I snatched open the door and bounced outside in bewilderment to find Hot cop pulling out a picnic basket from his boot and walking farther down towards the huge body of water that reminded me too well of a not so distant memory. 

A carpet of lush greenery almost engulfed my feet as I stepped out of the car, but I barely paid attention to it. I just needed answers to questions that, for some reason, had suddenly began to plague my mind;

Like why Hot cop wanted to sit on the blanket he was currently spreading over the carpet grass that looked too green and trim to be natural and watch the waves of the river crash close to where his feet lay when he should rather be investigating murder cases. 

I wondered why he wanted to talk to me about love, by the deserted riverbank that looked perfect for his said picnic… 

Or a romantic date…

My eyes widened at the realisation I'd just unconsciously implied.

"What are we doing here?" I found myself looking around like something or someone had heard my thoughts and would suddenly jump out of nowhere to call me out for how preposterous it sounded to the ears.

"We're here to unwind." When Hot cop's replied unexpectedly, the timbre of his voice startled me so much that I almost jumped. "We are here to forget about problems and live in the moment. Another bonus will be getting to know each other, I still would like to find out that thing about you that intrigues me."

It had to be the way he winked, or his expression while he was delivering those words —that was akin to that of a fanatic worshipping his idol— that suddenly reminded me of how misled Hot cop was; how he was misunderstanding me all over again even after witnessing how much of a proper bitch I could be.

I closed my eyes to try reining in my raging temper and the lashing out that was underway;

It didn't work.

"I agreed to a drive because it'll help me escape shit. I didn't want to forget; I still don't want to forget how I've screwed up my sister because I couldn't handle the unfiltered truth about how pathetic I am for attention." Hot cop made to say something, but I stopped him by raising an pointer finger and narrowing my eyes into slits.

"I don't want to unwind; it is still fucking risky to 'unwind' when I have a psycho murderer shadowing my every move and before you go all 'we have apprehended the culprits and they're in custody', I don't think any of them did it." I searched his expression for a confirmation and his gaze wavering from mine gave me just the right amount of go-ahead I needed to be more frustrated.

"And that's more reason to cut whatever the crap this is and get back to the school's premises, goddammit! I refuse to unwind when every other female around me is at risk of being murdered in the most gruesome way possible!"

I began marching from where he stood toward the vehicle we came in and I was glad he didn't stop me. 

After settling in the passenger side of the car, I focused on regaining control of my breathing pattern. I was almost there when the door suddenly opened and Hot cop settled in beside me. I exhaled shakily and averted my gaze to the view outside my window.

"I…" he began, “I am sorry for… suggesting… I don't know, I'm just… it's just… unwinding helps me clear my mind, helps me think of newer possibilities and…"

I'd never witnessed Hot cop stumble over words, but I was too exhausted to show the surprise I undoubtedly felt.

"You're right. Alero and Saheed barely know anything besides teenage infatuation and misinformation of…" I found it suspicious that he trailed off and muttered a curse word under his breath before continuing;

"We should focus on searching for the real culprit behind these murders." With that, he pushed the key into its ignition and made to turn it, but I placed my hand over his to stop the action.

"What do you mean by 'teenage infatuation and misinformation'?" I asked after steeling myself to stare into his eyes. He avoided my eyes. 

"Misinformation of what?" I pressed further with dread spreading over my insides. Hot cop only replied with a small sigh and withdrew his right hand from under my palm. 

I knew whatever was about to come next wasn't going to be particularly pleasant. 

"We searched Mr. Saheed and Corper Jide's private quarters. While we found nothing that could explain Jide's involvement in that incident, we found a numerous incriminating evidence against Saheed–" 

And I wast wrong.

"Saheed is everyone's plug for weed and shit," I interrupted fiercely, to Hot cop's apparent surprise. "Saheed won't hurt a fly even if you're willing to pay him millions to do so. It is Jide you should blame for all that happened that night, it is–" 

"Yes, Jide had a score to settle with you! The bastard won't accept that a teenager beat him at his own game and definitely refused to be bullied by a private investigator to fuck off after his recovery. Yes, he was ready to kill you! But have you stopped to wonder what Saheed had to do with all that? Or how it was very  easy to bury the second victim's body without much fuss and that too, in less than twenty-four hours?" 

Angry flames flashed through his eyes when he finally looked towards me. He looked like he expected me to have already figured out the reason behind that attack even though I had next to no information whatsoever. 

He looked disappointed and I as much as I tried my possible best to not give a fuck, I was disturbed.

"Your school is for the elite, do you think a child of any patron would be murdered in that way and they would agree to a low key burial without suing the management?!" 

As if on cue, the words Saheed had saluted me with on that nightcame back to me in the same bitter tone he'd initially said it with;

I should have killed you when I had the chance. 

Saheed and I used to be cool, he liked me even, he'd even made advances at me in the previous years and it didn't mar our friendship that I'd declined. However the way he'd looked at me that night… the way his bloodshot eyes stared at me with such emptiness… 

Realisation settled on me like dew on grass. 

"Saheed claims to have gotten a letter from you gloating about how much you enjoyed taking away what he valued the most and how you'd do it again and again if he didn't stop ruining every students' life with his heightened greed and get rich quick schemes..."

My blood ran cold.

"Saheed confessed to only you knowing about his humble background and numerous secrets; how the girl he calls his sister was actually his kid and how he did what he did because he wanted the best for his daughter. He said you incessantly threatened to trend his iniquities with your vlog if he tried marketing his wares to clean students. We saw the letter indeed and compared the writings, it was a perfect match with yours…"

Slowly, but surely, the voice of Hot cop began to reduce in volume as my head started overheating at Saheed's claims. My mind went back to how mutilated the girl's body had been found and the fact that someone believed I could be messed up enough to do that to a fellow female made me want to retch my guts. 

The enclosed space of the car, that was getting even more stuffy by the ticking second, wasn't helping matters either. 

I was snatching open the car door and bolting towards the river before my reasoning could catch up with my actions. The fresh air that hit my lungs, due to the action, was enough to calm down my nausea, but the sickening imagery Saheed's mind had painted of me stuck to my mind like a bad tattoo. 

It wasn't until Hot cop's strong arms latched on to my waist and started to pull me backwards that I realised I had run right into the river without stopping to think of my nearly nonexistent ability to swim;

In fact, I was already knee-deep into the water. 

I allowed him to drag me all the way to the bank and yank me around before crying out what I had in mind;

"I would never do such a thing! I would never even think of hurting–" my ability to speech suddenly malfunctioned when Hot cop placed his index finger to my lips, leaving me totally speechless. 

He then looked into my eyes with his beautiful eyes that brightened up with so much emotion and whispered gently, "you don't ever have to prove your innocence to me, Bella. I know it's not you." 

If his action had left me surprised, then his words left me stunned to every fibre of my being. 

I kept staring at his eyes with my mouth agape, wondering why on earth a trained detective would repeatedly believe a piece of shit over crystal clear evidence. Even after all the mental exercise, I wasn't able to come to a reasonable conclusion as to how or why it was possible for a practical stranger to have such strong trust in me.

"What if it is me?" I suddenly found myself questioning. "What if I was the murderer?" 

His gaze was disconnected from mine immediately, he'd closed his eyes. 

"You cannot be the killer, Bella. I know you better than that–" 

And we were back to the 'Bella worship'.

Fuck!

"But then you don't know shit about me!" I flared up again, and rightly so. "you only know the little I've told you about my life and that doesn't even cut it. It doesn't tell what I'm capable of doing!"

He tried to hold my hand, but I was quick to take two steps back. He sighed once again. 

"I know enough–" 

"Enough to know I fucking stabbed my mother's husband seven bloody times and almost killed him when I was twelve! I'm one messed up bitch you shouldn't go around trusting for fucks sake! I am fucking capable of murder–"

"I'll be damned if you're capable of killing someone you love." Hot cop interjected in a relatively calm tone and just like that, I wasn't able to breathe a single word any more.

It took expertise to turn around fast enough hide the tears that had managed to escape my eyes. 

The bastard knew just how to get to me. He knew me enough to know my weakness and now he was using it against me. 

Fuck!

"I've told you before; talking down on yourself won't make me think any less of you."

I sighed and angrily wiped away the few more drops of tears that had manged to fall before turning around to meet his glare. 

"When are you going to see me for the filth I really am? When the bloody hell are you going to fucking see that I'm not worthy of whatever the crap you feel for me?!" A few more tears of frustration made their way down my cheeks as my trembling voice cried out. 

Hot cop only glared at me in a more intense manner and pocketed his balled palms. 

"You can either spend eternity trying to convince me to see something I have never and will never see, or you can get into the car and go back to whatever ruckus you've created in your school and help catch a psycho murderer." He stated in a calm tone that bellied the obvious anger in his eyes and strode towards his car. 

I turned towards the river and exhaled. At that point, I was sick and tired of everything and everyone. I just wanted to be alone for a moment;

I wanted to sit by this flowing body of water and feel the peace it brought. I wanted to forget all my troubles, even if it would be for just a while. 

I was, no doubt, now regretting the fact that I'd rejected the earlier offer of Hot cop and I would have asked for a second chance if I wasn't so mad at him for believing me to be what I was not and working me up over nothing. 

There was also this tinge of pride that wouldn't be able to bear his triumphant smirk if I begged him to let us stay. 

However gorgeous that smirk might be… 

"Or better still, we could spend the rest of the evening here, breathing in fresh air and getting to know each other… who knows? By the time we go back to our troubles, you will not have to call me 'hot cop' anymore and I will get to know you for who you really are." 

It turned out I didn't need to beg for a second chance, it was offered to me on a platter of gold. Or rather, in a woven basket and a playful tone. 

I gave the river a private smile before turning over to meet the sinfully beautiful, and triumphant, smirk of the hot cop and sighed when he threw a blanket at my face. 

Regardless of how much I wanted to be alone, I figured his company wouldn't be that much of a bad idea; provided that he didn't begin his 'Bella worship' at some point. 

As I failed at another attempt to do a perfect spread of the blanket on the grass, much to the amusement of Hot cop, I hoped for a fact that he would really 'see' me by the end of whatever this it is that we were doing. 

So uhm... happy holidays people!

It's been ages since I've posted and there are absolutely no words to convey how sorry I am for this. Life has been a roller-coaster for me since the last time, but I can promise steady updates from now.

There's so much I want to say and I'm sure there's a lot to catch up on from you guys as well.

I do hope you're good though, and I wish you a happy new year in advance.

Peace, illusionistic.