Fatal Infatuation [18+]

ⅩⅤ

━───────⊹⊱✙⊰⊹───────━

(Roman's POV)

I lurked outside of the cafe, watching the empty building. Or, the building that I thought was empty. Out of the door emerged a young man with dyed hair, a silver piercing around his eyebrow, wearing a white shirt with some kind of band logo on it, and black pants. I took another drag of my cigarette and watched him stand on the sidewalk, his phone in his hand as he mindlessly scrolled. 

Suddenly, he raised his head to look at my car. I threw the cigarette out of the window and watched him approach me. 

"Are you the Luber for Mateo?" He asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he stood in front of my window. 'So, this is him' I thought to myself.

"Yes, get in." I replied plainly, unlocking the back doors. He nodded and opened the door, climbing inside. Once he sat, he released a long sigh. 

He rested his elbow against the window and looked outside, his chin against his palm. "This doesn't look like a Luber." 

I looked at him through the rearview mirror, my gaze dark. "New company policy," 

He nodded, unknowing. "Right on." 

If this were a Luber, I would already have his address. I didn't, and fortunately didn't need to, because I wouldn't be taking him to his home. He noticed this about five minutes in, and shifted positions. "This isn't the way to my house." 

"We're taking a shortcut." I replied, hiding the humorous tone in my voice. He knew something was up, because he immediately tried to unlock the cars. His actions were futile, because the doors remained locked and he didn't put a dent in the problem. He soon began thrashing around in the back, making a loud cacophany of banging and angry yells. At this point, I was far too tired to fight him, or to knock him out, so I ignored him until we reached my house. 

"If you say or do anything, I will kill you right here." I whispered in his ear as we walked past the neighbors and straight through my door. His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped and he nodded his head slowly.

Once we made it inside, I locked the door with a deep sigh and leaned against the wall, rubbing my temples. He stood in front of me with wide eyes and a trembling frame. 

I looked at him with fake sympathy and tilted my head, "What am I going to do with you?" 

"You could let me go." He croaked. 

I laughed at this, shaking my head. "If only that were an option," 

I grabbed him by the arms and pinned his arms to his back, bringing his wrists together as I began walking him towards the basement. I opened the door and pushed him down the stairs, and he fell with a large thump, gripping his knee in pain as his body collided with the floor. 

I looked at him from the doorway, gripping the doorknob, "We're going to have a lot of fun together, Mateo." 

━───────⊹⊱✙⊰⊹───────━

(Evelyn's POV)

I scrolled on my phone, boredom written all over my face. I laid across my bed on my stomach, swinging my legs, hugging my pillow to my chest. I scrolled and scrolled on the screen until I saw a video titled 'How to clean your soul, and how to clean the grout in your bathroom tiles; 101' 

I hummed in delight and curiosity as I pressed the video, and I began watching it intently. After a few minutes of watching, I noticed a notification at the top of my screen. It was a text message from the unknown number. I clicked off of the video and opened the messaging app. 

The message was an image that I had to click to uncover. My thumb hovered over the button as I debated opening the message, but I made up my mind in the end. When my eyes scanned the image, I released a high pitched shriek and threw my phone across the room. The contents of the image revealed an estranged Mateo, the middle of his head shaved, his face bruised and bloodied, and his purple arms hugging his even worse looking legs. His ankles in particular were swollen, a bright shade of purple and red, and his fibula nearly poked through his skin. His gaze was exhausted and his face was stained with tears, and there was a bloodied sledgehammer to his right. 

I felt the bile rise in my throat and I gasped for air as I covered my mouth in terror. I sat on the corner of my bed, shaking and hyperventillating, as my phone buzzed uncontrollably on the floor. With trembling legs, I crawled out of the bed and kneeled onto the ground, gulping before picking the phone back up. I exhaled and turned the screen towards me, trying to avert my gaze from the horrifying image as I read the message below it. 

'Meet me at Bellburn Grove in twenty minutes if you want Mateo to live.'