039. In The Arms Of A Liar

Raven

I stood at the entrance, one foot inside, one foot already preparing to flee. My fingers still curled around the doorframe as if the wood could steady the tremor racing through my bones.

Something doesn't feel right here. It was as if the items had shifted from their original positions.

The dim lights were on, casting the same yellow glow as before, but the room felt colder. My eyes went first to the desk and I gasped.

It was empty!

The laptops, the stacked files, and the notebooks with bent corners were all gone. I rushed over to the desk, unable to believe that it was here an hour ago.

My chest tightened and I crossed the room in three unsteady steps, palms slapping against the desk as if the notes might reappear.

If they were gone, at least I still have the ones on the ……..

The whiteboard! God..no.

Where there had once been my life pinned in fragments of photographs, newspapers, magazines and sticky notes, there was now only a blank whiteboard.

Just an hour ago, I stood here with my heart pounding against my ribs, staring at my own past through someone else’s eyes.

My throat burned, how did Killian manage to dispose of everything in that short amount of time? This only confirms my suspicion: he's hiding something from me, and he's desperate.

I staggered backwards, my heel knocking against the leg of the chair. It scraped loudly across the floor, and I flinched, half-expecting Killian to materialise behind me.

My gaze swept the room wildly from the shelves, to cabinets and every corner searching for anything out of place or any sign of haste but there was none. Whoever cleared this room had done it methodically, as if they’d known exactly how much time they had.

Like they’d planned for this.

A cold realisation slid into my throat.

He knew I’d come back.

My fingers curled into fists at my sides, nails digging into my skin. Killian’s face rose in my mind, his unreadable but flirty eyes, the way he’d kissed my hand before leaving and the look in his eyes when he glanced at me.

I should've known that the stare was not just for a goodbye kiss.

My stomach twisted.

I turned on my heel and left the room, shutting the hidden door with shaking hands, and putting the candle stand back into place until the shelf clicked and sealed the door.

Whatever was happening was already moving faster than I was.

I sent Killian a text saying I won't be back tonight, that I'm visiting an old friend, and he blew up my phone with questions.

Who's the person?

Where exactly are you going?

That friend of yours is it a he or a she?

Are you visiting them in a house or a bar?

Since when did you even have friends?

He kept sending more, and I only stared at them without replying. He sounded like a jealous boyfriend.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and went back to my dorm. I'm staying here tonight, I can't face Killan knowing full well what I've learnt.

I made quick noodles and slumped on my bed while I opened a case note, trying to study.

My eyes were falling shut after a few minutes, and just when I decided to give in, there was a knock on my door. I grumbled, dragging myself over to the door.

“ Who's there?" I asked, pressing my ears to the wooden frame.

There was no answer. I listened carefully, and when I heard nothing more, I shrugged and went back to bed. I had drawn the blanket over my shoulders when a knock resounded on the door again.

I creased my brows, slightly irritated. Without thinking I unlocked the door to yell at whoever was messing with me.

The hallway was empty, I stepped outside completely and looked on both sides of the hallway. For a moment, fear crept into my chest as I went back into my dorm. I went over to my window and shut it, drew the curtains.

It had gotten dark outside and Killian should probably be on his way from the hospital by now. I was walking back to my bed when an object crashed against my window.

I flinched, turning towards the direction of the sound.

Is someone throwing stones at my window by 10pm?

I remained rooted to the floor, waiting to confirm if I had been hallucinating or if it was actually real. I stumbled a step back when something crashed against my window again.

My breath pulsed as fear gripped my ribcage. I thought I was done with this? Did my stalker from before come back?

I exhaled a terrified breath and took a step forward, then another as I drew closer to the window, flinching with every hit to my window.

My fingers trembled with each step I took. Soon, it stopped and I got to the pavement of my window. I opened the curtains slowly, just wide enough for me to look through. I gazed down with terrified eyes over the lawn.

It was dark outside, but the moon was up, and a man was standing down, directly below my window.

My grip tightened around the curtains.

His face was exposed, but I couldn't make out his figure because of how dark it was down there. He looked up only once then lowered his gaze again. The first thought that came to mind was Killian.

Maybe it was him.

He had been the one stalking me and he probably is the one throwing stones at my window. If he can have pictures of me in a secret room then surely it's been him all along.

I was tempted to yell at him from up here but I kept my mouth shut. I need to know for sure that he was the one down there so I carefully covered up the curtains and took my phone from my desk.

I was about to dial his number when my phone rang. Killian was calling.

I rushed over to the window and drew open the curtains, but the man down there was gone. I searched over the lawn with my eyes as far as my vision could take but I could not find him.

It was Killian.

I picked up the call and placed it over my ear.“Yes?”

" Where the fuck are you? Why haven't you been picking up my calls?” He yelled over the phone and I only frowned.

Is he pretending? Does he think I'm stupid?

"I told you, I'm out to see a friend," I stated.

“You're at your dorm right? Because as far as I know, you don't have friends here, Raven." He said over the phone.

“ I'm out seeing a friend. I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow at court.” Then I ended the call without a second thought.

Who did he think he was? I scoffed, going over to my bed only for a bang to echo on my door. It didn't stop, whoever it was just kept banging on the door like he was trying to break it down.

I already know who it was though, so I took my time going over to the door.

“ Open the door, Raven!” Killian's voice roared.

I rolled my eyes. Why did he throw stones at my window to get my attention if he was going to come up here to yell at me anyway?

I opened the door to meet a fuming Killian, and he raised his phone right in front of my face.“ Fifteen unanswered messages and twelve missed calls. Why the fuck did you ignore my calls?” He gnarled as he stepped into my room.“ And where the fuck is this friend you speak of?"

I walked past him and made myself comfortable.“ I have an imaginary friend Killian !”

He turned quiet, but I could feel his heated gaze on me. He took a sharp breath and took off his coat then pushed me to the other side of the bed and jumped in.

“ Heyyy!” I screamed as I rolled to the other side, almost toppling to the floor.“ What the hell are you doing!”

" I'm exhausted ....I did not even have time to get dinner because I was driving around town looking for you!" He kicked off his shoes and removed his button-up; he was now shirtless.

I averted my gaze, Killian had gotten too comfortable in my presence. He sank completely into the bed beside me.

I was dumbfounded.” Umm…excuse me but why would you be looking for me? I can take care of myself!”

He had his eyes closed.“ I never said you can't!"

“ Then what are you doing here? You should be at your house, we're not even married yet so there's no use for us staying together." I phrased, irritated and anger growing in my belly.

I don't know why I'm getting mad at him but right now, I'm just too angry and frustrated at the same time.

“ Marriage doesn't change a thing. My house is empty without you in it, so if you choose to stay here tonight, then I will too.” He spoke, a yawn escaping his lips as he snuggled into the pillow.

I stared at him, not knowing what to say.“ Your house had been empty before I came, Killian. And you were living perfectly fine ."

He shrugged.“ I was….but not anymore.” He sat up, turning to face me.“ Look, I don't know if you're avoiding me or if I did something wrong again, but don't ever lie to me or pretend you're visiting an imaginary friend when you're clearly mad at me. It was so obvious this morning, I sensed the distance between us but I couldn't address it because Scarlett was there. If there's something I did wrong, talk to me and I'll fix it"

I swallowed, talk?

How do I talk about the pictures I saw in that room?

When I remained quiet, he sighed .“ I’m sorry…for whatever I did.” He says, and a tiny piece of me felt warmed up at the thought that he apologised even before knowing what he did.

That's rare.

I looked away as I sank into the bed beside him, letting myself enjoy the comfort and ignoring the queasy feeling inside of me.

He pulled me closer and forced me into his embrace, then he wrapped his hands around me as we cuddled. I protested for the first few seconds but eventually gave in.

“ I don't like it when you avoid me. We can always talk about it.” He whispered in my ears, and I nodded.

Silence envelopes us and after a few minutes, he let out a light snore.

He's asleep.

I stared at the ceiling, not knowing what to do or where to go from here. I guess the first step is to win this case and clear my name.

Despite my defiance, my body succumbed to the warmth from Killian's body and I snuggled closer to him, placing my head on his broad chest.

That night, I had a weird dream, a dream in which Killian and I had been best friends when I was sixteen, and then he suddenly disappeared, and I never saw him again.

That's really weird, especially since I never knew he existed when I was sixteen.