King of Crime ✔️

Don't Think Too Hard

After having smoked the remaining half up to ease my mind, I started to explore the small house. There were three bedrooms, one kitchen, where I found the old man who introduced himself as Frank, one living room and an office, where Johann and Ava disappeared into, all on one floor. 

There was a second one, but I could find no stairway leading to it, strangely enough. Ava told me I could run around the house if I wanted to, but not to go too far into the woods, because the chances of me finding anything after being lost in there were zero.

I happily took the opportunity and tried to find the way back to where I was dropped off with the car. But I couldn't. I didn't even manage to find the rock Thomas helped me over, probably due to me having to watch my feet the entire walk this morning.

Not being able to accept the fact that I was just that forgetful, I spend the entire afternoon in the thick forest, trying to find anything I remembered seeing, without much luck.

After an hour of mindless kicking against pinecones, hurting my toes against pebbles and feeling incredibly disturbed, I was completely done with everything. I cursed myself for not just asking Ava for shoes before embarking on this mission, as I drooped back to the cottage on sore feet. 

If the trees here weren't so incredibly large and hung over the entire field and house, I could've considered making an SOS signal in the grass, even though I hadn't seen one plane crossing the skies around here. 

Oh, I should probably ask Johann if we were still in the USA, I thought, slouching through the door and cozy hallway.

It was already getting darker, so the lights were turned on in the shape of classic lamps placed on dark wooden cabinets. It almost looked magical, if it wasn't for Johann standing in the middle of it, in his business attire, again calling someone.

He looked up as he heard me coming, giving me a smile, before raising his eyebrows at my appearance. I probably was scratched all over, my socks dirty and my eyes weary. I passed him, but he caught me at my waist, answering the person he was calling. 

Pressing me against his chest, he ushered me to his bedroom without a word. From his phone, a faint female voice chattered to him about wiretapping, as the last sunrays shone from the windows directly into my eyes. 

I wanted to shake him off. His arm around me felt awfully foreign. Instead, I let him guide me towards his bathtub. My whole body was shivering, even though I was burning up. Johann hung up on the woman after saying his bye's.

"You look like a stray cat. Go take a bath. We're going to have diner in thirty minutes, so be ready by then, alright? I'll ask Ava for clothes and shoes." He patted on my back, turning around, almost leaving again.

"I don't want to play house with you," I said and took off my sweater. 

A lump was forming in my throat. I had no idea what I was feeling, but it had been very agitating.

Johann halted in his steps and watched me get undressed, before coming back and bowed forward to let the water run, holding his fingers under the stream to check the temperature. I was about to take off my bralette, but he stopped me with his other hand. He gazed me in the eyes.

"I love you."

"No." Tears were welling up in mine so I turned away from him, taking off the last pieces of fabric that covered my body.

I stepped into the bathtub, flinching at the hot temperature. He waited for a few seconds. I wanted him to leave, but I also didn't. I bit harshly on my lower lip. A feverish feeling traveled through my body.