Page 49 of The Dark Obsession

Rafael shakes his head. “No, it can’t be. He’d have no reason to look through your drawers.”

“Dale has never seen the inside of your house. He wouldn’t know where you or I were sleeping.” I stand again and pace the floor.

Rafael grabs my hand and pulls me down to sit next to him. His eyes fill with curious excitement. “What if someone is working with him?” Rafael wraps his arm naturally around my shoulder.

I shrug, unsure. “It seems a bit much. We weren’t together long. He wasn’t even staying here long, just sorting out his father’s funeral.”

Rafael stares at me. “But Dale’s lived here for years. His father died years ago.”

I can feel my anger bubbling to the surface. The betrayal and deceit, the lies he’s told me. “W-what?” My legs tremble as I leap to my feet.

Rafael rushes to my side and grabs my shoulders. “Tell me everything.”

“He lied.”

Rafael hugs me stiffly with a reassuring smile, my body shaking in his embrace.

I close my eyes; Dale’s brown eyes stare lovingly back at me through my watery lids. How could he do this? Why would he do this to me? I stare at my bed where we lay together only days ago, a shiver rolling up my spine as I think of his lips on mine.

After some silence, Rafael coaxes me from my room and down the stairs.

I follow mindlessly—another realm of pain to add to my ever-growing list. I hug myself tight, afraid if I shed a tear, the rest of my heartbreak will be evident. I haven’t allowed myself to feel the full extent of the pain of my mothers murder nor the agro Dale has been causing me. Rafael’s presence, like glue, holds me together.

A cool, reassuring hand wraps around my mine as we rush through the dull front path and to his car. He doesn’t say much on the journey, just an angry murmur about Dale being a weirdo. He requests that I tell him everything when we’re safe in his house.

I ignore him mainly; just a squeeze of his hand is enough to show I’m sort of listening. My lower lip trembles threateningly every time I try to talk.

We enter his house together, and Lucy’s holding the door open, her arms open to take Rafael’s jacket. “The police have been here, sir,” she says as he heads upstairs.

“Okay, great. Have you called someone to fix the glass?”

“Yes, they’re coming in an hour.” I swear she smiles at me as I follow Rafael up the stairs.

Without replying, he walks to his room.

I follow, having to run to keep up. I reach his door to see him sitting on the end of his bed. The glass is now cleared from the floor, and the room is very cold. I suppress a shiver when I sit next to him and stare at the glassless door ahead. “I wonder who did it,” I whisper, letting my hand rest on Rafael’s shoulder.

“I might know,” Rafael says with a scowl, his voice deep.

Rafael leans back on the bed, I shuffle all the way back, until I’m sitting against the headboard. We sit in silence, my brain erupting and aching. Questions and pain filling every thought I have. Who broke the window? Who broke into my house? I close my eyes trying to block out external noise. The cold wind tickles my cheeks and envelopes my arms. I lose myself in so many thoughts and theories, I can’t keep count.

My eyes flutter open to Rafael’s soft voice, he stands and proffers a hand to pull me up.

I’m move slowly, a few steps behind Rafael. We head for the circular room. He collects two glasses and a bottle of whiskey before sitting beside me. I fidget awkwardly as I watch Rafael get comfortable, bringing the table between us for our drinks and pouring us both a glass.

He gets a notepad and pen from under the table and spins the pen between his fingers. “I know it’s a bit early for alcohol, but it might make it a teeny bit easier.” He takes a deep breath. His face is serious and his eyes troubled. “Tell me, then, Rosa. From the start.”

My breath shakes as I exhale, preparing myself. I finish my glass of whiskey, letting the burn travel down my throat and into my empty stomach. I help myself to more before I finally bring myself to talk. “We met at the library. I was reading a quote out loud, and he spoke. I thought I was alone. That’s why I was reading out loud.”

Rafael notates as I speak, only looking up to encourage me to carry on.

“He guessed my age, told me he’d been able to guess it, because I had mentioned I just finished university for law. He tells me to call him, to meet him for coffee soon. I agreed.” I shuffle in my seat again and sip from my glass. “I met him not even an hour after my interview with you. We were in a coffeeshop when the waitress spilled coffee on me. Dale insisted we went to his place to clean up and told me his father was a doctor, that he had recently passed away, and Dale was hanging around to sort his family’s affairs. We met a few more times. I felt infatuated with him, desperate for his touch—for him. He was perfect.” I stop, allowing a single tear to burn down my face.

Rafael hands me my glass and drinks his own. His usual bright green eyes seem dull and filled with malice and hate. His expression surprises me, a savage grimace ripping through his angelic charade.

“I told him we should spend some time away from each other, that we were moving too quickly. As much as I wanted him, I didn’t want to spoil things. That night, he ended up at my house. My brother said Dale had written the play he was rehearsing. Then he followed me to the bathroom.” I stop and hold my breath. I rub my hands together, my palms wet with sweat. I drink again. This time, the room wobbles. My emotions fog over, making it easier for me to speak.

Rafael’s fists are clenched, his bones and tendons too visible on his bulky hands. “Did you …?”

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