Toxic

01. 2k!

From the view I had behind some prickly bushes, I could see her lips widen into a smile as soon as she saw him. His calloused hands reached out to ruffle her hair, and she giggled loudly. 

How did he manage to charm so many women? He looked like an old man to me, and I knew he was anything but charming.

"You smell like vanilla." He caressed her cheek. I had been spying on him for the entire week, and the sun wasn't doing me any justice.

"You smell like... shaving cream!" She giggled harder at her own words. He forced a smile on his wrinkled face.

"I brought you something." He said calmly. She nodded eagerly, holding her hands out.

I saw the silvery gleam of the knife before she did. Before either of us could react, he had plunged the knife deep into her swollen heart. I covered my hands over my mouth to stop my gasp from escaping.

Even though I'd seen him murder many girls before, I still wasn't used to the scarlet shade of blood and the platinum gleam of his knife. He scanned the area briefly to check if anyone was looking before he threw the body into the trunk of his car and drove away.

I uncovered my mouth and sat in silence for a few minutes under the never-ending heat. I finally stood up and felt the strain on my feet as I walked to my bicycle. I pedaled past the spots of blood, squirming at the sight of crimson.

I slowed down from time to time to make sure it wasn't too obvious that I was chasing him down. I stopped two blocks in front of his hideout and parked my bicycle. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead. I began sprinting towards the little house, and I quickly hid behind a series of trees.

I wasn't sure what he was doing. It seemed like he was writing something on a piece of paper. After a while, he crossed off something and wrote something else. From what I had gathered from a week of spying on him, it seemed to be his hitlist.

He grabbed his knife and stabbed it into the wood plank next to his desk. I shivered, even under the sizzling sun. I'd come to realize that when he did that, it meant that he had decided who to kill next, and the victim would be dead in the span of a day.

I'd seen enough. So far, I'd managed to stay undercover, but I couldn't keep zipping my mouth forever.

As I stood up to leave, he surprised me by shutting the blinds. I heard the sound of a knife scraping against wood, and then I sprinted back to my bicycle in desperation.

As I cycled past his hideout, I kept my silvery blonde hair underneath my hoodie. The blinds remained shut.

I parked my bicycle outside my house and hurried inside. As I passed by my brother's room, I found him scribbling on a piece of paper furiously.

"Brent? What are you doing?" I asked, raising my eyebrows suspiciously.

"N-Nothing." My brother, Brent said, covering the piece of paper.

"Brent, don't tell me you're still thinking about tracking that killer down. I know he took your Claire from you, but-" I started.

"But what? Rox, it's one for one. If he took Claire's life, then I'm taking his." Brent said defiantly.

"I knew you would say that." I retorted. Brent only shrugged.

"I've been observing him," I mumbled.

"I knew you would say that." Brent mimicked. I wrinkled my nose at him.

"Care to share the info, sis?" Brent winked.

"Sorry, I'm going to stay silent until I have a complete fact file." I grinned. "You'll thank me for not telling you."

"Rox, stay out of it. You're a female, and I can't have you getting hurt." Brent said, shaking his head slowly.