What Lurks in the Dark

Chapter 6

I was still shocked. I couldn't bear to face Nathan any time soon, so I childishly avoided him as much as possible. I had been so oblivious towards all of his actions, but now that I think about it, Nathan had been extremely straightforward with his feelings - yet never noticed. I was such a fool.

Sure; he was handsome, charming, and thoughtful... But could I ever like him more than a friend? I loved Carter for so many years, I don't know if I'd ever be able to move on. Carter had meant everything to me. He was my friend, my savior, my lover. He had protected me since we were kids but a monster snatched him away from me. A monster took Carter out of this world when he had so much to do, so much to see.

Cautiously stepping into my office, I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed my partner wasn't there. I set down all my equipment and opened up the same cream-colored file which held all the case's details; however, it hadn't gained many more notes since we first got it. Unfortunately, everything led us to dead ends and we had no new evidence to help us, Evan's information being very limited as it was.

I took a sip of my coffee and gagged a little at the extremely bitter liquid, did Starbucks add no sugar? They had one job, seriously. I drank it anyway and held back my disgust - after all, I had to wake up one way or another. Ever since this case started, my life had been full of endless drama and I was barely getting any sleep.

I was exhausted. I couldn't stand being on this case. Back when Carter and I had gotten it, it was difficult. There was only one person that had ever survived the killer. But the second we'd gone out to talk to her, we were informed of her suicide. It was so sad that someone could be so tortured that they took their own life to get away from the feelings of sorrow and emptiness. I felt so terrible for her.

I awoke in a cold sweat. I pushed the blankets off of myself and walked into my bathroom. I leaned against the sink and looked in the mirror, my messy black hair falling into my face. What is wrong with me? I thought to myself. My face was red and puffy. I sneezed and my eyes began to tear up. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." I had caught a cold. With all the chaos that's been going on, I thought that maybe it'd been taking a toll on my body. I'd even lost 10 pounds because of my body's lack of food.

I stood in the shower with the steaming water running across my back and shut my eyes tightly as endless thoughts flooded into my mind. I pressed my hands against the blue tile, vividly seeing images of death in my mind. I could see the faces of each victim - each innocent soul that had been taken. They deserved justice. I remembered seeing the frosted over eyes, the eyes that would never see the day again. I was already broken but I drowned myself in other people's pain. I needed a way to forget if only for a second. But I was only causing more damage.

I walked back into my room and grumpily snatched my white button-up and my black slacks out of closet proceeding to slide them on.

"James, I leaving for work," I said loudly and got nothing in response. I figure that he'd already left. I walked outside and got in my car. I sat there for a moment and asked myself, "Should I even go to work?" I was not prepared to face the drama that awaited me. I put the car in drive and I headed off. Once I reached my destination, I grabbed my shoulder bag and got out of the car. I walked into the building, and I saw Nathan. I tried to brush off the fact that he was there but I couldn't just ignore him. "There's no one there. There's no one there," I silently repeated to myself.

"Good morning, Edythe," Nathan spoke softly. I childishly held my bag up in front of my face to hide. I heard a loud sob coming from the lobby and the voice was too familiar. I recognized it as Jamie's voice. I realized that he was off work today and wasn't home when I left the house. I abruptly dropped all of my items and sprinted to my brother's aid. He was shirtless, had no shoes on. He was littered with black bruises from head to toe and had deep cuts down his back and abdomen.