her disappearance

17

"Yes." I murmur, walking up to Luca and standing beside him. "Did he hurt you?" he asks.

"No."

Ivan chuckles before walking away and murmurng "I'll see you later."

I wouldn't have thought it was creepy if he didn't have that same malicious tone he used when he was talking about Iris.

"I can call Creigh-"

"No it's okay." I Cut him off. "Thank you for intervening. He's just weird."

"He's a fucking asshole that's what. I'll walk you to your lesson, Anoushka. There is something off about him." he says, glancing to where Ivan walked off.

I smile softly at him and we walk together to class.

•••

I was extra cautious whenever I left my classes. There was something off about the conversation with Ivan and I was creeped out. I head back to my dorm and I drop my bag onto the chair.

I needed to talk to Creighton. I hadn't spoken to him since earlier on. A knock comes from the front door and I reluctantly open it.

It was a boy that I had never seen before. He was holding a box and he was smiling at me. "I was told to drop this off." he says.

I look down at the box. "Who gave it to you?"

"Don't know." he murmurs. "He paid me 100 to drop this and not say a word."

I raise a brow. "Okay." I murmur, taking the box off him. I enter my dorm and shut the door and locked it. I call Creighton immediately. He answers. "We need to talk." he quickly says.

"Yeah we do." I reply, dropping the box on the counter.

"What you saw earlier wasn't what it seemed."

I lift the lid of the box and I gasped. I slap my hand over my mouth as I gape at what was in the box. My stomach churns. I was going to be sick. "Anoushka talk to me." I finally hear Creighton yell into the phone.

"You need to see this." I finally say, before hanging up.

The box contained a handful of brunette hair. It laid perfectly in the box, covering the base of the box. In the centre was a piece of paper.

Go near another man again and I'll do this to another girl.

Written in red pen. Or blood. I wasn't sure. Tears spring to my eyes, as I fall to my knees. I was the reason Iris went missing. This was her hair that this sick freak cut from her head.

I hear a door open and then slam shut. "Anoushka." Creighton yells out but I was too frozen to move.

Two arms wrap around my body as he lifts me to my feet. "The box." I choke out.

"I don't care about the box." he snaps, cupping my cheek. "I care about you. Are you okay?" he frantically asks.

His cheeks were slightly red as if he had just run. "It's my fault." I whisper. "He kidnapped her because of me." I say.

He peers into the box and looks back at me. "He hurt her because he's a sick bastard."

"What does he want with me?" I finally ask.

"Fuck knows." Creighton murmurs.

"Creighton. I think he's talking about you. I'm not close to anyone but you."

"How could he even tell that we are close?"

I shrug. "Maybe because we're always together? It's obvious, Creighton."

A small grin tugs at his lips before he rubs a hand over his mouth. "Who gave you this box?"

"Some random boy. He was paid 100 to give it to me."

Creighton nods his head. "I'll sort this out for you." he says.

"Wait." I blurt out. "Don't leave me. I'm so scared Creighton." I plead.

"I'm not leaving you." he declares. "I'm just making some calls."

My body relaxes as I release my grip on his wrist. He talks to whoever was on the phone and I sit on the couch, staring at the box.

I couldn't believe this. I was the reason she was kidnapped because of me and Creighton. I needed to distance myself from him. I won't allow anyone else to get hurt because of my stupid decisions.

"Should we report this to the school?" I ask.

He nods. "My uncle is a police officer. I'm calling him now."

I go quiet. I just hope they find this motherfucker