Aphmau's POV
"I have to go to class." I whispered, only receiving a grunt in reply.
Silently I rose from the bed and began to look around the room for my discarded clothes. The funny thing is, most nights when I did end up staying with Zane (which was rare, he didn’t like me staying the night) my shirt would always go missing. I had a suspicion that he hid them for reasons beyond me. Perhaps they just got lost, perhaps they were… Ripped to disrepair and tossed out, maybe he kept them for weird kinky reasons, or maybe he thought if I couldn’t find my shirt I wouldn’t be able to leave.
The last option was more of a naive fantasy than a valid option. So, at risk of my own peril for daring touch his things I did what I usually did. I went into his walk-in closet and stole one of his silk dress shirts. It was purple and I liked it just as much as I liked the grey one and infinitely more than the black.
Picking up my messenger bag on the way out I glanced back at him, he looked so different when he slept. There was still that tormented line between his brow, but for the most part he looked at peace, and every now and again he’d smile. Slipping out of the room I walked down the hallway, Garroth sat at the island reading the paper and drinking his coffee. I always found it awkward leaving with him there, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was glued to that barstool. It didn’t matter though, keeping my head down I slipped past him and out of the apartment.
There was something about returning to everyday life after having a great night in O'khasis, and an equally great night back at Zane’s apartment that made everything pale in comparison. I had an hour gap to fill until my last lecture of the evening. I could just ditch, no, no I couldn’t as tempting as that thought was. I’ve skipped too much as it is and Mrs. Hyria is going to be talking about our psych exam next week.
"Hey hotness."
Annoyance clawed at me and I gave Aaron a pinched and pointed look, "Was our last meeting unclear?"
"Huh?"
"Our last meeting, when I told you to stay away from me or else I’d get a restraining or-"
"Oh.";he grinned and I glared at him. "That conversation. I thought you were playing hard to get."
Throwing my hands up I rose from where I sat on the park bench, he towered over me but I was too angry to be intimidated.
"Hard to get? You want to be a behavioural analyst right? Tell me, in what way have I indicated to you that I like you enough to play hard to get? Even before you started speaking the first time I saw you I knew I hated you. Then there was the incident when you attempted to roofie me, it’s a good thing and kind of sad that we ladies have a nail polish for that. Even when I told you to go fuck yourself or I will kill you, you still think that my behaviour is telling you that I’m mean to you because I secretly like you?"
His eyes darkened dangerously and I shrieked when he suddenly slammed me against a pillar. The back of my head screamed at the impact and Aaron covered my mouth with one hand, while the other gripped my throat so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
"I’m getting really tired of this game when all I’ve ever done is like you, you’ve been a real bitch do you know that? The roofie was just a prank, I wasn’t really going to let you drink it. You should be flattered that I dig you so-"
I brought my knee up in his groin using his moment of weakness to clamp my teeth down on one of his fingers. He released me and while he was hunched over I gave him a solid kick to the mouth before I ran.
Zane's POV
I waited at a distance at our usual spot. I could understand her desire to keep our… Fun to ourselves; I am Zane after all. I got ready to send the text when the sound of her yelling brought my attention to her. Aphmau was angry, viciously angry, it was a good look on her. There was a little man-boy there with her, a real douchebag. I didn’t like how close he was to her, a lovers spat perhaps? I’d be very angry if that were the cast and Aphmau just neglected to mention him to me.
I pulled out my gun and cocked it the moment he slammed her against the wall. Garroth grabbed my forearm and I backhanded him, taking aim again but she was gone. The man-boy in question lay flat on his back completely unconscious.
"Grab him." I snarled.
"Little bro-"
"Garroth, good help is hard to come by, don’t make me shoot you."
Garroth walked over to the park bench.
Aphmau's POV
It seemed stupid to cry over something like that, over someone like him, but cry I did. It hurt my throat violently to do so but I couldn’t help it. Curled up in my bed I hugged my pillow and willed myself to try and calm down only to jump when my phone vibrated.
"Urgent. My place, come now. Garroth is waiting. ~Zane"
Wiping my cheeks I went over to the window and sure enough Garroth was standing in front of the car. Damn it. What if he… No, that’s stupid. He couldn’t have seen, could he? My phone buzzed again.
"Urgent. Now. ~Zane."
Grabbing my coat… And a scarf, I left my dorm.
I entered the apartment, the door had been left wide open for me which I found a bit peculiar. Shutting the door behind me I walked down the marble steps only to falter when I looked to my right. Aaron was dangling by the ceiling with his arms tied above his head and a ball gag in his mouth. My hand flew to my chest and Zanr’s arms suddenly came around me and I felt his breath against my ear.
"I’ve got a present for ya." he purred, his hands moving down to my hips.
He turned me to face him and his eyes grew dark and impassive. He unwrapped my scarf and I squeezed my eyes shut. His breathing didn’t hitch, he made no sound, there was no indication of what he was feeling. His fingertips grazed my neck and I winced.
"Ahh you’re awake, good." Zane left me and I opened my eyes again.
I knew this wasn’t going to be good, I could feel it, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do about it.
"Do you know who I am… bro?" Zane asked.
There was a muffled sound of assent from Aaron.
"Good, now, do you know what I do to people who bug me?"
Another muffled sound. This time it sounded like Aaron was begging. If I waited any longer, if I chose not to act Aaron would die.
"Very good, but also bad, because people who bug me get a bullet in the head. You... You don’t bug me. You infuriate me, and do you know what happens to people who infuriate me?” He asked.
There was no sound from Aaron. Come on Aphmau, Aaron is a scumbag but do you want this? If not, it is time to act. Turning, I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. All I could do was watch as Zane removed the gag and forced Aaron’s mouth to stay open.
"How about a roofie to take the edge off?" Zane asked, but what he was holding with the tongs was in no way a roofie.
The metal of the bullet glowed bright orange and a small strangled sound escaped me when he dropped it into Aaron’s mouth and forced him to swallow.
"Zane!"
But he wasn’t listening to me, he instead pulled out a knife and eased it slowly into Aaron’s stomach.
"Now Aphmau, would you like to help with this part?"
I was already down the hall. Garroth looked like he was ready to stop me but with one swift move I remembered from one of my classes he was down. I didn’t risk taking the elevator, the stairs were faster and I was jumping down them three at a time with my need to escape.
He had never killed anyone in front of me before. I mean, of course I knew he had a reputation for that sort of thing, but there is a difference when you see it up close and personal. I froze when I heard a knock on the door that I knew all too well. Licking dry lips I grabbed my switch blade from off the table and couldn’t manage a noise even when he shot the lock. It was stupid to think he wouldn’t find me at Katelyn’s but find me he did, thank god Katelyn was gone.
"I get you a gift and you run away, you can imagine my distress." He said mockingly as he waltzed into the house.
"That-" I had to take a moment for my throat to ease, "That wasn’t a gift. That was murder."
He gave me a look and then glanced down at my hand, “I must say, I am a little disappointed,” he sighed.
My knife was across the room in an instant and Zane’s face was suddenly only a mere inches from mine.
“You wanted him dead, don’t act like you didn’t,” he purred.
“That’s not tru-”
“Isn’t it? You knew he’d be here. Part of you knew as soon as you got my text, but you still came. Instead of calling the police or staying away you came to me. While you were there you could have said something, you could have gone to the police again-”
"Stop it,“ I shoved him but he came back, his hands gripping my upper arms tightly.
"But instead you watched,”
"Get off of me!“
"You watched and you liked it. You wanted him dead, just admit it, you wanted to come beside me and stick him with that blade-”
I shook my head feebly, tears were brimming in my eyes and Zane cupped my face in his hands.
"Admit it, unleash that darkness Aphmau, set it free!"
"I WANTED TO KILL HIM!” My voice was cracked and raw.
"I wanted to cut off his dick and make him eat it. I wanted to watch that knife go in and out of him like he was as soft as butter. Are you happy now? I wanted to cut off every single one of his fingers and shove them so far up his ass he could taste them. Is that what you want?" I yelled, only to pause for a moment.
I was on an adrenaline high and I felt lighter but I didn’t think the adrenaline had anything to do with it. I meant every word of what I just said, as gruesome as it was. It pleased me to watch Zane hurt him, the fact that it pleased me made me runaway. Who wants to admit they have a monster inside them?
"There. Ahhh, yes. Ahere you are." Zane whispered, his eyes capturing mine.
“The caterpillar finally becomes a butterfly, and all you had to do was accept who you are." He whispered, his nose brushing mine.
“Why?” I whispered, my hands feebly moving to grip the lapels of his coat. It bothered me how at ease my emotions had become, it bothered me how much I suddenly wanted him.
"Because I thrive off of madness, and baby, you’re full of it. You got power, honey. Let’s put it to good use."