DON'T BREAK THE RULES

Chapter 21 - You've Been Lying

The grooves and crevices across the wooden door had never interested him before. However, after standing in front of it for half an hour, it was a sight he had practically engraved in his mind. He had also been staring at the door handle, as if he wanted to exude his telekinesis powers and cause it to turn. He exhaled a long sigh, lowering his eyes to his dress shoes and seeing the slight hint of mud on its corners, acquired when he walked towards the building.

The date had gone much better than he had presumed it would have gone. Although their divorce had not been a topic of conversation, Connor still caught him up on anything important he had missed during the two years they had been separated. He had gone on a few dates, attempting to find his true soulmate, but none of them had a connection. He admitted that he had wanted to have a conversation with Joe, but didn't have enough courage to face him. Even though Joe wasn't entirely sure if he meant those words, it still was appeasing to hear them.

But the ones he couldn't let go...

"He has too much death surrounding him, there must be a reason for such, Joe."

"He doesn't have any friends, and the only person that was close to him has gone missing."

"There's more to him, but it would only be terrifying to the point that you wouldn't go back, but I would definitely let you spend the night."

It had been a hard pill to swallow. Connor had been right; Joe had not entry into Jamie's personal world. Even by living in his apartment, there were never any revelation from Jamie. He never spoke on the phone, he was barely home and the time he was home, their conversations were short and unwelcoming.

Regardless, he never saw Jamie as a murderer.

However, the longer he pondered about it, the more he could almost see it. The constant cleaning, the set of rules that made him rampage if one was broken, the lack of any real friendships in his entourage. The lack of life in his apartment, as if no one ever lived here. It was almost as if he wanted to keep himself transparent, to make certain that no one knew anything that may identify him.

His thoughts fell silent when the front door suddenly flew open. A shirtless Jamie came to view, and Joe had to rapidly glance away or else his cheeks would flare much more red than he could handle.

He had been reminding himself to keep the same attitude as prior to Connor's date, keeping his composure and behaving as if he didn't know anything. But it was difficult when he realized how somber and dangerous his eyes truly appeared.

Jamie stepped aside, raising an eyebrow in Joe's direction. "You look like you were hit by a truck. I'm assuming the date went wrong?"

Joe swallowed hard, feeling his throat clench and his chest squeeze. "Uh..." he stepped past him, hiding his face as much as he could as he released the laces from his dress shoes. "It went well, actually."

To his surprise, there was an actual scent in the home that he never smelled before. Jamie's home never had a smell unless he sprayed the cologne, but this one was different—a perfume. Before he could ask about it, they heard a delicate tune from the living room ask, "Is that your roommate?"

A head peaked from around the corner and Joe finally saw the woman. Beige silk dress that reached right below her thighs, long ginger curls that fell practically to her knees. The dim light shadowed her jawline, making it appear sharper, and her plumped lips from the lipgloss sparkled under the dim light. Compared to Jamie—shirtless with baggy sweats on—she was way overdressed.