You are my precious obsession

Chapter 3

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H-How could someone be this cruel? I wondered, my widened eyes fixed on the dead body outlined with something white. His eyes were pried out, his throat slit, and was covered in stinging wounds.

He has surely died a very painful death.

Even if I have seen much worse things in movies, this was the one which almost made me gag. I tried to move, but my body was frozen from disgust. Weirdly, guilt filled me, as if...as if this was somehow my fault.

With force I shut my eyes close, turning away as my eyes filled with tears. Clutching my dead phone near my heart, I quickly wiped the tears off with my sleeve and took a few deep breaths.

I-I need to go home.

I...don't want to stay.

With trembling legs and shallow breaths, I stumbled near Henry, still staying back from the bright yellow 'DO NOT CROSS' tapes. He simply spared a glance at the crowd, then briefly at me then back at the file he was staring at from the very first. He frowned, lowered his files and looked at me.

"What the hell are you doing here infront?" He mouthed from afar.

I raised my phone to show him, "It's dead." I mouthed back.

He slammed his forehead with his palm and strode over with a serious face, the files swinging along in his hand. "Are you out of your damn mind, Hannah? Did you want to see this?"

I tried my full potential to not look at the dead body again. The bare thought of it was enough for me to tear up again. "Sorry. B-But my phone died..." A few tears escaped my eyes. I just, couldn't stop the feeling that I was responsible for this gruesome death.

"Sorry," He swiftly crossed the tapes and stood beside me, putting the files away. "Okay, it's fine to be scared." He said softly while patting my shoulder. He was always bad at reassuring someone. But, it was enough to comfort me to an extent.

I was about to counter with a 'Scared? Me? Never in a million years.' but, the lump in my throat prevented me from speaking.

A hand gently wiped my tears away, "Go home." He said.

"I-I don't want to go alone." My voice seemed so weak and scared that it was pathetic. He retreated his hand from my cheek and slid it in his pocket.

Ofcourse I didn't want to go alone with a cruel, inhumane, and a psychopathic murderer still on the loose. That too, near me.

"I'll drop you home then. Is that okay?" He took out my car key and gave me a little smile, probably with hope that I would lighten up a bit. It did help indeed.

I nodded, too tired to speak. I was exhausted for some reason, like my energy had been drained from just fighting with my stomach turning.

We walked out together, and to the car parking. He unlocked the car and beckoned to hop on. I forced my legs to walk and plopped on the front seat. "Sorry for disturbing." I mumbled, looking out of the window.

"You didn't, don't worry." He clicked his seatbelt on. "You're fine, right?"

No I'm not!

Tears steamed down my eyes again while I was nodding 'I'm totally fine'. He blinked and sighed. "Atleast be truthful, idiot." He scolded lightly, wiping my tears off again. "Put on your seatbelt, and don't die from being a scaredy cat."

I put on my seatbelt and just stared out of the window, embarrassed. It wasn't the first time I cried infront of him, but, it was when I was a damn teenager. Not when I'm a full grown adult! I'm pathetic.

"Don't overthink too much, alright? It happens. There are psychos out there." He drove off the parking lot.

"Mmhm." I mumbled, reclining onto the seat. Suddenly, I almost figured out why I was disturbed too much. The man. The victim. Had I seen him before?

"W-What was his name?" I stuttered.

"James Maxwell." He answered, his voice suddenly serious.

Then it finally clicked.

After a brutal office day, I was just chilling in the park. Then a tall man walked upto me, nervous as hell that I thought he lost his phone or something important.

"I'm James. James Maxwell, madam." He smiled awkwardly, trying so desperately to seem confident. "I-I just couldn't help but think you're pretty cute. M-May I have your number?"

I was flattered, but sadly had to reject him as I already had a boyfriend. He seemed sad, but understanding. "Ofcourse you'll be taken. It was still a pleasure to meet you anyway. Have a nice day." He walked away.

No wonder he felt a bit familiar. He made that day a bit better, so, I couldn't forget him. I hoped we could have been met again and become just friends, but...this was not how I imagined to meet again.

"You know him?" He questioned.

"Kind of." I stared at the whooshing trees flying past in a blur. "He asked for my number last week or something. That's it. I don't know him personally."

He didn't answer back, probably lost in thoughts. We didn't talk much the whole ride, but it was not an uncomfortable silence. We were just taking time to process what just happened.

He gently slammed the brakes infront of my boyfriend's house. I stepped out. "Are you feeling a bit better now?" He stuck his head out of his window.

"A-A little bit better. Yes." I answered. His gaze lingered for a moment longer, probably checking for signs that I was indeed alright and totally not traumatised from witnessing that.

"Great. Eat something and forget that." He said it as if it was going to be that easy. It's something that's going to be permanently tattooed in my memory forever. "And I'm going to steal your car again just for tonight. May I?"

I stiffened my throat up and narrowed my eyes to sound threatening. "If I find a single scratch on my car tomorrow, I'll kill you."

"There," he smiled. "The mean cup noodle is back. Well, I better get back to work. See you."

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The door unlocked after a few knocks, Aaron rushed to throw his arms around me and hugged me. He pecked a gentle kiss on my cheek softly. "I was worried sick, babe..." He squished me.

"I-I am sorry, there was a murder-"

"I know. I'm glad that you are safe." He smiled, hugging me once more and then locked the door behind. Then I noticed it. His fresh cologne had hit hard on my nose.

"Did you shower?" I asked in surprise, his tee had definitely changed. "You don't usually shower at night. What changed?"

"Oh, don't worry babe. I just got my clothes a little dirty so I had to change. Nothing to worry about." He smiled.

"Alright. If you say so." I replied. My mouth watered at something delicious, welcoming me to the kitchen with its definitely delicious aroma.

"I made you some food," He said proudly, directing me to sit by the dining table. "You must be hungry."

"Thanks, Aaron." I whispered with a warm smile, him being sweet was something I like the most about him. He served me my portion, I enthusiastically took a bite.

"Is it atleast a little bit better than trash?" He asked jokingly.

"Sure." I munched dramatically as if I was a master chef known worldwide. "It's actually pretty better than trash."

He frowned his eyebrows and looked at me pleadingly.

"Just kidding, it's delicious, Aaron." I playfully nudged him.

After dinner, I got to bed and tucked myself under the blankets. Gosh, what a day. The image of that scene was etched in my brain, playing now and then, making me question, 'Was that just a coincidence?' or, something else?

I shrugged it off, 'it's just a plain coincidence. Nothing else.' I reassured myself, but, my gut feeling was disturbingly telling me otherwise.

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