Rue

 

I was cooking breakfast when I heard the doorbell of my penthouse ring. Setting the electric stove to low heat to prevent burning my egg, I went to see who was at the door. It turned out to be Chief Montana.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

I was a little surprised by his sudden visit, but I responded by saying, “Of course.”

As he entered my penthouse, he made himself comfortable on the sofa in the living room.

“Coffee or tea?” I asked.

“No, thank you,” he replied, shaking his head. “Take a seat, Rue.”

Starting to feel a bit nervous about his actions, I sat down and asked, “What brought you here, Chief?”

“I want to say sorry, Rue.”

“Why are you saying sorry?” I voiced out with concern. “Did something happen?”

He took a deep breath before pulling a photo from his pocket and putting it on the coffee table. As I reached for it, my eyes widened from what I saw: the image of a dead body of a young man with my name carved into the flesh of his back.

“You’re right, Rue,” Chief Montana asserted. “We’re looking for a stalker, your stalker.”

“I knew it,” I uttered under my breath. “I really have a stalker.”

“I’m very sorry, Rue,” Chief Montana apologized once again.

“Where did you find the victim’s body?” I asked.

“In an alley near here,” he replied.

I smiled bitterly. “I see…”

“Rue,” he called me with a serious voice, “if you don’t want to join the investigation anymore, I completely understand.”

“No,” I replied, shaking my head, “I’ll continue the investigation.”

“If that’s what you want,” Chief Montana replied. “However, I must ask  you something, Rue.”

I leaned my body towards him. “What is it, Chief?”

“Given that you’re the one being stalked, do you have any suspects in mind?”

I was silenced as my heart started to beat faster. I tried to answer by opening my mouth, but no sound came out.

“It’s okay if you don’t have any suspect in mind, Rue,” Chief Montana assured me. “I can ask Evan instead if he suspects anyone.”

“L-let me talk to Evan,” I stuttered. “I’ll tell you everything after we talk.”

Chief Montana smiled with relief before saying, “Alright.”

“Do you have any more questions, Chief?”

“I have no more questions,” he said, standing up. “I’m sorry but I need to go now, Rue. I’m still needed at the agency. I need to go back as soon as possible.”

I tried to smile before saying, “Thank you for coming here and telling me, Chief.”

#

It was already late at night when I rang the doorbell at Evan’s villa. Evan is always busy with his job during the day, so he's only available at night. That's why I decided to come at this hour.

The gate of his villa suddenly opened on its own. Then, I heard Evan’s voice coming from the speaker, saying, “Come in, Rue. I’m in the living room.”

I took a deep breath before stepping inside his villa and walking towards the front door to open the door of the living room. When I entered, Evan was sitting on the sofa, waiting for my arrival. I gulped when I noticed that he was only wearing a white robe to cover his body. His hair was wet, telling me that he just came from the shower.

When our eyes met, he said in a deep voice, “You’re here.”

“Yes,” I replied, unable to think of any response. The intensity of his gaze was making me dumb, like a prey caught in the piercing eyes of a predator.

He stood up and took a step closer to me. Then, his hand went to my shoulder before he whispered, “Why don’t you take a seat, Rue?”

As if I was completely under his control, my body unconsciously followed his words and sat down.

“I’ll get you some coffee,” he uttered, smiling, before going to the kitchen to get me some coffee.

When I was left alone, I put my hand on my chest to calm myself down because my heart was beating like crazy. Since when did he have this kind of effect on me?

After a couple of minutes, Evan came back with a mug of coffee in his hand and placed it on the coffee table. To ease the tension that I’m feeling inside, I grabbed it and took a few sips.

Evan sat next to me, and asked, “It’s already late, Rue. Why did you come here?”

“I want to ask you something,” I replied.

He raised an eyebrow. “What do you want to ask?”

“I just want to ask if–”

My question was interrupted when Evan’s phone started ringing. He checked who’s calling him, and said, “I’m sorry. I need to answer this.”

When he went outside to answer the call, I stood up from my seat and began wandering around. I may not want to admit it, but I suspect Evan to be my stalker. According to statistics, 80% of stalking cases are domestic. The victims knew their perpetrators. They can be their ex-partners, colleagues, or friends. As Evan is my only friend, that makes him my first suspect. And, given the amount of suspicious words and acts that he gave me these past few days, I could not help but to doubt him.

Seeing there was nothing suspicious in the living room, I decided to roam around, looking for  his room. I’ve been here in his villa for lots of time already, but I never once set foot in his room. Something could be in there. If he’s going to ask me where I went, I’m just going to say that I went to the restroom.

After checking each room that I passed through, I momentarily paused in front of the door to the last room in the hallway. Something is telling me not to open it, that I will see something that I should not see. However, I chose to gather my courage and open the door.

When I opened the door and saw what was inside, my eyes widened, and my mouth gaped open. It felt as if my world had stopped, and I was frozen in place. It seemed as though sound waves had ceased to travel, and the only thing I could hear was the loud beating of my heart.

The whole room… was filled with my pictures. The walls, the ceiling, the bed—everything was covered with my face.

When my mouth was able to move again, the only words that was able to escape from my mouth from so much shock was, “What the fuck?”

In the past stalking cases I've handled, many perpetrators had secret rooms where they kept information about their victims. When they couldn’t afford a secret room, they would try to store them discreetly in cabinets or other inconspicuous places.

But Evan? He didn’t even bother to hide it. Everything was just casually laid bare in this room. The door was not even locked.

“You finally saw it?”

Hearing Evan’s voice almost made my heart burst. However, before I could even react, he already grabbed my arm and pinned my body to the wall. He was so close that our bodies were already touching, and I could feel his hot breath on my neck.

“How did you know it’s me, Rue?” Evan asked, his hand still gripping my arm. “When did you start suspecting me?”

“I started thinking that I might have a stalker when the victims were killed in alleys near me,” I replied. “I thought the first time was just a coincidence. Then, the second time, I started having doubts. But, when I saw my name carved on the victim’s body the third time, I became certain. And I know that it’s you because you’ve been giving me signs all this time.”

“Signs?” he asked in a low voice. “What signs?”

I raised my head to meet his eyes, and said, “The letter that you left on the crime scene of the second victim was a response to what I said when we’re eating at the restaurant. Then, when you’re driving, when we’re on the way to the party, you said that I just need to wait for more if I want to know who the stalker is trying to stalk, as if you’re the one who’s going to do the killing. And, at the party, when you lit our cigarettes, I noticed how intense your gaze was towards me. That’s how I know it’s you.”

He responded to my answer with a smirk. Then, using his other hand, he held my chin to keep me looking at him. He asked, “Do you know why I can't look at you?”

“No,” I said, slightly shaking my head.

He leaned closer to my ear, and whispered, “That's because every time I see your face, my gaze will just fall down on your lips. Then, I'll imagine how delicious you might be while I kiss you and devour you.”

His words made me gulp. His description was so vivid, I could not help but to imagine him kissing me passionately, making my face heat up. I didn’t know that he could be this vulgar.

“Evan–”

“I can't look at your body either,” he whispered once again, cutting me off. “Because I'll just imagine you naked under me, writhing in pain and pleasure as I fuck you. And imagining you in that state is already enough to make me hard and lose control. You don't know how much I want to kiss you, strip you naked, and fuck you senselessly whenever you're around. You don't know how tempting and dangerous you are, Rue.”

Fuck. The only dangerous thing here is your mind. But why is my heart also beating so loud and fast?

I opened my mouth to speak, but I collapsed on him instead when I suddenly felt dizzy and my vision became blurry.

“What’s happening…?” I asked with a weak voice.

“I think it’s working,” Evan replied.

“What is working—” My eyes widened when I realized something, and I started screaming, “Did you drug me?!”

“You came here suspecting that I might be your stalker. Then, you drank the coffee that I offered without any second thoughts,” he uttered, clearly amused. “Rue, you’re smart. Why are you being so dumb when it comes to me?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Don’t worry, Rue,” he assured me. “The drug will just put you to sleep. Then, we’re going to talk once you’re awake.”

Shit. How am I going to be sure that he won’t do anything to me while I’m unconscious? However, given the situation I’m in, I won’t be able to do anything.

And before I fully lost my consciousness, I still heard him say, “Sleep tight, Rue.”