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8. News Story

For a moment I stood there, stunned. What are you even supposed to say? Everything inside me felt like it was crumbling. Breathing felt like a task. His eyes were trained on me, unmoving which made me still.

Damon Arcuri was a killer. A criminal. No wonder Kay didn't want me to find out about him. No wonder people in school freaked out after seeing him back at school. How did I not know about the story? The town which we live in was small and quaint, most of them know each other. It was crazy to think that the story never got around. Was it hushed up by Mr and Mrs Smith? Then who were they?

"Umm..." I nervously licked my lips, feeling the hair of my neck stand with fear. There was no way he was going to harm me in the party full of people. Then it dawned me that we were on the balcony, all alone. At least Aechia will live and be able to inherit everything from our parents meanwhile I'll die in the hands of a killer.

"You don't have to be scared. I only kill on Saturdays" He said with a grave tone. I stared at him with my eyes wide when he burst out laughing.

"Your face! I am kidding!" He shook his head.

My shoulders sagged and I finally released the breath I was holding. That was so not the topic to joke about! I should have known he was joking. It was too sad to be real.

I slapped his arm, "I can't believe you would joke about something like that. Murder is a serious thing"

The laughter on his face vanished again and he pressed his lips together, "I wasn't joking about my past."

I stilled again. Was he trying to joke again? My eyes squinted together to stare at him carefully as he tightening his grip on the grill. There was no expression on his face to indicate that he was lying. Damn, he was good.

"I was the only one they found at the crime scene..." He trailed as the footsteps got closer to us. I looked over my shoulder only to spot Aechia with an ice cone in her hand. She had a huge grin on her face and what appeared like a smudge of colour at the corner of her lips. If only she knew the horror I was going through.

"Anya" She sighed as if it was a task to even utter my name. Damon narrowed his eyes at Aechia which made me shift on my feet. Was he going to tell his story to her?

"Mom is looking for you."

"Great! Let's go" I enthusiastically said and grabbed her wrist. She tried to break free but I tightened my hold and brushed past Damon. He was a danger and I definitely cannot let him get close to me. No matter what.

Aechia groaned as we were turning around, her head over her shoulder, "What about Damon?"

"He can find his way" I whispered

Aechia huffed freeing her wrist as we entered the main hallway. I could feel the sweat on my palms as the air felt moist.

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No" I quickly yelled, suddenly realising that my hurry must have made her doubt. Shaking my head furiously I grabbed the nearby orange drink and gulped hastily. The cool drink touching my dry throat made me release a sigh.

As I was about to sag against the table, from the corner of my eyes I noticed him. He was casually walking towards the dining table and as if he felt my eyes on him he looked in my direction. I immediately shifted my eyes away and turned away, clenching my hand tight in hopes that he won't approach us. There's only so many times I can avoid him and run away.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Aechia nudged my elbow. I turned to face her, her eyebrows scrunched together as she took a bite of her cone. My mouth watered as I noticed the waiter carrying the calzone pockets.

"Anya" My sister stomped her feet to get my attention.

"I don't know what you are talking about" I shrugged trying to change the topic.

"Yeah right," She scoffed. Before she could start questioning again I ducked away and skipped to the waiter holding the calzone pockets. As I approached closer I noticed Damon turning my way.

"Yes I'll be there" I randomly yelled and skipped towards the table where my mom was sitting.  She blinked her eyes at my sudden arrival.

"What's going on?" My mother whispered, leaning closer to me. I politely smiled noticing the attention on me and picked the napkin.

"I'm just hungry"

"Okay," She drawled, not really believing but didn't press to which I was relieved. The entire time I avoided staring at Damon and focused on my food. It was going to be a long night


Thankfully my mother did not question when I asked her we had to leave early. She was happy to oblige as the next day was a school day for both me and my sister. Damon was attempting every chance to talk to me but I was dodging him. What do you even say to the guy who served time for killing his family?

The next day I decided that I was going to tell the teacher I cannot work with Damon anymore. Talking to him last night made things very clear. I should have actually listened to Kay and let it go instead of trying to dig deeper.

My phone pinged with the message and I halted in the middle of the school hallway. As soon as I noticed that it was an email from the university I held my breath. Scrambling towards the wall I leaned back and hastily unlocked my phone.

' Hello, Miss Anya hope this mail finds you well. We are happy to inform you that your application is shortlisted-'

A squeak left my mouth at that. I was selected! I was shortlisted in my desired university. Taking a deep breath I continue reading the email. My mouth felt dry as I read the final selection process. I needed a story. A mind-blowing story published in a magazine or newspaper to get through the selection process.

My fingers dialled Daniel, the chief editor of our club. He might have definitely stumbled across some story or might have something I could write about. I tapped my feet against the ground, impatiently looking at the wall in front of me as the students passed by.

Daniel Linetti was the star student of our school. He had the opportunity to graduate last year but due to his accident, he was stuck completing the final semester. Daniel was the guy who had juicy stories to write about and recently his article was published in a local newspaper. He was the only hope I had if I wanted to get my story published.

"Hello?" His voice croaked from the other side of the phone. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as he finally answered my call.

"Daniel" I breathed

"Hi! Is this a good time to talk?"

He hummed, "It is. My next class is in half an hour"

"Great so listen-"

"I am" He interrupted and I could already tell that he must have a huge grin on his face at that.

"I really need a huge story for my paper this year. I don't care what it is but I really need it. Can you please find one? I'll owe you big time"

"Wow, this is new. What is the rush? We still have two months for our school magazine."

Before I could answer him he continued, "Besides you always win one prize anyway. Why are you so worried?"

I sighed, "You don't understand. It's not for our school magazine. I need the story for my University application and it has to be something big. It is my dream University and I cannot let it slip"

He made a sound at that. I nervously tapped my feet as there was silence from the other side. Maybe it was a mistake calling him. I should have directly met him and talked about it.

"I think I have something that is your golden ticket"

"Really?! What is it?"

"Damon Arcuri." My mouth felt dry as he uttered that name. Holding my breath I heard him continue, "I don't know if you have heard of him but he was accused of murdering his own family. The story was hushed up and most of them refused to talk about it. Some local papers talked about it but they were no real updates after that. If you can get your hands on that story it will be a huge hit for our magazine as well as your University application."

"What do you say? Are you interested?"

I was quiet for a while, not moving an inch from where I was standing. Danielle had a point. It would be a huge story. Even the magazine would be sold out in our school as students were intrigued by him and the mystery surrounding his story.

"Anya? Are you there?"

"Yes...yes I will think about it"


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