For a moment I could not think, I couldn't breathe as I tried to grasp the fact that the killer that I was trying so hard to put behind bars was in my living room , sitting dangerously close to my mother with a silver pistol in his right hand. ''Come sit, darling. You were about to miss the best part of this meeting,'' he said as he patted towards the seat right beside him and gave me a warm smile even though I knew that he was anything but welcoming. I had not wanted to move from my position in the living room but I knew from the smile that was slowly disappearing from the man's face and the pleading face of my mother's that I had no choice in that decision and needed to move towards him. ''Don't worry, I won't bite,'' he said when I walked slowly towards him and held tightly onto my backpack, hoping that the bag would act as some sort of shield from this man's evil ways.
My breathe was caught into my throat the second I made my way towards him and took a seat right beside him, just like he wanted me to. I focused my attention towards my slightly empty backpack when I felt the scorching gaze of the murderer. It was a look and attention I despised because it shown the people within the room that he had admired my presence, that he found something that caught his attention and I wanted none of that. I quivered in fear when he decided to close the small space that was between us and grasped onto my neck, forcing me to look into his soulless eyes. ''Wow,'' he admired, caressing my cheeks in the most lovingly manner, ''you look more beautiful than those pictures. You're an angel,'' he whispered into my ear and continued taking in every feature of mine.
I hated that although he said such words that should be of concern to me, I was too busy being mesmerised by the looks that he had possessed. I wasn't aware of his looks the day we met because my mind was so occupied by the man who was dying from the brutal torturre that the murderer inflicted but now since I'm forced to look into his eyes, I have become aware of his dashing appearance that made me take his words as a compliment. His appearance was much similar to those men who acted in action films, with his chiseled cheekbones, thick eyebrows, pink lips and black eyes that forced you to wallow in its darkness.
''Who are you?'' It was a question that had been playing within my mind ever since I came home from that night. It was something I needed to know as to why the police tried to defend him at all cost, and why the evidence although clear was hidden away like it never appeared.
''I heard that you were looking for me,'' he said tauntingly as he tugged lightly on the ponytail which resulted in a quiet gasp from me and a look of pleasure from him. ''I'm Frikkie van der Merwe but I prefer to be called 'Mal oë'. I have a feeling that we are going to be quite close,'' he said enthusiastically as he tried to fix the ponytail that he had been tugging at for the past few seconds.
''I wasn't looking for you,'' I said when I noticed the slight frown on his face and the slight irritation in his voice as he had spoken about his name.
''Don't lie, darlin'. You don't want to make me more mad then I am right now. I heard from others that you were trying to get my attention and now you have more than what you wanted. Not only do have my atttention but you have my interest....''
''I don't want you to have any ties to me,'' I interjected before he could continue his rant and I gasped when he took the pistol that he had placed beside him and pointed it towards my temple. I should have taken the loud shouts from my mother to keep quiet, or the loud cocking of the gun to keep my mouth shut but something within me wanted to defy whatever he wanted from me. I didn't want to be involved with him more than I already am an was going to make sure that it didn't happen. ''I just want you to leave me alone.''
''I told you many times to keep your mouth shut and you defied orders so now you have to pay the price. I was thinking that I could shoot you in the kneecaps as a reminder of your dumb mistake.'' A crazed smile was plastered onto his face when he saw the mortified look onto my face at the suggestion. ''I think that is the most suitable punishment. It is quick and gets the message across,'' tears threatened to escape my eyes when I heard the simultaneous hums from all of the guards as well as the slight movement of the gun that was pointed towards my knees.
''Please don't,'' I pleaded as I tried to push the gun away from me. ''I promise I won't lie anymore. I promise I won't look for you anymore.'' My chest caved in when he gave me a glare and roughly pushed my hands away from his gun.
''Hold her,'' he said loudly and two men who were standing the closest to him walked towards me and pushed me closer into the couch, immobilising me. I tried to thrash my way out if their hold but I ended up not moving an inch due to their extreme strength. I then turned towards my parents, seeking help from them but when I saw their flowing tears and heartbroken faces, I knew that they could do nothing to help me.
Before I could plead even further, I heard a loud bang and I covered my ears soon after because of the ringing that soon followed. I looked around after sometime trying to figure out what caused the sound and screamed when I looked towards my knees to see that it had blood gushing out like water from a hose. After that I could hear nothing, see nothing because all I could feel was hot pain and the soreness of my throat from the amount of screams that I let out from the extreme pain.
Soon after I could feel a rough hand pulling my hair harshly until I faced the man who had shot me. ''Stop screaming, you're making a noise,'' he said harshly as he wiped my tears away with a tissue. When I hadn't seemed to have quietened down from my screaming, he quickly shoved his finger within the bullet wound which resulted in a loud scream from me. ''Darlin', if you keep quiet then the torture will end so be a good girl.''The sound of his voice began to be the thing I most despised because he had the most joyful tone whenever he wanted to threaten me. It was the one thing that made me want to loose my mind and make me have a deep desire to stab him to death.
After some agonising minutes of trying to deal with the pain quietly, he removes his finger away from the wound and lovingly caresses me again. ''I will be back soon for you and we will get married. Don't run, don't try anything funny and nothing will happen to you but now I need to go,'' he said as he stood up, straightened his suit and walked away with his bodyguards following him blindly like sheep.
