Perfume

Chapter Sixteen - Perfume

~     linden     ~

The days following Christmas scurried by in a blur. One day I was in bed, with Bella that Christmas morning and the next thing I knew, five days had passed. The snow continued to fall and when I looked out my living room window, I couldn't help but compare the city to the inside of a snow globe. Magical without a doubt. 

     The dreams and memories continued on at first, but they didn't have the same effect they used to have. Now that I knew his story, Tom just seemed like a weak bastard. And that didn't scare me. It made me feel bad for him. Eventually, though, they became less and less frequent. 

     Mom and Dad worked diligently during the those five days. I spent most of those days with Bella, at a coffee shop, book store, or at my house. Nothing new happened. It was all rather placid. But whenever Bella and I were out, I always felt one edge, as if someone was looking at us, tracking every move we made. And I was probably right. Venonoso was onto us, and I knew it. 

      On the day before New Year's Eve, I woke up at ten to find an empty house. My parents were off to work as always. They'd been working a lot lately. They really needed to rest or something. Hopefully they could get some time off on January or February. 

     I was heading toward the kitchen when I heard the bell ring. One short ring followed by another one. At once, I thought of Bella. She usually texted or called whenever she was going to come over. I frowned, but quickly decided that she had probably just forgotten. No big deal. And, anyway, she didn't have to call or text whenever she wanted to see me. That was stupid. She was my girlfriend; she could come over whenever she wanted. She was always welcomed.

      A smile came upon my face as I strolled toward the door. And I kept that smile as I opened the door, but it melted from my face as I discovered what lay behind the front door.

     A robust man with no hair and a devilish smile stood behind my door. He was dressed in a dark suit that made his eyes seem darker. It took me just one second to recognize Darwin Venenoso.

      I frowned. "Do you need anything? My parents are actually out, so if you could come back later."

      He laughed and shook his head. "It isn't them who I'm looking for."

      Something hot and heavy dropped in my stomach. It burned and made me want to puke. I bit my lip and tried to keep my breathing neutral, tried to remain calm and give my real feelings away. 

       "Oh," I said. My voice was no more than a whisper. The man scared the living shit out of me. 

      He gave me another smile. It chilled my every cell, my every atom. Shit, the devil himself would be freaked out by this guy.

       "I'm looking for you, Clay," he said. 

       Blood began to pump in and out of my heart at the speed of light times infinity. 

       "How can I help you?" I asked.

       "What do you know about her?"

       Bella. He was looking for Bella. And then and there I stopped fearing for myself and my every cell prepared itself to protect Bellam to defend her from this horrid man. 

      "About who?" I asked, giving him a fake smile. 

      "Hanna, my boy," he said. "Hanna. There's something about her and I think you know what it is."

       I frowned. "How did you get my address?"

       This got a laugh from him. "I have my ways, old sport. I have my ways. Now you better tell me what you know."