This Can't Be Love

Chapter 10: Missing Dinner

"It is Thanksgiving... Detective, and... I'd like to... I'd like to celebrate."

He pulls a chair from the dark that is behind him and puts it in front of her. He sits with his sleeves rolled up, the same clothes he was wearing the night Michael died, and even the loosened tie around his collar. He hunches over a bit with his elbows on his knees and his left hand placed in his right palm.

"See there's... a lot... to be thankful for, detective. First off, I'm thankful that I was... That I was fortunate enough to see her today, I... wasn't looking for her or anything, I was just... doing my daily diversions by, what was your precinct and I heard her beautiful voice... I look up and see her arguing with her mother. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I saw her."

Sosa mumbles through the ballgag now. She grunts desperatley.

"What's that? You... Have something to say now? Miss 'one at a time, I'll get to you'? Ironic. Hmmm...?"

Aaron licks his lips and then presses his bottom lip up against his teeth with a subtle smile. He takes in a deep breath and then exhales as he runs his hand down his face.

"No no, shhh... You don't get to talk yet, there's much... more... I am thankful for, I'm not done. I'm especially thankful that I got to you before you got to me. I saw you trailing me, I watched as you watched me. I knew you knew and... that's why I... decided to do this, but... relax. Don't be so nervous... If i wanted to kill you I would have done it a while ago, but I feel we've become pals now. We're buddies aren't we, Carrie?"

He tilts his head to the side, staring into Sosa's eyes.

"Aren't we well acquainted, detective? Surely you must have grown fond of me, we've had plenty of fun these past two weeks, haven't we?"

Aaron looks down at his forearms, which have scars and bruises. He smiles at the helpless Sosa and then lifts his head up to reveal another scraped bruise on his throat.

"I didn't know what to expect from you, so you caught me off guard those few times, and you damn near succeeded your eacape in each ocassion but it was all a learning experience for me..."

He gets up from his chair and starts slowly pacing around her. Her eyes follow him walking around her as far as they can but she looks down to the ground when he is no longer in her field of view.

"I am thankful that I was able to find out how resourceful, relentless and resilient you can be. Now I know not to trust you at all, Detective Sosa... No more punching."

He trails his fingers across her tied up hands.

"...No more kicking."

He runs his hand down her thigh and leg, then gently slaps her toned calf as he sits down in front of her again.

"... No more flipping chair tricks, and..."

He leans in closer to her face now with his nose almost touching hers, she turns her face and whimpers a bit but he grabs her face and forces her to face him. He then whispers in her ear...

"...and no more biting."

Sosa begins to breathe forcefully inhaling and exhaling rapidly in anger.

"Don't be afraid, Carrie... Tonight is a special night, I... want us to get more acquainted. You'll find that I'm not as... bad a guy as you think I am, once you get to know me. Now... I'm going to remove the ball from your mouth, and allow you to talk, okay? I just want you to give thanks, as I just did, and tell me... what you... are thankful for, but..."

He pulls out razor sharp dagger from a concealed holster in his lower left leg.

"... Don't get any bright ideas; Where we are, nobody can hear you scream, but it does bother me quite a lot, so... if you do decide to scream, it just might bother me enough to want to remove your throat... And if you bite me again as I remove the ball from your mouth, I may or may not slice your face off from ear to ear... Do we understand each other, detective?"