The interrogation room was cold, the air filled with malice, every piercing gazes of the detectives and officers fixated on the hunched man cuffed at the center. Detective Rowan's light brown eyes never left the suspect, his fingers drummed impatiently on the tables.
The man llewyn's jet black hair fell in messy bangs that obscured his eyes, he was unnervingly pale, he wore a black turtleneck that cling to his broad figure. His demeanor quiet, yet unsettling.
"Llewyn, was it you who committed those murders?" Rowan asked in a deliberate tone.
Llewyn said nothing for a moment, his gaze under the shadows of his bangs, the room air tensed.
"It was me…" llewyn's soft but deep voice cut through the silence, he raised his gaze locking eyes with Rowan.
"Even Tracy…it was you?" Rowan's expression contorted as if choked up by the gruesome memorie of Tracy's death scene. "Why did you do all these?!"
Llewyn said nothing more, his pale face and grey dead eyes staring through Rowan's agonizing eyes as if trying to understand his pain.
Detective Edith couldn't shake off the unease in Llewyn's gaze, his eyes held an intense obsession, as if an unspoken connection already existed between them.
"Rowan.." Llewyn's hand moved, reaching for the scar he'd noticed on Rowan's forearm.
"That's enough." Detective Edith's voice cut through with her footsteps approaching, causing llewyn's hand to halt midair. "We are not here for emotional reunions." She tapped Rowan who flinched, his expression aching in pains.
"Detective Rowan, it seems you and Mr Llewyn aren't just seeing each other for the first time." She slowly moved her gaze lingering towards Rowan. "How long have you two known each other?"
Rowan's jaw tensed up, surge of memories washed in that filled with dread. He hesitated before he spoke. "It was a long story that should've never existed." The memories came —
The crowded school environment, the noisy chatters of students in the lecture hall. Rowan and his friends caught up in their conversations when Rowan's eyes fell on an isolated figure distanced from the rest of the students, it was Llewyn, he was alone, always sat in a hunched over position but his large frame was impossible to ignore, Rowan's curiousity was envident.
"This interrogation feels muffled, silence would only leave the case prolonged." Maybe we should call it a wrap for now." Edith said signaling the other officers on stand.
They stepped forward and began escorting Llewyn out of the room, his hand cuffs clanking.
Rowan stood frozen, pain stamped on his face when a sudden grab on his wrists caused him to turn. Llewyn held his hands, their eyes locking in.
Llewyn said, his voice heavy but soft. "I really missed you, Rowan." A tender smile fled his pale dead face that didn't show any emotion.
Rowan's eyes widened, his expression a mixture of sadness and resentment. He yanked his wrist free from Llewyn's grip hissing. "You killed people, you bastard, my friends—" His voice cracked in anguish. "you killed them." Tears welled up in his eyes.
Llewyn's dead eyes blinked, stunned as Rowan's reaction was unfair to him. He went silent and was escorted out of the room straight to detention.
— — —
Rowan sank onto his chair, the weight of everything weighing on him. He exhaled loudly his eyes staring into space as if lost in the jungle of his memories.
"Detective Rowan." Edith walked into the desk room, her long coat brushing against her calves with every step. She stepped closely her voice unwavering. "If you let your emotions get the better of you, Tracy may never get justice."
Sadness etched Rowan's face, he ran his hands over his face struggling to contain his emotions. " I can't help that this is who I am."
Edith's eyes softened at him a fusion of pity and at thesame time there was a lingering tenderness. She exhaled loudly before she continued. "Please pull yourself together, the dead won't come back, the only thing that you can do for them is to see that justice is served."
"Edith…" He paused exhaling slowly. "I'm really glad you've been here for me, I'm really thankful." He whispered, his gaze dropping to the floor.
— — -
It was another morning, this time Llewyn was now being interviewed rather than interrogated. The room was quiet, but this time it lacked tension. Llewyn sat at a chair across Edith on a metal table. This time It felt like a negotiation session rather than an inquiry.
His eyes slowly moved to the one way mirror where officers stood to observe and overhear their conversations.
She patiently waited for him to speak, but the silence was not going to be broken anytime soon.
His eyes slowly moved around the room, before he finally spoke, his tone moderate. "Where is Rowan?"
Edith's brow furrowed as his question cut in surprising her. "Mr Llewyn." She said neutrally, but exploring. "When did you began to have the intentions of hurting people?"
He didn't respond, instead his deep and tender voice came again. "Where's Rowan?"
Vexation sparkled across Edith's face. She said her voice strained. "Rowan won't be joining us today."
"I want to see Rowan." Llewyn said, his dead gaze unwavering.
Edith let's out an exasperated sigh. She moved her walkie talkie close to her mouth without breaking eye contact with Llewyn, she spoke, her voice hostile. "Detective Rowan" she said to the receiver. "Report to the interview room, Mr Llewyn requests for your presence."
Her walkie talkie buzzed briefly before going off. She shoved it back in her coat pocket. Her tone steady. "Why not answer one question as we await Rowan's arrival?" She enquired neutrally her fingers interlocking gracefully in front of her. After a soft breathe she continued. "What is your relationship with Mr Rowan?"
Llewyn went quiet, his eyes obscured by his bangs as he hung his head low, staring at the table in silence.
Edith glanced at her watch, Five minutes had passed. She resounded her question, her tone steadfast. "Mr Llewyn, what is your relationship with detective Rowan?"
Llewyn lifted his head. "Rowan…is someone I love so dearly." He said softly.
The door opened just as the word left his mouth. Rowan walked in fleetingly, caught off guard by what he'd heard.
"Huh?" Edith's brow furrowed quite disdained.
Llewyn immediately turned toward Rowan, a tender but unsettling smile softened his pale face. "Rowan." He whispered softly.
Rowan hesitated, indecisiveness crossed his face as he took his seat on their table.
"This is seriously absurd." Edith murmured under her breathe.
"I want to speak with just Rowan." Llewyn's deep voice requested calmly."
Rowan's eyes hesitantly met Edith's eyes, uncertainty evident on his face, she held his gaze for a few seconds, then exhaled and she nodded lightly before she turned to leave. The door shut softly behind her as she entered the observation room outside the one way mirror.
Rowan adjusted his position on the seat his hands griped together nervously, he averted his eyes from Llewyn but still felt it watching him steady and unwavering.
"It's been so long Rowan, I really missed you." Llewyn said finally breaking the silence his voice tender. "I wanted us to reunite again, but not like this."
Rowan gulped hard, forcing himself to hold his gaze with Llewyn. "After everything you did, we should've never crossed part again."
Llewyn shifted his gaze the the table unsure of the depths of Rowan's words. "You sound like I never meant anything to you." He said his tone bruised.
Guilt tugged at Rowan's chest hearing Llewyn's response, he hesitated, then spoke. "I was never part of a world where you killed. You hurt everyone around me and what you did to me..." Rowan's lips trembled as if trying to contain the memory of something much more profound.
From behind the one way mirror, Edith watched in tight silence. She's dealt with killers and criminals, but his tone and reasons for killing seemed deeper. It almost seemed like obsession. She leaned more closer to the one way mirror, observing Rowan's demeanor, he'd tensed up, his hands clasping onto each other. Whatever past they've shared definitely wasn't a beautiful one.
She reached for her recorder to be sure it was still rolling, not wanting to miss any line.
"You gave me a reason to live, to be hopeful, you saw me when I was about to dissapear." Llewyn said softly his pale face enigmatic, eyes still unblinking at Rowan. "I loved you, and didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to make space for us."
Rowan scoffed incredulously, he shot back. "You don't prove love by hurting others! That wasn't love."
"It isn't love?" Llewyn murmured. "Then tell me, what is it?"
Rowan went stiff, his eyes locked in with Llewyn unable to break eye contact. The sentence resonated across the room.
Edith's brows creased from behind the one way mirror. Love huh? She murmured under her breathe. Rowan's guilt was evident in his eyes and Llewyn's distorted allegiance wasn't just a case any more. It was something much more intimate.
"You don't and will never understand what love is…" Rowan finally cut through the tensed silence, guilt and resentment stumped on his features.
Llewyn still unable to grasps Rowan's words leaned forward, his gaze unwavering. "Then tell me Rowan, what is this I'm feeling for you?" He whispered.
The room went silent. And on the other side Edith's heart race picked from the intensity of the situation, she whispered to herself. "How did you get into such mess Rowan?"