She Belongs to Me (Rewritten Version)

Chapter Twenty Two

Vincent:

Three weeks have passed since I brought Emily to my home, and things were going smoothly for the most part.  She was truly learning to enjoy herself there and rely on me for the things she needed; such as clothing, food, and hygiene needs-and she was even helping with the housework and cooking.

The only difficulties lied in the daytime, when I was forced to head back to school. I couldn't take the risk of arousing suspicion by not attending my classes, so while I was away from the house, I locked her down in the basement. She didn't give me any issues about it, mainly because I supplied her with enough food to get through the day, as well as installing a nice television set down there.

I received a few accusatory stares from some of the other students, thanks to Hope, but for the most part everyone seemed to believe I was innocent.  Many girls even offered me their condolences and insisted that I move on from my relationship with Emily, which was uncomfortable, to say the least.

The only other complication was facing Emily's family, trying to continue the charade of being a concerned and clueless boyfriend. Kenneth hounded the police to continue their search for her, which resulted in some awkward encounters with the pretty detective and her annoying partner.

The pretty detective maintained a stoic demeanor while she talked to me, but I could see the doubt behind her sapphire eyes. She thought I was guilty, and it killed her she couldn't find the proof.

I was way too intelligent to leave any clues for the police to sniff out.  Once all of this blew over and I could trust Emily to keep my actions a secret, I would come out on top.  We would be together, and all of the ugliness and strife would be forgotten.

That's what I thought, until I returned home from school in the evening. After enduring even more torment from Hope and her accusations, I wanted nothing more than to be in the arms of my beloved; but when I pulled up to the house, I saw something that made the blood in my veins freeze.

There was someone sitting on my porch.

Doctor Holt.

He had been trying to call me throughout the last few weeks, only to be ignored. His office was five hours away from here. Why would he bother to go out of his way to check up on me? I climbed out of my car and tried to maintain a straight face.

"Doctor Holt, what a pleasant surprise."

"I've been trying to get ahold of you for quite some time, Vincent."  His eyes narrowed at me as he stood from the chair.  "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I've just been busy with school work.  Did you really come all this way to check on me?"

"I have a beach house a few miles from here, and I was planning to stay there for the weekend.  I just figured I would swing by, as long as I'm here."

"That's very nice of you, Doctor.  Would you like to come in for a glass of wine or something?"

"That would be lovely."

Sweat poured down my face as I unlocked the door and pushed it open.  I would have to tend to Emily before entertaining the doctor, but I didn't want to push him away and arouse suspicion.  He already knew something was different about me.  I couldn't dare let him find out what I had done to Emily.

I showed him into the living room, where he took a seat on the couch. "Please, make yourself at home. I need to run to the restroom real quick, but I will be back in a moment to fix your glass of wine."

"Do you have any scotch?"

"Scotch it is."

"Thank you," He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back. "Take your time.  I'll chill here."