Sociopaths and Serial Killers

BY: Montana

Disclaimer: I do not own Jean-Claude, Richard, Anita, Edward, or anything else that belongs to LKH.

Author Note: This is set after Obsidian Butterfly.

After four hours of shopping and lunch, I had a new wardrobe. We had to make several trips to the car during intervals of shopping there were so many bags. Its hard buying a new wardrobe in one day. It pretty much resembled the one I ONCE had at home, but…much newer. I ended up with new polo shirts, all different colors, but mostly dark colors. Black, dark red, purple, green, and surprisingly, white. I got doubles of all these colors. I also got some other styles of shirts. Some sleeveless colored shirts, and plaid shirts to go over for colder days. I got a jacket too, or rather, a flannel pull over. I didn’t really think we had the time or the patience to really go jacket hunting. I knew I didn’t right now.

And then there were the jeans, all dark blue except for one black pair, and some jean shorts. No khakis for me. They’re hard for me to mix and match, I just don’t get khakis. Bras and underwear were essentials. I thought I was good with one pair of nikes, but I did get a pair of hiking boots. You never know, they might come in useful. I even had to get a new hairbrush, shampoo, toothbrush, etc. It was just hard to get over that I had absolutely nothing material, except for my money. Edward offered to pay for everything, just as he said he would previously, but I declined.

As we walked out from the shopping center, storm clouds hung heavily above us. It started to rain, the soft pitter patter of big drops that told you a downpour was on its way. And downpour it did, as soon as we got inside the Hummer. “Well, I think its time to go home,” Edward said.

“Oh come on, that little shopping trip wore you out?”

Edward turned to me, a slight smile on his lips. “Little shopping trip? The back of my Hummer is filled with shopping bags, Anita.”

I spread my hands wide. “Hey, I’m sorry, its not my fault.”

Edward sighed. “I guess its my fault then.” His eyes fell, and he turned to the steering wheel. Damn it. I hadn’t meant it like that. I reached over to touch his shoulder, to turn him back to me.

“No, Edward. Its not your fault. Its no one’s fault, except for Olaf’s. I didn’t mean it like that, please don’t take it that way.” He turned back to look at me. The emotion in his eyes was almost frightening. This was a whole new animal to get used to, this emotional Edward.

He nodded, once up, once down, and turned back to the steering wheel, starting up the Hummer. We were on the road once again. The rain pummeled the wind shield, the wind shield wipers could barely keep up. “This sort of rain isn’t normal.” It wasn’t a question.

“True, it’s a rarity. But it happens.”

I nodded, curling up against the door, resting my head on the window. I noticed the lyrics to one particular song that came on the radio, that just seemed to be put on for me.

*Another day has almost come and gone
Can’t imagine what else could go wrong
Sometimes I’d like to hide away somewhere and lock the door
A single battle lost but not the war, cause
Tomorrow’s another day
And I’m thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain
It’s almost like the hard times circle round
A couple drops and they all start coming down
Yeah I might feel defeated, I might hang my head
I might be barely breathing but I’m not dead
I’m not gonna let it get me down, I’m not gonna cry
And I’m not gonna lose any sleep tonight
Cause tomorrow's another day
And I am not afraid
So bring on the rain

A tear rolled down my cheek. Bring on the rain indeed. It was a beautiful song too, the woman’s voice was very pretty.

I caught Edward glancing at me from the corner of my eye. His expression was somber, deep in thought as he drove down the road. Some people are tense drivers, and grip the steering wheel like a life line. Some people are normal, they take the wheel with two hands and just go, like me. But Edward was a casual driver. He relaxed in the seat, one foot on the gas. One hand loosely controlled the wheel, resting on the top. His other hand rested on his leg, one thumb occasionally used to steady the wheel. He had pulled his white cowboy hat from somewhere, it looked at home atop his head. And I would admit, he looked quite good in a cowboy hat.

Curling up against the door was beginning to crick my neck. So I ditched the chest belt, and curled up on the seat. At my height, I fit perfectly. The seats were cloth, and good sleeping material. Edward and I glanced at each other at the same time. We both had somber faces. Maybe it was the rain that set the mood, but neither of us felt like smiling right then. I closed my eyes to try to sleep a little. I felt Edward’s hand rest on my shoulder. I didn’t know if I was dreaming or not, but I could have swore I heard Edward murmur, “Don’t worry Anita, I’ll take care of you. I always do.”





Edward's POV or the NEXT CHAPTER or the INDEX