And All My Devotion Turns Violent

Chapter One

Nineteen-year-old student Janet Kingston from Saint Julian University was found dead near the Mississippi River early Monday morning with her head bludgeoned, no murder weapon nearby. The police are treating this case as a homicide, and have no leads for her killer as of now.

I sighed as I tucked my phone back into my pocket, throwing my arm across my eyes as I felt my heart squeeze with the guilt that I'd been too angry to feel this weekend... All I had been thinking about in that moment was that I wanted her to take her hands off of my Callie.

I'd followed her outside to talk, I didn't expect her to start walking near the riverbed, I didn't expect myself to pick up that rock and swing when she saw me following her, I just wanted to make sure that she wouldn't scream... At least that was what I was thinking with the first hit, my brain sort of turned off with the rest of them, there was no more logic behind my movements after that.

That was normal for me - I lacked logic, I lacked impulse control... They just never stuck with me as things that were at all useful to me, but I can see now exactly how they could be helpful, specifically in this situation... Maybe no one will even notice, maybe this'll fizzle out, right? There's so many missing people a year, no one really knows, same with murders...
Granted, she's a pretty blonde girl from an upper-class family, there's for sure media attention on her. I groaned, covering my head with my pillow as I heard my phone buzz on my nightstand. I blindly groped for it, grimacing at the brightness of my screen, auto adjusting to the sun and not adjusting back soon enough to my dark little cocoon.

My heart pounded in my chest as I saw a name on my screen that I hadn't seen in months.

Callie.

'are u in town or is my Life360 being weird'

My hands shook as I typed out an answer, trying to think of a reason why I would even want to be in Minnesota... It was a far cry from the warm beaches of San Diego, and she was going to think that it was odd that I just showed up here.

'Yea. Had a long weekend, decided to take a cheap flight.'

I dropped my phone to my side, my heart feeling like it was going to claw it's way out my throat as a million different thoughts circled my brain. What if she knew it was me? Was the biggest one in there, but that wasn't very likely.

I'm mild tempered, really I am... I don't have the makings of a killer, and she knows that... Hopefully she knows that.

My phone buzzes again.

'not just 2 see me? i'm hurt habibi.'

My heart swelled... Habibi... The last time she'd called me that her lips had tasted like the tears she was crying, and her warm hands were cupping my face... My body ached for her to touch me again, to hold me tenderly... That was all I wanted.

'Well... I didnt want 2 bother u...'

She was already typing back, the gray bubble popping up seemingly in time with me sending the message to her.

'u never bother me. Where r u staying?' I swallowed the lump in my throat as my heart continued to gallop in my chest... Where was I staying? I couldn't remember now, not with her texting me... Right.

'Hotel. I think its in uptown? Idk.'

'Are u there now'

'Yeah'

'Cool. omw. don't leave, wanna see you.'

I didn't know what to say to that, so all I did was send her a thumbs up, grimacing at my own awkwardness surrounding her, surrounding how I was meant to respond to her immediately wanting to see me upon knowing that I was in town... Maybe she wasn't as over me as her Instagram might make it seem... Maybe she thought of me all the time too, that would be a dream.