Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Grandma! Grandma! Tell me a story!” Exclaimed an excited child as they sat down next to the fireplace, watching as their grandma gently rocked herself back and forth in her old rocking chair. The smell of the flickering ashes and the occasional squeak of the rocking chair embedded itself deep within the child’s memory. “A story? Oh, but you should go to sleep dear…” The lady answered in a soft voice, a smile gracing her face as she gazed upon her child through wrinkles. “Please! I promise I'll go to sleep right after it! Please Grandma?” The small child begged, their eyes glimmering with a small bit of hope as they saw their grandma sigh before nodding. She beckoned for them to come closer, and once they did, she began her tale. “Alright dearie…one story. Then you go to sleep, you hear me?” The child nodded eagerly, excitement and joy clearly evident in their [___]-coloured eyes. The grandma's gaze trailed up to the wooden ceiling above, and her mind wandered off as she thought of a story to tell. She wanted it to be one that meant something to her. Something that would stick with the small child. “Ah…I have just the one. Get comfortable, my dear. And if you ever feel scared by my story, then make sure to tell me, and I'll stop.”

The child laughed at that, shaking their head with a large smile plastered on their face. “I won't get scared! I'm a brave kid!” Their Grandma chuckled softly, eyes squeezing in amusement. Her once composed concentration seemed to stare off into the distance as a story formed in her once-young mind. “Ah, well how about I tell you about something that happened to me 20 years ago?” The child crossed their legs in suspense as they waited not-so-patiently for their grandma. “It was a foggy day and me and your grandpa were chasing dandelions across the fields in England. We could barely see a thing, but in the distance was a small girl. Too old to be a baby but too young to be a teenager, I thought at that time I was seeing a ghost!” The child’s grandma didn't seem to be telling a story to the child anymore, she seemed to be recalling a distant memory from afar. “She was indeed, just like a ghost. Blood tainted her pink dress and her viridescent eyes…they looked…dead.” The child gazed upon what seemed to be what their grandma was staring at.

“Dead? A ghost?” The child had a spark in their eyes whilst questioning in an innocent curiosity, but their grandma did not respond. Lips pale and eyes in sorrow, the child’s grandma whispered the end of the story. “That…was the last day I saw your grandpa…” All the excitement drained from both the child and the grandma’s faces. The last glimmer of youth disappeared from the grandma’s eyes as a tear wedged itself out. “What…what happened…? Did that girl cause it?” The child nervously asked in a soft voice, their eyes watching as the tear slowly rolled down their grandma’s cheek, falling down to the cold, wooden floor beneath the two, and landing with a faint thud. “I…I’m not sure.” the grandma quietly answered, her gaze having dropped to the floor. “They never found him after that. It was like he just…vanished into thin air.” More tears started to fall from her eyes, and the child quickly stood up, taking a step closer to their grandmother before reaching out and gently holding her hand. “I promise I’ll find out.” The child said, their voice full of confidence and determination. “When I’m older, I promise that I’ll find out what happened to him! I’ll be just like mum and dad!” The child paused as they thought for a moment. “...um…what was the word again…oh! I’ll be a detective! Yeah! I’ll help find grandad and help mum and dad with their job!” The child’s voice sounded so confident that their grandmother didn’t have the heart to tell them that even if they did find out what happened, she might not be there to hear it.

“I…thank you, dearie.” She gently squeezed their hand before brushing away a few of her tears, her gaze finally landing on her grandkid’s face. “Now…you should go off to bed. You have a big day tomorrow since your parents are coming to pick you up at five am so you don’t miss the plane.” The child blinked and perked up, shock taking over their emotions. “But-” Their grandmother cut them off with a small shake of their head. “No buts. You said you would go to sleep after you heard a story.” The kid’s expression faltered and they hesitantly let go of her hand, taking a few steps backwards. “...okay…goodnight grandma.” They said quietly while retrieving the nearby plushie of their favourite animal, holding it close to their chest as their grandmother answered. “Goodnight dearie.” She said this with a smile, her voice soft and delicate. It was almost as if she hadn’t just been crying. With a small nod, the child started to walk away and to the stairs, but paused shortly after and quickly turned around, running over to their grandmother and giving her a quick hug before turning and running back up the stairs, their cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Goodnight!” They called out again while running up to their room, closing the door behind them quietly before walking over to their bed and slipping under the blanket, curling up and holding their toy close to them as their eyes slowly began to flutter shut, and sleep washed over them. Little did they know that that would be the last time they would ever see her, and that hugging her before leaving had let her rest feeling happy, staying unaware of the knife that would soon be plunged into her back only a few days after they left.

Chapter Text

“Mx. ___? Are you in there?” A voice called out from the other side of the door. You glanced over at it, recognising the voice as one of your fellow detectives, Silvio. “Come in!” You call out, your attention going back to your computer as you gazed at the picture being displayed. It had been showing up a lot in the case you had been working on for the past few months. It was a circle with an ‘x’ going straight through it. The symbol itself seemed to have been created with someone who had either a shaky hand or just terrible drawing skills. Or maybe it had been intentional. You weren’t quite sure. The door opened quietly, and a male stepped into your office. “Sorry to bother you Mx. ___, but another case has popped up.” He walked over to your desk, placing down a folder as he looked at you expectantly. “Silvio, you can just call me ___, remember?” You hesitantly teared your eyes away from the screen and to the folder. “Is there no one else that can take this case? I’m already quite…preoccupied with mine.” Silvio sighed softly and shook his head. “No…the other detectives can take it.” he hesitantly answered. “Then why should I accept it?” You questioned, your hand resting on the folder, just itching to open it and see what was so important that Silvio had to interrupt you.

“We figured it might help with the case. Just have a look.” Silvio gently reached out and grasped the edge of the folder, forcing your hand to move away as he opened it. “See anything familiar?” He asked, moving his hand away and letting you see. You skimmed through the pages. It seemed like a normal murder case. “I don’t-” You suddenly pause when you notice one particular picture. It was of a dark oak tree, which wasn’t what had caught your attention. Rather, it was the blood red symbol on it. It was the same symbol that kept on recurring in your case. It was supposedly called ‘The Operator’s Symbol’. “This…” You trailed off, your fingertips delicately running over the picture. “See? Knew you’d take interest in it.” Silvio smiled before continuing. “So, will you take it?” You look up almost immediately. “Of course I will. It might actually give me some information on my case. Thank you Silvio.” You smiled back, and Silvio nodded slightly. “You’re welcome. Now, I’m afraid I’ll have to take my leave. Need to pick up Luan from his friend’s house.” You wave him goodbye before he turns around and leaves the room, closing the door behind him quietly. Once he left, you quickly looked back at the picture, and then the screen. It really was an exact match. Could this be it? Could this new case finally help you make at least some progress with the case you had been working on for months and kept on getting stuck due to having no more evidence? It might. You look at the file carefully now, reading through the information properly now that you were engaged with it.

It was a murder case, as you had seen earlier. It had occurred close to a forest not too far away from your current location. The body had been found after five days of searching for the victim after she had disappeared on her way back home from work. The victim had multiple stab wounds in her back and chest when she had been found. The body the police identified belonged to a woman called Sherly Enomila. She was 32, female, an office worker, and had nine-year-old twins, one named Lelia and the other Mira. She was married to someone named Hector, but the two divorced shortly after due to her cheating. She eventually remarried after a year to a guy called Victor, who happened to be Hector’s older brother. She once again cheated on him multiple times, and he divorced her. She was not married to anyone at the time before her death, and lived in an apartment complex. The twins, now that their mother is gone, now live with Hector. It was normal to see these kinds of cases. You could probably solve this case while also searching for clues about that mysterious symbol. You sighed and closed the file, leaning back in your chair as you looked at the ceiling. Your first step would have to be to investigate the crime scene, which was close to forty-five minutes away, and then question close relatives and her ex-husbands. “Great…” You stood up. “I should get this done as quickly as possible…no point in wasting my time with this.” As you said that, you grabbed your phone, which you had placed on the table upon entering your office, and then started to walk towards the door. “This might take a while…maybe I should have someone help me out with the suspects…” You murmured as you glanced down at your phone, unlocking it and opening up a list of your contacts.

It would be best if you picked someone as experienced as you. Maybe even a close friend. As you scrolled through your contacts, you came across a familiar name. Zander. Zander was another detective who you had known for quite some time now. It’s been close to five years, if you remember correctly. He was always charismatic, friendly, and had that peculiar shine in his eyes which drew people of all genders towards him. “Hm…guess I'll give him a call. Knowing Zander, he’ll help anyways even if he's busy.” You swiftly dialled his number, both nervous and excited to hear his voice. “Oh hey! Haven't seen you in a while hm?” Zander’s voice was husky and deep, attractive enough to make thousands fall for him instantly just from his voice. He had a slight bounce in his tone as if he was ecstatic to see you again. “Hey Zander, sorry for the sudden call, but do you reckon you could help me with something?” You asked as you quickly started to pack a small backpack containing some basic tools to help you investigate the crime scene easily. You swore you could almost hear his grin through the phone, a strange shiver ran through your spine as you heard him speak in a guttural tone. "Of course I'll help you! After all, I am your friend.” The way he said it seemed almost strange to you, but you ignored it and played it off as just your imagination. “Thanks! I’ll send you the location, so just meet me there.” With that, you quickly ended the call, placing the last item in the bag before closing it and moving to the door, slipping your phone into your pocket. “This should be a rather easy case…” You murmur as you start to open the door. But then you pause, and turn around, moving back to your desk and opening the bottom drawer, retrieving an item from inside and stuffing it into your bag. ‘Just in case.’ You thought before finally leaving your office and going out of the building.

This would be a long drive...

Chapter Text

The black door of your car behind you slammed forcefully as you slipped out, your eyes locked with the figure before you. Zander’s black fluffy hair was ruffled by his long, slender fingers, two of which had two dazzling silver rings, which gleamed in the little sunlight that remained. “Hey ___!” He leaned against one of the many dark oak trees whilst absent-mindedly peeling some bark off. He had a smug look on his handsome face which quickly vanished when you brought out an interview notebook from your bag. “Glad to see you again Zander.” You murmured, giving him the notebook. “We’re gonna be interviewing some of the people close to the victim later, but first…we should look around. Might find something that the police missed.” Zander nodded, following your lead around. He sneaked his notebook inside of his own red satchel, gazing upon the dark greenery of London’s forests, a small amount of confusion entering his expression. “So…why’d you call me over here? A forest isn’t exactly the best place to meet up.” His gaze swept over you before almost hesitantly drifting away. You couldn't help but see a swirl of anger in his blood-tinted eyes as you answered. “I have a case that I need some help with that's located here, and it's also part of something I’m investigating.” In a hum of agreement, he stared upon the white and ethereal clouds, which contrasted greatly against the dark nature of the forest. “And what symbol are you searching for?” Zander seemed to completely ignore the details of the case and skipped straight forward to the operator’s symbol, something you swore you didn't remember telling him.

It was possible he had just noticed it on your screen one day. Even with that thought, your gut instincts all shifted in anxiety. Zander seemed to know something, something you didn't know. “It's called ‘The Operator’s Symbol’.” You replied whilst drawing the symbol on the top of your crinkled notebook pages and displaying it confidently to Zander. His mouth twisted into a sinister smile once he saw the symbol. It was just a simple circle with a cross, messily drawn, but clean at the same time. What about it would make someone smile? “Alright, lets go now” You shoved your notebook back inside your backpack, Zander seemed to be lost in thought, his red eyes glazed with what seemed to be interest. The dark trees loomed over your figures with their enveloping shadows, you could feel a pair of familiar eyes on you, but the sensation quickly dissipated. Each tree looked the same, bark peeling and dark green leaves blossoming on each branch. You breathed in the fresh air gifted by the trees whilst glancing around in the forest with Zander. He was still lost in a strange thought, his legs moving in sync with yours as the both of you strolled deeper in. You had always wondered about Zander, he always asked the questions so you never received the chance to ask about his life. He seemed so…secretive, yet open at the same time. You thought back to the first time you met him.

The day had been dark, clouds covered each section of the sky with a thick mat of cotton. The high school bell rang loudly as your English class ended for lunch, and hurriedly, many classmates would rush to their usual spots whilst you patiently packed up. You never had a lot of friends, just a small bunch and one or two actually good friends. But him? God, he was friends with everybody. He was the human definition of popularity. You could still recall the stereotypical popular girls gossiping about him in the bathrooms whilst messily sketching their lip liner on. Everybody talked about him. But the strangest thing about him, other than the fact that he always managed to charm anyone he talked to, was that he never seemed to have an origin. It was like he…magically appeared from thin air. No parents would show up for parent meetings, and he never went on any excursions since it needed a parent’s permission. Nobody dared to call him an orphan, he was far too intimidating for that. Your eyes trailed up and to Zander, who had also taken his time to pack up. He was, of course, surrounded by most, if not all, of the girls in your class.

Normally he was the one who had control over the situation, constantly talking while the others listened, but today he seemed a bit off. It was almost like he was distracted, which was quite odd since Zander was never distracted. He stayed quiet, sitting on the edge of the table as he listened to the crowd of girls talk, some professing their love to him, others complimenting him, and the rest desperately trying to win his affections. This was normal for the stereotypical highschool girls. Usually, when this did happen, and it did every single day, Zander would accept the compliments and the love letters. Sometimes he’d even date one of the lucky girls, only for him to dump her a few days later. The red flags were all there, but like always, the girls didn’t care. You would stare at him across the room curiously, even though you knew that your ___ eyes would never be met back with his crimson ones. But strangely, he stared back, his eyes almost peering into your soul. Nobody noticed a thing as the both of you had a staring contest, you were practically invisible at school after all. You swiftly slotted your water bottle into your bag and broke off the eye contact, preparing to leave class. Zander kept his eyes on you as you left the classroom, two airpods in your ears and music blasting. You could care less about what he was going to say or what anybody was gonna say.

But as you stare upon the endless void of sky, the memory fading from your mind, you start to realise that maybe he was trying to tell you something important. The ‘something’ that was ruining his day from being the perfect boy he was. “___?” Zander called out to you as you spaced out. You were shaken awake back into reality as your peripheral vision caught a blood red symbol…The operator’s symbol. It was gruesomely painted with the blood from an animal or human, and had the unique overlapping circle lines placed over a cross symbol dropping blood. “Hey Zander…we should take a look at this.” You pointed at the blood when you suddenly noticed that it wasn't just one symbol, but every single tree behind it was painted with the Operator’s symbol in crimson. Zander didn't seem surprised, in fact, he was fascinated. Though his words told a different story as he attempted to comfort your disturbed mind. “It's probably just some random teenagers doing edgy stuff ___” Zander gently patted your back, but your mind was stuck on what the trees and symbols were trying to tell you. As if in a trance, you stepped outside the path you and Zander were walking through, and ran through nature with the bloodied trees. Zander quickly followed behind you, catching up in no time, but you could barely notice him as your eyes were glued at the last tree at the end of all the bloodied ones. You panted in exhaustion from running, but the adrenaline forced you to continue your case. As your vision cleared up, a dark and muddy brown tree at the end appeared in front of you. It seemed normal, plain, but as you suspiciously walked behind it, you noticed a page stuck on the back.

Ą̵̺̰̻̻͔͇͓̈́̓͛̏̈́͌͋̄̑͆̏L̷͖͈̓͌̎̉͒͗͂̓̌̚͝W̵̰̻͍̉̔̅̀̐͐͒͆̒̚Ą̵̺̰̻̻͔͇͓̈́̓͛̏̈́͌͋̄̑͆̏Ý̴̥͙̘̇̈́̇̃͒̿́͘͘͝͝ͅŚ̸͙̺̥̰̯͙̭͆̏͂ W̵̰̻͍̉̔̅̀̐͐͒͆̒̚Ą̵̺̰̻̻͔͇͓̈́̓͛̏̈́͌͋̄̑͆̏T̷̡̧̬̲̭̦̘̩̊̉͛̓̓̌͌̕C̴̀͐ͅḨ̵̛̘̤͙͔̝̫̖̻̦̞͙̺̅̿͘͝Ȩ̸̪̯̗̘̥̣̲̣̣͍͚͙̥̩́̀̈̆͑Ś̸͙̺̥̰̯͙̭͆̏͂.

N̸̡̧͕͙̼̻̳̦̪̞̯͎̦͓̏̒͌͑͒͊̾͌̑̅̕͝ͅO̵̧̗͕̹̼̦̗̮̱̝͆͊́́̈̿̋ͅ Ȩ̸̪̯̗̘̥̣̲̣̣͍͚͙̥̩́̀̈̆͑Ý̴̥͙̘̇̈́̇̃͒̿́͘͘͝͝ͅȨ̸̪̯̗̘̥̣̲̣̣͍͚͙̥̩́̀̈̆͑Ś̸͙̺̥̰̯͙̭͆̏͂

The note seemed to speak to you in a loud, static voice, it displayed a scribbled circle with two cross eyes resembling one of a human's head. Zander seemed to keep his distance from the note as you shakily held it in your hands, a grin was fixed onto his perfect face and his expression was one of a carnivorous animal over prey. But your senses wouldn't allow you to take any notice of anything other than the note. It enveloped you. But you swore that you had seen it before, somewhere hidden that you secretly grabbed it from, somewhere only you knew, and that when it struck you. The note your fragile hands were holding was from none other than your grandma’s wooden closet. Your hands, still quivering, carefully tore the page off of the tree as you stared at it once more. You had seen this before…you had one of these notes that you stole and slipped into your wooden drawer. And now you had found another one. You let out a shaky breath you didn’t even know you were holding, and hesitantly put it into your bag. Upon turning around to face Zander, his grin quickly dropped and his demeanour changed to something almost gentle and innocent. “You alright? What’d it say?” You didn’t answer him, your eyes locked on not Zander, but rather what was behind him in the far distance. It was a small girl. She had wavy dark brown hair, which seemed overgrown and messy, with clumps of blood stuck to some of the strands. Her gaze was directly on you, and your breath hitched once you saw her emerald-coloured eyes, which despite looking lush, appeared almost vacant and dull. The girl was wearing a dirty pink dress, a few stitches scattered across the material, and held an old teddy bear in one hand. Streaks of blood poured down from her forehead and down her face, the blood flow seemingly never ending.

“...what…” You start to murmur before suddenly stopping once the girl did a small gesture, placing one finger on her lips in a means to silence you. Your body froze up, and you quickly looked at Zander. When he noticed the look you were giving him, he raised an eyebrow and turned around to see what you were looking at. But by the time you had looked back at the spot, the girl was already gone, and so Zander didn’t see a thing. “Wait!” You reached out a hand as if to grab her, but the only thing in your hand was air. Zander gave you a strange look, but quickly dismissed it as you returned to your senses. The only feeling left behind in your mind was wonder and the slightest tint of fear. Who was this girl? And what was it inside her eyes that was familiar? “Alright ___, I think we should go now….” Zander had an expression of worry as he grasped your hand and led you back to your car. It was only then when you were forced to enter the vehicle alongside Zander, that your mind cleared, and you started to process what you had seen. A young girl, who wore a pink dress and had green eyes. It reminded you of something you had heard many years ago. Someone from…a story, if you remembered correctly. You froze. A story. You had heard about her before, when you were younger and visiting a relative. That girl was from the exact same story that your grandmother had told you about when you were little.

But that was many years ago, and you had to account for the fact that when your grandmother had been telling you it, she mentioned that it had occurred twenty years ago. And yet, the girl didn’t seem to have aged since then. You’d have to do some more research later it seems. “Are you going to drive or am I going to have to instead?” Zander questioned from the passenger seat. There weren’t any cars nearby, so you presumed he had taken a taxi here. “Ah, right.” You shook your head and focused on starting the car, pushing back all of your thoughts and questions as you started to drive out of the forest and back to the rest of the city. It was now time for your least favourite part. Questioning the suspects.

Chapter Text

The car ride was relatively quiet for the first thirty minutes. Neither of you had spoken a word about what you had seen in the forest up to this point, and you were grateful for that. Unfortunately, when the two of you were driving through the busy streets and to the house of the victim's sister, Zander decided to speak up. “So…what was that earlier?” You peered down at the fuzzy mat of the car underneath you, the question he asked was unavoidable as if you dismissed it he would question you even further. “That was…I…” You attempted to think of a solution to his question, you couldn’t tell him everything, at least not yet. “Oh that was just me being delusional haha! I thought I had seen a ghost but it was just a tree! A-And the symbol thingy was just out of curiosity!” You didn’t even know what you were saying at this point, the only thought that came into your mind was how to cover up your growing obsession with the case. Zander hummed, you couldn’t quite tell what his intentions were, but he seemed to have expected your reaction amusedly. Suddenly, The car abruptly stopped and the both of you stepped out of the car onto the concrete of London.

Skyscrapers and tall apartments loomed over you, reminding you of the dark oak trees in the seemingly haunted forest. Cars bustled around in all different directions and colours, and people seemed to come from every pathway. The city overstimulated you with loud noises and bright lights, but you pursued your case and walked towards your destination: the suspect’s close relative’s apartment. The apartment was fairly normal, it was painted a dull grey and had tiny windows and balconies scattered across the building. The suspect’s apartment number was ‘4’, and so you and Zander were able to easily find it on the first floor. Each door was wooden and had a small, metal number glued onto the top. Zander knocked on the door for you, his silver rings slightly banging against the hard-oak wood. “Coming…” Yelled a bored voice from the other-side of the door, the door knob opened with a twist, and there stood a 20-year old girl with long black hair up to her waist and a neatly chopped fringe. Her eyes were icy and contrasted the darkness of her hair, but most of all she had a cold but elegant air around her giving you goosebumps on your skin.

You cleared up your throat and began to interview, “I’m ___, a detective investigating the case of your relative Sherly Enomila who was murdered a few days ago.” You displayed your detective badge to her proudly as Zander seemed to stare at you. “Do you happen to know anything about the case?” The notebook you had been carrying around in your backpack was finally in use as you brang it out and began to interview the girl you identified from the folder as Skyron. “Hm, I never cared or talked to her much. Maybe one of her ex-husbands killed her, who cares anyways? She didn’t do anything except for fuck around in parties and drink alcohol.” Skyron seemed to dislike her sister Sherly quite much as she fiddled around with her hair and looked at her watch. You took a glance behind her as she leaned against the doorway, her apartment room was decorated fancily with a blue cybercore aesthetic and she seemed to be living alone. “I see, do you mind if we come in?” You asked her politely, contradicting her blunt and honest words. “Sure, why not.” Skyron ceased herself from leaning against the metal door frame and closed the door behind Zander as he followed quickly behind you, his blood-red eyes never leaving your back.

Skyron’s apartment clearly had a lot of money spent on it, the walls were painted a light blue and figurines of Hatsune Miku and Rei Ayanami were on each table top. Not to mention, led lights of all kinds were around each corner of the roof and had aesthetically pleasing posters and pictures of all sorts glue-tacked onto the walls. You sat down next to Zander on a poofy cloud couch in what seemed to be Skyron’s living room whilst she sat opposite of you on another blue-coloured cloud couch. “Do you live alone?” You asked, trying to make small-talk and interview her simultaneously. “Yeah” Skyron didn’t seem to respond with much and you could tell that she probably knew nothing about the case. After a few more short questions, you left the room with no answers or leads regarding the death of Sherly Enomila. You tried to shrug it off and think positively that perhaps another close relative knew more about the case. Zander didn't talk much after the conversation you had in the car, it was almost as if he was in deep thought, just like how he was during school. The two of you walked back to your car and drove in complete unbroken silence, the awkward tension seemed to tug on you as you arrived at the next location.

It was a house at the edge of another forest near the dark oak one, the bricks were a brownish red and the house overall looked friendly. Zander finally spoke up, his voice deeper than usual. “I’ll investigate the second suspect, you can clear up your mind in the meantime.” He pulled out his own notebook and seemed to end his train of thought, but his tone was slightly aggressive despite his kind words. It seems as if you weren’t the only one affected by the strange forest, though his reason was very different from yours. You watched as he left the car. approached the house, and knocked on the door, waiting for the suspect to open it. A small sigh escaped your lips, and you looked away, grabbing your notebook and pen from your bag before opening it open to an empty page. You stared at it, letting yourself be distracted by your thoughts. ‘Who is she?’ You thought, trying to figure out who the girl you had seen was. ‘Does she have something to do with my case? Was she the one who killed grandpa? Did sh-’ Your train of thought was suddenly cut off by the door to the passenger seat slamming shut.

Guess Zander was back already. You focused back on your notebook, and paused. On the page were multiple drawings of the Operator's Symbol. You had been absent-mindedly drawing them. A shudder goes through your body, and you quickly close the book, glancing up at the other. “So…got anything?” You questioned, Zander jumping slightly before looking at you. “No. Nothing.” When he turned his head to focus on the road, you noticed something. There was something shiny in his hair. You reached out, gently grabbing it and removing it to examine it. It was a shard of glass. “...Zander?” You quietly asked, watching him look back at you and freeze upon seeing the object in your hand. His silky black hair was tainted with his own blood and more glass pieces were found. The glass was a dark green, reminiscent of a cheap wine bottle. It seemed as if someone had hit Zander with a wine bottle aggressively. You deduced that maybe it was a suspect who hit Zander, but what could have caused it and why didn't he ask for help?

You reach back up and start to remove the shards of glass from his hair, sighing softly as you did. “What happened?” You murmured despite already having a good idea of what did occur in the house. “Nothing, don't worry about it ___.” Zander said with a forced smile. Your eyes narrowed upon hearing his response, and removed the last piece of glass from his hair. “Don't lie to me.” You stared at him with determined eyes as if begging him to tell you what happened. Zander sighed abruptly, he still had that gentle expression on his face, but a layer of anger was hidden inside. “I didn't know you cared about me so much~” Zander teased before he began recalling the incident. “The suspect was an alcoholic, they slammed a wine bottle onto my head.” He sighed whilst you gazed at him worried. “Don't worry about it, really, it’s not a big deal. Now, can we just go to the next suspect’s house?” He seemed eager to move on from the topic. Upon noticing this, you sighed as well and nodded. “Alright alright, fine.” You glanced out and onto the dark street for a few seconds before checking the time. 10:52pm. Fuck. “Well it’s getting dark, we should probably go home. We can resume this tomorrow.” You said, getting the car started again and starting to drive away. “I’ll drop you off.” Your tone told Zander that there was no room for discussion, so he stayed quiet and waited. Minutes passed, and eventually, you reached his street. Stopping the car momentarily, you watched as Zander got out and thanked you, before turning and walking down the street. You sighed, and turned your attention back to the road, and drove off to your own house. It was around ten minutes away from Zander’s, so it didn’t take you long to get to your house. Once you arrived, you parked the car right next to your house on the street, and exited the vehicle, stretching afterwards. You let your feet carry you to the front door. After a hard day of work, you could finally rest.

At least, that’s what you thought.