calculated predatory steps towards the boy on my bed.

Sensing evil intent, he got to his feet and for a split second, his eyes drifted to the window he most likely crawled in through.  I could tell he was contemplating running away.

"Don't." I hissed, taking another predatory step forward. "Even think about it."

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"Hi," he said with a forced cheerfulness that was entirely out of place given the current mood.

"You are going to die." I said it with a quiet deadliness that made it clear I wasn't joking in the least. "But first, you'll explain."

He nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Do you have any idea," I snarled, eyes glowing with anger, "what you put me through? Do you?"