Find Me (Art x Fem!Reader)

Chapter 6: Gone.

You woke up the next day laying in a hospital bed. The wounds Art had left on you were stitched, causing you pain every time you moved. He had spared you. 

You replayed the encounter in your head, over and over again. You saw him. You saw what he was capable of. You couldn't wait to see that clown again. 

Days later, you were released from the hospital. Your wounds were healing up quite well, but your mind... You were losing your mind over Art. 

The encounter was almost all you could think about. You weren't terrified of him, you rather admired his cruel nature, his twisted sense of humor and his bloody crime scenes. 

But then the news of the fight that had taken place between Art and Sienna came to your ears. Your clown was defeated once again. But instead of destroying you, you remained hopeful. He came back once, it was possible he came back again. You just had to be patient. 

Once you were able to get back to your job, the picture of three bodies were handed to you. One belonging to Barbara Shaw, Sienna's mother, the other two were Brooke Valdeon and her boyfriend, Jeff. Your clown had something against Sienna, just as you suspected, but you didn't know what. You were hoping to talk to her and ask her what had happened, but she was immediately taken to a psychiatric hospital to heal from the trauma the encounter had left her, while her little brother, Jonathan, was treated from his injuries and then released back to school. 

They were just kids. You shouldn't really bother them and make them relive the trauma they just went through, so you decided to rather investigate the crime scenes, finding yourself once again amused by Art's work. Every kill was different and special in its own way. The pictures were added to your board, and you couldn't help but stare at them and at the pictures of Art that you kept pinned there. You missed him. 

You kept wandering when would he come back, or where was he. In the meantime, you tried to find any new leads and held onto the meat cleaver he had attacked you with. You noticed he had cleaned it for you, as there were no traces of your blood on it. 

What a gentleman. 

After a few days, the news of the death of a police officer in the abandoned carnival came to your ears. He was found decapitated in the Terrifier ride, the place where the clown had died. Just as the first time, his body had completely disappeared, leaving no trace that he had ever been there. 

The same night the murder happened, Victoria Heyes escaped from her psychiatric hospital, leaving two gruesome bodies behind. Now knowing Art was magic, you were sure he was alive somewhere. That kept you on check. He was sure to come back any time now. 

But as time passed, nothing happened. No news of your crazy psycho. 

The only clue he had left behind was a picture posted by some guy the same night Victoria Heyes escaped. The picture showed her and Art in the subway. She seemed somewhat different from the one you had interviewed not too long ago. That picture was printed and immediately pinned to your clue board. 

It was clear that you missed him. After chasing him for a year, his disappearance left you feeling even emptier than the first time. You felt lost, without a purpose. All you could do is stare at the clue board and watch the pictures you kept of him. He was a little cute even. The more you looked at him, the more you thought that. Wait, what? 

His absence was making you lose your mind. That was sure to be it, right? 

Yet you always felt happy whenever you looked at the meat cleaver and remembered the night you encountered him. He wanted to scare you, to feast on your fear and kill you, but he felt like a friend to you. 

You knew him so well from just observing and analyzing him. How could you be afraid? He was rather impressive. A genius. A psycho that came to stress you out, to impress you, to give you the challenge you wanted so badly. 

But now he was gone, and as months passed, you tried your best to hold on. Maybe his return would be on Halloween, just like the last time. 

You just had to be patient. Hold on until he came back.

You wanted to see what he would have in store for you the next time he came back. 

But years started to go by and nothing. 

No sign of Art. 

The longer it took, the more obsessed you became with him. You stared at his pictures, you caressed the meat cleaver, you missed him so bad. 

It was like a part of your life was completely stripped from you. 

Did he abandon you? 

Maybe this time he was actually dead, but you refused to believe that.