Obsessed

3

"So she had been fine over the past few weeks. Are you sure there was nothing out of the ordinary?" The detective asked as he spun the pen in his fingers. He was trying to think of a motive and get a good gist of the criminal while the search party was out.

Anton slowly looked at hom and shook his head. "She was fine, I even bought her a puppy to accompany her while I was at work. That seemed to make her happy. Y-you should have seen the smile on her face.. the way her eyes lit up when she saw the little furball. It was like she had another child again. One of the most purest smiles I've ever witnessed..." He started to tear up and he wiped his eyes. He was feeling extremely guilty. He thought that he shouldn't have never let her go out by herself.

"Anton, I know that this is hard for you, but I need you to calm down and recount what happened on the Saturday the thirtieth, okay? Take your time." He spoke gently while the other detective walked over and offered the box of tissues.

~*~

Iliana turned in bed, feeling herself heat up and begin to sweat. She kicked the covers off of her and started to toss and turn. She groaned and turned on her side and patted the bed next to her to find it empty. Neither Anton nor the baby was there. She slowly sat up and looked at the empty bed and looked at the closed door. Bright fiery orange colors danced beneath it and smoke seeped in through the bottom and she hurriedly climbed out of the bed and made her way to the door and flung it open, being hit with a strong gust of heat and smoke. She coughed and turned her head, feeling dread rise up within her. "Anton?! Zach?!" She called out for them and started to cough again.

All she saw was fire. It was consuming everything around her. The heat and the smell were getting to her and she started to stagger a bit, dropping to her knees and started to crawl as the hallway started to twist and contort. At the end of it stood one open door. "Anton?" She called out to him again only to receive no answer. She pushed herself up into a standing position and stumbled into the room to see three bodies on the bed. Her father, mother, and her little brother. "N-no! Papa? Mama?!" She shook their lifeless bodies, feeling a wet liquid on her hands. She looked at them, they were covered in a crimson color. She stared at them with horror and her eyes started to well up with tears. "G-gone?" She whispered to herself. There she stood, looking as if she had aged backwards into a small tot. She struggled climbing onto the bed and shook them all again. "Wake up!" She screamed and started to cough.

"They're not waking up, Iliana.." A sinister voice spoke in a sing song voice from the corner of the room. She looked up with horror as she saw the shadowy figure standing there. "This is your fault Iliana...This is all your fault..." She heard his voice echo repetitively. She covered her ears and shook her head, closing her eyes tightly "Iliana.."

"Iliana!" A voice shouted, dragging the young woman from her thoughts. She opened her eyes to find herself sitting in the living room recliner. Her breathing was slightly irregular and her heart was beating at a fast pace and she brought a hand to her forehead to wipe a bit of sweat. "What's wrong?" She asked as she looked to see Anton standing beside her chair.

He was holding his hands behind his back with his brow raised, a concerned look on his face. "I should be asking you the same. You were thrashing about in your sleep. Was it one of those dreams again?" He asked. She shook her head. She didn't want to worry him any more than he had to. Since the store incident, Anton had been feeling on edge. She didn't like to make him worried.

"Probably was just sleeping wrong or something. I'm fine." She nodded with a soft smile as she rubbed behind the back of her neck. Anton gave her a skeptical look and nodded slowly.

"If you say so, love." He leaned down to kiss her forehead. Then she heard a little yelp. Anton wore a sheepish smile and she sat up and looked at him up and down.

"What was that?" She asked as she slowly stood and and Anton slowly backed away from her. Iliana slowly advanced with a suspicious look on her face. "Anton, stop playing. What was that?" She asked as she stepped out and tried to look around him.

He laughed and turned the opposite way, preventing her from seeing behind him. She puffed out her cheeks and tried to see around him and he foiled her attempt once again. He wore a bright smile of amusement and her expression only made it more enjoyable for him. "Anton! What's behind there?" She asked as she started to walk around him and he kept turning in response. They were walking in circles at this point.Iliana groaned and flopped on the ground, throwing a silent tantrum.

Anton snorted and crouched down. "Are you really that upset, Lia?" He asked with a chuckle and she crossed her arms over her chest, turning her head away from him. "Awe come on. Don't be like that, Liana. Especially when I was going to give you this." He brought his hands forward. Out in front of him was a Husky pup with bright blue eyes. Iliana slowly turned her head and her eyes lit up and she started to bounce happily and reached out for the small thing as it wagged its tail excitedly.

"It's so cute! What's his name? He's like the most precious little fluff!" She spoke fast as she grabbed the little thing and it wriggled in her hands trying to get a good sniff.

Anton smiled warmly. "I haven't named him yet, but you can go ahead and give him a name." He said as he sat on the ground and the puppy wriggled around and she set the small thing down. "I'll call him Blue!" She said as she pet the puppy with a warm smile and he tried to lick her hand.

"Blue? Why Blue?" He asked as he looked at her. She picked up the puppy and held him closely and kissed the top of his head and he nuzzled her and rested his head on her shoulder. Iliana smiled and looked at Anton. "Because his eyes are Blue. He looks like a lil Blue." She said as she gently scratched behind the dog's ear and he rested his head on her shoulder. She looked at Anton with a look of deep love. "He's such a sweet boy." She said softly.

"He is isn't he?" He chuckled and looked at her. "And where's Zachy?"

"He's asleep in the nursery and I'm going to go on a walk with Blue." She said as she stood and the puppy wagged his tail, being a wiggly little thing.

"Iliana.." He stopped and looked at her. "Don't worry I'll be fine." She smiled as she looked through the bags that were left by the front door and found a harness and a leash and put it on the puppy and then she grabbed her coat and slipped on her shoes.

"But there's a serial killer on the loose." He said as he put the hat on her head.

She sighed. "I'll be fine, Anton. Don't worry." She smiled as she stepped outside. Anton looked at her with fear and worry but he took a deep breathb feeling that he was overreacting just a but

~*~

"And that's what happened up unto that point. I told you everything." Anton said as he ran his fingers through his hair amd sat back in his seat and slouched down in his seat.

"And that's all?" The investigator asked. "That's all. That's all that happened and then Blue ran home.." He said softly. The man nodded and tapped the pen to his desk. "Right.."