⌗ 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌

1

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: this book will stalking, yandere themes, blood & gore, manipulation/gaslighting, and more in it. i know it's to be expected, but still! it's better to tell you all beforehand.

you have been warned.

📼 °｡⋆⸜ 🎥

it's been a total of five months ever since y/n l/n has finally gotten settled in her new house in rockford, texas. it was a big change and she has yet to grow accustomed to the heat, something she thinks she'll never get used to, but it looks like she'll just have to grin and bear it. nevertheless, life here has been mundane. for the most part, anyway.

work has been boring, no surprise there, given that y/n works from home and a vast majority of her assignments deal with typing out things on a document and printing them. her social life has been pretty much nonexistent thanks to the move but y/n has doing her best to work around this by going out of her way to introduce herself to some of her neighbors a while ago.

she's met many interesting people that way, the most unique being jacob alden who is known around the neighborhood as being somewhat introverted and socially awkward. it's not like she can blame him, but y/n is usually the one at the other end having to bear with the awkwardness.

moreover, he is often unapproachable and this makes him uneasy to be around, or at least by y/n's record, but at least jacob is self-aware- to some extent- because he stated a few days ago that he 'doesn't have a whole lot of friends'. it didn't surprise her one bit. alas, she didn't want to hurt jacob's feelings, so instead of putting it bluntly, y/n instead catered to his feelings.

there was just something about jacob that rubbed y/n the wrong way. yet, try as she might, she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. was it the way his eyes seemed to linger a fraction too long when they met hers? or how he would occasionally twiddle his thumbs whenever they talked?

'what a weird guy...' the h/c-haired woman thought to herself. maybe he just wasn't aware of it. lost in her thoughts, y/n absently flicked on the tv, the familiar buzz of background noise offering a temporary distraction. but even as the screen came to life with colorful images and sounds, her mind continued to wander back to jacob. She couldn't deny the flutter of unease that nestled in her stomach whenever she encountered him outside whenever she was either grabbing the mail or putting the trash cans by the curb to share a fleeting conversation.

yet, he seemed harmless enough, didn't he? just a shy, reserved neighbor keeping to himself. nothing more to him than that. y/n chastised herself for letting her imagination run wild, for reading too much into insignificant details. after all, everyone has their quirks and their eccentricities.

but as more time wore on, the nagging sense of curiosity persisted. what was it about jacob alden that unsettled her so? was it simply her overactive imagination at play, or was there truly something more sinister lurking beneath his quiet facade? she doubted it because the truth is that he's been nothing but sweet to her, but alas, here she was, assuming anyway.

with a sigh, y/n pushed aside her thoughts, determined to focus on the mundane comforts of her evening routine. she flipped through channels on the tv, half-listening until she landed on the news.

"in other news, police have finished their investigation at crimson lake. all remains of the body have been uncovered." just as y/n was about to click a button to go to the next station, she stopped when she overheard the word 'body'. her breath hitched and she became frozen like a statue. entranced, she kept her focus glued on the television. "the identity of a man in his late 20s has been confirmed. the name of the victim is jesse hewitt-he was found with over 60 stab wounds to the chest, rope burns were found on his wrists, and both of his eyes are missing, presumably gouged out. autopsy reports also say his heart is missing." the anchorwoman stated.

"what the hell...?" y/n asked herself, feeling her heart grow heavy at the news. how could she not have known about this before her moving here? if she only knew then what she knew now, she would have seriously considered moving elsewhere. then again, if this is just being found out now, chances are that y/n will find online a few months ago were just files for people who went missing.

a chill ran down her spine, what type of monster could do that to a person?

"another case from a year ago had equivalent results, one concerning amy fernandez who was another victim who befell a very similar fate, her body also being absent of a heart. whoever is behind this has always left the chest cavity of their victim hallowed, officials are saying it's the killer's modus operandi," the anchorwoman continued. "police are still on the lookout for the unknown killer in hopes of apprehending this fiendish monster, but rest assured, the crime scene has thoroughly been searched. crimson lake is now open again to the public!" she finished with a bright smile.

it's a good thing y/n came across this when she did. she practically shivered at the idea of visiting the notorious lake and unknowingly swimming in the same water where not one, but two, bodies were sitting in for god knows how long before they were found.

a wave of nausea washed over her and her appetite for breakfast dissipated. y/n's mind raced as she tried to process the information. who could be responsible for such a heinous act? the thought made her skin crawl. she soon rose from the couch, feeling the need to escape the suffocating atmosphere of her house, and turned off the tv.

with a heavy heart, she slipped on her coat and headed out the door. the fresh air hit her as she stepped onto the street, the cool breeze offering a slight reprieve from the heaviness weighing on her chest. she decided to take a walk to the park, hoping it would help clear her mind, even just a little.