RENAISSANCE

10. Cold

I was in the kitchen making a sandwich when a noise caught my attention.

I froze, eyes fixed on the source of the mysterious sound. My ears stood up like sentinels, capturing every sound vibration that broke the room's quietude.

My gaze settled on the door handle, which was moving as if someone was trying to force it open discreetly.

Panic gripped me, and my first instinct was to lock myself in my bedroom and call the police.I locked the door and heard the intruder enter my home. My hands trembled, and my vision blurred with fear.

My phone, where's my phone?

In a desperate search, I threw everything to the ground, but the phone was nowhere to be found.

My breath hitched as I heard the intruder try to open my bedroom door. I covered my mouth, hoping to make no sound, but they must have known I was there.

Then, silence.

Just as I thought they had left, a loud noise erupted. They were trying to break down my door. There I was, helpless, watching the door's lock slowly crack.

Panic surged with each passing second. My limbs weakened, my throat tightened, and my lungs felt compressed.

Finally, the door burst open, revealing a masked figure with a gun pointed directly at me.

"I'm not going to hurt you, just follow me quietly," said the intruder, a woman's voice.

Behind me, another noise came from the entrance, distracting her.

And then a bullet lodged between her eyes, leaving no time for her to react, nor for me to blink.I stood frozen, hands over my mouth, then looked towards the entrance.

"ARE YOU CRAZY ?!" was the first thing I said to Isaac, seeing the lifeless body of the intruder.

Blood pooled around her head, and her eyes were void of life. This was the second murder I witnessed in just a few days.

Another dead body.

Isaac didn't respond but bent down to remove the intruder's hood, phone pressed to his ear.

"No, it wasn't him... I took her down immediately... I don't give a damn... I'm waiting," he said before hanging up.

The woman had brown eyes, now dimmed by death, and I knew I wouldn't forget them for the rest of my life.

"You're a sick psychopath," I accused, standing over him while he impassively searched the body.

"Don't ever raise your voice at me. I thought I made that clear," he retorted with a piercing gaze.

"Would you have preferred she shot you in the head?" he added.

He got up and lounged on the couch, coldly typing on his phone. It was as if there wasn't a dead body in my apartment, which didn't surprise me coming from him.

"You could've called the police like anyone else, damn it!"

"The police shouldn't be involved in this."

"She was just a thief-"

"A thief who wanted to kidnap you? Don't be so naive," he cut me off coldly. "She wasn't just any 'damn thief' as you say."

"Kidnap"

That realization hit me like a shock.

My eyes widened, and my anger quickly dissipated. My hands clenched instinctively, trembling uncontrollably. My lips parted, but no sound came out, the shock silencing my voice.