Away

Chapter 3

~Aspen~

My cellphone was ringing when I woke up in the morning.

I picked it up,not taking a glance at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Are you Ms.Aspen Carlyle,girlfriend of Derek Campbell?" A deep voice asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Who would be asking about me at such a peculiar hour?

My heart beat sped up. What had happened?

"Yes, I am. Is he alright? Did something happen?"

"I'm a police officer from the community station. I'm sorry to have to tell you this way ma'am,but your husband was brutally murdered last night. We found his body in an alley,around the dangerous part of town. His throat had been slit."

"W-What?"

I was in disbelief. Tears began to flow down my face and my chest tightened.

"No! Derek!" I sobbed,body shaking.

"Ma'am,we are working on finding the criminal who has done this to him."

"You'll find this-this criminal?"

"Yes,ma'am. I send my condolences."

"T-Thank you sir."

"May you come to the station at 11:00 so we can ask you a few questions?"

"Y-Yes,I can." I wiped the tears off of my flushed cheeks. I was barely holding myself together at the moment. All I wanted to do was crawl back into my bed and cry.

"Alright,ma'am,have a nice day. We'll see you later."

"Goodbye." The phone call ended,and I fell to the ground in a heap,crying my eyes out.

Derek was the love of my life. He was perfect in my eyes. He was kind to me, and we had planned a life together.

Some troubled bastard had just taken it all away in a few short moments.

I sat up from the floor and pulled my braid over my shoulder,toying with my hair.

Deep breaths,deep breaths.

I immediately called Derek's family,curious if they had learned of the news.

They had,and they were even more devastated than I was.

"He was my baby,my perfect little baby boy," His mom had said over the phone.

My heart was broken,all because of a phone call.

• • •

The day dragged on.

Everyone of the seconds I had to spare were spent thinking of Derek and the horrible way that he had left me.

I was questioned at the police station at 11:00,as planned,and then I sat down at a small restaurant around 6:30.

It was like a small diner,with red seats and metallic furniture. The staff was nice when they saw my emotional condition,and they offered me free food,but I turned them down.

I just needed some time out of my apartment to think about what had happened over the last 12 hours.

My face was against the window in my booth,which was stained with my tears.

The bell at the entrance rang,and a man walked in.

He raised his tattooed arm and ran a hand through his dark hair.

Something about him. . . Was familiar.

My fist clenched under the table,gripping the worn fabric of the seat.

It was the same boy from the library,who had pushed the books onto me.

He seemed timid,friendly then,but standing here,in this restaurant,he looked very intimidating.

He turned,and we made eye contact.

He was very attractive, with a structured face and beautiful grey-blue eyes.

A ghost of a smile graced his lips as he saw me,but disappeared after he saw that I was crying.

His handsome face hardened with what appeared to be anger.

He rushed to sit across from me in my booth. The sudden movements startled me.

His abrupt need to be near me made me uneasy.

"Who made you cry?" He questioned. His voice was very deep.

When I didn't say anything,he asked me again.

"M-My boyfriend was killed last night." I stuttered. A look of realization crossed his face.

"I didn't think you cared that much about him," He whispered.

"What?"

His eyes widened and he look away from me.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing,nothing." He got up and left the restaurant quickly,just like he had run away at the library. The door slammed loudly and the bell rang behind him.

I was confused. Had I done something wrong?

Sighing heavily, I stood up from the booth and smiled at the sympathetic waiter,before beginning my walk home.

———————-

Hello...

How was the chapter?

I don't know about you, but I feel like something's going to happen.

What do you think?

-Amelia