"Lasagna? Great choice."
Selene jumped a little when a silvery voice talked behind her. She turned around with wide eyes but they reduced to slits when she saw Keir standing right behind her with a blank expression. She rolled her eyes, placing back a frown on her face.
It amused him how she managed to look attractive even with the frown etched face of hers. He never saw her smile or laugh heartily. Does her eyes twinkle when she smiles, he wondered.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
He realised that he was staring at her, without expression for way too long. He immediately placed a smirk to seem normal. Though he doesn't have to pretend normal for her.
"I expected you would scream or drop the pasta," He said gesturing to the pasta in her hands.
Selene rolled her eyes and walked past him, pushing the shopping trolley in front of her. She decided to shop for some groceries in the store and have some time to herself but looks like the odds were not on her side.
Keir scowled behind her for being ignored, he followed behind her, "I thought I would catch it like Edward."
Selene snorted at his twilight 'apple scene' reference. She looked at the now grinning psychopath in front of her. "You might be Edward but I'm not Bella," She scorned.
She grabbed bread and some eggs and placed it inside the trolley.
"You look so cheerful today, what's special?" He mocked sensing her lack of interest.
She ignored him and kept walking down the aisle. She grunted when she saw Keir was still following her.
"Ooh! I'll take that," Keir excitedly grabbed a box of cereal, beside her.
She gave him an odd look, "Froot loops? Seriously?"
"What? Anyone can have fruit loops. They are tasty and healthy," He defended.
"What do you know about food? Besides eating humans," Selene mocked.
"I know that I make an awesome lasagna." He grinned proudly.
"Uh-huh..." She nodded not believing him. She threw a bunch of nachos and chips in her trolley and pushed it along the aisle.
"It's true. I make the best lasagna. You should join me for dinner sometime," He suggested.
She stopped in her tracks when she heard what he said.
"Yeah, right! I'll join you for dinner first until I become dinner!" She sneered.
Keir grimaced, not appreciating her constant reminder of what he does. He might be a serial killer but his offer was genuine and Selene had a hard time understanding that.
"I just suggested this so you can taste it, my Dad and I-" Suddenly he cut himself off, and gulped trying to control his feelings.
His eyes were unreadable, there were so many emotions and yet there were none. Selene wondered how that was even possible. She gathered that he involuntarily touched a weak spot in his life.
As she searched in his eyes for an answer, some part of her brain desired to know him more. As dangerous as that could be.
"I don't have any intentions to harm you," He said with a stern face, "Yet," He added later.
Selene decided to lighten up the conversation when her phone rang in her pocket of her hoodie.
Her frown deepened when she glanced at the screen, "I-I have to take this," she muttered and walked a few feet away from Keir.
"Hello?"
There was silence from the other side for a few seconds before a gruff voice answered.
"Explain to me why the clients from your previous meetings are ending up dead?" There was both demand and warning in that question.
Selene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had no answer for that dreadful question except it was unplanned. The person responsible for that is just right behind her, probably trying to listen to what she would say.
Selene couldn't take risks, "Later," she muttered and hung up the phone.
She turned back to him. Keir was watching her with his calculative eyes, trying to decipher the situation. Which was not surprising.
"Who was that?" He asked.
Selene contemplated between ignoring his question or answering. She decided the latter as ignoring would be just futile.
"That was Haden." She sighed and continued, "Asking me how my clients from the past two days ended up dead."
"Tell him that it was me," He shrugged, obviously not seeing the seriousness in the situation.
Selene scoffed, "Yeah right."
She took hold of her trolley and made her way to the billing centre. Keir followed her along.
"It is the truth anyway, I was the one that killed them," he spoke.
Selene shushed him and searched around them. Though the downtown store is always vacant, the walls are thin as cloth and she couldn't risk anyone listening or watching them talk.
"Look Keir, you might be responsible for this but this is my mess and I will deal with it," She concluded in a tone that left no room for argument.
For the first time in a while, Keir felt like someone else was in charge. He wouldn't complain though, it was Selene. Her authority dripping voice and stern eyes can make any man cower in fear but to him it just fascinated him. This only made him want to know her more.
His lips slowly curved into a smirk and he gave her a nod.
They walked wordlessly to the shopkeeper, who immediately stood up in fear when he saw them. It was ironic that a non-criminal in the Downtown is the one to run a store in a town full of criminals.
"Hello, Mr. Fletcher," Selene gave him a small polite smile.
"Uh-Hello Selene." He muttered and gave a nod in respect to Keir, "Sir."
She turned to look at Keir who stood with a stoic face. He didn't acknowledge the poor man and instead just pushed his groceries on the cabinet, silently asking for billing.
The shopkeeper wordlessly punched the numbers into the machine, billing the items he had brought.
"Uh, it's-uh, six dollars, sir," He told the amount.
Selene almost offered to pay as she thought he had no money. But Keir took out a ten dollar note from his pocket and passed it to him.
He grabbed his groceries and walked past her, making his way to the exit. He didn't bother to take the change.
"Uh-Thank you, sir," The shopkeeper squeaked behind him but Keir walked out.
Selene gathered that Mr. Fletcher knew what Keir was. The respect, the fear gave it away.
She placed her groceries for billing as well and turned to look at Keir. He was standing outside, probably waiting for her.
"A very remarkable man, he is." She heard the man mutter while punching the codes.
"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.
"Uh- He doesn't bother anyone. He usually keeps things to himself unless of course you dance in front of the lion." He chuckled lightly. Selene listened to him intently.
"He comes here often. Buys, tips me off and leaves. He doesn't go well with the crowds and usually roams around alone." He explained, "Obviously, no one deliberately messes with a notorious serial killer." He answered almost as if speaking to himself.
"It's seven dollars and 35 cents," Mr. Fletcher interrupted himself for the payment.
Selene passed him the money and waited curiously for him to continue but to her dismay, he didn't.
He later gave her the bill and when she was about to grab her groceries and leave, he spoke up.
"He doesn't look like the usual kill everyone on the way type of psycho," He spoke looking at her. Selene didn't know how to respond to that, so she stood there silently.
"I never saw him speak or even smile. It's a shock that he does that with you like normal people." His words made her heart hammer abnormally against her ribs. She could feel the heart beating in her ear.
Selene walked away without a word and made her exit through the door. She wasn't sure if she felt anxious for the fact that he saw them talking or the fact that Keir behaves differently around her.
She walked towards Keir and stood beside him, still processing what she heard. It shocked her that no one in the town talks to him, except her and his friend Drake. She doesn't even know if Drake is from Downtown.
"What took you so long? He asked her.
"Uh-I didn't have the change," She lied smoothly.
His eyebrows scrunched up in doubt, "You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine," She replied. They stood there silently staring at the oblivion, each of them in their own thoughts.
Selene looked at him from the corner of his eyes but Keir caught her looking. "What?" He asked.
"Uh-Where do you get money from?" She asked out of the blue. Keir was caught off guard at her question.
"Why do you wanna know?"
"No reason. Just Curious how a serial killer earns money by randomly picking up people to kill." Selene shrugged.
Keir huffed in annoyance, "Keep your curiosity to yourself and before you say that I rob banks, the answer is no. But I won't tell you how."
This only piqued her interest more. She wondered how he could survive with no earnings. Maybe he works somewhere he isn't recognised. She thought.
"Why so secretive?" She asked him.
"Because you guys steal money. I'm not stupid to tell you the origin."
"Excuse me?!" Selene yelled offended, "We steal money? Well what do you do? You strip people off their family income. You are worse than us."
Keir sighed dreading that this conversation would start. "I'm not having this talk with you. So simmer down."
Selene gave a grunt in disapproval. He can't be the one to judge them about stealing coming from where he is.
They both fell into a silence and Selene decided to break it off. "I should go. It's getting late."
"Let me drop you off to your home." He suggested.
"No!" She said a little too quickly. She cleared her throat, composing herself, "I mean, no. It's just a couple of blocks away, I'll walk."
She didn't wait for his reply and started walking.
"Don't be silly. 7th Downstreet is very long from here. You can't walk at this time of night." He spoke behind her.
Selene froze in her tracks when she heard her street number. She stood there like a deer caught in lights.
"Let me bring my car," she heard him say behind her.
Soon he brought his car and stopped his car beside her. Selene couldn't move, she felt like she was electrocuted to the ground.
"Get in," he waved her to come in.
"How do you know where I live?" she asked him, still in shock. He smirked to himself, proudly but didn't answer.
That infuriated her to the core. She struck the car door with her palm hardly and shouted, "Did you follow me?!"
Keir chuckled, "Oh! Please. Stalking is for the amateurs. I just went to the administrative office for details."
"And they gave you?!"
"After some explaining and threatening, yes." He answered smugly.
"Why?!" She shouted.
"What why?" He asked in confusion, "Threaten them? I mean it was a simple favour and they wouldn't give me so I had to cut off their little fingers-"
She cut him off, "What!"
"You see thumbs and other fingers are important, I can't devoid them of that-" He kept babbling.
"Stop! You are fucking deranged," She yelled. Her insides felt like churning within.
Keir sighed, "Get in the car, Selene." He ordered this time.
"The hell, I am!" She glared at him and started walking.
He started the engine and drove it beside her, "If you don't get in right now, next time I'll be waiting for you in your house." He threatened.
She glared at him hard, she could kill him with her bare hands right now. She felt like she was losing her own sanity. She knew his threats weren't empty. She cursed herself for getting herself into a six foot two inches size of a mess.
"I promise I won't harm you," He started slowly, "I won't even lay a finger on you, unless you want me to," He winked at the last remark.
Selene stared at him with resentment. She was shaking with anger that was bubbling inside her. "You fucking piece of shit!" She cursed at him. She opened the door and took a seat beside him, begrudgingly.
"Aww! I love you too, darling." He chuckled and started driving to her house.
All through the drive, she kept glaring at the dark road in front of them. Her fists were balled on her lap. He had an urge to flatten them with his palms but decided to keep his promise to her.
"Here you go," He said once they stopped exactly at her house.
Selene got out and shut the door with force making the car reverberate in offense. She stood there with her hands folded across her chest, waiting for him to go.
He chuckled at how childish she looks right now. He saluted her before driving past her house and in the direction of his house.
He laughed to himself at how stupidly she believed that he would break into his house. Sure, he can but he wouldn't. He won't enter her house unless Selene invites him in by herself.
He had rules and he sticks to them. Breaking in and stalking are not on his current list. He might be a murderer but he got some principles set to himself.
He likes what he is around her. He doesn't have to pretend like a gentleman. He feels free when he is with her, He doesn't have to lie or keep his urges and anger to check.
And to add it more, Selene is a criminal who knows how unfavourable life is to people like them. A criminal would understand him better than a normal sane person.
Although he knows there's a major psychotic part of him that doesn't entertain the idea of Selene, he doesn't mind taking a detour for once. He hoped that the results of that would be surprising.
*****
Keir is back! And with more psychotic tricks up his sleeve.
I know this chapter isn't particularly romantic or cute. Obviously he isn't a bad boy with issues, he is a psychopath with mental issues and he needs to act like it.
So yes, there will be more squirmy, uncomfortable scenes further. Hang on tight.
Shit! This will make it even more difficult for me to write about their relationship development 😂 but I'll take logic over romance. I always do.
Hope you like it. Share and comment.
Don't forget to vote ⭐
~Love, Aurora. ❤️