Diary of a Sociopath

Chapter 8

An eerie feeling creeps onto me. I feel like I'm being watched. I think of going back to the station, I'll be safer there. No, you're just imagining things again. I try to brush off the creepy thoughts and move along the footpath. Nothing will make me go back into that station and face that rude detective ever again. I take a turn round the corner into a smaller lane.

The leaves make a crunching sound as they get crushed beneath my delibrate footsteps. The sound somehow gives immense pleasure to my ears. Oh, how one can find happiness in the little things in life. My phone buzzes in my pocket against my leg. "Now what?" I groan to myself.

Unknown number: you seem too peaceful for someone strolling down a quiet lane, alone.

I feel my body stiffen. Not now, Mel, now's the time to run. I hear another pair of footsteps approach me from behind. A wave of panic fills me, escalating as I take a leap for my life.
I run as fast I can and I hear the footsteps behind me grow faster and louder. My mind is racing through all kinds of thoughts, my heart pounding in my chest. I swiftly swerve right inside a building and into the next one. I just need to make it into the main road safely. I exit the second building finding myself in the middle of a road, I quickly cross the road. My legs start to feel weak and slow down, when suddenly- the screeching of tires reaches my ears. Followed by a loud THUD and a huge crash. Terrified, I turn around to find a truck smashed into another car. The truck driver looks in distress. I must go and help him! No, this is your chance, just run away. Reluctantly, I approach the truck. The safety bag is blown on the driver's face. His head is thrown back to the head of the seat.
"Oh no, are you okay?" I say with shaky legs. I open his door to help him out when I hear him mumble something.

"....h..he...I.. hit..." He points ahead into the air.

"Please don't talk sir, you're bleeding from your head." I dial the emergency number. "I've called for an ambulance, it'll be here shortly. We need to stop the bleeding for now." I grab a handkerchief and press it on his wound. I then tie a necktie around his head to hold it in place. He groans in pain, still trying to talk.

"...a man...I hit...him....." he mutters before passing out. Realizing what he said, I slowly get up and move to the front of the truck. What a horrific sight. A young man wearing a black hoodie and a black face mask lay there in a pool of blood. This must be the man following me. He might be still conscious. I check for his pulse, very feeble but it's here. I try to find where he is bleeding from, to temporarily stop it. I realise this man might be someone dangerous, but my medical instincts kick in, frantically trying to save him. I can't move his body for his neck might be fractured. And if I dare move him, he might be just as good as dead. The least I can do is get that face mask off of him, to ensure he is breathing well. I anxiously yet carefully remove the mask off his face. He definitely took a blow to his face as one side of his face appears slightly distorted. I grab a bottle of water and wet some tissues. I dab them on his face to prevent the blood from clotting around his mouth. I clean off the blood, revealing more of his face. That's when it dawned onto me.

The man lying down in front of me was Cameron Gray.

...

"Are you the first bystander and the witness of this accident?"

I nod.

"Could you please exactly explain what happened?" A police officer questions me from behind his desk.

"I'll take it from here Gary." Det. Carter enters. He gestures me to follow him out. There I was an hour later, facing this rude detective again.

"I understand you might be exhausted and scared, but I need you to tell me everything. It's very important because this young lad is one of the suspects of the murder case we're working on."

My eyes widen with shock. A murder suspect? Cam? It's not like Cam and I were close or anything. But, just the thought of someone I knew personally being a murder suspect was frightening. He was following me though and that was scary enough.

I explain everything to the rude detective from the time I heard someone following me until the part I heard the car crash.

"Hmm, and this man Cameron is your friend, yeah?" He asks me.

Friend? Did I ever call him a friend? "He is just someone I know." I reply him after giving it a thought.

"Okay. So, you're saying you never looked back to see who was following you? And you just identified Cameron after the accident?" He asks me with a raised eyebrow. "How are you sure it's him who followed you?"

"Well, yes, I..." Should I tell him about the texts? I definitely should. "I got a text from an unknown number right before I figured someone was following me" I show him the messages.

"And you didn't report this because?"

"Thought it was spam until the sender mentioned my name." I say.

"Hmm. We'll track the number to confirm if it's really him. We'll call you again for asking more details. Until then, stay alert and call me if anything happens. We don't know for sure if he is the killer or if he has an accomplice. And don't try to figure out anything by yourself. You may go home and rest for now."

I nod my head in reply.

I drag myself out the police station, when familiar voices hit my ears. I see Rosie and Nana run over to me. I almost cry with happiness.

"Mel, oh Mel" Rose whines. "Poor Mel" she hugs me.

"It's okay sweetie, everything is fine." Nana joins the group hug. "We're all shocked."

"You've no idea how relieved I am that you guys are here." I say, hugging them back.

"Let's go back to the dorm and get you some rest." Nana says.

"It's almost lunchtime. How about we eat out first? What do you think, Mel?"

"I'm actually really hungry, but I'd like to stay at my room for the rest of the day."

"Okay then, let's head back and order in some food!" Nana says as she starts the car.

...

Back at the dorm, we're eating together in my room. The girls are talking about various things to lift up the mood, but I find myself constantly revisiting the accident scene in my head. Cam was a murder suspect. He was the one sending me those texts. He was the one following me. You're not even sure yet, Mel. The police have yet to investigate about that. Cam. Cameron. I remember when I first met him about two months ago. Nana had asked me to help her choose a video editor. And he had applied for the job. His platinum blonde hair were neatly brushed back. He was taller than all of us- around 6 feet tall. His blue eyes were almost begging me to choose him among the other 3 that had come for the same job. I'd recommended him to Nana, because his editing skills were almost pro. That was then. And now he was at a hospital probably undergoing a surgery. They were going to interrogate him after he was treated for his wounds. And if he is found guilty, then they'll call me in again for more details.

"There she's dreaming again." Rosie sighs.

"Mel, how about having a quick nap? You always feel better after you sleep." Nana says.

"I don't know guys. Everything that's happening is just so weird. I can't get myself to act normally."I say.

"I know, it's hard, we all knew Cam." Rosie says. "Look, it isn't confirmed yet that he is the killer or the one who followed you or sent you those texts. For now, it could be anyone else."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just overthinking. I should get some rest for now." I sigh and lie down on my bed.