♡ Chapter 12 ♡

                                    

                                          
A week had gone by since I helped Reese escape.
For a few days, my dad didn't look me in the eyes. As if I were the bad guy.
But his anger faded. And now, he's acting as if the entire thing had never happened. He smiles at me when we eat together, asks if I need to go shopping for anything, and even went on a walk with me one day.
I find myself thinking about Reese more than I'd like to admit. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing. 
But whenever I think about him, I force myself to stop.
It's for the best if I don't see him again. I know that death follows anywhere he goes. And I don't want to be like that. I want to stay in the bubble of good that I'm in. I don't want to be responsible for any more deaths. I don't want to kill anybody ever again.
I don't want to be bad.
"Azalea! Get down here!" my moms voice called up the stairs. The panic in her voice made me drop the pencil and stop drawing what I was drawing.
I rush down the stairs. The TV volume plays loudly in the living room, and as I rush in, I see my mom and dad both sitting on the couch. My mom holds her hand over her heart, and my dads hand covers his mouth.
I turn to look at the TV.
'Beloved son of a famous billionaire Max Brown was found dead last night in a forest just outside of New York City,' the news reporter spoke. 'It's believed he was killed in a different location and dumped there. In the meantime, we are hoping police officers will find answers as to who ended the life of this young twenty-year-old.'
I felt my stomach drop a little. My dad shook his head, "This is awful. Who would do such a thing?"
I'd bet money on a certain assassin whose name starts with R.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" my mom asks me sadly. "I know you two were very close."
As horrible as it made me, I didn't feel bad. I had to force my face to have a sad expression, mimicking the one on her face.
"Yes, I'm okay," I nod.
"I'll give Kevin a call and see when the funeral is," my dad rises to his feet.
I watch him as he walks past me. He enters his office, and shuts his door, but leaves a crack open.
"It's just awful," my mom keeps shaking her head at the TV. "I hope they catch whoever did this."
I don't think they will.
"Yea, me too," I lie. I turn and walk into the kitchen, grabbing an apple that I know I won't eat.
I take slow steps toward the stairs, as I approach my dad's office. A crack of sunlight shines on the floor from the open window in the room, and I watch his shadow as he paces back and forth.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Kevin. Max was a fine young man," I stood against the wall and listened to my dad speak into his phone. "Of course, we will all be there. And feel free to use as many of my recourses as you want to look into this."
He falls silent as Kevin speaks from the other end.
My dad replies to him, but far quieter this time, "Yes. I've had dozens of men out looking for him ever since he escaped, but no luck yet. Don't worry. It's only a matter of time until we find that damn Ricci, cut his head off, and then keep it to use on Halloween every year."
My entire body tensed hearing his words. I nearly dropped the apple I was holding, and quickly started walking up to my room.
I shut my bedroom door behind me. Dozens of thoughts race in my mind.