Liberation: Oscar's Story

Chapter 9: Pt. 3

 Ananya gasped. "You don't know what a rom-com is?!" She slapped her forehead. "First emojis, and now this? You're killing me, Oscar." She giggled. "I have to show you all my favorite rom-com, or romantic comedies. Have you seen Under the Moon?"

"If it's a romantic comedy, then no."

"You have to see it." Ananya bounced on her chair. "I'll take you to see it one day. Oh! You should come to my place! I have the DVD with bloopers!"

Oscar smiled. Her enthusiasm was infectious. "Perhaps one day," he agreed. "I'd be honored to watch movies with you."

"So formal," Ananya giggled. "Okay, we're getting off track though." She bit her tongue to stop laughing and closed her eyes. "Javon was last seen at the football game, which was the night he was killed. He was wearing a football uniform."

"I'll have my pack look again for traces," Oscar said. "There should be some left." Quickly, he linked for Egon to begin searching.

"The girl is Ai-Lee Huang," Ananya continued, reading down the page. "She was also a biology major and Javon's girlfriend, it seemed. Black hair, black eyes, petite frame. She's quite pretty." Her finger touched the picture of the girl. "She looks familiar..."

"Perhaps that's why the killer left her face intact?" Oscar suggested. "Some of them are sadistic like that. They just like a pretty face."

"Maybe. She was also last seen at the football game. I suppose it makes sense since her boyfriend was playing. She was a sophomore. Oh, there's a list of relatives..." Ananya's voice died suddenly, but her eyes grew wide. "Relatives..."

"Javon's an orphan," Oscar mused, unaware of the stillness of her body. "Looks like we won't be getting any more information about him."

"Mm..." was all that Ananya could muster. The smile slipped from her face and a streak of panic flashed over her doe eyes. Her arm jerked and she gripped Oscar's arm. Her breathing became shaky.

"Ananya?" Oscar glanced at her, and upon noticing the color drain from her cheeks, his attention fell fully onto her. "Ananya." He repeated in a sterner tone and put both his hands on her shoulders. A small gasp came from somewhere around him, but he ignored it. "Ananya, what is it?"

"Ai-Lee..." she murmured, breathing heavily through her mouth. Her tongue ran friskily across her lips and she curled her fingers tighter around Oscar's shirt. "Ai-Lee...Ai-Lee's my...my cousin..."

"Your cousin?!" Oscar blinked. "Shit I...I didn't know...I'm sorry..."

Ananya shook her head. "No, no, I didn't know her very well...no..." Her tongue shot out of her mouth again to moisten her dry lips.

Oscar felt his wolf stir. "Ananya, I don't understand," he said, struggling to remain calm. "What's wrong? What should I do?"

"We...oh god..." Ananya swallowed the thick bile climbing up her throat. "We have to tell my aunt...my uncle..." her voice became hoarse. The people she thought she had escaped were shoving their way back into her life, and she had no choice but to accept that. She clutched Oscar like he was her only lifeline to sanity, and repeated. "I have to tell them..." I don't have a choice...

"Ananya..." Oscar wasn't sure what to say. He continued to hold her because that was the only thing he could think of doing.

"I want you to tell them with me," she said. "Will you? Since this is our case and all..."

"I will," Oscar said immediately. At that moment, it didn't occur to him whether Ananya's family would accept him being a werewolf, but he didn't care. As she continued to shake, he pulled her into him gently, with a touch of caution. "I'll be with you. I promise." 

--()--()--()--

Hey guys!

So, it looks like Ananya's intuition was correct, and the victim was related to her. Our beans have grown closer, but what will happen with Ananya's family visiting?