Psychopath (EDITING)

43

I hear the soft click of the doors slowly shutting, closing us from the outside world. A tight feeling grows in my stomach, a feeling like something— Like something is off. 

Brushing that feeling off, I walk next to Rose as we head into the living room, and sit down on the couch together. Steph runs off to the kitchen to grab us some cups of tea, and George starts telling his men their jobs and where they must keep watch. Soon, the men disperse, and it's just George, Rose, and I left in this monstrous version of a normal living room. Huge bay windows expand across the far side wall, a soft glowing fireplace on the opposite wall, filling the silence.

Steph comes back, a tray in hand, and soft places down four cups on the glass coffee table. 

"Here, I added honey in it, so it should help unwind some of your nerves," Steph smiles brightly at me, and hands me the cup. 

"Thanks," I whisper out, slightly embarrassed by how obvious it must be for her to see how stressed I am. After being hassled by Steph nonstop, George decides to sit down with us as well, enjoying a warm cup of tea in his huge burly hands. 

☓ ☓ ☓

"I can't believe how much Stephan has changed lately. I've known that boy his whole life, and I've never seen him this—" Rose pauses, while she searches for the right word, "I've never seen him this happy and just... mature." Rose says, Steph and George nodding in unison. I'm not getting the same feeling though, a picture of Stephan's smug and childish face pops into my head. 

"Are you sure? Personally, Stephan tends to act like a spoiled child all the time," I mutter out, feeling comfortable to express my feelings to them. I figured that they might get angry at me, or give me weird looks, but instead, the three of them burst out laughing. Lost for words, I just watch the three of them in astonishment.

"Ha, well, he still has his moments," Rose laughs.

"Yeah, Stephan still can't handle other things than work professionally," Steph laughs out, smiling fondly.

"I meant, like, when it comes to his job and his role, he usually is super extreme and rash— but, lately, he has been profoundly careful and reasonable towards the things that he usually wouldn't think about," Rose clarifies, "I've never seen him call so many meetings in my whole life," Rose chuckles lightly.

"I know right? Even this meeting with Harris... When he first said it, I thought he was being sarcastic. The old Stephan would never— EVER do something as friendly as that," Steph adds, staring into her cup as she thinks.

Taking a quiet sip of my drink, I stop to think about how Stephan was when I first got here, and how he is now. 

I guess... maybe he is changi—

My thoughts get cut off by the distinctive sound of glass breaking.

Without a second thought, George drops his glass and stands up, his hand going down for his handgun. My heart starts to pound in my chest, as I hear distant yells and gunshots. Just as I was about to get up, and run with Rose and Steph, the loud clunk of what seems to be a grey cylinder flies into the room, to crash onto the floor. All of a sudden, a strong stream of thick smoke flows out of the cylinder, easily filling the room. 

My mind goes into overdrive, for in a matter of seconds, I can no longer see Rose, Steph or even George. My ears start ringing, as I call out for Rose and try searching for them. 

Gunshots fire out, as I hear Rose's voice loudly cry out in pain, and Steph's piercing scream. Men start yelling, and I feel my body freeze, as everything seems to slow down...

My stinging eyes are able to see, not too far from me, a small break in the smoke. But, what fills that gap is a large towering and intimidating figure slowly approaching me in a dark gas mask. The smoke makes my eyes start watering, as I try screaming out, but nothing comes out. 

My body suddenly feels extremely heavy, and weighed down, as my knees buckle and my legs cover in pins and needles. 

Just as my body was about to succumb to the excruciating weight of sleep, I feel my body ache out for help.

Please, Stephan! Come back...