Devil's Whisper: A Psycho's Waltz

Ch.7: Digging a grave

"What about you?"

The sudden question pulled Elle out of her dark thoughts... Looking at the reddish leaves on the ground, and the finely edged trees that got stripped, words found their way out of her mouth, "I don't know... I have no dreams."

Being met with silence, Elle had to turn and check on the guy, just to find him staring back at her with a very intense gaze.

She didn't know what's wrong with her, neither did she realize how reddish her cheeks got... Even more red than the fallen leaves...

"I wasn't talking about that..." These ice-cold words were the response that he came with to break the silence, "I was asking what you've been doing at high-school this late for?"

"Ah!" As the misunderstanding was cleared, Elle felt sort of embarrassed, yet she still managed to cope with it in time, "I had detention... And then I was called by the teacher..."

Somehow the gaze grew more intense. Looking at those eyes that were staring back at hers, a thought flashed by Elle's mind, yet she totally missed on it as the words took her by surprise.

"... You don't look like the type of students who'd get detentions and councelled by teachers."

Elle shook her head and let out a heavy sigh that failed to express her inner feelings, and with her never-fading smile, she bemoaned, "... This thing happens too."

Looking at the glowing sun, a crisp circle in the b****y sky, illuminated a quivering path across the water. It bathed the lake's meek waves and the wispy clouds in a burning red. This fevered invariant equatorial was falling down in the horizons, shielded by strong trees, black soldiers, standing in an unmoving row as their fallen leaves intertwined with the sky and painting a hellish, yet cool, apocalyptic scenery.

Silence connected the two lost hearts, yet time had to put an end to this spiritual scene. Because... When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.

Looking at his silver, fancy watch, Leo realized that his day was fruitless and that it was too late to accomplish his plans for the day.

Standing up and turning to the girl who was still mesmerized by the beauty of the autumn's dusk. He made a little cough to catch her attention, "It's getting dark and I bet your parents are worried sick about you... Time to go back home."

Shifting her eyesight unwillingly, she stood up and whispered under her breath, "... Not really..."

Despite the low pitch, these words couldn't escape the man's ears, his eyes flashed with an unexplainable light, yet he didn't comment on that and chose to ask her instead, "Where do you live? Lemme make sure you reach home safely."

Elle stuttered stressfully, "No need to... It's pretty far away from here."

"Lemme give you a ride then...“ He added as he casually reached for her hand and pulled her, "And I won't take 'no' for an answer!"

Seeing how powerless she was facing her savior's enormous strengh compared to hers, she had to give in and let him do what he wants, least she'll ditch him half-way.

In fact she wouldn't even reach her house by this time... In such a tiny town, with a population of no more than a couple thousands people. The chauffeur wouldn't come and pick her up by now, and transport means we're sort of lacking, the couple taxi drivers living in their small town wouldn't pass by... They must be already at the town's Inn.

Seeing as they stopped in front of a black Range Rover parked not far away from where they were. Elle stood on edge as she watched him play the gentleman and open the door for her.

The first thing she realized once she took her place was the foul smell that was barely hidden by the parfumed air-fresh and the overwhelming manly cologne.

Everything was so perfect in the inside otherwise, the boards and the buttons were so seamless that she couldn't even find any fingerprints... Making her wonder if he was an obsessed neat-freak.

The car's brand and everything about this man was just relatively extravagant for a college student. She made a hard guess that he must've came from a wealthy background... Which wasn't that surprising in fact, their town was a fancy neighborhood full of the rich's vacancy villas.

"Tell me your address." He asked as he shut the door gently behind him and turned on the car's engine.

Elle stuttered at first, before answering with a low voice, "Bella-East Woods... A total of 15 kilometers down the main route."

Leonel's moves stopped the moment he heard her words, looking at her, a thought flashed by his mind but all he did was to reach out for her.

The girl, met by the man's bewitching face and the suffocating cologne and the overwhelming manly hormones... She didn't even realize how red her cheeks became, her head growing numb to the sudden surge of the hormones, yet unconsciously, her hands overcame the dizziness and reached to her handbag in a desperate move.

*Tchuk*

The sound pulled her out of her dizziness, yet Leo who just buckled her seat belt gave her a mocking smile.

With his foxy eyes and playful tone, he commented, "Were you expecting something sweetheart? Or maybe wanting to attack me?"

She lowered her head in embarrassment... In fact she was clueless about love but something she never realized kicked in her.

Whereas her instinctive reflect when facing danger was a life-saving skill she developed through time... Thanks to going through a lot of training with her "family".

The fact that she reached for a pencil, with which she was unconsciously going to stab him with made her feel disgusted of how sick she was.

Seeing as the girl didn't seem to respond, Leonel leaned back on his seat again and released the hand-brake.

Driving in total silence, the two had a lot in mind that they wanted to say but couldn't strike the conversation first.

Leo who wanted to relieve the tense atmosphere decided to break the ice first and chatter, "I've heard the whole area around Bella-East Woods were private property, the best place in this town. Yet the owner wouldn't even sell it to those rich business-legends... They've been wondering what great of a man was behind the property that even politicians couldn't get their hands on, yet it was the Rosenvelt family?"

"Hm... Yeah..." Elle was taken aback, it was the first time someone knew of the great deals behind the Bella-East Woods.

Seeing as the girl didn't seem to talk much, he continued on, fetching a topic that would make her open up, "Are the Rosenvelts and the Roosevelts related? This family has got a load of great men, yet I don't think that's the case... Your family must be very rich too right?"

"Well... Not really..." Elle answered uneasily, she never really enjoyed talking about her "family", yet she couldn't make the atmosphere any weirder, "My father is just running his own business... Bits of this and that. I don't really know much about the property tho'..."

"What about your mother?" He went on, making sure he extracts every possible information from her.

"I don't know." That was Elle's only answer, she felt a little bitter trying to explain yet words had to wome out of her mouth anyway, "I don't remember anything about her or where she is now... She's long gone..."

"oh... Sorry..." Leonel apologized in a calm sad tone, yet he never really felt that way, "My father died due to an accident fifteen years ago... I was just eight years old when I became an orphan because my mother followed suit not long after him... Sorrow took her life."

"Ow..." Elle somehow felt guilty for bringing up such a topic, "... This should've been so hard on you... Losing both your parents at such a sensitive age."

"My grandma took me in right after and I was so young that It didn't make that much of a difference actually..." He added unconsciously in what seemed like a whisper, "... Sometimes a dead parent... is better than a parent who'd lead to your death..."

Elle heard him and lost herself in realization... The words he said were so deep, so dark, yet so true... She might be alive, but no better than a walking-dead.

"Sorry for your loss if I'd say..." These words came when she was still lost in her day-dreams, but then she remembered to inquire about the questions that has been burdening her all the time, "so... You must be coming to spend your holidays with your grandma?"

"No." A simple answer was all it took to make the conversation elevate from bad to worse in no time, "She passed away five years ago, right after making sure she fulfilled her mission and watched me grow into an adult..."

Being met with silence, he decided to continue on with something that would change the topic, "I came back to visit the family's house and forget about the hustle and bustle of California."

"Ow... I wish you'll have a great time then." Elle who found herself in loss of words just wanted to put an end to such a dark conversation, "You may stop here, I live by the end of this road."

Going against her words, Leonel changed the speed and made a ninety-degree detour with the car.

"It's so dark and the woods at night ain't safe." Hearing his simple excuse, Elle wanted to smash her head on the nearest wall...

She was digging her grave with her own hands... Not knowing that what the future holds for her would be far worse...