My Possessive Criminal

Capítulo Veinte

It gets a little less dark.

"Thanks," Vicky says from the front. I exhale heavily.

"No problem."

We examine the discreet pictures on the stone walls, a cold gust of wind whooshing in through the long, dark tunnel. Suddenly, we hear something fall from behind us.

"You shouldn't be going in there."

We whirl around, and Arsen's standing there, looking as calm as ever.

I gulp, trying not to look him in the eye.

"Vicky, thanks for your help. I think it's time you go now," Arsen says, walking closer to us.

I resist the urge to step back.

Before Vicky leaves, she puts a gentle hand on my arm. "Trust him, Xanthe. You need to."

And with that, she walks off, giving a slight nod to Arsen who nods back.

I turn to him.

"Y-you knew this was going to happen?" I ask, my voice catching in my throat. Arsen takes another step closer, and this time, I do step back.

He stops immediately, and the fire in his eyes disappears. Instead, I see nothing there. No emotions.

"No, Xanthe. I didn't. You just can't keep yourself out of danger, can you? What did you do?" He asks. I shake my head, confused.

"Nothing, Arsen. I did nothing," I answer him.

He takes a menacing step towards me, not faltering this time.

"You did. You did something to provoke her. Tegan isn't like that. She only kills when she has a reason to, and you, Xanthe, you gave her a reason to want to kill you," He tells me, taking another step towards me.

I stop trying to be afraid and instead, I stand up to him. As much as I can.

"Arsen, I didn't do anything. Maybe it's just the fact that she's a really jealous ex who's obsessed with a man who'll never love her back!" I growl.

Arsen narrows his eyes ever so slightly. "You said something to her, didn't you? You said you weren't afraid of her."

I pause. "How do you know that?" I ask.

"I have ears. I'm sure you've seen them before." And after saying this, he glares at me and turns, walking out of the basement.

I stare after him for a while, my heart beating erratically. Suddenly, I hear thumping from behind me, and twirl around.

Thump, thump, thump.

There it is again.

Don't go to check it out, idiot.

I'm not gonna.

Yeah, you are, I can feel you thinking it. I'm inside of you, remember? Don't. Go.

You can't stop me.

No, Xanthe, I can't. I'm your guilty conscious. I try to make you think about the opposite of things. Now, don't go.

Shut up.

I stop doubting the possibilities of what could happen and instead, walk into the tunnel. My flashlight illuminates off drawings and marks on the wall, and I pause when I see one.

I shine my light on it.

It's a stick girl, holding a twig from a tree, and she's got a bunch of stick girls, almost like an army, standing behind her. And then there's a stick boy, and the stick girl is pointing her stick to the stickman, who seems to be...dead?