The Enigma Of Deceptive Love

Chapter 14: Pretty Like Blood on Snow

I ruffle through my bag, around an hour after we had our last conversation.
Logan's been quiet, not asleep.
My fingertips brush against a thin metallic surface, curiously, I pull it out.
Just as expected, it was my phone.
Logan notices it, but chooses to stay silent.

I don't nudge it further. I go through my phone silently. All my contacts had been wiped off, except one.

Samantha Green.

I hadn't made friends over the years at school. There were people that would try to get close, but Sam would just scare them away.
"Only we have rights over you." She'd say.
Kinky, one might as well add.

That would lead to me not getting any contact info from anyone, except the 3 people in Sam's group. Ian, Kim and her.
Alex's old number was saved too.
I used to call him till the day I lost my phone, waiting to hear his sound. Even if it was his voicemail that picked up.

Alex had gone missing last year. It affected Pa like a fucking tsunami. After all, he was the only child Pa was actually fond of. The little man of the house.
Pa used to spend the next few nights outside, car or not. He'd continue looking.

We had informed the cops, but, Pa didn't trust them. After all, they completely disregarded Ma's case. What if they do the same with his lovely son?
Ma's case wasn't that serious, the loss of a woman won't cause any pain to society.
But a man? Men rule the world. Depriving the world of a man would crumble the sun.

Two weeks later, Pa lost all hope.

That same night, the cops found a body in the middle of the woods.
A man probably in his early twenties, five foot eleven. The persons' face was completely burnt off.
His clothes were neatly ironed and kept next to his burnt body.
The forensics found bits and pieces of burnt plastic embedded into his skin.
He was allegedly wrapped in saran wrap while he was unconscious, before being burnt alive.

The found all sorts of identifications on him, everything was in between the folds of his clothes, his wallet, phone, IDs, drivers license, everything. They just burnt his body to a crisp.
His voicemail was the only thing I could listen to, to feel a sense of belonging, a sense of love.

Now that's gone too.

Logan snatches my phone away from me, dials something within seconds, and hands it back to me.

"My number. Call or text me if something happens at school, or anywhere, for that matter."
I nod and take my phone back from him while oxytocin rushes through my body. Suppressing all thoughts, I continue digging through my bag.
After rummaging through it, I start feeling out the texture of each item and guessing what it could be, toothbrushes, hair brush, clothes, a glass bottle of some sorts. My reckless movements cause my finger to get pricked.

It was some sort of a pin, or a thorn.
I carefully trace my fingertip back to the origin of the pin and feel a cylindrical surface, almost like the stem of a plant.

I get pricked again.

Carefully placing my fingers along the smoothened stem, I gently pull it out. A rose.
My blood drips onto the petals, almost complementing the white of the rose. Wincing at the touch, I continue staring at the perfectly folded rose. Not quite sure what to make of it.
My lips form somewhat of a smile, tiny, but involuntary.

"It was on the ground when I was gathering your stuff." Logan says, noticing me.
"Aphrodite."
Logan stares at me, blankly.
Sensing the obliviousness, I continue,

"Contrary to popular belief-"

"Stop. Too formal. Don't. Ever. Use that." He cuts me off.

"Okay...despite what old people such as yourself would think, red roses weren't the symbols of beautiful love.
The Greek goddess Aphrodite was known as the goddess of roses, love and intimacy. Despite her marital life with Hepheastus, Aphrodite fell in love with a mortal, Agonis.
Every year, they'd be together for four months. While they were together, the flowers bloomed and fruits ripened, referring to spring, and everywhere she'd go, white roses would grow beneath her feet.

The other Gods were tired of her constant reference to that, so, Zeus as always, decided that it was his business and ordered for Agonis to be killed while he was hunting.
By the time Aphrodite heard about it and rushed to the woods, feet pricking with each thorn and painting the roses red, it was too late.

This was said to be the first time a red rose ever appeared on earth, and has been taken as a tragic symbol of love ever since."

"Woah." He replies.

"Now." I scoot over closer, folding my legs in between each other, sitting comfortably.
"I don't really know if it was her blood that stained the roses or Agonis's from the...you know...dying."

"Oh well, I really don't mind either way. The story's painfully mesmerizing."

"I know!" I yell out, almost a high-pitched scream.
I get responded with a chuckle. Rude.

"About an hour more to reach."

"You sure we won't get caught?"

"Positive. The cars have license plates that change every week and thus, cannot be traced by anyone. The castle workers included."
"That's questionably easy for people as discreet and sinister as them."
"The cars aren't allowed to be used by anyone but the guards, who have trackers implanted into them at all times."

"So you have one right now?"

"I got shot."

This lucky asshole.

"The tracker is currently either completely destroyed or just lying in the room, the former being more plausible."
I nod approvingly, mainly because I genuinely have no idea how to respond to any of that.

"Why did you just choose to run off from there? They were treating you better than life here could ever." He asks.
"I..I don't actually know, it just...felt right.

They weren't saints or sane, on that note. Despite them treating me well, for some reason, the White Room thing was too much for me.
Did you know none of them there know the date?"

"I worked there."

"Right."

Just like that, we fall back right into silence. Books dug so deep into the suitcase that it was nearly impossible for me to get them out.

The car occasionally being under complete darkness proved that we were going underneath a bunch of tunnels.
Finally, the car came to a stop and Logan rolled down the window. The minute the surroundings were visible, rolled it back up.

"What the fuck, Chad?"

"I'm sorry sir, I just really, really wanna take a piss."
I let out a soft chuckle, loud enough for them to hear it.
I could see Logan's eyes piercing through his shoulder, before nodding.
He whips out his phone and starts tapping away, gaining a nod from Chad, presumably sending him a text, before he sprints off.

"Why did he address you as Sir?"

"It's not your place to worry about."

I manage to reply with a slow nod.

Chad returns within two minutes, hands flying onto his zipper, frantically trying to pull it back on.
The door was open long enough for me to take a note of a building, "Gold Plaza".
My guesses are that it was named by either a condescending ass or someone new to the business with no time to think.

Logan was too busy on his phone to see that I'd turned on a stopwatch. Incase I had to report anything to the police, navigation would be easier that way.

I check in soon enough to see that nine minutes had already passed since Chad restarted the car.
I try recalling Alex's number while the stopwatch ran in the background.
Technology has really gotten ahold of me, other than the first three digits 3-7-2, my memory had betrayed me.

I could no longer recall his number, I could no longer hear his voice. I had officially lost all contact with the only person I had when times were tough, when I needed someone older to advice me, to comfort me.

And yet, when Alex was declared missing, among all of the members in the family, I was the least bothered one.

It's Alex, he can never die, it's Alex.

Within twenty minutes, we made another stop.
Chad opens the divider in the car and nods at Logan.
His door opens.