Gone Boy (Ereri) Boyxboy

Picture Me, Love. I'm Waiting For You...

The woman had long, dark brown hair which was tied up in pony tail. She was also wearing square, thick rimmed glasses. She gave me a hearty grin as I scanned her. 'What's wrong with this woman?', I thought to myself. 

The man on her right had soft brown hair with brown eyes and he kept eyeing the woman nervously, whispering something to her. It sounded like,"Hanji, p-please calm down..."

"I am calm, Moblit!", she snapped at her partner. 

"Hello, Mr Ackerman! I am Detective Hanji and this is Detective Berner.", she chirped and pointed towards the man on her right.

I nodded and led them to the wreckage in the living room. "I saw this when came home.", I informed the two detectives, pointing at the broken furniture and shards of glass.

"There was a struggle...", Berner noted.

"Hmm...", Hanji agreed as she leaned down and examined the scene properly. "What is your husband's name, Sir?", she asked me.

"Eren. Eren Ackerman," Hanji wrote it down in the small notepad she was carrying.

"Have you told about your husband's disappearance to anyone in your family?", Moblit asked me.

"No, I haven't yet."

"Lemme guess...", Hanji began as she straightened up. "You're the baby of the family, aren't ya?"

"No, I've got a twin sister...", I told her. "Why do you ask?"

"Just a small guess of mine. I believe you didn't tell about this to anyone because you're already used to someone taking the lead.", Hanji explained. She continued,"I've got a younger brother who's like that."

"Okay...?", I said giving an angry shrug.

We stood there for a moment as they asked me a few questions. Hanji walked me through the same basics I'd told Nanaba and Zakarius. I lied in between as I had before with the officers.

"Your room is upstairs, right?", Hanji asked me, pointing her pencil towards the flight of stairs.

I nodded. "Please lead the way...", she said, giving me a kind smile.

So, I started climbing the stairs, Hanji and Moblit following me.

"You've been living in Carthage for how many years, Mr Ackerman?", Hanji questioned me.

"Two years...", I mumbled dryly.

"Where did you live before?"

"In New York city."

"Ahh... I've always wanted to live there! "

I ignored her and continued speaking as we ascended the stairs,"I was a writer in a men's magazine..."

"Sounds exciting!"

"Meh..."

"What do you do for a living now, Sir?", Moblit asked, joining the conversation.

"I own a place called The Bar with my sister.", I replied. I had also started working in a college as an English professor but I decided to leave out the little detail.

"What a lovely name for a bar!", Hanji remarked as we entered the bedroom.

"The iron is still hot...", Moblit observed.

"Yeah...", Hanji said intently as she approached the iron board.

"Huh...? What's that?", she asked me, pointing towards the blue envelope that lay on our bed. The top of it read 'Clue No. 1'.

"Today is our anniversary...", I explained, staring at my feet . "...and every year Eren leaves me these clues which eventually lead me to my present..."

Hanji nodded. "Would you mind reading it for us?"

 I picked up the baby blue envelope, my hand shaking with anxiety as I did so. I took out a piece of paper from it and started reading aloud, imagining Eren's voice in my head :- 

"Picture me, love : I'm waiting for you. 

Writing on a paper that's baby blue,

Waiting for the bird to appear, 

And tell me that our time is near...

That noisy bird you can claim to hate,

 Is my only friend of late..."

Hanji scribbled something down in her notepad before asking me,"Do you know that this means, Sir?"

I shook my head and lied,"No, I don't..." making the most innocent face I could. I did know what some of it meant but I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Hanji raised an eyebrow at me as if not truly convinced by my answer. "You sure?"

"Yeah...", I said calmly, staring back at her.

"Alright."

Hanji's eyes drifted to our wedding photo on the nightstand. In the picture I was carrying Eren bridal style with his dainty arms around my neck, our lips locked in a passionate kiss. Just looking at the thing made my stomach tilt. 

Hanji took the photo in her hand and smiled at it. "Your husband has pretty eyes.", she noted and Moblit agreed.

"Yeah, he does...", I said dully, averting my gaze from the picture.

"You must love your husband a lot, right?", she asked me.

"Yes, I do..." A lie. I USED to love him, woman.

"I know how you feel, Mr Ackerman.", Hanji said, I detected a hint of sadness in her voice. "Loving someone so much that you can't imagine living without them."

"I can't think of living a day without him..." Another fucking lie. To be honest, I would sleep like a baby today without Eren by my side.

"So, Mr Ackerman...  ", Hanji began, settling the photo back on the nightstand. "... are you willing to cooperate with us and tell us everything you know so that we can find your husband?"

"Yes. I'll do everything in my power to help you ", I said with fake sincerity.

It was my fifth lie to the police that day and I was just fucking starting...

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