Chapter 5 5- Snooping In Julian's Room

My heart was beating erratically after seeing Julian get arrested by the police. My waist burned from where he had held me. His touch lingered on me longer than he had touched me. But that wasn't it. 

The diary page where Rachel claimed that Julian would kill her was gone. 

"Chloe, baby, are you okay?" Mom's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. Before I could see her, she wrapped her arms around me in a protective and scared grip. 

It wasn't until she rubbed my back to calm me down that I realized how badly I was trembling.

"Look at me, sweetheart." Mom said, and I felt my eyes burning with tears the moment I looked at her, and I saw her face contorting with helplessness before hugging me once again, this time more tightly.  

"I don't understand what's happening, Mom. I don't know." I broke down, and she rubbed my back gently, whispering soothing words in my ears. 

When I finally calmed down after minutes of crying, she handed me a cup of warm coffee and a plate of steaming snacks. 

"Why did you open the doors for him, Chloe? Don't you know how dangerous Julian is? First, he killed Rachel. Now he is after you. You can't keep being reckless with yourself, darling. People like him search for opportunities like this." She chided me, and I bit my lips, looking away from her. 

"How did you know Julian was here?" I asked her curiously, and she let out a tired sigh. 

"We installed cameras outside our house after Rachel's death. And thank God we did, Chloe. Otherwise, God knows what that monster would have done to you." Mom shuddered at her thought, making me feel the heat of it too. 

I felt a shiver running down my spine, but deep down I just knew one thing. The answers Julian can give me, no one else can. 

*** 

There was no sight of Julian for the next two days. It felt weird not having his dark eyes looking at my every move. It felt even more awkward not having anyone under the oak tree, smoking and looking at me like he knew me better than I knew myself. 

But he was exactly where he should be. 

Behind the bars. 

When the school got over, I found myself walking towards the road nobody ever dared to take. The road that led to Julian's house.

But I was recklessly suicidal that evening. With Julian behind bars, his house must be empty. No Julian Sinclair to interrupt my investigation. Somehow my amnesia and Rachel's murder had their roots in Julian; I just knew it. 

Picking up the lock, I got inside. 

When I expected a shabby-looking shady place, I saw a normal house. His place was small but surprisingly clean. No speck of dirt, no mess, nothing. Everything was kept in its place. Even with nobody inside, his house felt scary. Maybe scarier than its owner. 

Cabinet after cabinet, drawer after drawer, I felt myself checking everything. For someone with such a gruesome crime, he can't lead a normal life. There must be something that could prove his involvement in my accident. 

After an hour of relentless searching, my eyes finally found a black, almost worn-out file. When I opened it, I found countless pictures of Rachel's murder site. Photographs taken from every angle. There were pictures of Rachel's murdered body, and I felt bile rising in my throat. 

But what followed next made my blood run cold. 

There were pictures of me. From the night of my accident. I gulped, seeing the blood smearing my forehead in the pictures. I felt my head spinning for a second, and I immediately sat down on the plush chair kept under the window, holding my head. 

What the actual heck was happening? 

Why did he have pictures of my accident in his file? 

And why was he maintaining records of Rachel's murder? 

"I wouldn't go further if I were you, Bennet." I heard a deadly calm voice, making me drop the file on the ground with a thud.  

I let out a startled scream, seeing Julian standing behind me, dressed in casual clothes. A dark, almost amused smile formed on his face as he saw me, startled, shocked, and maybe even scared. 

Pulling away from the doorframe, he walked towards me, making me back away. But that's when I realized I was sitting in the chair. I had nowhere to escape, nowhere to go. 

"What— what are you doing here?" I stammered out, and his eyebrows arched up in response. His dark, razor-sharp eyes made my heart beat so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. 

"Last time I checked, Bennet, a person is normally found in his house. But the real question is... what are you doing at my place?" His voice was scarily amused. As if he was entertained. 

I didn't have any answer to his question. Or rather, I didn't have any answer that could justify my snooping in his house without his permission. 

"The police had arrested you! I saw it with my own eyes! How can you be out so early?" I asked him, and he walked another step forward, followed by a couple more until his shoes touched mine. 

Slowly, he leaned closer, making me suck in a breath. His face was barely a few inches away from mine. His eyes fell on my parted lips for a moment before he lifted his lips into a feral smile as he looked back at me. 

"Did you really think the police could keep me locked for more than twenty-four hours, Chloe?" His voice was smooth but dark, like a smooth dagger slowly piercing my throat. 

"You know, Bennet, you're terrible at playing detective. But you're remarkably experienced at falling right into my trap." 

I felt my breath hitch when he placed his hands on either side of the chair, trapping me between his arms as he slowly leaned closer to me.