Before I Do

PROLOGUE

9 YEARS AGO

Maddox sat in the lightly dimmed room. He had cuffs on his wrists with an emotionless expression. His eyes held no light in them. He looked down at the floor.

There was a woman across the room. She threw the folder on the table. "Maddox, why did you kill all of those people?" Detective Danna bluntly says.

No response.

Detective Danna comes closer. "Surely, you regret killing your own mother, right? Or maybe you're happy that you did. What was your relationship with your mother?"

No response.

Detective Danna sighed, running a hand through her hair. She sat down across from Maddox and leaned forward. "You don't have nothing to say? You know this doesn't help your case at all."

"I have nothing to say to you." Maddox replied, staring coldly at the floor.

The detective felt a shiver at his words.

Detective Danna leaned forward. "What happened in that exact day? What lead up to you killing? You're only twelve years old."

Again, no response.

Danna sighed in frustration. She knew getting him to talk would be a challenge, but it was crucial for the case. She needed to find a way to get through to him.

"Maddox," she said in a softer tone. "Can you please tell me what happened that day? What made you do what you did?"

For the first time since Maddox been in this room, he looked up. He exclaimed the detectives body language and facial expression. He stayed quiet.

"I know this is hard to talk about. But let me just understand in your point of view." Detective Danna continued.

"It's right behind you." Maddox spoke in a whisper.

Detective Danna eyebrows furrowed. She looked behind, just to see no one else. As expected. It was police's and a couple of his family members outside of the room, but it was just them two inside.

"It's no one there..." Detective Danna says as she turns her head back around. "What was behind me?" She asked cautiously.

Maddox ignored her question. "Off. Take it off."

"We can't take off your cuffs right now." Detective Danna swallowed nervously. "But what do you mean 'it's behind you?'"

Silence.

"What do you see? Is it something that you've seen the same day the incident happened?" The detective asked gently.

"Take it off." He repeated. 

Detective Danna sighed. "For your own safety, the cuffs need to stay on."

Maddox slightly tilt his head. "My safety? You mean yours?"

"Maddox," Detective Danna said firmly. "We can't remove your cuffs but we can talk. Describe what do you see behind me."

Maddox leaned into the chair. He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke. "Imagine yourself getting slammed repeatedly on this table by me. How would you feel? Would you hate me for that?"

Detective Danna blinked, her heart skipping a beat. "That's... a very specific scenario," she managed to say, trying to keep her cool. "Why are you telling me this?"

Maddox ignored her. He leaned forward, a smile appearing on his face. "And what if you were handcuffed and defenseless while I did it?"

"Do you fantasize about hurting me?" She questioned.

"I don't know? Do I?" He replied.

"I don't have time for games." Detective Danna took a deep breath. "Maddox, if you answer one of my questions—"

"Get the fuck out!" Maddox cuts her off, yelling out loud. "If you're going to just stand there then just kill her already!"

Detective Danna was silent. She knew Maddox wasn't talking to her anymore. Rather, he was talking about her now.

"Maddox, please, calm down," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

But Maddox was clearly agitated. "All of a sudden you don't want to help me now? Why? Do you pity her?" He started to laugh before it turned into screams. His screams echoed in the room.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Maddox had mental issues. The detective didn't even know what to exactly say without making it worse.

Two police officers entered the room. Maddox's behavior became more erratic. He began banging his head against the table.

The police officers rushed to hold Maddox back from hurting himself further. Detective Danna stood up, feeling shocked how the situation went to one to one hundred. She tried to speak to him calmly, telling him that he was safe. But it was like talking to a brick wall.

In the end, the court— or everyone has decided that it would be best to put Maddox in a mental asylum facility due to mental health. This case was put on the news.

Kacey was watching the trial when suddenly, her dad turns off the television. She turned her head to her dad and huffed. "What was that for?" She crossed her arms.

"You'll thank me later," is all he said before taking a sip of his coffee and walked to the kitchen.

Kacey rolled her eyes. Even though she was fourteen, her family still treated her like she was a baby. Sure, she was a beta but not an omega. It was no need for that.

She grabbed the remote and turned the television back on. Somehow, she found Maddox case interesting. Maybe she was crazy herself, but it was something about him. He was quiet during most of the trial, but his aura was unbelievable. She could feel it through the screen. The fact that Maddox was only two years younger than her makes it more interesting.

"Kacey! Turn that shit off and go do your homework!" Her dad yells.

Kacey quickly turned off the television.

8/6/24 - Not edited, but written.