September, 11, 2015

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DAN HOWELL

The next day wasn't pleasing, it made me want to rip my hair out. I found out I had ran out of cereal, my milk had spoiled, I was startled to find a mouse running around the place and I got a call from my boss telling me I had to come into work tomorrow.

I began working with the Holistown police as a photographer for crime scenes and a detective. This town's criminals were easy to catch but somehow no one could catch them. The police are idiots who can't solve simple crimes, this world is just idiotic. It makes it easy for me to be valued though, the ability to solve every crime helps me get a raise almost every week.

"Two minutes." The demon mutters as she sits on my counter chewing on the mouse she managed to catch. I take out some air freshener and spray it to mask the scent of the mouse, to top it off I lit a candle. The girl was supposed to come, as the demon told me. I look at the clock, to see what exact time she would be coming.

12:08 PM

That means she will be here at 12:10 PM. I shouldn't kill her then, her parents probably know she's coming over to my house. I should try to figure out what school she goes to, if she is in any extracurricular activities, what time she is at school, and what times she is alone at home. 

I wonder why she's coming to my house without even knowing me anyways. What's the reason? I tried asking the demon earlier but she ignored me and ate the rotten apples in my fridge. She must have known that I wasn't planning on killing the girl.

"She's coming." The demon whispers, swallowing the mouse and running off. I rub my tired eyes and attempt to make myself look presentable. Before I could glance in the mirror there is a loud knock on my door. I sigh and make my way to answer the door.

The minute I swing open the wooden door, I am overwhelmed by the scent of oranges. The girl standing in front of me is shorter than me, with her black hair, brown eyes, and her smile she's cute but she was nothing compared to Anne. Anne's lips were more pink and were ripped from all the times she bit down on them. Anne's eyes were brighter, maybe because the dark bags under her eyes made them stick out, and her smile always managed to look perfect. Anne was just the definition of beauty.

"Yes?" I ask, breaking her from her trance. It seemed she was staring at me as well.

"She thinks you're attractive. It's funny because you both look horrible. Where is my Annie? She was gorgeous." The demon mopes. The demon was in love with Anne it seems, and she never fails to mourn her.

"Um...my dad sent me. I live next door." She explains, looking nervous and unsure of herself. I should probably invite her inside, that would make it easier for me to interrogate her.

I put in a friendly smile. "Oh sorry, come inside."

"Uhh okay." She said, playing with her fingers. I step aside and open the door wider, she enters with hesitance.

"So why did your father send you?" I question her as she sits on my couch.

"He wanted to know if you're okay. I'm assuming it's you, anyways." She explains. I furrow my eyebrows, why would they want to know if I'm okay? They wouldn't send their daughter over for just that.

"If I'm okay?" I repeat, she quickly opens her mouth to elaborate.

"Someone was screaming last night, my dad came knocking but no one answered." She informs me, and the demon giggles. I look towards the girl to see if she heard but it seems like she didn't. So that's why she came, my nightmares. I don't know why they would send their teenage daughter to a strangers house, knowing that I was screaming last night. What if I was killed? They would let their daughter walk in to see that? What stupid parents.

"Oh sorry about that." I apologize, I don't want to talk about my nightmares with her, and I'll keep it that way. If she was raised by such stupid parents she couldn't be smart. She'd probably call me freak or a psychopath, which I am but I don't want her to know that.

"Why were you screa-"

"Want some coffee?" I cut her off, I enter the kitchen where I was brewing some earlier. The demon is on the couch, sniffing the girl and giggling.

"I hate her, it'll be fun to eat up her insides." The demon giggles, licking her lips.

"Um...sure." She answers me, getting up from the couch and walking over to the kitchen where I am.

"How do you like your coffee?" I question her. She just stares at me and back at the coffee, she didn't answer. I study her for a second, she looks at me with her eyes distant and her cheeks bright red, she's clearly thinking about something. I have a pretty good idea what it's about, because the demon laughs.

"Oh she's in love with you! She's thinking about you and her..." The demon trails off, she starts giggling as she eyeballs the girl. I clear my throat and the girl blinks before she answers.

"What?" She asks me in confusion.

"How do you like your coffee?" I repeat and she nods before answering.

"With milk and three spoons of sugar." She instructs, I scratch the back of my head.

"Um...I'm out of milk actually." I inform, remembering this morning. She bites her lips and looks at the coffee.

"I'll take it with just sugar then." She looks hesitant, I nod. I stare at the demon, she's dancing and jumping around the girl with happiness. 

"Mm...I just want to eat her skin and chew on her fingertips." She cheers, her voice is actually loud for once. It startles me while I add the sugar to the coffee. I roll my eyes at her wishes and pour myself some coffee as well.

"You drink it black?" The girl asks me. I walk past her and towards the living room, she follows closely behind.

"Yes." I answer her, setting both our cups down. I sit on the sofa and she sits near me.

"Isn't it too bitter?" She asks.

"It is." I confirm and she looks at me like I was crazy. She is correct after all, I am a psychopath and I will kill her. I need to be smart about it though, I have to make sure I can frame someone else so I can keep my reputation clean at Holistown police. If I can't solve it then they'll bring someone else and I'll be caught.

"That's weird." She states as she sips her coffee. I could tell she wasn't enjoying it without any milk. She set her cup down and it was obvious she wasn't going to drink it again.

I took a big sip of mine. "I love weird things." I repeated the same phrase I told Anne the night I killed her. I felt a rush of déjà vu, the demon looks at me and screams, trying to get me to focus.

"Why were you screaming last-" She attempts to bring the topic back up.

"What's your name?" I speak loudly, signaling to the demon to stop yelling. She quiets down and goes back to sniffing the girl.

"Mole." She spoke. What a hideous name, who would name their kid after a facial wart. It makes me want to laugh in her face. Instead I smile and look interested.

"Wow that's such beautiful name." I lie, the demon falls off the couch and laughs.

"Really?" She asks hopefully.

"Yeah, it's so unique." I nod, she blushes and looks at me in admiration.

"What's your name?" She questions.

"Winston." I lie through my teeth. I don't need her knowing anything about me. On the off chance that she does tell someone she's met someone, there's no way a Winston will be traced back to me.

"Oh, that-" She attempts to speak but I cut her off.

"So Mole..." I try to keep my laughter in as her name rolls off my tongue. "What school so you attend?" I ask, it would sound creepy if she wasn't attracted to me. It's written all over her face, and the demon confirmed it. This will make it easier to kill her.

"Oh, Holis High." She spoke, looking at me before she crosses her legs. I decide it's a good time to scoot a bit closer as I take another sip of my coffee.

"School must be boring and long, right?" I ask, she notices the close proximity and she blushes again.

"Actually it only goes from eight until two." She answers. Okay she goes to Holistown High School for six hours. I just need to find out if she ever stays after school. This is so much simpler then when I had to find out about Anne.

For Anne, I had to steal files from PJ to find out what school she attended. From there I posed as a janitor, and followed her around for a week until I knew her entire schedule front and back. I also followed her home, she was close to catching me a few times but never did.

"Wow really? You leave that early? You have to be in after school activities." I state, taking another long sip of my bitter coffee.

"Actually no. I just go home and wait until my parents come back from work." She shakes her head. Good, she answered most of my questions.

"Your parents work?" I ask.

"Yeah they both work until eight. It sucks, I'm always alone." She frowns, looking at me as if she were suggesting something to me.

"You can come by whenever you want, if you like." I suggest. I review the information I was able to get. She goes to Holistown High School from eight to two, then she comes home and stays alone until eight, when her parents return. I furrow my eyebrows when something doesn't add up.

"Wait, why aren't you in school today?" I ask, it's Friday. She should be in school, it's about twelve right now.

"It's the anniversary of 9/11." She said, as if it were obvious.

"You get off school for that?" I never had a day off on 9/11. Then again I wasn't raised in America, but was that really what happened?

"Yeah...you didn't?" She asks and I shake my head.

"No." I answer, I didn't want her to know I was born in the UK. I need to make sure this girl knows nothing about me besides the fact I live next door to her. I should probably move soon, so the fact I live next to her doesn't stay true. This is so stressful. I wish Anne were still alive, I miss her. She would have a plan ready, and if she didn't she would hug me and assure there would be a way to kill. God, I wish I could-

"Winston, why are your hands shaking?" Mole questions, I didn't notice I was growing nervous without Anne.

God, even when she's dead she's holds me back. I need to come up with my own plan and prove to myself that I don't need her. The minute Mole dies and I get away with it, is the moment I get over Anne. I need to make Mole die and takes my memories of Anne with her.

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