"Damn that police officer," Jeffrey growled as he and (Y/N) walked out of the station, night already having fallen with the moon and street lamps lighting their way to their car. "Who the hell does he think he is, telling us that we have a lack of evidence?"
"Can you blame him?" She sighed, shoving her hands into her leather jacket's pockets. "He probably thinks it's a stupid prank."
"Still, to just blow us off..." he grumbled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"I know, babe, I'm pissed too," she set her head on his shoulder as they walked, only pulling away to slide into the passenger side of the vehicle and he into the driver's side. "But you know what? Tomorrow's Saturday, so we can go down to the main office and tell them what's going on. They'll show us the tapes, for sure."
"And then that stupid officer can finally do something with his career," Jeffrey grinned.
"Exactly."
Putting the car in reverse, he slowly backed out of the parking lot before starting the twenty minute drive back to the apartment. With the silence between them, the only background noise being the small trickle of music that filtered from the speakers, (Y/N) let out a sigh that Jeffrey couldn't help but notice.
"Hey, Jeffrey?" She murmured.
"Hm?"
"You don't really think this person is gonna hurt us, do you?" She asked as she turned away from the window to look at him, eyebrows creased in worry.
"Don't worry," he tried to ease her nerves while flashing her a quick smile, glancing from her to the road every so often as he spoke. "With guys like these, they're all talk. Cowards more like it since they enjoy scaring people with means like this. Besides, I'm here so even if they tried to hurt you or something, I'll be sure to help you in scaring them off since, believe me, nothing is scarier than you angry."
He chuckled as she lightly punched him in the arm, the mood significantly lighter than it had been previously. Chatting and laughing the rest of the way back, the two soon arrived home, the air more frigid and making their breaths little, visible clouds with every exhale. As Jeffrey dug into his pocket for his phone while (Y/N) went to unlock the door, he stopped when he heard her murmur softly.
"That's odd..."
"What is?" He asked, looking past her shoulder to see her pushing the door open.
"The door was already unlocked... did we forget to lock up when we left?" She mused while stepping through the door and shrugging off her coat to hang it up, hitting the lights before walking toward the kitchen.
"I don't think—"
A shrill scream cut Jeffrey off.
Dumping everything onto the ground, the man rushed into the kitchen and gasped at the sight in front of him.
There was so much red.
A dark, violent red that stained the counters, cupboards, sink, and anything else it could get its tendrils on.
And in the center of it all, was a cat, and a note.
My dearest (Y/N),
This isn't the type of gift that I would normally leave, but my anger has gotten the best of me and I do know how much you love animals. As I didn't want the poor creature to go to waste when I lost my temper, I set it out for you. I do hope you enjoy its company as I revel being in yours. Until next time, my love.
- S