The Blood-Covered Stranger

Ashley's point of view.

>The Next Morning – Ashley's Apartment<

I whistled calmly along one of Jennifer Lopez's songs whilst beating some eggs, the sound of the whisk against the bowl also became a rhythmic melody. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, giving the atmosphere *the promise of a new day* vibe.

“Someone is in good spirits today” Monique said when she stepped into the kitchen.

I threw a quick glance at her, and smiled weakly. “Yeah” I replied.

“Yeah?” she asked, sounding surprised at my quick recovery.

I paused the music, turned to face her, and sighed while leaning against the counter.

“Nike was my fiancé, he was the love of my life, and he treated me right in his short lifetime, but he's gone, and I believe he wouldn't want to see me losing myself and crying my eyes out because of him” I paused and studied her expression.

Her brows furrowed as she looked carefully at my face, searching for any form of sadness. “Huh… aren't you just trying to be strong here?” she asked.

I set my lips in thin lines, with my brows furrowed slightly.

“Would you rather I continue crying up until now?” I asked back, and she quickly shook her head in disagreement.

“I think I love you better in this mood” she said.

“Yeah, and besides, I saw Nike last night…"

“What?” she interrupted me with a shocked scream, her eyes widened in fear as she began looking around as though she's searching for something… Nike's ghost, I guess. “Don't tell me we're both dead too”

I frowned. “What? What do you mean, we're both dead too?”

“I mean, Nike's dead, and you just said you saw him last night” her eyes widened even more as she whimpered fearfully. “Did his murderer found us last night and murder us too? Are we in the spirit realm right now?”

I mentally facepalm myself, and sighed at her dramatic reaction. I held up my hand to stop her from panicking any further.

“No, no, not in person” I sighed, realizing that my words had been misunderstood. “No, no, I didn't mean it like that,” I reassured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Can you let me finish before you come to these crazy conclusions of yours?”

“Oh”

I glared, pretending to be offended by her outburst but continued my explanation, anyway.

“I saw him in my dreams last night.”

Immediately, relief washed over her face as she let out a shaky breath.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, her voice filled with relief. “I thought something terrible had happened to us.”

I shook my head, then proceeded to tell her everything Nike told me in the dream. Her eyes softened as I shared Nike's words with her, and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“You're right,” she said softly. “Nike wouldn't want to see you losing yourself in sorrow.”

“Yeah” I sighed again – I've been sighing a lot since I woke up. “That's why I have decided to live bravely until I bring his murderer to justice”

Monique nodded in agreement, then rubbed my shoulder encouragingly. “I'm with you all the way”

I smiled. “Thank you”

She simply rolled her eyes in response, before walking towards the fridge, and I continued beating the eggs.

*******

Seconds turned minutes, minutes turned hours, hours turned days, days turned weeks and weeks turned months. Now it's been three months since Nike's death, but the police still haven't found his murderer yet, in fact, every clue we managed to find always meets a dead end.

Seeing as we aren't making any progress, and the murderer doesn't seem like he's coming for me, inspector Kingsley then advised I resume work because it might lure the murderer out when he thinks Nike's murder case has been forgotten.

Currently, I'm serving a customer in my small café; Ashley's Relaxation Center… weird name, I know, but that's all I could come up with then and I think it's unique and cool.

“Here you go” I said as I carefully dropped a cup of latte on table 17.

“Thank you” the customer replied, I did a small appreciative bow and retreated to my cashier desk.

“I think I should resign from my job and come work in your café" Monique said as she sipped on her ice tea. “I like it here” she added.

“Nope” I disagreed quickly. “I can't afford to pay you”

Today's her day off, and she usually spends it keeping me company in my café.

“You don't have to pay, I'll just…"

Monique's words were cut off as someone slumped on the stool next to hers, and ordered black coffee with no sugar. We both frowned as we gave him a weird look.

“Are you okay, Benjamin?” Monique asked him.

I rolled my eyes at her question because I felt she's asking a question that had an obvious answer.

Oh, right, Benjamin is our childhood friend, but he wasn't in the country when Nike was murdered.

“Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady” he queried me.

Leaning closer to Monique's ear, I whispered. “I guess his girlfriend cheated on him again for the 23rd time this month”

We both roared into laughter at my words, which earned us a harsh glare from Benjamin, but that didn't stop us from laughing out our guts.

As our laughter subsided, Benjamin's face softened, and he let out a sigh.

“You two always know how to make me feel better,” he said, a hint of gratitude in his voice.

Monique and I exchanged knowing glances. “Of course” we replied as if we planned it.

We had been friends since childhood, and we had seen Benjamin go through countless heartbreaks. He was a kind and caring person, but he always seemed to attract the wrong kind of partners.

“Maybe it's time for a change, Ben,” I suggested, my voice filled with concern. “You deserve someone who will treat you right.”

Benjamin nodded, his eyes filled with a mix of sadness and determination.

“You're right. I think it's time for me to move on and find someone who appreciates me.”

I don't know why, but my eyes glanced at Monique immediately he said those words.

“Yeah” Monique agreed with him, and placed a comforting hand on Benjamin's shoulder. “We'll be here for you every step of the way,” she assured him.

I smiled at the two of them, feeling grateful for our friendship. It was moments like these that made me realize how lucky I was to have them in my life.

“How about I bring you to somewhere fun, it'll help you forget your sorrows so fast” she proposed.

Benjamin and I exchanged knowing looks, we both knew she's dragging him home to make him some of her burnt pancakes. Yeah, Monique is good at everything but cooking…I feel pity for Benjamin right now.

“Huh…" he cleared his throat. “I think black coffee will do a better job at that”

“Of course not” she sprang up and pulled him up too. “You're coming with me” she concluded, leaving no room for arguments. “We'll talk later” she directed to me, before storming out and dragging Ben along.

I chuckled lightly. “These two”

At that moment, I realized why I glanced at Monique earlier when Ben said he needed someone who appreciated him, they're both a match made in heaven.

“Can I get a cheesecake and a cup of chocolate ice cream, please?” a customer ordered.

“Coming right up” I replied.

Thankfully, Ben came along and made Monique go back home, I can finally focus on my customers.

******

It's almost my closing time, and I was already doing some calculations, when I heard a knock on the door. My brows furrowed as I raised my head and looked towards the open door.

“Who on earth knocks on an open door of a café?” I wondered out loud.

I looked towards the door for a moment, expecting whoever was knocking to make an appearance, but nobody showed up. I sighed and shook my head. “Kids” I muttered, then went back to my calculation, concluding it must have been some mischievous kids.

But the knock came again and again and again, making me feel angry and frustrated. I sprang up, and stormed towards the door to catch the culprit and teach them a lesson.

Reaching the door, my anger intensified when I didn't see anyone. I narrowed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to keep my cool.

“You'd better not knock on this door again, or you'll be sorry for yourself” I growled at no one, but hoping whoever's playing this trick would get the message.

But a wild and scary thought suddenly crossed my mind immediately I said those words, and I couldn't help the small frightened gasp that escaped my lips.

What if it wasn't just mischievous kids? What if it was something more sinister? What if inspector Kingsley was right? Is Nike's murderer really here to murder me? I wondered mentally, and I shivered at the thought and felt a cold sweat forming on my forehead.

Feeling scared, I made to lock my door, but suddenly felt a desperate grip on my left ankle. My heart skipped a beat, and I stilled. My whole body started shaking as fear consumed me.

“Hey… Hey… I'm innocent, I swear, I don't know anything,” I whimpered in panic, preparing to make a run for it. But then, I heard a weak and painful groan, and I looked down at once.

To my horror, I saw a man totally covered in blood, with blood still oozing from his right shoulder and rib cage. It seemed like he's just escaped a bloody war zone. My heart sank as my mind briefly flashed back to Nike's murder scene.

“Hey, who are you? What happened to you? Why are you covered in blood?” I asked a series of questions, my voice filled with both fear and concern.

The man's eyes met mine, and I could see the pain and desperation in his gaze. But even with this desperation, he seemed like he's barely alive and would die in a second.

“I… I… They…" he tried to speak, but ended up coughing blood.

I felt a wave of panic wash over me as I realized the severity of his injuries. I needed to help him, but I didn't know what helping him entailed. I needed to think, to come up with a plan.

“Are you okay, sir?” I couldn't help asking the dumbest question in my state of confusion.

The man's eyes pleaded with me for help, but his body was failing him. He couldn't speak, but continued coughing blood until he passed out.

My mind raced as I contemplated my options. Should I call the police? Should I risk taking him in and treat his wounds secretly? But what if his wounds are too severe for me and I had to take him to a hospital?

The fear inside me was overwhelming.