Blackout

7) Meticulous

OWEN LUX WESLEY

I was entirely enamored with Siara Lynn Dupont.

Simply put, there were no words to describe how she made me feel. I could spend days describing what allured her to me and I honestly wouldn't notice how time blended into nothingness as I spoke. She did that to me. I knew close to nothing about her, yet she managed to imprint such a strong touch of attraction within me and such a tenacious bond of lust that I thought I was driving myself insane with how much I mentally, physically, and emotionally craved to be beside her. If this was how Mason felt when he did drugs, then I could definitely understand why he continued to go back despite knowing how toxic it was for him.

Lynn was toxic to me. I knew this so well, yet I chose to stay and chase her. It was why I murdered her brother. It was why right now, I was comforting her to the best of my ability. It was why she was pressed up against me, thin arms wrapped around my torso and head buried beneath the crook of my neck as she cried and sobbed her heart out. It was why my heart was racing ten miles a minute, enjoying every second of her misery as she squeezed the life out of me to ease her pain.

"Lynn," I choked out. She was driving me closer and closer to insanity. "What happened, love? Hey, tell me what happened." I agreed to pick her up and drive her home after work. I knew that Bona, the chief of the police station, would break the news to her and that by the time I came, I would be the first to comfort her. I timed everything perfectly. I now needed to act the part.

"Mason," She cried out. Her sobs of hurt felt like knives embedding in my heart, over and over again in a sick, masochistic decoration. I felt so stupid, so utterly idiotic for doing this to her, but then I remembered—she was the one pressed up against me with only thin layers to separate us. She was the one coming to me for comfort. With that thought in my mind, I hugged her waist as tight as I could without hurting her and gently rested my chin on her head, inhaling her rosy scent. It made me delirious, but I loved every second of it.

I didn't ask how. I didn't need to, for obvious reasons, but it was also because I knew that Lynn didn't want to talk about it. I don't know how long we spent there in front of the police station as she cried her heart out, but I found myself not caring. There were a million other things that I had to do, but the longer we stayed there just hugging and touching, the faster the responsibilities melted away. I would deal with the repercussions later—I just needed to dwell in this intoxicating sensation Lynn evoked for as long as possible.

"Let's get you home," I told her gently, feeling my face warm as I heard how genuine my accent was. This side of me was unrecognizable—in my twenty-six years of life, I've never sounded so tender and heart-warming. It was disgusting. She made me that way.

Lynn managed to nod feverently once my words registered and when she finally separated, I was awestruck once my eyes met her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face was flushed and her lips were a darker shade than usual. She was beautiful.

I tugged her waist gently and led her to the passenger side of my car. She had her head down as we walked and it made my heart hurt the more I thought about my actions. I felt guilty, yes, but I didn't regret a second of it. Lynn was next to me. I got to hug her and feel her body against mine for as long as possible and she only pulled away because I told her that I would bring her home. Of course, she thought that I didn't know where she lived, and I obviously did know, but I had to keep up the façade of obliviousness just a bit longer until she trusted me enough to let me know.

For now, though, I would drive her to my apartment in Manhattan. It was around ten minutes from the station. Her building was further than mine, so I was sure that she wouldn't mind. I kept the music off and stared at her every few seconds. She was painfully quiet. Each breath of silence didn't cease to remind me of the fact that I had caused this, but I then remembered that I got to touch her and everything was worth it again.