Page 63 of The Blue Rose
He’s really pissing me off and testing my patience by asking dumb questions.I wish I could kill him.“She wasn’t officially mine at the time, but I saw him hurting her arm, so I took action.”
“The action being, punching him in the face?”
“Yes,” I grind out.
“We have footage of you doing something else after punching him.” My fingers press slightly into my hands, my heart rate picking up. The deputy gets out his phone and shows me the footage of punching him in the face, but you can’t see me crush his hand. My hands relax, and my pulse slows down as he points to the screen, “What is it you told him when he fell to the ground?”
“I already told you, I told him to lose her number and that was it, then we walked away.” My hands start to open and close, my breathing becoming faster as my vision narrows. I’m about ten seconds away from laying this deputy on his ass, consequences be damned.
“Are you sure that is all? Because when he gets up.” He points at the screen, “He’s holding his hand. Did you do something to his hand?” he questions, with an accusatory tone.
“No-”
“That's enough, deputy.” the sheriff interrupts silencing his partner. The deputies face contorts from shock to anger and then annoyance. “I think we have enough information, thank you for your time.” He gets off the chair and tips his hat. “And I’m sorry, again, for being so rude.” Serena offers him a small smile and we walk both pigs to the door.
Before I can shut it the deputy says, “I remember you from last time, but I still don’t know where I know you from.”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” is all I say, slamming the door in his face.
I grab Serena's hand and walk us back into my bedroom. My steps slow, and back tense as I lay down in the bed and pull her on top of me.
“Aster-”
I cut her off by smashing my lips against hers, our tongues dancing around each other and her hips start to grind against mine. I slide her off me and pull her into my arms. We lay there in silence, both saying so much, without saying anything at all, and after a few minutes, I feel Serena relax into me and hear her breaths become deeper.
She’s asleep, I can tell by her tiny snores. She’s exhausted, falling asleep almost instantly. After our fucksesh, and the cops interrupting our dinner, her body is shutting down to recharge. I don’t blame her. I’m exhausted. I pull her closer, basking in her warmth.I can’t believe I was so stupid and got caught on camera.I am usually so careful, but the anger I felt in that moment, when Tyler's hand was gripping her arm… I saw red. The red of his blood staining my hands, and I didn’t care about the consequences. Yet… now I have cops sniffing around andasking questions.If they think I did something to him, they could come back and search my property with a warrant.I was careful. I cleaned up and disposed of his body, but after Serena leaves, I will go to my workspace and make sure everything is truly clean. I can never be too careful especially with the slip up of getting caught on camera.
Serena’s body starts to fidget around me, and little whimpers escape her lips. I brush my hand on her head and shush her, pulling her tighter into me. Her body starts to relax, and the whimpering stops. Her breathing evens out, and whatever dream plaguing her has now ceased. I close my eyes, my breathing starting to match hers until eventually, sleep takes me too.
TWENTY-TWO
SERENA
It’s been a week since the cops showed up at Aster’s, and we have both been too busy to see each other. Me with some commissions for clients, and Aster brainstorming new ideas for next Halloween, so that hasn’t given us much time to talk about Tyler’s disappearance. I didn’t even know he was missing, after Aster threatened him I figured I’d never hear from him again. Aster didn’t seem all that surprised by the cops telling us he was missing, he didn’t show a reaction at all, but I could feel he was nervous.
I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of those two cops, and when Aster kissed me goodbye the next morning. I watched him head not inside, but down a path further from his house. Something told me to run after him, to see where he was going, but the little voice in the back of my head screamed to drive away, so I did.
What he was doing is beyond me.Maybe he was taking a walk on his property to clear his head?Afterall, it was a very stressful night. I got home and took a long hot bath, threw in some bath bombs, and soaked to release the tension.
One day I’m going to ask him to show me more of his property, I still have a gut feeling he’s hiding something from me.
We made plans to meet at a nice Italian restaurant, in a more secluded area of town. A place my mom and I used to frequent, but I haven’t been back since her death, not wanting to relive the memories.
No matter how good they were.
Even after five years, I’m not ready to go anywhere with memories of us. We were regulars there. We got to know the owners pretty well, they even came to her funeral. I know as soon as I see them again, they’ll look at me with eyes of pity. Eyes showing an ounce of condolence that make me want to take a knife and pluck them right out, then the look would be one of horror.That I could deal with. But I don't want to pluck Gene and Betty’s eyes out, so I hope after five years all I get is a ‘we missed you’ and ‘what can we get you’.
Aster suggested it, and with him by my side, I think I could face it. After all, I did go to the flea market again and that went well, who's to say this won’t be the same. Plus, I was happy to break out of my little cocoon, pushing me deeper in my work.
When I’m working, I tend to block out the world. I forget how to be a human. If I have more than three paintings, I sometimes forget to eat, and I definitely don’t have time to shower. Gross, I know, but I can’t help it. When I get in the zone, the rest of the world fades into nothingness.
I wring out my hair as I step out of the shower, fresh and shaven, all ready for my date tonight. Contemplating on what to wear, I sift through the pile of perfume I own and spray a couple in the air, giving them a quick sniff test. I choose the more flowery scent, one that reminds me of my mom, and walk over to my closet to find tonight's look. Immediately overwhelmed and nervous, despite knowing Aster will love anything that ends upon his floor, I grab my phone to text Jessica and ask her opinion, filling her in on everything going on.
Serena
SOS! I’m freaking out!
Aster is taking me to the italian restaurant me and mom used to go to once a month. I haven’t been since she died, but I think I’ll be okay. Deep breaths right?
