The Manipulation Room

Chapter 23 - Let's Do It

Manipulation Room victim no. 633394
Name: Saskia Escott
Age: 36 years old
Occupation: Shop Owner
Family Member: 37-year-old wife, Eloise
Description: Suffocation caused by carbon monoxide on cloth covered over the mouth for 11 seconds.

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I'm outside! U ready? I texted Ezra, waiting outside his house. I'd never seen his house before and it was gorgeous. Not in an ancient, quaint kind of way I was usually drawn to. Everything was geometric, which I guess you could say about almost any pitched roof abode with square windows, but on this house, you couldn't help but notice it. The look would have been entirely metallic, like a mini down-town skyscraper had it not been for the cedar beams of the external porch and the matching raised plant beds that contained only white blooms. It was small but domestic, homely and inelaborate. Ezra texted back I'm coming! u look beautiful today 😉

I looked around, baffled and incredibly confused, before catching him grinning at me in the top window. He had the curtain pulled back and was smiling widely. I waved, smiling without even realising I was. He waved back, before pulling the curtains back and disappearing from view. A few seconds later, he was at the font door. He had tousled brown hair that he hadn't brushed, but really didn't need to. It was thick and lustrous and model-ready with no preparation needed. Unlike me, who'd spent all of ten minutes trying to tame my thick, blonde nest.

His eyes were a mesmerising deep ocean blue, flecks of silvery light performed ballets throughout. His face was strong and defined, his features moulded from granite. His usually playful smile had draw into a hard line across his face. I know he's handsome; it was the first thing I noticed all those weeks ago at the Manipulation Room. But I never knew till now just how handsome he was. With the sun streaming down on his face and a new-found affection, he looked ten times more handsome than he did last week.

"You ready?" He asked, walking forward and running a hand through his hair. I nodded, "Let's do it."
"Is it bad that I'm excited?" He laughed. "For our potential deaths? Yeah, kind of." I responded, laughing myself. We began walking down the street towards Shadowglass Square, trading plans and ideas for what we'd do when we got there. He linked his fingers with mine and I leaned closer to him as we walked, flashing him a jovial grin.

"You know, I wasn't kidding." He said, squeezing my hand. I looked up and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"You look really beautiful today." He smiled, his eyes turning the colour of sapphires, even with the glinting. I smiled back, feeling my cheeks blush, turning the colour of ripened tomatoes. "And you look very handsome."
He chuckled, "I'm glad you think so. My Mum insisted on choosing my outfit."

I glanced at his outfit. He was wearing a navy, crew-neck sweater with rolled-up sleeves, a black fleece vest and cargo pants. It wasn't what he usually wears at all, but he looked incredibly attractive. There was no denying that his Mum had done a really good job. Everything from the small silver chain around his neck to the rolled-up sleeves to his elbows looked like it had been specifically placed. It all added to the overall attractiveness, and I couldn't take my eyes off him for a second.

I laughed, trying not to give away what I was really thinking. "That's sweet...why?"
He shook his head, still smiling, "She thinks I'm on a date."
I pulled him closer to my side as we walked, grinning, "Are we on a date?"
"Depends...do you want to call this... a date?" He nudged me in the arm, still smiling like a little kid. That adorable, cheeky grin he does when he's happy that makes me want to melt into a puddle. "I mean, couldn't you have picked a more romantic location than the Manipulation Room, for our first date?" I giggled.

He chuckled, flinging an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his chest. "I'm saving my A game for date number two."
"So there's going to be a second date, then?"
"Is that a yes?"
"Sure." I smiled, admiring his sun-kissed, caramel skin and ultramarine eyes as we neared closer. He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead, "Great...I'll get planning."
"Do your homework first though." I winked. He nudged me playfully in the arm, "You wish. I love spending my lunchtimes with Mrs Castellar." He laughed. I giggled, "Wow, is it me you like, or her?"