ɢʜᴏꜱᴛꜱ | ᴅ. ɢʀᴀʏꜱᴏɴ

chapter 2

02. consequences

•—✽—✽—✽—•

one day later

SHOCK: TO STRIKE WITH SURPRISE, terror, horror, or disgust. To say that Dick was merely shocked to see Paige already sitting at her desk was a complete understatement. He hadn't expected her to go right back to work since she had left halfway through the previous day.

Sitting down, he carefully eyed her without drawing too much attention to himself. "There's a fresh pot of coffee if you want it before anyone else grabs at it," Paige mentioned as she typed away.

"I'm good. But, thanks."

She hummed in response as her eyes didn't shift from her computer screen once. He noticed the very distant look in her eyes and the way her fingers typed frantically away at the keyboard.

"Paige, I think—"

"I'm fine, Dick," She interrupted, her gaze snapping towards him. "And besides, being here keeps me busier than being at home." What she really meant was that being in the office allowed her to find whoever went after her mom faster than if she had done her own search at home.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but I think—"

"You're right, you don't, so how about you stay out of it?" Paige retorted. He sighed as he watched her walk away towards the printer. He wanted to help in any way that he could but he knew that she wouldn't want his help.

After a moment, Dick's gaze, as well as everyone else's, snapped over to her as she hit the side of the printer to get it to work. "Stupid, piece of shit!" She muttered under her breath in frustration. The entire office watched as she stormed out, bumping into someone who had been in her way.

The woman in front of her had been holding a fresh cup of scorching hot coffee that had been spilled all over Paige's shirt. Amy had looked down at the cup in her hand and then at Paige with her mouth wide open in shock. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry I didn't mean—"

"It's fine!" Paige snapped without meaning to. Sighing, the woman walked off, locking herself in the bathroom.

Walking up to the mirror, she placed both hands on the sink as she let her head hang before looking back up at herself. Her shirt which had once been porcelain white was now tainted by the stains of the spilled drink. Paige looked at herself in disgust as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She heard a knocking echo in the bathroom causing her gaze to shoot towards the door. "Paige, it's me."

Rolling her eyes, she brought her attention back to the mirror to see how she was going to fix the mess. "Go away, Dick."

"I figured hot coffee isn't really your style so maybe your jacket would be a better option."

The man stood outside, beside the door, with his head leaning against the wall, waiting for some sort of acknowledgment from her. He heard the clicking of the door unlocking as it opened up wide enough for her to be able to stick her arm through. He handed her the jacket without giving it much thought.

✄ ✄ ✄

As a child, Paige, like most other children, was taught that actions had consequences. She quickly learned that the severity of those actions was equally weighted with the severity of the consequences.

Her morals were sometimes skewed as the only idea that was ever clear to her was an eye for an eye. If she got kicked, whoever kicked her would have to be kicked back for the consequences to be balanced. So whoever had threatened her mother's life would have to suffer. She was sure to make it as brutal as she possibly could.

"Let me go!" The man, who had his hands chained together and attached to a hook above him, screamed. "Let me go you bitch!"

Her gaze hardened as she looked him up and down in disgust. She had been in her full suit except for the mask, she wanted her face to be the last thing he saw when she killed him. "No." Paige's shoes echoed as they clicked along the ground as she moved over to a small cart with a tray on top of it. "See you're not leaving here tonight. But me, I am. And I'll sleep very well knowing that you'll be dead."

His breathing became more uncontrollable as he watched her twist and examine a knife in her hands with a concentrated look on her face. Her eyes shot towards him causing his eyes to widen as she approached. "Please, I...I have a family."

"I know."

"They need me—!" His pleading was replaced with screaming as she dug the knife's blade into his stomach, twisting it as she ripped it back out. "You're a psycho!"

"One whose hands your life is in so I'd watch your tone if you want this to be less painful."

"What do you want from me?!"

"Melissa Montgomery was taken from her apartment not too long ago, and you know whose face the cameras picked up?" She asked before pointing the knife in his direction. "So, you're gonna tell me what you know, or I'll drive this knife right into your heart."

Panicked, he started telling her everything he knew. "Ok, ok! I was hired by someone!"

"Who?"

"I don't know. I wasn't given a name. My boss wouldn't give me one, he just said it needed to be done."

"Where'd you take her?"

"I met up with some guys in an alley and they took her in a truck. I don't know where she is!"

The man watched as a small grin appeared on her face. "Thank you for complying. Unfortunately, you are now a loose end."

"Hey, wait, wait—" Not bothering to care about what he was going to say, she dragged the blade of her knife slowly across his throat, watching the blood pour out.

She watched the life drain from his eyes as he choked and gasped. His struggle had ended once his body had gone completely limp, hanging from the chains.

"And that was for my mother, you pathetic excuse for a human being."

She cut the chains that had held him up as the body hit the ground. Grabbing the canister full of gas, she poured it onto his body before dragging a trail that reached outside of the small warehouse. Lighting a match, she tossed it into the flammable puddle. "Burn in Hell, asshole," she muttered.

The trail ignited quickly as the fire twisted and turned within the structure. She watched from a distance as the warehouse exploded once it reached the gas tanks inside. A dry chuckle escaped her lips as she walked off leaving the building and the man inside to burn.