CHAPTER TWO

TESSA

I couldn't sleep.

My mind running a thousand miles in an hour. Goose pimples formed on my hands just at the thought of what I had witnessed a couple of hours ago. The way his body crumpled as the last bit of life left him. The sound of the gunshot that still tormented every breath I took.

My heart didn't slow down. It kept banging against my ribcage and at some point it felt like it would break free.

“Did you hear what I just said, Tess?” my mum's voice rang through my phone speaker snapping me away from my consuming thoughts.

Even the call time with my parents which always calmed me and made me feel relaxed did nothing to help me right now.

“What? Sorry…sorry. Um I guessed I zoned out a bit,” I confessed, my hands moving a few strands of hair that fell from my messy bun onto my face. “What were you saying?” I asked, hurt and confused. I didn't know if I should tell my parents what I just witnessed. But I didn't want to worry them. I didn't want them to panic at all. I didn’t know if I should report what I saw to the police. I had no evidence, and to make it worse, I didn't even know who they were. It was so dark that I couldn't catch a clear view of their faces if I was asked for their description. Just one face that tormented me. The face of the one that pulled the trigger.

It felt like I was drowning in an ocean of confusion.

“I said Ella's application came in today and she got in!,”my mum squealed. “She got in to Royal Holloway.”

A smile made its way to my lips. This was the best news ever.

“Oh my God! Ella! That's lovely news.” The excitement was clearly evident in my tone.

“Thank you Tess,” Ella's voice said from the phone and I knew I was on speaker phone.

“Congratulations El, when do you resume?”

“By the middle of next month,” Ella replied. This was great news. “I just need to get some things ready and I'll be going to check out my dorm room this weekend with mum and aunt Grace,” excitement laced her voice.

“That’s amazing, El. You’re going to love it there,” I said, forcing a small laugh. “Make sure you take lots of pictures for me, okay?”

“I will! And you’ll come visit me when you’re back, right?” she asked eagerly.

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” I replied, swallowing the lump in my throat.

There was a small rustle, and I heard Ella pass the phone back. “Okay, Mum wants to talk to you now. Love you, Tess!”

“Love you too, El,” I said softly.

“Tessa?” Mum’s warm voice came back on the line. “You sound a bit off, darling. Hope you’re okay?”

I quickly tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, glancing at the clock. “Yeah, Mum, I’m fine. Just… a bit stressed, that’s all. I have work in a few hours.” I lied. I was far from being fine.

“Oh, Tess,” she sighed. “I hope you’re eating properly, you know how you get when you’re busy.”

I let out a small chuckle, even though it felt forced. “I am, Mum. I promise.”

“Alright, love. Don’t overwork yourself, okay?” she said gently.

“I won’t,” I whispered, closing my eyes for a moment.

“We love you, Tess.”

“I love you too, Mum. Say hi to Dad for me, okay?”

“I will. Now, go and get some rest before your shift.”

“I will. Bye, Mum.”

“Bye, darling.”

I ended the call, letting the silence settle in heavier than before. I tried to gather my thoughts, taking a warm shower before getting dressed for my shift.

I took a cab to the hospital, all the while I felt a heaviness on my chest. I tried to concentrate the much I could but the thought always lingered.

I got to the hospital a few minutes before the start of my shift and went to change into my scrubs in the staff locker room.

‘I just need to forget for a little bit,’ I whispered to myself as the memory surfaced once more.

Just a few minutes left to my shift and I needed to sign in. I tapped my scrub pockets but couldn't find my hospital ID. I searched my locker but nothing there either. I frantically reached into the cardigan I wore last night but still nothing. I was almost certain I left with it last night after my shift.

“Is everything okay, Tessa?” One of my colleagues asked, seeing my search.

“Uh…yes…,” I said, not immediately registering her question. “ I mean no. I can't find my ID. I don't know where I dropped it,” I said absent-mindedly, still searching the cardigan.

“Perhaps you misplaced it somewhere?” She asked, trying to be of help. “Maybe it fell off in one of the patient's rooms?”

Probably.

I tried to recall the last room I visited before the end of my shift last night. “Alright, I'll go check,” rude, yes but I didn't wait for her reply before dashing out.

For some reason I felt panic rising in my chest. I was almost a hundred percent sure that I left with the ID last night.

“Hi Mrs. Diana. How do you feel today?” I asked the elderly woman, whose room I just opened.

“Much better dear,” came her soft voice.

I scanned the table, the floor and a couch off to the side but I didn't see it. After telling her I'd come for a chat later, I left the room and went towards the front desk to ask for a missing ID. Maybe someone saw it on the floor and dropped it with the nurse there.

“Hi Francesca,” I greeted the friendly nurse by the desk.

“Hi Tessa,” she replied. “Starting your shift now?”

“Uh yes…,” I said. “Did you by chance get an ID? I guess I misplaced mine after my shift last night but I can't find it.”

Before she could respond, a deep and masculine voice sounded right behind me.

“Looking for this?”

I turned at the sound of the voice, locking eyes with the most intense eyes I'd ever seen. Their deep green drawing me into their depths. His jaw was sharp, with neatly trimmed beards that made him look older, dangerous. His dark hair was brushed back, not a strand out of place. He wore a black suit that fit him perfectly, showing off his broad shoulders.

He looked like he had walked straight out of a magazine. Or like a Greek god with the way he towered over my small frame.

Then it hit me.

I instantly recognized that face. It was him.

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard that it hurt.

It was the man from last night. The man who pulled the trigger.

The murderer.