Limerence ❀ Yandere!Males x Reader

entry #38 | яєd яσσм

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red room
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When she woke up, she was in a dimly lit room, a soft burnt orange glow radiating down on her from above. her body felt sore all over, especially her head, which had a dull, throbbing ache at the back that pounded even as she awoke. (Y/n) winced and sat up, reaching up to massage the pained area.

But she couldn't. Her arms were tied together behind her back. Wait, what? She thought in shock. Did I enter some horror movie or something? She tried moving and loosening her bonds to no avail.

Her movements drew the attention of her neighbor. "Are you alright?" (Y/) turned in surprise at the voice. It was Mr. Brooks, his face marred with smeared blood and grim. There was a long cut down his face and another on his lips, making her wince with sympathy. That's going to sting like a sandwich later.

"I'm alright," the (h/c)-haired girl replied after realizing he was still waiting for her answer. "Where...are we?"

A look around the room told her they were still in the library. I mean, come on. If Mr. Howards was trying to lock them up somewhere without escape, maybe make it a little less obvious they didn't move from their spot? The bookshelves were a real giveaway, you know. They were in a room towards the back of the library where people rarely visited. The old newspapers and movies section. Not many people seemed to be thrilled about those.

(Y/n) saw Elijah lying on the ground across from her. He was still tied up and sported new bruises since the last she's seen him. He caught her looking at him and smiled reassuringly, before wincing at the pain from his cut lip. "You alright there, kid?"

"I'm not a kid," but she didn't have the heart to really argue with him. "Where's Mr. Florence?"

His face twisted in anger and disgust. "Charles took her somewhere," he growled. "Goddammit, I should've noticed something was off about that guy!"

"He was always like that," Mr. Brooks added. "Innocent and a nice guy on the surface, but really a bloody sociopath beneath all that."

(Y/n) wiggled her hands. The duct tape around her wrists didn't yield. Despite being a sociopath-psychopath whatnot, she had to give it to him; Mr. Howards was thorough. On top of tying them up with tape, he also used rope. Totally extra, but one look at Elijah's straining arms made her think otherwise.

"Where is he?" She asked, craning her head to look around. "Why did he take only Ms. Florence? What happened when I wasn't there—"

"Woah, woah, slow down, kid," Elijah interrupted. "I can't think with all your questions—"

"That friend of yours saw something he shouldn't have," Mr. Brooks cut in despite the silver-haired man's protests. "A collection of sick photographs he had of Alice. If he didn't see anything, Charles might've just let them off. His real goal was Alice, after all."

"Ms. Florence?" (Y/n) raised her eyebrows. "What did she do to him?"

The black-haired teacher shook his head and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, regret was brimming in those dark orbs. "I saw the warning signs but I didn't act fast enough. It was the same with Lauren. I'm sure you've heard our conversation, correct?" She nodded. "Charles was obsessed with her when they began dating. And as her best friend, I supported their relationship, though his conduct felt a little off at times. He didn't like me, that's for one. I thought it was simple jealousy since I'm a man, but it was the same with her female friends. He didn't want her associating with any of them. So he killed them."

"K-kill them?" She echoed disbelievingly. Elijah spluttered something incoherent in the background.

"That is correct. Every last one except for me." A lock of his hair fell over his eyes, but he didn't seem to notice. "Lauren was devastated, and that led to her suicide. The police wrote it off as modern-day Jack the Ripper, but I didn't believe it. I knew it had something to do with Charles, but he acted too perfect, too much like the grieving boyfriend at the funeral, so no one believed me. He completely turned the tables on me."