Chapter 13

I have to say, when Mimzy asked me to come visit her speakeasy, I didn't expect to see Y/n there. Seven years pass and then out of the blue, she's here. But I'm so glad she is, it's been so long since I've last seen her, too long. Last night, I told her that she could move in with me.

It was sort of a spur-of-the-moment decision. And I don't know if it was the right call. Of course I want her to be near me, it's what I've wanted ever since she left. But with my killings, she could make it more difficult. If she finds out, it will definitely alter the way that she sees me. Something I was going to tell her yesterday was to not go into the basement, but that would probably raise some suspicions from her. So instead, I just kept it locked and hid the key in my room. I suppose if she does ask about the locked door, I'll have to come up with some excuse.

If she finds out, there's no telling what she might do. Any sensible person would go to the police and turn me in. Unless there was some way to convince her not to but the chances of me being able to are slim to none. It's not like people are usually copacetic with the fact that someone they know is a killer, and I don't blame people for that, who would? I mean, besides from Husk and Mimzy. They're the only two that know what I do, the only people who I can trust with such information. I've noticed though, for the past year or so, Mimzy has been getting awfully close. More than I'm really comfortable with. Don't get me wrong, I love Mimzy, but I fear she might not realize in what way. I only see her as a dear friend of mine. For a while, before Y/n came back, I pushed away my feelings. I dismissed them as I felt like she wasn't coming back to New Orleans, and that it was some silly childhood crush. But when I saw her again, those same feelings rushed back to me. I felt like I was sixteen again, but it's been years so why do I still feel like that? And why haven't I felt like this with anyone else? It doesn't make any sense, you would think that after the amount of time that's passed, those feelings would be gone.

I suppose that's why even though she could be a potential problem, I let her stay with me. I'll just have to hide it from her and be more stealthy when I come home at night. Though, if she sees or hears me coming back late, that might make her ask some questions as well. I'm stuck right now, trying to figure out what to do with this situation, what to do with her. But I'm sure I'll figure it out, I always do. When I got to the station, I saw Caleb. He was lounging around like usual, he always slacks off.

"Alastor, hey." He said when I walked in, he hastily made his way towards me.

"Yes? What is it?" I asked.

"So I heard Y/n's back, huh?" He asked. I haven't even seen her a full day, and word gets around to him that she's here?

"How did you find out?" I asked as I walked over to the room where I do my broadcasts.

"I went over to see Mimzy this morning and she told me. Anyways, where is she staying now?" He asked. If I tell him he might want to see her, I don't need him nor do I want him around. But how am I supposed to avoid his question? It's not like I can say "Nowhere".

"And that concerns you because?" I asked.

"Well, I want to make sure she's fine, that she's saf-"

"She's safe, trust me. Now, please leave. I have to get everything in here settled." I said, cutting him off. I didn't want to keep talking with him, not like I wanted to in the first place.

Not even five minutes later, I heard a knock on the door. I pushed myself out of my chair and walked over to the door, I assumed it was Caleb, and I was correct.

"Caleb, what do you want? I have a job to do, you know." I said when I opened my door.

"You can't just bother me 24/7." I said.

"She's staying with you, isn't she?" He asked. I don't know why I'm surprised, of course he realized. I suppose I wasn't exactly very subtle about it, I was trying my best to avoid the question, after all.

"Why does it matter?" I asked as he pushed the door open more and slid into my room, this arrogant little bastard. I have work that needs to be done, can't this wait until later? He had the nerve to sit down in my chair as well, this is why I don't like to talk to him.

"Look, you didn't have to hide it." He said while rummaging through my papers.

"Could have just told me, you know." He said, looking at what was written on the papers, what I would say on todays broadcast.

"Caleb. Please, put my papers down and get out of my chair. Can we discuss this later? I'm busy." I said, trying to be polite. He always finds some way to get under my skin with his fucking antics.

"But I'm not, I have nothing to do." He said, spinning around in my chair.

"Can't you go bother someone else, anyone else?" I asked, I tried taking the papers out of his hands but he only held on tighter. And since I didn't want to rip or ruin them, I let him hold onto them. But honestly, who does he think he is?

"Sounds like you don't want me around." He said, crossing his arms. He would be correct, I wanted him gone from my sight. I was growing more impatient by the second, why must he be so irritating?

"What I'm saying is, I have work that needs to be done. And that can't happen if you're here, so can you please leave?" I asked, walking over to the door and opening it, signaling for him to leave.

He sighed and got up from my chair, and dropped my papers. Since he didn't set them down properly, they got scattered and were moved out of order, one of them even falling onto the floor.

"I'll get out of your hair, but I'll be back later." He said with a smirk, he walked out of the room as I shut it behind him.

I certainly hoped I wouldn't be seeing him again. So much so, that I didn't even step out of the room during my lunch break. I stayed in there the entire time. I feared that if I did go out, he would just keep asking more and more about Y/n. I'm sure he would want to come and see her too.

After work, I headed home immediately. As to not keep her waiting, I'm sure she was bored just waiting for me. And I had been at the station later than I usually am, it was getting late. I made it past Caleb, seeing that he was talking to Alexander, another coworker of mine. When I got back to the house, I unlocked the door and stepped right in.

"Darling? I'm home!" I said as I heard the pattering of her footsteps coming down the stairs, she was still wearing my clothes too.

"Ah, hello." She said with a smile on her face as she got down to the last step. She averted her eyes away from me and focused on whatever was outside.

"Is that-Caleb! Caleb is that you?" She said, moving past me and outside. The fucker followed me home.

"Y/n! Oh, you look so pretty!" He said, pulling her into a hug.

"How have you been?" He asked as she pulled away.

"I've been good, what about you?" She asked.

"So have I." He said.

"Your hair, it's gotten longer." She said as she looked at his tied-up hair.

"Oh, that? Yeah, I just haven't gotten around to cutting it yet." He said with a small laugh, they were inches away from each other.

"Now, I must say, your  hair is looking beautiful." He said, reaching for hers.

"Well, uh thank you." She said as her face began to turn red. I had seen enough.

"Dear, how about I give you that tour now?" I asked, grabbing her arm, but not so hard to hurt her.

"I already looked around while you were gone, and I-"

"Caleb, I have to ask you to please leave." I said, before he could get a word in, I pulled her inside and shut the door, locking it afterward.

"Alastor, I haven't seen him in years. Come on, just let me speak to him." She said, as if that was just simply speaking.

"No, I've seen him enough for one day. Besides, he followed me here, without warning. I don't want him here." I said, unbuttoning my vest and lying down on the couch. I threw my arm over my face, it had been a long day.

"Fine, I'll just talk to him some other time, I guess. It's not like I'm going to be leaving." She said with a small sigh.

"Oh, by the way, what about my things? Did you happen to stop over at Mimzy's?" She asked, no I had forgotten to.

"I'm afraid not, but I could go now. Would you like to come with me?" I asked.

"Well, I'd like to go with you but I don't exactly have anything to wear out." She said, she was only wearing shorts and my shirt still.

"That's right, I suppose you don't." I said, fully taking my vest off and resting it next to me.

"Actually, I'm going to wait until I know Caleb is gone to leave if that's okay with you." I said.

"Mhm, that's okay." She said as she took a seat next to me and read a book, I did some paperwork for about 15 minutes before I left.

"Wait here, I'll be back soon, darling." I said, I got up and walked over to the door and unlocked it.

"Oh, and another thing." She said as I opened the front door.

"Yes?" I asked,

"The basement, it was the only part of the house that was locked. Is there a reason for it?" She asked as I clenched the doorknob tighter.

"Yes, why, it's rather messy down there. It's used for storage, I always keep it locked unless there's something I need out of there." I said.

"Oh, I see. Very well then, I'll see you when you get back." She said, reopening her book.

I nodded and went outside, it was quite dark out. It was 9:35, after all. I stopped over at Mimzy's speakeasy, though it didn't seem like she was there, but I didn't leave immediately. When I was here yesterday, I was too caught up with hanging out and dancing with Y/n, I didn't really get a chance to talk with Henry.

"What can I get y-Oh god, not you again." He sighed and held his head.

"What do you want?" He asked as I chuckled, he always gets so fed up with me.

"Just stopping by. Now, how have you been Husker?" I asked, pulling out a stool.

"I was fine until you showed up." He said.

"No need to be so rude, now." I said with a small grin, it's so fun messing with him.

"What do you want, Al?" He asked.

"A shot of bourbon." I said.

"I meant what are you doing here, but fine. Give me a second." He said while turning around and fixing what I asked for.

"Seriously though, what are you doing here? Mimzy isn't here, ya know. And don't you have Y/n staying with you?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm well aware that she isn't here. I came to say hello to you before I went over to her place to get Y/n's belongings." I said as he poured the shot and handed it to me.

"Then why are you here and not at Mimzy's?" He asked.

"I was already on my way there, like I said, I just wanted to come say hi to you." I said, drinking the shot and setting the glass down on the table.

"Well, you've said hello. Now, don't keep her waiting." He said, he was right. I shouldn't keep Y/n waiting, I've been gone all day.

"I'll see you again soon, husk. Goodnight." I said, placing down some money on the table to pay for the shot then walked out. Before I did, I heard him mumble something but it was too quiet for me to make out. When I finished my walk to Mimzy's, I knocked on her door.

"Hello?-Oh, Al! You here for Y/n's stuff?" She asked with the door cracked open.

"Mhm, sure am." I said.

"Give me a moment, I'll be right back with it." She said before walking away. When she came back, she had a few bags in her hands.

"Here, all packed and ready for you." She said, handing them to me.

"You need any help bringing them back?" She asked.

"Ah, no. It's quite alright, I've got them. Thank you though." I said.

"Tell her I said hello." She said as I began to walk away.

"I will, and goodnight Mimzy." I said.

"Goodnight to you too, Alastor!" She said before shutting her door.

I didn't make it back home until around 10:00. When I walked inside, I found Y/n asleep on the couch. She must've grown tired from waiting for me. I walked over to her room and set her things down by the foot of the bed and walked back out into the living room. I tried picking her up carefully and slowly as to not wake her up, but she ended up doing so anyways.

"Al?" She asked with her eyes half open as I carried her to her room.

"It's okay, you can go back to sleep. I'm just taking you to your room." I said.

She listened and fell back asleep, nuzzling my chest in the process. Again, as she did that, I got a warm sensation all over my body. Like chills, but not cold, almost like a fuzzy feeling. It was nice, holding her in my arms. Maybe this is why seeing her with Caleb made me so angry, I didn't want him to have what I did now. I didn't want him to have her. Because, in reality, Caleb is immature and thickheaded. I don't know why some of the ladies he comes across find him to be charming, he isn't anything of the sort. He's always targeted her, for some reason he seems to want her. But I won't allow it to happen. I won't let him put his filthy hands on her, he doesn't deserve to. And yet I feel like I deserve her. Me, a killer.

All I feel is that I can treat her better than he ever could, that I could make her happy, regardless of my hobby. Why should it matter? It's not like I would ever harm her.

When I got to her room, I set her down gently on her bed and put the covers over her. My eyes moved from her head and down to her waist, I wasn't sure if I should cover her up more or leave her like this. I pondered for a moment before deciding to pull the blanket up enough to leave her neck and face uncovered. I started to get lost as I stared at her face, she looked so peaceful while she slept. Though, I snapped out of it and took one final glance before walking over to the door. As I stood in the doorway, I heard something.

"Alastor..?" She asked as I turned back around.

"Yes?" I asked, she stared at me for a moment before continuing.

"Goodnight." She said with a small smile as I walked back over to her, I pushed her hair away from her forehead and gave her a small and quick kiss. My face was merely inches away from her own, I told her goodnight as well before walking away. I gave her a small wave with a grin on my face as I shut her door.

~~~

When I woke up it was 7:15. I ran my hand through my hair before bending over and grabbing my glasses off of the nightstand. I got up and began to get dressed for work, as the time reached 7:20, there was a knock on my door.

"Good morning." I said with a smile as I opened it and was greeted by her. Her eyes wandered and stayed on my chest for a few moments, I didn't fully button up my shirt and those damn scars were visible to her. I grabbed the collar of my shirt and attempted to cover the opening.

"Oh-I..I'm sorry, what was it you said you needed?" I asked as she averted her eyes away from my chest. I could tell she wasn't trying to stare for too long.

"I made eggs and toast, I made some for you too if you want any. I was going to ask beforehand if I could but you were sleeping and-"

"Darling. It's okay, I don't mind that you cooked." I said with a small laugh.

"Well, I'll see you downstairs when you're done then." She said, walking off a few seconds later. I shut my door once again and walked over to where the mirror was.

"I hate that wretched dog." I mumbled to myself.

Even though it had been quite a few years, they still weren't exactly pretty to look at. My body had been littered with scars from a dog attack back when I was seventeen. I've never really liked dogs, not big ones at least, they always scared me when I was younger. But now, I despise them even more. I finished getting dressed and ready, then went downstairs. When I walked into the kitchen Y/n was in there cleaning up, she hadn't even eaten yet. Well, that's what I assumed since there were two plates sitting on the table. Surprisingly, the whole time I was down there, she didn't once bring up my scars. It's almost like she knew that I wouldn't want to talk about them to her-at least not yet.

"My dear, please, eat first. And you don't have to do those, I'm more than capable." I said with a chuckle as I leaned on the counter next to her.

"No it's okay, I don't mind. It's the little bit I can do until I start getting paychecks." She said, rinsing out one of my coffee mugs and setting it down.

"And what do you mean by that exactly?" I asked.

"Well, I don't intend on staying here for free." She said.

"Oh no, darling, I don't want your money. I won't take it." I said, I make more than enough money to pay for the house, so I don't need hers.

"But I want to help." She said.

"My job pays me more than enough to take care of the house, so don't worry about it, okay?" I said as she sighed.

"Okay, I suppose. But I'm still going to help out around here." She said with a smile.

"Since you seem so determined, I'll allow it. But, eat." I said, pulling her towards the table. She was about to sit down when she let out a small gasp.

"I almost forgot, the papers came if you wanna read them." She said, walking over to the counter and picking them up. I sat down and opened them up, she stood behind me and pointed something out on one of the pages.

"There's a coffee and pastry shop that just opened up. I know that Mimzy just gave me a job, but maybe I should work there instead. It's not like I care that her speakeasy is illegal or anything, but in case something happens, maybe I should just work at the coffee shop." She said.

"And plus, I wouldn't have to work at night." She said, walking over to her chair and sitting down.

"I agree, I don't know if it's the best idea to get roped up with something illegal." I said.

"I'm not sure how to tell her though, I don't want to come off as rude or anything." She said, resting her hand on her cheek as she poked at her food with her fork.

"Well, if you're so worried, I could tell her for you." I said as she looked over at me.

"Really?" She asked.

"Of course, it wouldn't be an issue." I said, I looked over at the clock and it seemed that it was time for me to leave, I didn't want to be late for work.

"Ah, I'm sorry, dear. I have to leave, but I'll stop over at Mimzy's tomorrow to tell her." I said, standing up and pushing my chair in.

"But you didn't eat your food, aren't you hungry?" She asked, standing up as well and grabbing my plate.

"I'll be okay, I'll eat later. Thank you for the food though, I apologize for not eating it." I said as she set the plate back down on the table, she looked a little disappointed.

"I'll see you when I get home." I said, walking over to the door.

"I could put it in a container, you could take it with you." She said, following me.

"How about you eat my share as well, I'll eat when I get back home later." I said, she was being awfully persistent.

"I just don't want you to be hungry." She said as she let her arms fall to her sides.

"I can go a few hours without food. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine. Now, I have to go." I said.

She looked up at me for a few seconds but didn't say anything, so I gave her a smile before walking out the door.

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Hello everyone, I apologize, this chapter came out much later than I intended it to. I ended up getting caught up with things like family and schoolwork, but here it is now and I hope you enjoyed it!

Word count: 3680