This Night Has Opened My Eyes

Chapter Sixteen, Sea, Swallow me

CHAPTER 16, Sea, Swallow me

The street is abandoned. No one in sight besides the occasional person walking down the street, or the random car passing by. The sun was completely down, and it was getting darker, and darker by the second. The streetlights had started flickering a little, as if they were about to explode from overload. Everything was peaceful at the moment, not a sound to be heard... well, that is until Samansa noticed something in the corner of her eye. She looks behind her, and sees... a black car. A quite familiar one, which was slowing down while getting closer...

The window rolled down, revealing Mr Hearsewell, Samansa's dad. "There you are..."

He sounds... annoyed. His grip tightens around the steering wheel, and he gestures for her to get in.

"...Hi, dad." She mutters, opening the door and hopping in. She wasn't in the mood to talk, not after the disagreement with Yotsuba.

"The hell were you doing out here?" He says with a rather annoyed tone, one that he rarely uses. He starts up the car again, and begins to drive back home, staring at the road ahead of him.

Samansa looks down at her shoes, and folds her arms. "...I had to talk to Yotsuba so I headed to the Azakami Residence. We got into a bit of a disagreement, though." She mutters, now looking up. "...Did your shift finish earlier?"

"Yeah. It ended about half an hour ago. Then I went home to find out you never arrived from school." He glances at her for a quick second, and groans. "What'd you guys even get into an argument about?"

Samansa rubs the back of her neck, and speaks up. "Well... it was my fault, but still. I felt like she was in danger, so I had to check if she got home safely. She's the only kid in our class who walks completely alone in her specific direction, soo..."

"Right..."

Mr Hearsewell says that plainly, his eyes still fixated on the road as they continue driving towards Shibayama street. He doesn't say anything further for now, just focusing on driving. He was starting to get a little concerned with Samansa's obsession of making sure everyone around her is safe from the killer... he knows she's only trying to watch out for people... but still, her behaviour was almost unhealthy. They drive on in silence, neither of them saying a word. It's somewhat uncomfortable, to say the least. Samansa was used to the silence coming from her father, but right now it felt like something else. He seemed to have been upset for a reason, judging by the way he was just focusing on the road and nothing else.

Then, Mr Hearsewell spoke up, and his tone sounded a little different. "Hey, Samansa?"

"Yeah?"

"...Is there a reason why you're so obsessed with this whole... killer situation?" He says, slowly, as if contemplating whether or not he should ask about it. There's an underlying tone of curiosity in his voice.

"...I really want to become a detective someday."

"Detective..."

He glances at her with a small smile. His eyes show a slight look of surprise. He's... a little caught off guard by her answer, but then a look of realization covers his face for a moment, before his gaze goes back to the road.

"Ah. That figures."

He mutters, his words coming out slowly, yet he almost sounds proud. He's a Detective himself, afterall. Mr Hearsewell smiles to himself, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He shakes his head and lets out another chuckle, seemingly finding Samansa's answer quite entertaining. "Of course you'd be interested in becoming one, just like your old man."