Manhunt

Chapter 41

Peeking into the tiny mug on the corner of the tray, she deemed it to be coffee and sniffed at it. The brown liquid smelled sweet and before she took a sip at it, Julia shrugged and cleared her throat. When her tongue met with the substance, she nearly gagged.

"This tastes like sweetened, watered-down mud." She squeaked, shaking her head, shuddering, and placing the cup gently back on the tray. Her brain knew very well that she wanted to throw the cup of seemingly dangerous chemical coffee across the room, but she behaved. "Can I have some water though? I'm really thirsty." Zane picked up a full, unopened water bottle from only-god-knows-where before tossing it at her, accurately going through the metal bars. She caught it.

"Thanks." She muttered before uncapping it and chugging the whole thing down.

"It couldn't have been that bad." Zane insisted when he saw her gulping down the pure liquid, his eyebrows furrowed. "I had some last time I was here."

"I think I baby barfed a little." She stated dryly, swallowing to get rid of the disgustingly bitter taste. "Yep, definitely did." With widened eyes, he opened her door and entered the small space before picking up the tray, staring into the muddy pool of insipid coffee. Hesitating at first, he finally brought out the nerve to bring his lips to the rim before tipping the mug slightly. A sound that resembled closely to violent retching ripped through his throat and he pulled the cup as far away from him as humanly possible.

"What the hell is that?" He questioned, staring at the thing with horror.

"Got the words right out of my mouth." Scoffing, he dropped the mug back onto the tray and left the cell, disappearing down the hallway. She sat on the bed, patiently waiting for her guard to come back. When 15 minutes passed, she began to whistle and swing her legs back and forth, her head cocked as she watched the tongue of her boot slightly sway.

Footsteps were heard from the end of the hallway, and while she expected a mop of brown hair to appear, she had gotten black instead. Matthew grabbed the stool that Zane had been occupying before dragging it into her cell and closing the door.

"Is it your shift already?"

"A bit earlier than planned, but Samil needed to get a hold of Zane for something."

"Oh." She replied awkwardly, nodding her head once before turning her attention back to her boots. When the sounds of rustling hit her ears, she peeked from under her bangs at the area where it came from. Matthew was pulling out a packet of mint gum, sliding a stick out, unwrapping it, and popping it in his mouth. He looked up to catch her gaze and with a smirk, he stuck it forward.

"Want one?"

"Sure, why not." She took a piece and removed the wrapper, placing the piece of gum on her tongue. Crumbling up the silver wrapper, she chucked the ball at Matthew and brought her legs up to her chest. It was a position that she frequented often while staying with Mortifer—or whatever else they were called. Suddenly remembering something, her head shot to Matthew.

"What?" He immediately asked when he saw her staring intently at him, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You like to stare a lot, don't you?"

"Why were you at Spinam Manor?" She questioned quickly, getting up and inching towards him. He didn't make a move to step away, nor did he make an effort to answer her. She pressed on. "Why were you there?"

"I was waiting for you." He answered easily, sliding his hands into his pockets. Her heart skipped a beat at the confession, and she furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"How long had you been there?"

"Long before you two came along." He admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I'd been watching you the whole time, Julia. It was amusing how neither of you even noticed me standing behind you." An involuntary shiver struck at her spine, causing goose bumps to appear on her flesh. He'd been stalking them the whole time, and they hadn't even felt his presence. It was as if Matthew had been a phantom haunting them, silently gliding near the two and scrutinizing their every single move.