[64.2] Cyrus POV: Abandonment

[Author's note: This chapter is from Cyrus's point of view.]

[***DISCLAIMER: This chapter has mentions of blood, attempted murder, and violence against women, that some readers may find uncomfortable.]

Every so often, Reika would occasionally look behind her, and once she confirmed no one was following her, only then did she go home. After taking a week off of work, her boss called to shout at her. Spurred on by her boss, Reika got ready for work and arrived at her job. When she went to leave for the day, she suddenly froze.

There he was.

Standing near the entrance.

Not on the property.

Just watching.

Reika grew distressed upon seeing that and typed on her phone. She held it up to her ear in a panic, "Oppa. Oppa, please. I need you to come pick me up."

I could hear a staticky voice answer her, "Reika… I told you. I can't. I'm not even in the city any longer. My mother's health has deteriorated since the funeral so I've been taking care of her."

"No! You don't understand! My ex-"

"Reika… Relax. Your Ex has completely forgotten about you. Hanabae's death was an accident. Okay? Try not to worry yourself so much. Your health is important too."

"No! You aren't listening to me! Right now he is-"

"-Ah. Sorry, Reika. My mother is calling me. I have to go help her. If you get too anxious, just call the police."

The call suddenly ended, leaving Reika all alone.

Reika clutched the phone until her knuckles turned white, "And just what would those a**holes do?"

Reika looked back at her phone and hesitated, "I can't call the police… I could lose my job for causing problems."

Her eyes were slowly turned to an emergency exit. She went to the door, switched off the alarm, and snuck out the back.

Each day she came to work, she saw him standing near the entrance. She expected him to do something, but he never did.

He only watched.

He would glare at her as she walked past him with her coworkers by her side. However, he wouldn't reach out to her, nor would he say anything.

All of her coworkers became aware of the situation, and at first, they were understanding. But as time went on, they grew annoyed.

"Why should I walk you out?! It's not like he ever does something! Stop blowing this out of proportion!"

Her boss would also scold her, "You need to get this situation resolved. He's losing me business! If you even think about getting the police involved, do it away from my museum!"

Without wanting to cause any more trouble, Reika started using the back exit to leave and arrive by herself. As the days passed, she grew more comfortable. Since her Ex didn't do anything, perhaps this was all just a scare tactic?

He wouldn't actually do anything-

The back door locked behind her as she exited the building. It was only when she started walking down the back alley did another person suddenly emerge.

A shadow flew towards Reika, holding her arm as he whispered in her ear, "If I can't have you… No one can."

I didn't even understand what happened until he stepped back from her. A long knife drew out of her stomach, dripping with a crimson liquid.

As the hooded man ran out of the alley, Reika looked down at the wound pouring out with blood. She slowly raised her hand to cover it but found that the blood rushed through her fingers instead. Still in shock, she forced herself to walk as she left a trail of blood.

Step by step.

a trail of red dragged behind her.

It was only when she got to the end of the alley did she finally faint from blood loss.

The world around me grew dark and I stood alone trying to digest what I had just seen. As I tried to swallow the past events, I heard voices amidst the darkness.

"Do you know who did this?"

"Yes…" Reika spoke weakly, "My ex-boyfriend."

"How do you know it was him?"

"I heard his voice… He said: 'If I can't have you, no one can'."

"Uhuh. And why do you think he would do this?"

"Because he's abusive. He used to hit me and-"

"-And have you reported the abuse to police before?"

"Well, no, not really. But-"

"Hm. Why wouldn't you report it if he hurt you?"

Silence.

Click.

Click.

She mumbled, "I was scared…"

"Scared of what? Getting in trouble for false reporting? Listen, Lady. Why don't you just admit you don't know who actually stabbed you?"

"Wha… W-What?"

"Do you think I was born yesterday? I know you aren't telling me the full story. I can only guess it's this: Some stranger stabbed you. You wanted to blame your ex-boyfriend because you still haven't gotten over a few things."

The darkness suddenly receded and I could see a hospitalized Reika staring at the officer in a daze, "I can't believe this…"

The officer sighed, "I'm not blaming you for lying. A lot of people who have been attacked see who they want to see-"

"I'M NOT LYING!"

The officer glared down at Reika who shrunk into herself.

She took a deep breath and spoke calmly, "Please just listen to me… You have to help me. You have to keep that man away from me."

The officers glanced at each other before one shrugged and spoke, "Alright. Regardless of whether we believe you or not, there's not much we can do except give you a protective order while we investigate."

"You're kidding!? What good will that do?!"

"If he comes within 100 feet, you can call the police. That's all we can do for you now."

As the men left the room, it fell into an uncomfortable silence. Reika stared at the ceiling, still looking as if she couldn't understand if her life was real or not.

For several days, Reika stayed in the hospital.

All alone.

Without a single visitor.