HAUNTING EMILY

EMILY

Matteo Romenetti.

I couldn't forget his face, not when his picture was all over the media, and hanging on my wall. Even though it had been years, fifteen years if not mistaken, I couldn't forget the very man who stole my heart. The very one I could comfortably look into his eyes and feel like nothing else mattered.

I recalled back then, the weak and fragile me, who couldn't even defend her name. I was always the one being bullied at school. In fact, my existence was merely a vessel for their hatred. But then, Matteo walked into the picture. He made me feel better in the midst of haters, he was my saviour, my knight in shining armour, and the very one I hoped to spend the rest of my life with.

Then something came up, one that separated us forever. Though we had vowed to find each other in the future, it seems like the future we hoped for wasn't the kind we wished to have. Now, I was staring at him, California's most wanted criminal, a man who has rendered several lives wasted, yet still doing more.

At first, I hated that Chief Ramos had me take the case. According to him, he said I was the best to handle it. Now, my entire life feels haunted by just knowing his name again. I knew I should have said no, I should have refused so hard that I didn't want this, but then… What could I do?

Chief Ramos was someone who didn't take no for an answer. He was a man who was bent on bringing justice to every action, and I'd say, I really liked him for that.

I rubbed my chin as I stared hard at the picture of Matteo hung on the wall, while my mind spun with countless thoughts. How was I supposed to catch him? He was a man, yet a shadow. One minute he was here with you, and the next… he was where no one could ever trace him.

“Where are you, Matteo?” I whispered with a sigh. “How can I find you?”

“Aunt Emi!” Stephanie called, bringing me out of my thoughts. “I made you dinner. You must be hungry.” She dropped the tray of pancakes on the table.

“Thank you, Steph. You sure know I am very hungry.” I sat down on my chair, taking a pancake with my hand, and devouring it in a second.

Stephanie walked towards the wall where I arranged the photos of my suspects, and criminal cases pending to solve. She stood still for a while, as if trying to figure out what she was staring at. She's only fifteen, I bet she won't understand a thing.

“Wow!” She exclaimed, pointing at a picture. I traced the direction she was pointing at, only to see that it was Matteo.

“What?” I asked.

“Is he your suspect?” She asked.

“Yes. Why?” I asked back.

“He is so handsome,” she said, looking at me. I rolled my eyes, shifting my gaze back to the pancake before me. “Why would a handsome man like him be on your suspect list?”

“Because he is a criminal and needs to be brought under the law.” I swallowed the particles in my mouth, raising my gaze to her. “That man there, is someone you don't want to deal with. A lot of people have fallen into his trap because of his beauty.” I sighed, and in a low voice I mumbled. “Including myself.”

The night ran faster than I expected. By the time I woke up the next morning, Stephanie already had my breakfast dropped beside my bed. These past few months with her have been a blessing to me. I didn't realise how fast she grew since the day her mother, my sister, left us.

It took me less than thirty minutes to get ready for work. Chief Ramos had already started calling since the past ten minutes. He even sent a message to ask me how far I had gone with Matteo's case. The answer, I wasn't even sure I was ready.

At the door of my office, Kent leaned against the wall with this smile on his face that always reminded me how much he loved me. My relationship with him was mutual, but that wasn't the way he pictures it. He had this ‘fate’ that we would someday make the best couples.

Smiles. Such an awkward dream.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“Good morning,” I answered. “You're early today.”

“That makes you late.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Oh, please. Matteo Romenetti's case isn't one to sleep on.”

“You're still working on it?” He asked, looking a bit shocked.

“Chief Ramos says he needs him traced at all cost.”

“Do you think that's possible?” He asked.

I shrugged, placing my ID card on the door lock. “If you ask me, I'd say, I don't know.”

We both walked in, and I dusted the tables and chairs before ushering him to sit down. I pulled the files from my bag, placing it on the table. He went through it, shaking his head, as if he knew way better than I do, how impossible it was to find Matteo.

“It's a waste of time chasing after this criminal, you won't find him. Even if you do, there's no certainty that you'll bring him to court.”

I hate to admit it, but he was right. “Nevertheless,” I said, “someone needs to remind that bastard that enough is enough.”

“Trust me, that someone isn't you.”

I scoffed. “You think?”

Silence fell for what seemed like minutes. Kent hadn't stopped staring at the photos. I noticed the sudden change of his facial expression, as if staring at Matteo felt like staring at the devil himself. I didn't want to ask why, so I minded my business.

“I was thinking,” he started. “What if?”

“What if what?”

“What if you take this case too seriously, and then it all ends the other way round. Do you think there is a chance of escaping? I mean… do you think your life would ever get to be the same?”