Love is Merely Madness ~ Book 1 ~ Batman Begins

Chapter 16: The Adrenaline Rush

Chapter 16: The Adrenaline Rush

Kathryn was torn between calling 911 to aid the injured man or watching the scene play out from the sidelines. She had witnessed Crane bestow intimidation and dominance, but she had never seen Crane initiate violence on anybody. The broken mirror was the appetizer before the main course was presented to her downstairs. Jonathan was under a lot of stress, she knew it as much, and she didn't help by butting in and answering his private phone. Whoever the man was downstairs, he must've done something to unlock the headless horseman's wrath. Kathryn feared the same fate for herself if she had called an ambulance.

Going downstairs to tend to the stranger's wounds wasn't an option because he was a stranger. After all, she was dating the doctor who punched him in the first place. It was oddly ironic because Kathryn and Crane swore to do no harm.

"You alright, man?" Fortunately for Kathryn, a neighbor called him out downstairs. Kathryn couldn't see nor care to know who; she only listened.

The man laughed it off while dabbing the blood off his nose, "Oh, no. I'm good, sir. My friend and I were messing around, that's all."

"You serious? I saw the whole thing! That's assault! You gotta report it and then sue his ass."

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm okay," the man insisted. "This is on me. I pissed him off."

"Well, at least get an X-ray for that nose."

"This is nothing. You have a good night, sir." The fact that the man refused to call the cops or get checked out in a hospital was weird. Worse, Kathryn spotted the man's head aiming in her direction. It was hard to read his expression from the height without her glasses, but he was staring too long, now considered a creeper. Was he even looking at her? She tested her theory by waving. Her heart picked up the pace, and her stomach dropped when he reciprocated.

"Good to see you, Mrs. Crane!" he cried happily. Kathryn's eyes widened, and she gasped, stepping away from the balcony rail. "Mind inviting me up for a drink?" Kathryn quickly ducked back inside and locked the glass door behind her, hyperventilating. Her mind feared he might find her condo number, recalling the man's invitation.

"Sugar!" Kathryn ran to the door to lock it and checked through the peephole to ensure he wasn't standing outside. She parted the curtain slightly to double-check the parking lot. He wasn't around, much to her relief.

"Okay..." she breathed out. "Okay, you're okay. Just breathe." The first thing to do was finish her drink to calm her nerves, then pick up the mess in the bathroom. The last thing she wanted was for Elise to come home and freak out over the mess. It took a while to sweep off the glass into the bin, double bagging it for safety precautions, then sanitize the counter and throw the bloody towels in a separate laundry load. She had turned the music at high volume, trying to sing along as she cleaned to get it done faster and not let her mind wander. Unfortunately, the task proved problematic when the wipes gained color. She almost pictured Crane punching the mirror in a fitted rage. She didn't think it was possible, but after seeing what happened... Kathryn stopped herself, realizing that she was going back there. She needed to push through it for Elise.

Just as she was about to risk going outside to dump the glass bag away, Kathryn nearly dropped it and stumbled on her footing when she saw the door wide open. "Holy shhh..." she covered her mouth. Somebody broke in here. It couldn't be the creeper because he had already left.

Or did he?

"Sugar!" Kathryn mouthed out, now panicking. She analyzed her surroundings to see nobody around nor hear anyone alert their presence. That wasn't a good sign. It didn't take long for her to figure out what to do. There was an intruder in the home, and freedom was handed to her on a silver platter, allowing her to run for her life and find someone with a cell phone to call the police. She couldn't get her phone. There wasn't enough time. She could only drop the bag and snag a knife from the island table as a precaution before bolting outside and turning left, only to bump into someone by the doorway. They both screamed and backed away from each other. Kathryn extended her arm that gripped the knife while the scarer dropped a twelve-pack of cola that erupted and fizzed uncontrollably from the impact.