Rot & Romance (Rewriting)

Chapter 25

"Eliezer, I'm hungry," Fawn said, motioning to close the door again, but he stopped her with his foot.

Fawn looked at his foot, then back at him.

"I'm sorry!" he quickly said, removing his foot. "I just . . . we should talk."

"About?"

"Everything that happened that day. I mean . . . hasn't it been on your mind?"

"No, actually. I've been trying to forget about it."

"You don't even believe that."

"What do you want, Eliezer?"

"Your number."

Fawn gaped at how forward he was.

"It's about the only way you're going to get me to leave this second."

"You know I could just close the door."

He grinned.

"You would have done so by now."

Fawn smiled.

"Goodbye, Eliezer," she said, closing the door.

***

Charles found himself, once again, entering the building of Forty-Six Brooke Lane. His visit the day before wasn't as lucrative as he'd hope.

"Let's give this another go," he said quietly to himself as he made his way to apartment 1A.

He knocked on the apartment door and waited. After a couple of minutes passed, he knocked again. Charles didn't want to go another day without questioning this Chris Harris. There was a good chance he'd know something about the night Michelle was killed. He knocked again. After another few minutes, he reached to knock again, but the apartment door opened slightly.

"You were here yesterday," said a low male's voice. "What do you want?"

It was so dark inside the apartment, Charles could barely make out the person talking.

"I'm Detective Charles Anderson. I'm looking for a Chris Harris," he said. "Do you know where I might find him?"

"Go away," the person said, attempting to close the door, but Charles intercepted the door with his arm.

"I'm not going anywhere until I speak to Chris," he said.

"If you think Chris killed Michelle, he didn't, alright? He loved her. More than anything."

"What's your relationship with him?"

"His step-brother."

"Do you know where Chris was the night of the party?"

"He was with Michelle. He was always with her."

"What's your name?"

A light came on, revealing the pale-faced kid.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself involved in. You're going to get yourself killed."

"I need to know what's going on," Charles said. "Not only for Michelle, but for our town."