13. Murder in the Alley ⚠

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< Anastasia

< Anastasia

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(Theo's P.O.V.)

I ignored Ashton during breakfast. I knew he had snuck out again last night, and if I was guessing correctly, it was to the Rossett Mansion. He seemed to be more unhinged than ever but I was done running after him.

I still hadn't heard from Anastasia since our date, and my fingers kept itching to pick up the phone and call her already. But I refrained myself. I didn't want to come off as pressurising, she would call when she saw fit.

No matter how much I told myself this, the situation was taking too much of my mental energy. The whole ordeal was giving me a headache and my boss was being just the cherry on top of it. So much work had piled up on my desk and I just couldn't bring myself to focus on it. I felt like slamming my head into a wall.

I leaned back in my chair and stared at the clock that sat on my desk, my eyes blankly following the minute hand as it inched closer and closer to three.

As soon as it did, I jolted out of my seat and ran for the lift. I needed everything to just stop for a while so that I could have a break.

"Care for a smoke?" Sandra asked just as the lift opened with a ding.

"Sure could use one," I told her. I didn't smoke too regularly, just once in a while when I felt things were getting too heavy. Right now? Things were pretty heavy.

We both stepped into the empty ally behind the office building so as not to get caught by Billy. Everyone knew that Billy took extreme offense and would start lecturing us if he saw anyone, even a stranger, smoking.

I walked past the discarded stacks of boxes that were littered all over the ground and went to stand under the shed, being careful so as to not touch the wall incase it's chipping paint got on my shirt.

The alley perfectly hid the glaring sun that had been blinding me through the window in the office all day. The space between the two buildings was narrow enough that it was almost dark here with barely any light seeping into the alley. Some boxes that stood on top of each other provided a perfect cover, even if Billy did come looking here, not that he would, I doubted he would see us.

"You seem stressed these days. What's even up with you?" she asked and lit her cigarette, taking in a long drag before passing one to me.

"Too much drama," I replied, and took a drag myself, immediately feeling my body relax a little. Sandra was a good friend, but not close enough that I'd start telling her the story of my life.

"Huh, no surprise there, considering you live with the biggest drama queen," she said, referring to Ashton.

I snickered at her words because I knew how much she hated him. Whenever they would come across each other, Ashton would trick her with a stupid prank of his. In fact, I was pretty sure that if he wasn't my brother, Sandra would've killed him long ago.

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