CHAPTER 9: MICHAEL AGAIN.

Days passed by, and the office was boring as usual. To add to it, there had been no sign of Nancy since then.

On a fateful day, after I had parted ways with Steve, I felt particularly good, my hands on the steering wheel and the song Reckless Love by Cory Asbury playing on the radio. I wasn't particularly fond of this kind of music, but it seemed like Clumsy was obsessed with it, so I decided to give it a try, and it wasn't so bad. I stopped at the traffic lights when I received a call from a friend,

"What's up, Roy?" I said casually, as I leaned against the leather seat, watching the traffic meter count down slowly.

"Been a while. I'm in New York for now, and I have plans to throw a birthday party for my girl. I will see you there, right?" The deep voice said from the other end.

"I'd love to, but you know I don't really immerse myself in all these social gatherings, Roy," I said, watching the meter count from ten impatiently.

"Oh, come on. Think of it as a great way to start summer. Besides, you can bring a date." Roy said, and an idea flashed across my mind. A date, huh?

"I guess it would be a great way to start the summer," I added, already scheming my plans.

"Great. I'll send you the address and time,” Roy retorted and hung up. I had actually been looking for an excuse to stop by Nancy's, and it seemed like the universe had granted me one.

Eventually, I was a stone's throw away from Nancy's building. I scanned her building first to know if there were any red flags. The lights were off, but her windows were tightly locked. I checked my watch, and it was just 4 pm, maybe she wasn't home yet.

“Tsk!” I sucked my teeth. “What a waste of time!” I put my car in reverse, ready to leave. One last glance at her building before driving off, I saw a shadow rush past one of the windows. And from the figure, it looked manly and I was absolutely sure it wasn't Nancy's.

Something sinister was definitely going on

I turned off my engine and slowly moved towards Nancy's door. It was unlocked, confirming my thoughts.

I quietly pushed it open and stepped in gently. The room was dark, no sign of anyone, but some weird sounds behind one of the couches. Without thinking, I went for the fire extinguisher on the wall and threw it behind the couch. As it landed, a yell followed, and then a man crawled out from there.

"What are you doing here?" The intruder asked with gritted teeth as he pointed a gun at me. I wanted to curse, but then I turned on the light.

It was Michael.

I turned off the light again to at least shade my figure. I grabbed a cloth rack by the door, throwing it in his direction. He fired, but missed. He tried again and again, but I heard those dry clicking sounds each time. That meant only one thing: he was out of bullets.

How on earth would he be walking around with a gun that had only one bullet?

Without thinking twice, I took my chance. I ran to him and delivered my uppercut, sending him stumbling a few steps. I then kicked the empty gun out of his hands, punching him repeatedly till his face was swollen.

His barely healed nose was bloody again. He coughed out blood, and I heard some voices out the door. I picked up the gun and pointed it at him with a menacing glare. "If you move, I'll shoot him," I said, not bothering to look at the group of armed men that had already gathered. I had death with Michael's mouth, so I was pretty sure he couldn't talk.

They were wise as they all dropped their weapons, not knowing mine was empty. I dragged Michael by the collar, kicking him towards their feet and then stepping on his back. "I don't want to ever see you near Nancy. Ever!" I yelled.

I could tell that he was struggling to retain his consciousness, and I was damn tempted to just end his life there, but a murder case wasn't what I needed at the moment.

He shuddered under my foot, painting my pants red with blood.

"Run!" I commanded.

The idiot didn't seem so stupid as he struggled to run. His colleagues dragged him out, everyone looking at me dangerously.

Following the incident, I decided to wait around in Nancy's house to make sure she returned safely.

Hours later, the sun bid farewell, and it was obvious it was the late hours of the evening. "What's keeping you clumsy?" I muttered, then a thought flashed through my mind. “That idiot wouldn't have…”

I swiftly grabbed my keys, closing the door behind me and scrolling through my phone.

Back at work, for reasons that I myself wasn't even sure of, I had placed a tracker on Nancy. I followed the tracker and thankfully, it led me to a cafe near Evara Press.

My heartbeat only calmed down when I saw her waiting for a cab. A faint smile of relief painted my face as I honked the car. She turned towards me, looking very confused.

"Get In!” I shouted, throwing the passenger's door open.

"What are you doing here?" She snapped, giving me a sick look.

"Making sure you're safe," I responded swiftly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, Nancy, but you always get into trouble," I retorted, recalling what had just gone down at the apartment. She huffed, still not accepting my offer.

However, I didn't persuade her any further. I just sat in silence with my eyes wide open, hoping that this trick would work. I mean, it always works.

Eventually, Nancy hissed, lowering herself into my car. I tried my best to keep a stern face, hiding the smile that was animating my face.

While I was driving, my mind wandered off to what would've happened if I hadn't gone to Nancy's apartment.

I shuddered, shaking off the thought, then I redirected my attention towards Nancy's who was looking out the window. I stopped at a traffic jam, which would on normal circumstances make me so pissed, but it was different that night. Nancy was sitting next to me, and that warmed my heart.

"What are you staring at, you creep?" She asked, giving herself a facepalm. I clenched my teeth and started looking for some sick comeback or anything to make this less awkward.

"You look stunning, I mouthed, but immediately regretted it as she gave me a very angry look.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?" She asked, looking really annoyed. I scratched my neck in embarrassment, choosing my next words wisely to avoid further problems.

"Stay at my place tonight," I dropped.

"What?" She asked like she didn't hear me.

"It's just one night, clumsy," I said, thinking it would convince her.

"Okay... first of all, stop calling me Clumsy, and secondly, I'm not some bitch that you can just have your way with whenever you want.”

Gosh! I realized that she had seen it in an entirely different light.

"Dear God, Nancy, do you really think that low of me?"

She just ignored me, facing the other side. Stubborn, that's what she was.

"Michael broke into your apartment this evening," I said, driving like I had been forced to.

I could feel her gaze on me, but I just ignored it. “What?”