The Dancer | Wattys2018 | COMPLETED

6 - The Apartment

Madison wasn't ready.

For the nightmares, that is. She didn't want to wake Alessio during the middle of the night, screaming out for someone to help her. It always happened, back in the old house and back in her apartment. Alessio needed the rest, and she wasn't going to be the one to ruin a good night's sleep for him.

So Madison decided she wasn't going to sleep at all. She desperately wanted to return to her apartment to gather a few things like her clothes and some of the school books she had left there.

Only problem was that she couldn't drive with her broken leg, and that she didn't know where Alessio put the keys to their car.

Madison limped out of the guest room towards the kitchen. The Ashborne brothers were all in bed, asleep. They were apparently really heavy sleepers, and so they told Bella to make herself at home without worrying about them waking up, because they probably wouldn't.

She flicked the switch on the kettle and looked in the cupboards for a mug. She was quiet while doing all of this, and by the end, she had made herself a decent cup of coffee. She made her way to the living room and sat down on the sofa.

It was all strange, the way everything had happened. 

Her parents - murdered by someone who knew where they lived, and the only other entrance to her parents' room. They didn't kill Madison when they had the chance, but now, they were after her. It didn't make sense. Was it the murderer who went to her apartment while she was at school, and hurt Alessio in an attempt to find her? Or was it somebody else? But why would they hurt Alessio? It also meant that whoever the person was, knew she had sold the other house and moved to a small, tiny apartment. 

Then this murderer Tyler had heard of, The Dancer. The murderer's MO seemed to fit the description of her parents' murder, as well as the mother of the Ashborne brothers. Famous dancers killed at around midnight, with no sign of forced entry and children left behind.

That was it. These dancers' deaths had left children behind. Bella fished out her phone from the pocket of her jacket, since she hadn't changed since the dance practise with Sebastian, and began scouring the internet, trying to find more information about the other fifty five dancers who had died. It took hours, but she finally gathered enough information, typing it all up on the Notes on her phone.

Hakem Akthar, father of nine and renowned sufi dancer, strangled to death with his own dress.

Laine Remlin, jazz dancer, brutally murdered, leaving two children behind.

Peter Suchen, best contemporary dancer of the twenty-first century and best single father, found dead in his home.

The list went on and on. Every single one of The Dancer's victims had children. Bella took a deep breath. She needed to go back to her apartment and ask the manager for footage of some sort. Or the police. She could ring and tell them about a lead.

"You're up late." A voice said behind her and she quickly turned on the sofa.

"Jesus Christ." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Close enough." Tyler smiled, sitting down next to her, looking at her phone. He exhaled, "You're caught up in all of this too?"

"Is there a problem with that?" She asked, turning her phone off and placing it down on the coffee table.

Tyler shrugged, "I just think there's no point trying to find the guy. He sounds dangerous, and we should all just move on from this."

"You don't want justice for your mother?" Madison raised her brows in confusion.

"Of course I do." He rubbed a hand over his face, "I just don't think it's worth a bunch of teenagers trying to find him. What happens when you do find him? You call the cops? This guy has outsmarted fifty seven murder cases, and you have high hopes that you can get him. Just don't be let down by yourself if you can't."

Madison didn't say anything. He obviously had a point, but Madison wanted justice for her parents. She wanted to find out how this person knew everything. She wanted to know everything about this murderer.

And the worst parts of her wanted to see him suffer the same way as each of his fifty seven victims did.

Tyler broke the silence, "You going to sleep out here?"

"I'm not going to sleep at all." She said. A question suddenly struck her. What was he doing up? Weren't they supposed to be heavy sleepers?

Tyler frowned, "You're not tired after today?"

"I wouldn't want to wake the entire street from a couple of nightmares." She said quietly, taking another sip of her coffee, looking at him. Tyler's eyes were bright green, like blades of grass on a Spring day. His hair was dark, lightly shaven on both sides and then styled up in the middle. She was surprised he was a soccer player, and not a model instead.

He nodded, "Yeah. That's still me. I usually sleep in the car, which is why I got up but then I saw you out here."

The silence between them was heavy. Madison didn't exactly trust Tyler. He didn't want the murderer found, he didn't want to be in on the plan to bring Madison to their house.

"Do you want to go for a drive?" He stood up, pulling out the keys from his jumper's pocket.

"I was actually hoping we could stop by my apartment and just grab a few things." Madison said, putting the cup down on the table and grabbing her phone. She stood up and used her crutches to help her.

Tyler nodded, "For sure."

***

When they arrived at the apartment building, the first thing Madison did was look up to floor six, where her apartment was.

"Tyler, the light's are on." She said suddenly. Her heart was in her throat and she couldn't move. Something wasn't right. Alessio never left lights on, especially not before leaving the house.

Tyler scowled, "Maybe Alessio-"

"-He always turns the lights off. Why are the lights on at one in the morning?" Madison asked. When Tyler just sat in his seat, frowning, Madison panicked, "Tyler?"

"I'll go up and check it out. You stay here and if someone comes at you, drive them over." He changed the gears into park and got out of the car.

"I'm coming with you." Madison pushed open her door. She pulled her crutches along with her and Tyler shook his head,

"Listen, Alessio got hurt up there. If someone's up there, and you reckon they're looking for you, they'll hurt you too. And you can't exactly defend yourself with those crutches." He said.

Madison ignored him and made her way to the apartment entrance. Tyler turned the car off and followed after her. 

The ground floor was quite simple, with marble white tiles, and creamy beige coloured walls that had framed pictures hung everywhere.

She waited for Tyler in the elevator and when he entered, she pressed six.

It was only a few seconds before the doors slid open and they stepped out of the elevator.

"Room 1A." She said quietly. Tyler took the lead in front of her and they reached the room. The door was closed.

"If anything happens in there Maddy, I want you to scream as loud as you can and wake up those neighbours, okay?" Tyler said and Madison nodded quickly. He slowly turned the handle, and Madison was surprised it was unlocked.

Alessio would never leave it unlocked.

They walked inside and Madison's heart stopped in her chest. She couldn't breathe, or think or move.

The wall to the entrance of her apartment had words written on it in what looked like red paint, or what Madison immediately assumed to be blood. 

WELCOME HOME MADISON