Burn Me Right

Chapter 17

As he watched her retch uncontrollably and vomit, he knew he had crossed a line. But he didn't care. He wanted to see more, push her further, and make her feel things she had never felt before.

Autumn's hands were shaking as she reached for her phone. The image of the head burned into her mind. She dialed Rowena's number with trembling fingers, her heart racing.

"Hello?" Rowena answered after a few rings.

"R-Rowena," Autumn stammered, her voice shaky. "I just got home, and there's... there's a severed head on my front porch. And there are flowers, black dahlias next to it." She let it all in one go.

Rowena's gasp was audible through the phone. "Oh my god, Autumn. Are you okay? Did you touch anything?"

Autumn shook her head, even though Rowena couldn't see her. "No, I didn't touch anything. I'm just... I'm so scared, Rowena. What do I do?"

"Call the police," Rowena said firmly. "Right now. And don't touch anything else. I'm going to come over there right away. Just stay on the phone with me until I get there, okay?"

Autumn nodded, even though Rowena couldn't see her. "Okay," she whispered.

As she waited for Rowena to arrive, Autumn's mind was a whirlwind of fear and confusion. "Why is this happening to me?" she clutched her head when her stomach churned at the site of the blood. She vomited again.

Did he really kill someone because of her? is this a human's head or something else? Her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts. Within minutes, Rowena was by Autumn's side.

As Autumn sat on her porch with Rowena beside her, she was still trembling with fear. The sight of the head had left her shaken, and she didn't know what to do. Rowena had been her rock, calming her down and reassuring her that everything would be all right.

As they waited for the police to arrive, Autumn couldn't shake the feeling of being violated. She didn't know who would do such a thing or why. She had no enemies, no reason for anyone to target her. But now, she was scared for her life.

Finally, the sound of sirens broke the silence, and a police car pulled up in front of her house. Two officers stepped out, a man and a woman. They walked over to Autumn and introduced themselves. "Hi, I'm Detective Jones, and this is my partner, Detective Smith. We're here to investigate the incident."

Autumn nodded, barely able to speak. Rowena spoke up for her, explaining what had happened and showing the officers the note that had come with the flowers. Detective Jones took notes as Rowena spoke, occasionally asking questions to clarify certain points. After a few minutes, he turned to Autumn.

"Miss Wraith, do you have any idea who might have done this? Any enemies or disgruntled exes?" Autumn shook her head, "ex, what a funny thing. When did she ever? Is it Nicholas? But how can it be? Nick had gone overseas for whatever purpose it was. He didn't tell her why, but he told her he wasn't going to be able to access phones.

"Miss. Wraith," the detective called. Autumn lifted her head and looked at the man, and shook her head.

"No, I don't think so. I can't imagine anyone wanting to do this to me." She decided not to tell them about the stalker and the creepy messages she had been receiving. This will be a problem if they do a background check. This was high time she needed a job. She didn't want this to affect her job-finding abilities.

The police officers nodded sympathetically, but Autumn could tell they were skeptical. She didn't blame them – she had no idea who would do this, and her story probably sounded far-fetched. As the police continued their investigation, Rowena stayed by Autumn's side, offering her support and trying to calm her down. But Autumn couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and targeted.