Upon the Gaze (Ghostface X Reader 18+)

CHAPTER 30 - The Red and The Blue

The air was growing colder with each passing day as October was coming to an end. Crisp, dark leaves scurried across the road as the autumn winds blew.
I don't know why, but I was feeling extremely anxious on my way home from the library. Was it really just because I was stressing out over a deer I saw in the backyard last night? But really...I had a bad feeling growing deep within me. I was unsettled, not scared, but I just knew there was something to be worried about. The air felt ominous, with gray storm clouds daring to shed rain at any possible moment, and the dark of evening setting in.
Finally arriving at the house, I pulled into the driveway, and oddly cautiously made my way to the front door. I felt so paranoid, like I should be careful to make any sound, trying to silently shuffle the keys to fit the right one into the lock. For a moment, I felt as though someone was watching me. I turned and looked behind myself but of course no one was there. Such an odd feeling, I thought. I should be used to sensations like this by now, right? After all, I live with a serial killer.
I stepped in rather quickly once I got the door unlocked, and felt the need to peek out through the small side window, drawing the currents back just slightly. Still, no one. I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly to try and ease my tension. I hoped Danny was home because I could really use a distraction from all of this. I turned to walk towards the stairs and called out for him. "Danny!? Are you home!?" Silence. No response. I pouted a bit, but also became a little concerned. He hasn't come back since last night. Normally he'd be out late, but he'd always come back early in the morning. I started making my way up the stairs to his bedroom door. Maybe he was back but was simply sleeping? I came to the door in the hall, and gave it a few gentle knocks. Still silence. I knocked a couple times louder, and called for him, but still nothing. I grasped the handle and carefully turned it. I vigilantly peeked in but still saw nothing. No sign of him. My anxiety grew even more now, and it felt like there was a lump in my throat. I walked back down the stairwell to the kitchen, deciding to ease my tense thoughts on my own. I sat myself in my usual spot at the dining room table and took out my pack of cigarettes. They were new, freshly bought from the gas station I passed on my way back from the library. I lit the end and inhaled, letting the bitter-sweet smoke envelope my lungs. I was trying to make sense of it all, but also trying to tell my brain to stop thinking all together. What does this all mean? Does it mean anything? Jeez, Shayna really got that folklore crap stuck in my head. I felt an aggravated smile creep onto my face, and I rubbed my forehead with my thumb as I hunched forward over the table.
Suddenly, a loud knock from the front door echoed through the whole house. It caused me to gasp. I immediately turned in the direction of the sound.
"Who the hell could that be?" I worded quietly to myself. Danny never knocked. He practically owned the place and would just walk in and announce his presence, so I doubted it could be him. Another knock pounded at the door. I slowly made my way to the front, and meekishly reached for the handle. I unlocked the top and opened it slowly, at first only peeking through the edges between the frame and the door.
"Good evening miss," a tall man in a police uniform stood outside my door. My heart raced. If I had known it was a police officer, I wouldn't have opened it. Infact I would have ran for the backwoods. I mentally cursed every profanity to myself, asking myself, why the hell didn't you check the window first!?
"My apologies for bothering you so late but I'm here to ask some questions." This officer informed me. My hands were clamming up, and I began to tremble. What was going on? Was this it? Was Danny caught and he sold me out, not wanting to be dragged off to prison alone? Or...or were they here solely for me? Did they finally figure out it was me who pulled the plug on my father, who killed him. I realized I had to say something, so I stuttered out, "what is it you want?"
He responded with, "As you likely know, there's been a string of murders in the area, and we're simply trying to get some information." A breath I hadn't even realized to be holding released itself. It seemed he was only looking for answers to a still unsolved case.
Abruptly I heard a dog bark, and when I glanced to my driveway, I was a big, black dog waltzing towards my home. "Zippo!" A familiar, unsettling voice called. I almost rolled my eyes when I realized who it was. Calvin came walking up to the door, calling over his dog. The officer seemed equally annoyed, and put a hand out in a stopping gesture.
"Now Calvin, I told you we don't need you following us door to door while we ask your neighbors some questions." I sided with the officer in the moment, just for the sake of getting this intrusive man off my property.
"Now officer Phillips, I know you mean well, but so do I, ya hear! This is my neck of the woods, my home! And I'm finna protect it!"
The officer now known as Phillips pinched the bridge of his noise in an entertaining way. He seemed to decide to ignore him, and turned his attention back to me.
"As I was saying miss, I simply want to ask you some questions. You should know by now, whether through the paper, the news, hell, maybe even your radio on your drives home, that there is a very dangerous man afoot. He's known as the Ghostface killer, and the Borose police department is working diligently to catch him. We just need a little help from the community to get more leads on his potential, recent whereabouts. So will you comply ma'am?"
I thought over what he said. Were they certain Ghostface was a man? Or is that just the typical in thinking a women could never be capable of murder? I mentally scoffed at that idea, and rudely I questioned the officer out loud. "How do you know it's a man?"
The officer looked up from his note pad he had just pulled out to take notes, already expecting compliance. His eyes looked to the side and back to me, "well ma'am he's been reported taller than the average female, and more in the average height of a male, as well as people reporting him to have a males voice."
I shifted from my crumpled, anxious pose, to a cross armed one and leaned against the door frame. I said, "sure, but what if they're just using a voice changer? Isn't that common with things like ransoms over the phone? And I don't think height really matters that much." The officer seemed to nervously let his eyes wonder a bit as if he had no idea how to respond.
Suddenly Calvin spoke up from behind, "And why you know so much about the happenings that killers do?" It took a moment to decipher his broken English, but then I felt that anxiety return. He just called me out. My face contorted slightly with a somewhat aggressive glare towards him, and my hands had a stiff grip on my arms as they were still crossed.
"I work at a library, and enjoy crime documentaries, so I do a lot of reading on this sort of thing." I tried to cover any tracks of true knowledge. My anxiety grew larger when I saw the officer begin to write something down in his note book. Fuck, I thought. Am I just backing myself into a corner right now? I have to play it cool, and can't give anything else away!
"Ma'am I'd really like to have a private conversation with you, so if you don't mind just letting me in for a moment, I'll make my questioning quick." The officer began to come forward and it looked like he was reaching to try to enter. My heart began to race again and I panicked. What the hell do I do! I can't let him in!
"Sweetie, what's going on?" A pleasant, tender voice came from behind me, and I felt an arm wrap around my waist as the door began to open more. Danny stood to the side of me now. I looked up at him with a surprised expression, one that told him, where the hell have you been!? He smiled warmly down at me, and then passed his gaze onto the officer.
"Oh, and if I may ask, who is this?" The officer asked simply.
"I'm her boyfriend." Danny stated confidently. My heart went from racing to fluttering. Boyfriend.
"Can I help you officer?" Danny asked with a stern but still somewhat friendly demeanor.
"I'm simply trying to gather some information sir. May I at least ask for both your names?" The officer asked. Danny glanced over at Calvin momentarily, then responded to the officer,
"Of course, I'm Johnny. My girlfriend's name is (Y/n)."
The officer padded down the notes.
"May I ask for your name officer?" Danny questioned. My stomach did a flip, thinking about the last officer. "Phillips, sir!" The officer tipped his hat. I clung slightly to the door frame now.
"(Y/n)!" Danny called to me, "Go inside. I'll handle it." He smiled warmly at me, but the instructions made me nervous. I simply nodded my head and moved back in, behind the door, closing it. I peeked through the side window slightly, trying to listen in.
I watched Danny stand with confidence as he smiled and nodded, and gave inquisitive gestures when the officer asked him questions I couldn't quite make out. My attention suddenly shifted though. I looked over to realize Calvin was staring directly at me through the window. I darted away from the window and grabbed my chest. The thought of him watching me was so uncomfortable. When I tried to breath again I heard Calvin's dog begin to bark. I shifted back to the window, peeking out. I saw Zippo barking at Danny, somewhat aggressively. Calvin came over and grabbed his dog by the collar and it looked as if he gave a half-assed apology for it. Danny lifted his hand and nodded as if he said, "no worries," then turned back to the officer. They both nodded and everyone broke from the circle in the front yard, going opposite directions.
I quickly backed away from the door as Danny entered through it. As soon as he looked into my worried eyes, I began asking him what happened out there. "What happened? What did he ask you?" I was rambling a bit, when suddenly Danny pushed me into the wall. His lips crashed into mine and he kissed me passionately. I was confused but not complaining. After a solid minute or two of heatedly making out, he pulled away from me. He exhaled and said, "sorry, I really needed that." Then pulled himself off me. "Uh...that's alright." Was all I could think to say, trying to process.
A lot had happened today.