Dissociation

A little help can't hurt

Jonathan parked his car and was about to enter when he noticed something; the man who was previously at the shop was entering a house few blocks away. He recognized him due to his outfit who looked quite spooky. He then entered his house and had dinner with Mr Botswon.

« People in this village are quite rude » said Aaron to someone on the phone.
« Remember buddy, you asked to be sent there so don't complain now » the person at the other end said.
« Yeah but sti—» he was interrupted by a knock on the doors.
« I'll call you later » he said, hanging up and walking to the door then opened it, in front of him was a petite woman, she was pale and had a comforting smile on her face.
« Hey, sorry to bother you but I saw you entering the house and realized I'd never seen you here so my curiosity got the best of me » she said.
« Oh i see.. yeah I just got here, I'm Aaron and you? »
« My name is Snow, I live in the house directly in front of yours » she said. They both stood there awkwardly.
« Oh! Where are my manners?! Come in please » he said, embarrassed. Snow chuckled and entered his house which was pretty much empty.
« A truck is supposed to bring all my stuff tomorrow, until then there's only a mattress so I don't know where you'll seat » he said looking around.
« Don't worry, I don't plan on staying long.. just wanted to see what my new neighbor looked like » she said.
« Okay » he said, smiling.
« I can come back later during the week so we can have a proper conversation if you want » Snow suggested.
« Yeah that'll be great »
« Okay then, see ya » she said before going back to her house.
« I guess not everyone is rude here » Aaron said to himself.

The next day Aaron woke up at 5am and got ready to go for a morning jog, as he did, he saw Snow going out too, she waved at him and crossed the road to talk to him.
« Morning there » she said.
« Good morning, another morning runner I see » he said looking at her from head to toe.
« Yeah, helps me calm down.. we can jog together if that's okay with you » she proposed, smiling. Aaron clinched his jaw to this comment, he usually likes to run alone while listening to his favorite songs but he didn't want to be rude and perhaps he could get to know more about this village through her, so he accepted. They both ran for some time and stopped to catch their breath.
« So.. how long have you been staying here? » Aaron asked.
« Almost my entire life, my father moved here after my mother's death claiming everything in our old house and city reminded him of her »
« Sorry for your loss » he said.
« Never mind, it was a long time ago.. and you? What brought you here? » she asked.
« Job » he answered briefly.
« What job? »
« I work at the police station as detective »
« Oh! Are you here because of Blythe's death? » she asked.
« I guess.. were you close to her? »
« Not really, she'd usually come at my cafeteria after spending the night drinking and asked for coffee with no sugar » Snow responded.
« She was an alcoholic ? » he asked.
« I won't call her that, let's say she was just a teenager who liked partying and who says party, says alcohol so yeah.. »
« Did she ever came in with her boyfriend ? » he asked.
« she had a boyfriend ? Never seen him » Snow said. Aaron just shook his head, they both remained silent before jogging back to their houses. On their way, they saw Arya, she saw them too and moved to them.
« Snow, hi » she said.
« Hi » Snow said.
« And hi there too.. »
« Aaron » he said.
« Morning Aaron, we met last night if I remember correctly »
« Unhun » he nodded.
« I think we started off the wrong foot, my name is Arya.. we can get to know each other later if you want, you look exhausted »
« Sure » he said.
« Great, write down your number » she said, passing him her phone. Snow fell annoyed but didn't say a word. Arya looked at her and smiled.
« See you later » she said as she waved them goodbye. Snow remained silent on their way home until they arrived in front of his house.
« Same time tomorrow ? » she asked.
« Yeah sure » he said.

About an hour later, Aaron was about to make something to eat for breakfast when he received a text.
« Let's meet at 'the brown crunch' we'll have breakfast there, I feel too lazy to do something to eat.. this is my number by the way » it said. He assumed it was Arya and responded.
« I don't know where that is »
« Just ask around » she answered. He went back upstairs to dress and headed out when he was done.

Snow's eyes widened when she saw Aaron entering the cafeteria but he didn't notice her as he took a seat, she was about to come to him when Arya entered too and walked in his direction.
« Have you ordered yet? » Arya asked while sitting across him.
« Not yet, was waiting for you to arrive » he said.
« May I take your order ? » Snow asked.
« Snow! So this is the cafeteria we talked about.. » he said.
« Unhun... your orders? » she said, looking at Arya. They both ordered something to eat and Snow went to the kitchen.
« So Aaron, tell me about yourself » Arya said while they were waiting for their food to arrive.
« There isn't much to say, I'm 34 years old and moved here due to work »
« Any family member? Kid? » Arya asked.
« I have a sister, that's it »
« I see »
« What about you ? » Aaron asked.
« I'm 26 years old, I have a sister too but she's living abroad »
« Did you grow up here or ..? » he asked.
« I dit but had to travel for a while for educational purposes but I'm back now » she said. Aaron raised an eyebrow.
« When did you travel » he asked.
« It's been a while.. so, what work brought you here? »
« I work at the police station »  Arya's eye filled with excitement.
« Good! Maybe you'll finally find who put that girl's finger in front of my house! » she said.
« Blythe's finger was left in front of your house?? » he asked surprised.
« Yeah! Didn't the sheriff tell you that? He doesn't take me seriously, that makes me mad » Arya said annoyed.
« No he didn't, I saw she was missing a finger but forgot to ask about it.. what happened? »
« I was going back home and saw a box in front of my house, I was disgusted when I opened it and saw a finger inside with a note saying 'welcome home'.. I went several times at the station to complain but they did nothing, I'm scared whoever did that to her will come for me next »
« Yeah, understandable.. I'll try to find the culprit, don't worry »
Few minutes later, their food arrived and they started eating.
« Since the police did nothing to help me, I started my own little investigation » Arya said with a smile.
« Oh really ? What did you found out? »Aaron asked.
« Not much, I just have 2 or 3 suspects »
« Which are? » he asked, she looked around before answering.
« Well first we have Snow, she's weird and I know she don't like me, then there's Mr Sander but that's solely because he knew where I live and I don't know how and lastly, we have my neighbor Rick, the guy acts strange and was the police' suspect too » Arya said.
« Snow? I doubt she could do something like that » he said.
« You spent few minutes with her and already trust her? Tell me something, did you tell her what your job was? » she asked.
« Yeah »
« And what was her reaction afterwards? »
« I don't remember » he said. Arya turned around to take a look at Snow before turning back to face him.
« She's weird and it's not the first time she's coincidentally first at the crime scene.. she's already going on a morning run with you and I bet she'll start talking to you more frequently, you know what they say.. 'keep your friends close but your enemy closer' » Arya said before sipping some coffee. Aaron didn't say anything, he just looked at Snow who was taking orders from another table.
« I'll keep that in mind » he said to Arya.