The Obsession

Chapter 17

   6 Months Later

   The house is completely silent. Not one sound comes from it. I walk into the empty living room and look around. No one.

   "Max?" I call out. I knew my parents were gone for business trips, so they're going to be gone for at least three days. "Xander?"

   Silence.

   I walk into Xander's room. A note on his bed catches my eye. I rush over to it. The paper has only two sentences on it. 'Meet me at the park at 9 PM. Wear something nice. -Max' I smile and shake my head.

   "That little devil." I whisper to myself. The time on the clock says 8:27 PM. Shoot.

   I quickly run to the bathroom and take a 5 minute shower. I walk to my closet and pull out my hot pink satin strapless cocktail dress. Two small flowers are attached to the side in the middle of the dress.

   My shoes are just simple silver ballet flats that sparkle just a tad. I skip the make up because I know Max likes me with none. I leave my brunette hair flowing down my back. I grab a silver clutch and push my phone and keys inside. I rush out to the car and drive to the park. When I arrive, I see Max sitting on a bench. He's wearing a gray sweatshirt with gray sweatpants. That's strange, Max never goes out like that.

   Max sees my car and walks over to it. I get out and lock the door. He hugs me when he gets to me. "You look absolutely gorgeous. " My cheeks start turning red. His British accent makes everything ten times better.

   "I would say you looked handsome but you are only in sweats. " Max chuckles. He takes my hand and pulls me towards the park. I follow him up the sidewalk. "Where's Xander?"

   "He's safe. I'm having David watch him. I know he's the only one you trust to watch over Xander. " I nod. David is Max's best friend.

   We walk until we reach a nice restaurant. Max starts taking off the sweats. I raise an eyebrow at him until I realize that he's wearing a regular black tux. I smile widely. "Wow Max. You never fail to surprise me." He looks at me and chuckles.

   "Me too." We both laugh. Max takes my hand and leads me inside. "Table for two, Max Wilson." The waitress lady nods and we follow her to a table. A small candle sits in the middle. Max pulls out a chair for me. I sit and he pushes me in. He takes a seat across from me and smiles.

   "This is beautiful. How'd you do this without me knowing?" I raise an eyebrow. Max chuckles and takes my hand.

   "With the help of a friend. David planned on watching Xander. Tonight is for us." I smile at him.

   After our food arrives, Max starts acting strange. He fidgets with his sleeve or bites his lip. I give him a smile. He relaxes a bit and smiles back at me. The waitress walks over to us and hands us dessert menus when we finish our dinner.

   "What do you want, sweetie?" Max asks. He grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers together.

   "Hmmm, I think I want a red velvet cupcake. " I decide.

   "The one with the vanilla frosting?" The waitress asks. I nod and she writes the order down. Max orders the same thing. As we wait for the dessert to arrive, Max starts getting that nervous feeling again.

   "You okay, baby?" I ask him with concern. He smiles and nods his head. The waitress comes back with a plate in her hand. When she sets it down, I notice a small black box in the middle of the cupcakes. In the middle of the box is a ring. Around the small band is diamonds. In the center of the ring, there's a large heart with a diamond in the middle. Max stands up and walks in front of me. He gets on one knee after picking up the box. My breathing catches in my throat when I realize what's happening.

   "Isabella Rose, since the first time I laid my eyes on you, I felt instantly in love. You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever and will ever see in my life. Isabella, will you marry me?" The whole room is quiet. Everyone waits for my answer.

   "Max," I pause, trying to find the right words. "I will most definitely marry you." The room turns into applause as he puts the ring on my finger and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and he hugs me.

   "I can't wait to spend every day with you for the rest of my life. " He whispers in my ear.

   Jonathan's P.O.V

   The sound of my door opening wakes me. I open my eyes to see the lady that takes care of me. Karrie is her name? I'm not sure. I don't think I really mind not knowing her name. She's just a waste of space, anyways.

   "Good morning, Jonathan. How did you sleep?" Her voice is monotoned.

   "You don't care." I spit at her. She looks at me after opening my window.

   "No, I don't care. I just have to be polite to the murderer. They should've put you in prison. " She mutters. I scoff and stand up. I'm not crazy. I just love someone. Is that a crime? I bet Isabella is dying without me. Max could never satisfy her. I'm more man than he ever was or ever will be. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to change?"

   "I'm not doing anything with you in here." I snap back at her. How I wish I could just snap her neck.

   She rolls her eyes and walks out of the room. I put on the light blue prison jumpsuit and walk into the bathroom. They say the suit isn't for prison. It doesn't look that way.

   I look in the mirror. The bags under my eyes make me look 40 and not 27. My skin is pale from being in this wreck of a place. My face is growing a stubble again.

   "Jonathan! It's time to go. " The lady yells. I walk out of the bathroom and look at her. "You're going to shave first. C'mon, let's go to Larry. " Larry was the barber. He is the only person I wouldn't kill here.

   We walk into the barber's area. "Jonathan! My favorite patient. " Larry greets happily. He's like my grandfather.

   "Hey Larry."

   "What cha in for?"

   "Shave." Larry nods and grabs his razor. I sit in the chair and he shaves my chin. As Larry turns around in his chair, I notice a rusty razor on the table next to me. A quickly grab it put it in my pocket. Larry nor anybody else notices my quick take.

   After I finish getting my shave, I look in the mirror. I look younger. Maybe 35 instead of 40. "Come anytime you'd like, son. Have a good day." Larry says as my caretaker lady pushes me out the door. We return to my room. She looks at her notepad.

   "I need to use the bathroom. " The lady looks at me and points to the bathroom. I rush inside and close the door. I pull the razor from my pocket and examine it. I flush the toilet and turn on the sink to make it sound like I went. I walk out and hide the razor behind my back.

   "Done?" I nod. She looks down at her notepad again. When she looks up, I quickly slice her throat with the razor. It doesn't cut deep the first time so I do it again twice. She falls and starts choking on her blood. I quickly grab her keys and unlock the door. I run out and down the long corridor. I ignore the cries for help that the other people give me and keep running. When I reach the place where the guards are, I quickly hide in the supply closet. A lab coat is hanging on the wall. I grab it and put on a hospital mask. When I think the guards have moved, I walk out of the closet. No one spots me.

   I walk to the door. The guards look at me with suspicion. "Hey. Where are you going? I need to see a badge," One officer says to me. I turn to him and quickly pat my pockets. "Where's the badge?"

   "I left it in my office. I need to go home. I have a family emergency. "

   "Take the mask off. " He barks. I grip the razor that is in my pocket. I quickly bring it up and slice the man's throat like I did with the woman. A set of rough hands grip my forearms and push me to the ground.

   "Let go of me! I don't belong here!" Something stabs into my arm. I quickly start fading away from the world.