His Immortal | Marcus Pike

23

He made a mental note to talk to me again, to see if he could get a sense of what was going on in my head. But for now, he had work to do. The crime scene needed to be processed and the case needed to be investigated. He pushed the thoughts of me and my potential involvement to the back of his mind and focused on the task at hand.

He watched as the M.E. and the other officers packed up the body, his heart heavy. He didn't like the way this case was developing. It seemed like every answer only led to more questions, and he was no closer to the truth than he had been when he first arrived.

He knew he needed to dig deeper, to find out everything he could about the people involved in this case. But for now, he had to focus on the immediate next steps. He needed to write up his report, talk to his superiors, and figure out the next move in the investigation.

As the others packed up and prepared to leave, Marcus took one last look around the crime scene. The room was still and silent now, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was too quiet, as if something was lurking just beyond his sight.

Later on, I placed the flowers on Sam's grave, I heard a soft crunch of gravel behind me. I turned around to see Marcus standing a few feet away, his hands in his pockets and his expression unreadable. "What do you want?" I asked.

He didn't answer right away, his eyes studying me for a moment. Then, he cleared his throat and spoke. "I need to ask you something," he said, his voice low and serious.

"That is?" I asked again.

He hesitated for a moment as if weighing whether or not to say what he was thinking. But then he took a deep breath and pushed ahead. "I need to know if you had anything to do with what happened to Mae," he said simply.

I rolled my eyes "You think I would go out of my way to kill her? That is low," I said to him.

Marcus's expression remained neutral, but he could see my anger and defensiveness. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy conversation. "You have to understand that I have to ask the question," he said, his tone firm but gentle. "We don't have many leads right now, and the way you talked about Mae earlier made me wonder if you had something to do with it."

"I don't like her definitely after her admitting everything but I wouldn't kill her. You think I would do that?" I looked into his eyes.

Marcus held my gaze for a moment, studying my expression carefully. He could see the hurt and anger in my eyes, but he also saw something else - something more complex and difficult to define. "No, I don't think you would," he said finally, his tone more subdued. "But I have to ask the questions, it's my job."

"I see, I can tell that kiss meant nothing. I wish I ended up dead at the end of that night so I hadn't met you," I walked off.

Marcus's heart sank as I spoke, the pain and hurt in my voice making his stomach twist into knots. He had hoped that I would understand, that I would see that he was just doing his job. "Hey, wait," he called after me, quickening his step to catch up to me. He reached out and gently caught my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "Please, don't say that," he said, his voice softer now.

"Oh come on, I am nothing to you Marcus. I am just a student and you think I murdered Mae. Fine, bring me down. If it gets me away from this awful town and you then fine," I replied.

Marcus felt a pang of guilt and frustration at my words. He knew he had come across as cold and uncaring earlier, but that wasn't how he felt. Not at all. "That's not true," he said firmly, holding my gaze with his own. "You're not just 'nothing' to me, and I don't think you're a murderer. I'm just doing my job, trying to find the truth. That's all."

He looked at me for a moment, studying my expression. He knew I was hurting, and he wanted to comfort me, to tell me that it would all be okay. But he knew it wasn't that simple. "You have to understand," he said, taking a step closer to me. "I have a job to do, and I can't let my personal feelings get in the way of that. But that doesn't mean I don't care about you, or that you don't matter to me."

"Don't lie, you rejected me and said that the kiss meant nothing," I had tears in my eyes. "I did not kill Mae," I said firmly. "I am getting set up, Mae was always like that. She always played the victim," I said to him.

Marcus sighed as he saw the tears in my eyes, his heart clenching at the pain and frustration that I was feeling. He knew that he had hurt me with his words, and he wished he could take them back. "I know you didn't kill Mae," he said, his voice softer now. "And I didn't mean to hurt you with what I said earlier."

He took a step closer to me, his hand gently reaching out to brush a strand of hair from my face. He knew he shouldn't be getting so close to me, especially not now, but he couldn't help it. "I care about you, Elaine," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "More than you know."

I looked into his eyes "I am scared okay, I have never been loved. I grew up in a foster family, and when I met Mae she had the perfect family. That caused my jealousy because she had everything I wanted. When I saw you with her being soft and gentle, I thought she manipulated you. I am not what they say I am," Tears fell down my face.