The Serial Killer Named Time

7. Letters to Hoffmann

I spent the day planning before I left this sunny Californian town what I would say to my mother before I left. Ted and Mom were in the kitchen making spaghetti for dinner, being the second day that Delores has been missing they were on edge. Every single time the phone rang I could see panic in their eyes. Mom was pacing around the kitchen, I approached her and she ceased, "Everything is packed." I said calmly.

"Good." Mom replied.

I looked into her eyes, this could possibly be the last time I would. I leaned forward and gave her a hug. I squeezed her but she barely hugged me, she patted my back. I could still feel that she would rather hug Delores than me. I blinked my eyes and took a step back and crossed my arms, my mother returned to making breakfast in the kitchen. "Are you excited to go to Canada?" Ted asked curiously.

I still appeared exhausted and still felt like a nervous wreck, "Yes, I'm very excited." My fingers fidgeted against the cold exterior of the coffee mug, in a way I felt overwhelmed. This may be one of my last days of freedom and maybe even life. I carefully observed my mother in the kitchen, I watched her waltz and glide back and forth counter to counter carrying a wooden spatula in her hands while humming Green sleeves. My life was flashing by quickly before my eyes, it only felt like yesterday I was sitting by the entrance to my school on a foggy day, I held my phone in my hands as I listened to Money, Power, Glory. The group that I was involved with was smoking on the cement pathway towards the parking lot, they were poking, prodding and pushing each other around. They were wild and their souls were filled with fire, in this time I no longer felt the fire that once burned within my heart, I felt so empty I didn't even feel a spark and the only thing I felt in my chest was acidic reflux. My friend Alice sat herself beside me, nosily she asked, "What's been with you lately? You've been acting so dark."

"My father went missing." I replied calmly. "How do you expect me to act?"

Alice twirled a tendril of her brown hair, she had a solemn expression on her face and she leaned away from me, "I understand but isn't this happening because of something else?"

I disagreed, "No, who else do I care about?"

"That guy over there." She pointed towards a group sitting by the basketball courts. "The dreamy man with the dirty blonde hair and the most perfect smirk." Alice snorted, "I'm surprised he's not a preppy and popular little shit like the others."

I remembered clenching my hands in a tight fist, I dug my long fingernails into the flesh of my palms. I did this when I got stressed out, sometimes I would be so upset I'd dig my nails so deep to the point of bleeding, "This has nothing to do with Misha! He's my childhood friend, I knew him since Dr. Slakov came over to my house when my father introduced him to us."

Alice sighed, "Ah, you knew him for a while then?"

I nodded, "A long time, at one time I thought we were inseparable."

The doorbell rang and I instantaneously snapped out of my memory, causing me to flinch so quick as if I got electrocuted by sticking a fork into the toaster. Everything recently caused me to feel jumpy, I was getting so bad to the point where I could feel that my mother was so concerned for me that I was schizophrenic and that I murdered Delores myself. My mother rushed up and answered the door, there stood Erin Mathews with a pleasant grin on his face as he held a bouquet of roses red as blood. I rolled my eyes, he probably things Delores lives here. Erin, the tool spoke to my mother, "Can I speak to Eva?"

My mother eyed me and I began to feel bile rise up my esophagus. Erin was a cringe worthy guy, he was also the poster boy for preppy rich teen. "Eva!" My mother summoned me towards the door, I walked with trepidation and anxiety towards Erin. He just stood there with the expression on his face changing rapidly, it was like watching ice-cream melt in the microwave. He had the happiest looking expression on his face and within a millisecond it turned into the sourest scowl, a scowl so cold it felt like it could even deep-freeze time.