Love's Psychos

Chapter 23

They were waiting. That much was clear to both of them. Waiting for the other person to make a move, act, speak, or do anything. But neither of them did. At least not at first. They were both still trying to understand, to come to a consensus in their own minds about what they were seeing.

A man covered in blood and the woman who'd been following him.

It was Caleb who finally made the first move. Upon catching the shiny glint of Akane's ax, he moved with inhuman speed, little more than a blur of shadows in the dark. She gasped in surprise, the flashlight falling from her hand as he pinned her to the wall by her throat, his other hand gripping the wrist that held her ax.

"Drop it," he growled, his eyes glowing crimson. "Right now."

She continued to stare up at him in silence, mouth agape, cheeks flushed, completely entranced as he literally took her breath away with his grip. Finally, the hatchet fell from her grasp.

"So tell me..." He loosened his grip in order to loosen her tongue. "...who was it who sent you? Which of the other swine is keeping tabs on my movements?"

Akane was left panting for breath, a nervous tremor in her voice, her whole face now flushed.

"Well, talk!" he demanded, anger seeping into his voice. "Don't make me pry the information out of you."

Finally, Akane smiled. It was a bashful, insecure, nervous little smile, but a smile nonetheless. She retreated in on herself, turning her gaze away from him.

"It's not fair..."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What?"

"It's not fair," she repeated in that same soft mousey voice. "You make it seem so easy...talking like this." Akane placed her hands up to her chest, her heart beating out of control. "Why am I always the one getting tongue-tied around you? Aren't you ever nervous talking to me? Even just a little?"

His heart skipped upon seeing the way she was looking up at him. Why? He had no idea. This feeling in his chest made absolutely no sense to him, given the current state of the situation. He was literally covered in another woman's blood! How was she not freaking out? Or trying to fight back?

"You don't seem very frightened right now."

"Why would I be?" Her eyes grew wide as she smiled in a slightly off way. "I mean... you're perfect. Everything about you is so...beautiful and wonderful and...and...perfect."

"Wh...what do you mean?" He did his best to ignore how red he felt at that moment, not that she would have been able to tell anyway. "You do understand what I just did, right? That doesn't bother you in the slightest?"

She smiled up at him and shook her head. "Of course not. If anything, I'm relieved."

Now he was the one stunned into silence. She was relieved?! What the absolute hell was going on here?

"I mean..." A small unhinged giggle emanated from the back of her throat. "...that lousy bitch was going to take you away from me. I...I couldn't let that happen no matter what."

A thought occurred to him, and he stared at her incredulously for a moment, his gaze falling to the hatchet at her side.

"Did you...did you come here to kill Sana?"

She didn't respond, that same unstable smile on her face.

"Why?" he asked in disbelief. "You're not a Hunter are you?"

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about right now," she assured, giggling at him in that same unhinged voice. "I just came here to make that bitch go away. She doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you. Her feelings for you don't run anywhere near as deep as mine do."

She hugged him tightly, her eyes beginning to well up while he just stood there in complete disbelief.

"But I didn't need to! Because you did it for me! Oh, Senpai, I'm so happy right now. I was so scared you were going to try to leave me."

There were no words. Caleb had lost complete and total control of the situation. Any logic or sense to what was happening right now had completely flown the cuckoo's nest. Along with, if he had to guess, this girl's sanity.

"Senpai, I...I love..."

He clasped a hand over her surprised mouth, his attention having been pulled away to something much more urgent.

"Hear that?"

She sobered up enough to listen in. They could both hear what sounded like cars heading up the driveway above.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" he asked her, wary caution in his voice.

Akane shook her head vehemently. He sighed in frustration before taking her by the hand and pulling.

"Alright, then. Follow me and stay close."