doomsday

thirteen: replay

if you could do it all again, what would you change?

she watches him expectantly. "Matt?"

there's a dangerous blue fire growing in his eyes. his fist clenches and unclenches; once, twice, three times before he finally opens his mouth to reply.

"What would you have me say, Natalia?" the words are rough and unforgiving.

a low chuckle escapes his lips, loosening the tension in the room. then she's stepping back, trying to evade the wicked temper he can never seem to control.

her response is uneasy. she can barely meet his gaze, but she pushes it out quickly, before he can realise she's reaching for the emergency contact in her phone.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disobey you. I swear they won't ever tell."

an insidious smirk stretches across his lips at her immaturity.

"Is that so, sweetheart?" his palm closes around the base of her neck. "That certainly makes me feel a lot safer, knowing a group of teenage girls will keep our secret."

she's too scared to react. he has his fingers pressed into her throat, his handsome face burning into her, and all that crosses her mind is how lucky she is to have his attention.

"No one else is ever going to know," she murmurs, head feeling light when his hand constricts too much, "I won't let you down, Mr Kingsley."

the lanyard around his neck swings violently as he suddenly leans in close, his tiny smiling face behind the plastic one last mockery before his grip tightens and his lips press close to her ear.

"It's too late for that, my love."

----

the body in the grass was still warm when Aaron Hoult first saw it on the seventh day of the sixth month.

somehow, it had looked peaceful. the features frozen in serenity and relaxed limbs certainly weren't much cause for alarm, so he hated himself for being unable to shake the inconvenient, persistent worry that the official ruling of suicide was just wrong.

he also hated himself for being here right now.

the perfectly trimmed flowers and sophisticated facilities didn't wash away the disgust settling in the bottom of his stomach as he approached the classroom he'd been directed to.

he had to be right about this.

"Matthew Kingsley?"

brilliant blue eyes shone as the man looked up at him. "Yes, how can I help you?"

his obvious charisma was immediately disarming. though, Aaron supposed that had been her downfall.

"I'm Commander Aaron Hoult. I'd like to ask you a few questions about the recent death of -"

"Yes. It's such a shame about that," Matthew was already rising out of his chair, "however I'm not sure I could be of any help."

Aaron held his gaze. "I'll be the judge of that, Mr Kingsley."

the swift flash of fear that seized his features comforted Aaron. he had to be right about this.

"I barely knew her." Matthew's words were quiet yet firm. a blazing blue fire was starting to form in his eyes.

"Despite the fact that all her journal entries, writings, and psychiatrist reports reference a love for an older, unattainable man with blue eyes and ginger hair?" Aaron watched his countenance carefully, praying for anything that could help bring him down.

Matthew's jaw locked and his eyes went cold. "Hardly my fault a student had a little crush on me, is it?"

Aaron let himself chuckle. "It is when you nurture it, Mr Kingsley." he leaned forward and tried to make eye contact despite the chill that swept over him whenever he was reminded of what this man was capable of. "There are inconsistencies in the coroner's report. She had bruising around her neck and thighs from handprints roughly an adult man's size. Not to mention the skin cells underneath her fingernails."

Matthew's anger was climbing. "She obviously wasn't mentally stable, Mr Hoult. To blame her suicide on me just because I didn't entertain the idea of having a relationship with her is unfair to say the least, don't you think?"

"It's Commander. So, you're denying any involvement in her life or death?"

he gripped the edge of the table, then enunciated every word like Aaron was a toddler. "I had no relationship with that girl outside of this school, and barely even in it. Not in this lifetime nor the next. It is not my responsibility what she chooses to do with her life."

the clear blue blaze burning in front of Aaron didn't make him back down like he'd imagined she might have. "Where were you on the seventh, Mr Kingsley?"

a wicked smile claims his mouth. "I spent the morning celebrating my birthday with my family and the afternoon doing the same with my mates. Shall I provide receipts and eyewitnesses to make your job easier, Mr Hoult?"

"It's Commander. Why do you think she would she kill herself on such a special day, Mr Kingsley?"

the two men were staring each other down. they both knew Aaron had nothing.

"My apologies, Commander Hoult, but I have matters to attend to. It's unfortunate I couldn't be of any other help."

"Have you no sympathy?" that last shot in the dark fired into Matthew abruptly. Aaron couldn't believe it had made it through. "Don't you ever wonder what her last moments would have been like, surrendering her life for you?"

those blue eyes burned into him.

"No," he said at last, "I only wonder if she would have made the same decision."

if you could do it all again, what would you change?

everything.