Demons From the Past novel Chapter 8

|Verena|

"You know, you're kind of cute, when you're not trying to bash people's heads with a baseball bat that is?" Marcus told me with a wink.

I just rolled my eyes at him.

Nate and I had just finished our training for the day and we were currently lounging on the couch in the living room of Marcus's and Nate's apartment. It was Sunday so I didn't have college and the Gym was closed for the day.

"Look, I've already apologized like ten times! What else do you want?" I demanded in exasperation.

"An apology doesn't make up for you almost murdering me." Marcus snapped.

"I did not almost murder you. I just wanted to hit you hard enough to get you unconscious!" I defended.

Marcus gave me a murderous look, he was about to say something else but Nate's voice cut in.

"If you don't shut up I will murder both of you." He shouted in annoyance.

Marcus gave Nate a glare, he sighed dramatically before finally getting up disappearing into his room. "Psycho woman." He mumbled under his breath.

"He is such a kid!" I cried in disbelief.

"He'll come around." Nate muttered.

Nate was sitting on the other end of the couch flipping through the TV channels absentmindedly.

"I'm going after that man." I blurted out suddenly.

'Good job at being subtle.' I mentally groaned.

His hand froze over the remote as he turned to look at me.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I fidgeted nervously under his gaze.

"It's almost been a week and there's been no sign of the murderer. He should have made his move by now but he hasn't." I stated flatly.

"And that's a bad thing?" Nate asked raising his eyebrows in question.

"I'm not going to wait around for him to target me again. God knows what that man is planning. I have do something." I retorted.

"What do you suggest?" He asked, light amusement lacing his voice.

"I'm going to start looking for him myself. I'm going to find out who he is."

"Okay, where do we start?" Nate asked, his tone casual.

I was taken aback.

He wanted he help me find the killer?

Nate sighed, "You're probably going to get killed on your own and the man threatened me too. I might as well do something about it."

My face broke into a grin.

"Where do we start?" Nate repeated.

"Allison. We need to figure out why that man killed her and how she'd linked to all of this."

Nate nodded taking in the information.

"That day I found her passed out. I think she was there for the party." Nate wondered out loud.

"Do you know whose party it was?" I inquired.

"No, but Marcus's cousin asked us to come, I bet he knows."

I bit my lip. It was a force of habit, something I did whenever I was trying to concentrate.

I was about to speak when I noticed that Nate's gaze was trained on my lips. I could feel myself blush.

I cleared my throat to get his attention and when his eyes met mine they were darker than usual.

"We still need to figure out how the killer made it into her apartment without the security cameras catching anything." I said after a while.

We both sat in silence for the next few minutes lost in thought. Finally I spoke up again, "I think you should go and ask Marcus's cousin if he knows anything about Allison. I'll go to the apartment complex and check things out, as soon as you're free meet me there."

I started to get up and Nate gaped at me in surprise.

"Right now?"

"Now's a better time than ever." I responded giving him a smirk.

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|Nate|

"Remind me why we're doing this ?" Marcus grumbled once again.

We were currently standing outside his cousin's dorm room.

"Because we need to find the murderer before he hurts someone again." I responded.

Marcus gave me a hard look before his face broke into a smirk. "A particular someone maybe? Someone with big brown eyes and auburn hair perhaps? Someone named Verena Dawson, yes?" He teased.

"Her eyes aren't brown they're hazel." I responded automatically.

Damn it.

Did I actually say that?

Marcus gave me a pointed look. "So you do like her."

I scoffed, "Of course not! She's the most irritating person I've ever met."

"Okay, then why did you just drive half way across town for her? You refuse to walk twenty steps to the store to get coffee when I ask you to!"

"Look, the man threatened me too. I'm doing this for myself more than anyone else."

"Sure you are." Marcus muttered under his breath as he knocked on the door.

The door opened almost immediately and we were greeted by scrawny looking kid who had the same black hair and eyes as Marcus. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw us.

"Marcus, what are you doing here?" He asked uncertainly.

"Hey Liam." Marcus greeted his cousin. "We need to ask you something."

He stepped aside permitting us to come in.

"We're here to ask you about the party last week." I cut in not wanting to unnecessarily prolong our visit.

Liam observed me for a moment, he plopped down on the bed casually.

"What about it?" He shrugged.

"Do you know whose party it was?"

Liam looked at me curiously before finally responding. "Caleb Johnson. He throws these sick parties every weekend, whenever his parents are away."

I nodded, taking in the information.

"Did you know about Allison Wyatt?" I asked after a while.

"She's the chick who was murdered in her apartment, right?" Liam responded.

"Yes, do you have any idea who it could have murdered her?"

"How would I know?" Liam snapped somewhat defensively.

Marcus rolled his eyes at him. "Chill man, we're not accusing you of anything."

"We just want to know if you have any idea who it could have been." I reassured him.

Liam seemed to be lost in thought. "Look I'm not suggesting anything but I heard that she and her boyfriend got into a huge fight the day before she was killed. I heard he threatened her."

"Do you know his name?" I demanded.

"Ethan, Ethan Grant." Liam answered, he hesitated a little before he spoke again. "I don't know what you guys are planning but let me warn you, you need to be careful. Ethan has a reputation, he's pretty dangerous. You guys should stay out of it."

I smirked at his warning, "Don't worry kid, I can take care of myself."

Marcus rolled his eyes at me. "Thanks Liam, you were really helpful." He said as he patted his cousin on the back.

I turned to look at Nate, "I think it's time we talk to Belinda." I murmured.

"Who's Belinda?" Nate questioned.

"She's the receptionist."

We both made our way inside the complex to the reception area. To my relief I saw Belinda sitting behind the counter. Her blonde hair was tied into a loose bun. She saw me approaching and she gave me a warm smile.

"Verena! What a lovely surprise."

"Hey Belinda. How have you been?" I greeted the lady.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry about what happened. I talked to the management office and they've agreed to pay you in full for whatever damaged that wretched man caused. I have no idea how he managed to break into your apartment without anyone noticing!"

"That's actually the reason why we're here." I admitted.

Belinda's eyes turned to Nate, noticing him for the first time.

"And who might this handsome young man be?" She asked.

"Er- He's a friend." I said awkwardly.

"I'm Nate." Nate said kindly as he gave Belinda a warm smile.

I scoffed.

He was being a gentleman now?

He was never that sweet to me.

"So what can I do for you kids?" Belinda asked.

"We think that the person who broke into my apartment and killed Allison got in through the backup generator room somehow, which is why the guards and security cameras didn't catch him."

"Oh my goodness, I never thought about that!" Belinda exclaimed.

"We heard that you're the only one who has the key which unlocks the door from the outside." I told her.

Belinda's face paled. "Are you suggesting-" She began, her lips quivered.

"No, no! Of course not." I cut in quickly, "We're not accusing you." I assured the lady.

Belinda relaxed, "How can I help you then dear?"

"I was hoping that you could lend us the key for a bit so we could check it out."

The receptionist hesitated. "I don't know if I'm supposed to..."

"Please." I cut in desperately.

Belinda studied us carefully for a good few minutes. Finally, she let out a sigh in defeat. "Okay, but please return it soon." She murmured as she handed me the key.

I gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you." I told her sincerely.

Suddenly Nate spoke up, "When I came here a while ago there was another receptionist here." He wondered out loud.

Belinda nodded in agreement, "Yes that was my friend Hannah, she was filling in for me while I was sick and I know what your next question is going to be, and my answer is no, I did not give Hannah the key to the generator room, it was with me the whole time I was away. I keep the main set of keys with me at all times, I even take them home."

I gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry we'll get to the bottom of this." I said determinedly.

"You kids better be careful."

"We will." We both said in union.

We began to walk away and Nate eyed the key in my hand suspiciously.

"What are you planning to do exactly?" He asked.

I gave him a smirk.

"We're going to play detective."

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