Captivated (An Affliction Novel)

by Raven

  “What about Dean?” he asked.

  “Dean? You think it’s him?” I asked hoping that Markus would have the right answer.

  “No. I mean, did you see him after I left?” he asked.

  “Yeah. He was still in the lounge when I left.” Which reminded me about Markus flipping out. “By the way, what happened last night?” I asked.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” he assured me. He put his hands up to his face and exhaled loudly.

  “You can tell me,” I said calmly. In my head, I was screaming. Demanding that he tell me what the heck happened. “Come on. How bad could it be?”

  The smell of my morning breath crept up to my nose. Crap! Ewwww! I jumped up before Markus could answer me and ran to the bathroom. “Hold on! I gotta brush my teeth!” I yelled behind me. While I was in the bathroom, I washed the messy makeup off my face and quickly brushed my hair. After I cleaned up enough, I ran back to the room and sat down on the floor in front of him. I looked up at him with my lips pressed and with an assuring look.

  “Dean. Heh. Umm…I think.” he struggled to say. He forced a smile and rubbed his hand down his face. “I think he killed someone last night. I saw the whole thing.” he quickly blurted it out.

  Markus stared at me like he was studying my reaction. And I couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t be true. I knew Dean. I knew the true person he was on the inside. It was impossible for him to do such a horrible thing. That could not be real.

  “Are you sure? What do you mean exactly? Did you actually see this happen?” I asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Positive. But the body disappeared,” he added.

  “You mean he hid the body?” I asked.

  “I don’t know what the heck he did with it.” He rubbed his hand down his face and rubbed his eyes as if to make the images from last night more clear.

  “What happened exactly?” I asked. None of that made sense. A body doesn’t just disappear.

  “After I left the club, I found him fighting some dude. And there was a chick running away from the fight. Look, I hid behind a wall and watched it all go down. Dean looked pretty pissed.” He paused. “I don’t want to tell you how he killed him Mindy. Just believe me when I say that it did happen. When you came up to me, I was looking for the body. But it was already gone. I don’t know how Dean hid it. It was impossible for him to do it in a matter of seconds...” he muttered unbelieving, “…impossible.”

  “Are you gonna call the cops?” I asked, still not believing a word of it.

  “How can I call them? There is no body. I have no proof. And no witnesses besides myself.” He sighed. “They’ll just think I’m crazy.”

  “Did Dean see you?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” he responded immediately.

  “Did he say anything?” I asked.

  “Not really.” He gave a nervous laugh. “He-uh…when he walked by me, he stopped and looked at me. I dropped to the floor and pretended I was looking for something. After that, he walked inside and you came out shortly after.” Markus said in a shaky voice.

  “This can’t be real. What are we going to do?” I asked myself as well as him.

  “I’m going to keep an eye on him.” Markus responded.

  “What do you mean? Like, follow him around? ” I asked. “Just call the cops.”

  “Speaking of...are you going to call them?” he asked.

  “Oh. Ayden. Well, he didn’t really accomplish anything. But, no. I don’t think I’m going to call the cops.” And that was when it came to me. “Ayden saw who he was! He had to have, Markus!” I let out. I had to know who it was, so I could thank him.

  “I don’t think he’s going to admit anything even happened. You’re not going to find out who it was through him.” he advised. After a moment in pause, “I’m impressed with you. The way you look at the glass as half full in this situation takes a lot.”

  “Thanks.” I said with a smile. “But really Markus, I’m fine.” I assured him.

  It worried me that Markus was going to keep an eye on Dean. There was no telling what could happen. “What do you mean exactly when you say you’re going to keep an eye on Dean? Are you going to follow him around or something? Wait until he strikes again? Do you think he’s a serial killer? What if he tries to kill you for seeing him?” I blurted everything before closing my mouth with my hand to keep myself from talking more nonsense.

  “I have something in mind. A theory, if you will. Weird stuff is going on Mindy.” He stood up and stretched out his arms. “I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

  “What? I know you want to be a detective and all but I don’t think you should mess with Dean. Let the cops do it, Markus.” I insisted.

  “I’d give you the same advice.” he hinted.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Ayden.” he reminded me.

  “Oh. I don’t think he’ll bother me again.” I assured him.

  “By the way…I see the way Dean looks at you.” he said matter-of-factly.

  “It’s nothing, Markus. I’m sure I’m not the only one.” I said, though not fully believing the words coming out of my mouth.

  “Actually, you are.” he said. “I see him stare at you. I can tell he tries not to. He’s not very slick about it.” Markus added.

  “Do you think he likes me?” I asked. I already thought I knew the answer. I didn’t know why I was so interested. I guess it was the thought of someone so incredibly hot checking me out. And Dean wasn’t just hot, he was a masterpiece.

  “Why else would he stare at you? All the same, I think you should stay away from him.” he insisted.

  “I already do. It’s not like I hang out with him or anything.” I looked down at my nail and started picking at the polish. “It’s not like we’re friends anymore...” My voice shrank so it wouldn’t sound affected.

  “I know. I just don’t want you getting hurt. He’s trouble.” Markus said.

  “Are you sure about what you saw?” I asked again.

  “Positive.” He sounded sure of himself. “I gotta get going. I have some things I have to take care of tonight.” He headed out the door and didn’t come back.

  I wasn’t sure that I believed him. Dean didn’t hurt people like that. I knew he had a heart still. He was not a monster. And a body didn’t just disappear like that. Markus even thought a ghost played tricks on him. He said that every time he vacuumed at his house, a little girl would unplug the cord and take off. I have yet to see her or any other ghost for that matter. I really thought his mind was playing tricks on him again. And he was so determined to prove it to me. He vacuumed practically every day just so he could get a photo shot of her. I have yet to see it because he told me ‘she was too fast’.

  Dean came to mind again. I couldn’t believe the way he was acting. Like he liked me. I was actually a little excited about that. But I was never going to admit it to Markus, especially not after what he thought happened. I decided I had to go with him and see whatever it was he needed to see for myself. I was also hoping I would bump into the mystery guy that saved me. Quickly running to my window, I hoped to catch Markus before he drove off. Luckily, he was barely opening his car door. I opened the window swiftly and called out his name.

  “Yeah?” he yelled out. Markus walked away from his car and stood under my window to hear better.

  “Can I go with you tonight?” I asked.

  “I don’t think it’s such a good idea, Mindy” Markus shook his head.

  “Awww, come on.” I made a sad face. One that always worked on Markus. He was such a softy and saying ‘no’ to me was always difficult for him. “Pleeeaase!” I begged.

  “Fine, then,” he continued, “I’ll pick you up at eight.” Markus turned around shaking his head again at his failure to reject me and hopped into the shoe.

  I actually looked forward to spying on Dean. Mainly because I was curious to know what it was he did in his spare time. I knew he definitely worked ou
t. And he didn’t have many friends that I’ve seen, so he probably didn’t spend much time with others. In fact, every time I’ve seen him out in public, he’s been by himself or with Shane at the lunch table. Which when I thought about it, didn’t make any sense at all. Especially because of the fist fight they almost had. I’d never seen Dean so pissed off.

  “Mindy!” my mom called out. It seemed Markus had left the door open. She popped her head in with a warm smile. “I got up pretty early so I went to Carmen’s house for coffee. She wanted to go to the store so we headed over there. When did you come home last night?” she asked.

  And there it was; the question that could get me into a whole mess of trouble. My excuse was fair, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell her about last night anymore. She already had high blood pressure and I was sure hearing about someone trying to hurt her little girl would send it soaring up into dangerous levels. My mom stressed out way too easily, but I had to tell her something.

  “I don’t know what time, actually.” It was true. I didn’t know what time my hero brought me home. “Sorry, I think it was past my curfew. I didn’t really look at the time.” Another truth.

  “Well, I’m going to your aunt’s house tonight. Do you want to go with me?” she asked, brushing it off.

  “Actually, mom. I kind of already told Markus I’d help him with something.” Even though it was another truth, I felt like such a liar. I hated keeping things from her. If I told her any of the actual events and what Markus and I were up to, I’m sure that she would keep me tied up in the house for my own safety.

  “Okay, then. But I’ll be leaving soon. I want you back by eleven tonight.” she demanded.

  “Thanks, mom.” I exhaled.

  Fortunately, she left the room without any more questions I couldn’t answer honestly. As soon as she closed the door, I jumped to my feet.

  After polishing my nails, I hopped in the shower and started getting ready for tonight. After I got myself all prettied up and some time had passed, I went downstairs. It was dark in the house now. My mom had left during daylight, so she didn’t leave any lights on. I carefully felt my way along the wall to the stairs. Don’t trip. Don’t trip. Don’t trip.

  It was quite a while until Markus was supposed to pick me up, so I popped in an action movie. There was a lot of fighting in that one. The hero of the movie was fighting numerous bad guys at the same time, too. Markus came to mind then. It hit me that we were going to act as the good guys tonight. Would it be dangerous? Would Markus be wrong? Would there be running involved again? At least I was wearing actual shoes tonight. It was difficult to look better than last night when I had to dress down. But at least I was comfortable that time.

  The doorbell rang right at eight. I opened it and Markus stood there, dressed in all black. Oh yeah, that was sure to be some night.

  re you going to wear that tonight?” Markus asked.

  “What’s wrong with this?” I spat out. Looking down at myself, I realized what he was talking about-I was wearing a vibrant red shirt with light pants. An outfit that attracted attention probably wasn’t a good idea tonight. I swiveled around and ran upstairs to get a more appropriate outfit for spying. Having a better idea on what to wear now, I found a little black shirt and black hip huggers to go with it. My midriff top would show a little, but it was the only black shirt I had. Well, other than the one I wore around the house that had a picture of a skunk saying ‘love stinks’ on it.

  “You done checking yourself out yet?” Markus called out.

  “Shut up!” I hollered while running down the stairs. “Alright! Let’s go!”

  “Why are you so excited?” Markus asked.

  “Do I look excited?” I asked while giving him a mischievous smile.

  “Yeah. You do. Tonight I’m going to follow some guy around that could be a killer and you’re acting like you’re meeting up with a boy you like.” He stared at me, studying my face, and a smile formed on his lips.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You want to bump into your mysterious boyfriend don’t you?” He threw back a chuckle. “I knew it!”

  “No. I want to go catch me a bad guy. That’s all!” I snapped back.

  “Whatever.” Markus laughed out. “You ready yet?” He reached for the front door and opened it.

  Before we stepped out, I made sure all the doors to the house were locked. Markus was fidgeting with the passenger door to his car, but he eventually opened it for me and hopped in on the other side. I was eager to get the night started with. It felt like we were going on a mission, like in a movie or something. I never really did anything exciting like what we were about to do.

  I wasn’t sure if I was getting impatient or if Markus was just too slow. I stared at him in disbelief. How can a person be so slow? In a sloth-like motion, he buckled himself up and adjusted his seat. Then, he checked his mirrors by moving them around a bit and then placing them back to where they were in the first place. What the crap? Didn’t he just get in and drive the car to my house? Everything should have been set up already. I didn’t understand how he always got to places on time. It was like he lived in his own little leisure world.

  Markus turned to me with an innocent smile. “Let’s go.” Then he put the car into drive and we were on our way.

  “Is Tanya coming?” I asked.

  “Nah. I think she got grounded for talking late on the phone with some guy. She doesn’t know about any of this anyway. She did try to get it out of me last night though. I just don’t think she can handle it.” Markus said.

  “So where are we going?” I asked.

  “Where I saw it all. The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve seen it on the show Innocent Until Proven Criminal.”

  “You watch that show too much.” I accused.

  “Hey those episodes are from real cases. You’d know that if you weren’t so busy staring at the walls in your room.” he teased.

  “Markus! I’m not that lame!” My jaw dropped. I raised my hand to my eye and put my index finger and thumb close to each other. “You’re this close to a kick and a punch,” I warned.

  We pulled up to The Impulse. It looked pretty packed tonight-even more than last night. Predictably, there was not a single parking spot near the building. We ended up parking in the garage again. That time, I had on some regular shoes so my feet wouldn’t hurt during the walk. And also because I wanted to be prepared in case I needed to run. I looked a little too casual for the lounge though. Girls were wearing miniskirts with really cute tops. And others were basically in bikinis. Their cleavage was out, bellies were showing-the whole shebang. I guess it didn’t matter how I looked anyway because Markus lead me straight to the back of the lounge. We exited through the back doors and found that there was a cool breeze out tonight. The fresh air wrapped around me and flowed through my hair. It was quiet; I didn’t think anyone was out there. And there was a ladder attached to the building that reached the top. The building wasn’t that tall. It was just one story, so Markus and I easily climbed up to the roof and sat down with our legs hanging off. He had brought a bag with him, which consisted of at least two binoculars as he pulled them out and handed me the one with a neck strap on it.

  “Cool!” I put my head through the strap and looked through them. “What else do you have in that bag?”

  “Just some snacks.” He pulled out some chips and soda cans. A bad idea for me. I was trying to eat healthy and junk food was the only thing he brought. I was certain I could resist the temptation.

  “I also brought you this.” Markus pulled out a miniature spray can.

  “Thanks.” I didn’t know what the thing was. Wait…it looked like-

  “It’s mace, Mindy,” he continued, “I don’t want you to freak out or anything. I just wanted you to be ready...in case something ever happens again.” He put it in my hand and smiled. “Do you know how to use it?” he asked.

  “Of course. You just grab it l
ike this…” I wrapped my hand around the base and put my finger on the spray nozzle. I pointed it in front of me and turned towards Markus, the mace following.

  “Whoa!” He ducked down and pushed my arm away. I swear, that had to be the fastest I’d seen him move. Ninja mode!

  “Chill out. It’s not a gun or anything.” I said.

  “Well don’t wave it around like a baton.” He let go of my hand and sat back up. “I want you to keep it with you,” Markus suggested.

  “The binoculars, too?” Excitement filled my voice.

  “No!” He shot out. “If anything happens to you again, you take this and without any hesitation…spray the whole can in the jerk-off’s eyes. It leaves a red dye all over the target. So after you empty it on him call the cops and they’ll be able to find him easier because of the red markings.” he informed me.

  “So they can’t scrub it off or anything?” I asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Thanks. You really didn’t have to, but thanks.” I looked down at it in appreciation. He’d never given me anything before. Well, aside from birthday and Christmas gifts.

  “Yeah yeah,” he said, shyly. “Just don’t go spraying me with it.”

  He must have really cared about me to have given me something like that. How sweet. Markus started searching the ground below us with his binoculars after raising them up to his eyes. I did the same. Nothing much was going on though. All I saw was a cute couple making out beside a dumpster. Not a place I would pick to do that, but hey, people do crazy stuff. Further down, I spotted an orange cat that was digging through a dumpster behind a different building. There had to be at least thirteen of them set across from each other. Every building’s back entrance had a wall that divided the dumpster from the door. It looked like a little room with a wall knocked down as an opening. A bit of debris was floating on the ground, with help from the wind. But nothing else was going on.