Watching You Always

April 6th

Lily had gotten a text from the same man who she had been speaking with for months now. She decided to disregard the messages all together, much too defeated to answer.

All the clues led to Max being Man. He still hasn't returned home since a few days ago. The entire town is suspecting him for murder, especially after his brother reported him.

Andy had invited Lily over, knowing she was the last person Max talked too. Though hesitantly, she agreed to speak with him. She found herself knocking on the overly familiar blue door, and Andy now standing in front of her, allowing her to enter once again.

They both sat in the living room, opposite of one another. Andy let out a long exhale as he stared into Lily’s eyes, trying to find the correct words to say.

“Lily, I'm sorry this happened. There had been some crazy things about my brother, but I would never expect him to plan a murder,” he spoke, his voice trailing off at the end.

“Do you know what happened? Or any hints that could link him to this?” She questioned, staring into his eyes, which reminded her so much of Max.

“I found a few pieces of paper in his room. From what they said, he planned this whole thing out,” Max started speaking, avoiding eye contact with Lily. “He said he's been watching you, for quite a while. His idea was to pretend to kill Mandy off, so you would cling to him in your time of need. From what every thing said, that wasn't Mandy in your closet. He-he killed a random girl and stabbed her face so many times that you would think it was Mandy. He-he's sick, and twisted. When you didn't cling to him as he wished, he went on to plan B.

“Plan B was faking a kidnap. He invited you over, and hoped you would come, like you had. When you went upstairs, he drugged me. I didn't have time or the capability to help you, and that's when he knocked you out.

“He wanted to seem like the good guy here. He wanted to build that trust with you, Lily. So he staged everything. He held Mandy against her will, and told her if she didn't oblige to all of his rulings her family would die. She didn't know he was planning on killing her, and maybe he didn't know either. He didn't say much else about that part. I'm sorry you had to go through this.” Andy had tears rimming his eyes at this point, and when he was finished Lily stood and hugged him, tears already flowing down her face.

They held each other for a long while, Lily noticing that Andy smelt like Max, too. She couldn't tell if all these similarities to Max repulsed her or enticed her, and she didn't care in this moment either. The slight strokes of his hand on her back made her feel safe; something she hadn't felt in quite some time. She didn't even realize that she completely had forgotten about Max and his wrong-doings for just this moment. And she was okay with that.