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You had noticed Al was getting distant again, you had no idea why though because when you asked, he would brush it off or skim the question while talking about something else.
And what was worse, was that your nightmares were coming back in force. You would wake up screaming from some unseen force, Al would run into your room like a knight in shining armour and then stay with you until you fell asleep, he wouldn't take no for an answer. He didn't touch you but he was close enough that you could feel his body heat and weight under the mattress. By the time you woke up, you would find yourself alone with a cold side from where he had been.
You had no idea why this was happening and even resorted to eating lavender bread and inhaling crushed lavender leaves just to make you woozy enough to try and sleep. Was it some kind of omen or just bad luck?
Thinking back on it now, these nightmares did start occurring not long after the first murder took place in the town where your job was. The poor bloke was found with a cut to his throat and most likely bled to death like that.
You may not have liked that bully, but that didn't mean they deserved to die.
And that was just the start of it all. As the bullies started dropping like flies getting a huge dose of fly spray. Except without the dramatic dying.
You almost had a panic attack when the police came and asked questions about the deaths, apparently one of them had a picture of you in their pocket, you had to be an idiot to not know that they saw you as the main suspect.
Al though, bless his soul, somehow managed to convince the police that you and he had been with each other practically 24/7 due to, issues, he even vouched that you had been asleep every night before he went to bed so there would have been no way for you to get to the houses and kill them without him noticing. He was a light sleeper, which wasn't a lie.
Needless to say, he had to comfort you as you went through a rather nasty silent panic attack, you honestly would have kissed him if it didn't make him so uncomfortable.
More secrets, more suspicion, and more nightmares, Al was starting to act a little, off, more so than usual. Even staying out late one time because you didn't dare sleep without him by your side. You almost drifted off when you heard the sound of your front door opening and closing as if trying not to make a sound.
Needless to say, that was the only time you hugged him without permission in a long time. One that he didn't seem to mind as he held you just as tightly.
You just didn't realise that this would be the last time you ever had a calm, 'loving' moment before everything went downhill. Especially when he asked you a question that you would never think he would ask considering his, personality.
It happened while both of you were swimming in the pool late at night because the heat got intense again.
"Have you ever been in love?"
"Not unless you count family, otherwise it's mainly theories and what I've heard from others"
"I don't mind listening to the theories"
"From what I've seen and understood, kind of, loving someone is, like finding your other half, the person you are willing to show weakness to, and they the same, you balance each other out, sort of like a sword and shield but you would both swap when the situation calls for it, if one of you suffers, the other suffers too, and you feel like you can't go on when they die because it feels like someone ripped your heart out and your left with a large wound that can never heal"
"...that's both gory and sickeningly sweet"
"I'm just summarising what I've heard, sorry if it doesn't make sense though"
"Actually, I think I do"
"Really?"
"While she wasn't my 'other half', my mother was someone I would gladly protect with my life, I wouldn't be the man I was without her, is this 'love' no different?"
"There are different kinds of love, yours would be a parental bond"
"Why does love have to be such a fickle thing?"
"I'll let you know when I have the answer"
You had no idea why he asked about love out of the blue. He didn't seem to be interested in that kind of thing given his, odd personality.
"Foxglove, where are you?"
But now? Now you were beginning to understand.
And you were beginning to regret ever helping this 'man' all those years ago.
You were usually a heavy sleeper, one moment you're awake, and the next it's morning, and you're well rested.
It was completely different when you were in a daze in the middle of the night hearing heavy breathing and muttering noises, who was it? There was only you in the-
Your thoughts were interrupted when your bed made a sudden dip next to your head and you immediately flew up and away from the sudden sensation. Fight or flight immediately kicked in as you tried to process the situation. And what you saw made your already cold body go freezing cold.
Al was staring at you with a knife in his hand, it punctured the bed where your chest and stomach were just seconds ago.
How could you tell it was Al? Because of his smile that was faintly showing thanks to the see-through curtains you had. You were too shocked that you couldn't speak let alone move.
"I thought about it you know? About love, about devotion, dedication" he said in a voice so calm you would have thought he was contemplating something if it wasn't for what he just did.
"The need to procure something and keep it safe so that it doesn't lose its shine to all the filth outside this house"
You still don't say anything but you could feel your eyes watering as a panic attack starts to kick in as the situation fully sunk into you, you really were 'stuck in the mud'.
"I don't understand" he says quietly as if whispering a secret "I want to see you bleed, I want to see those tears spill as I cut and stab you over and over again to the point that you can no longer walk on your own, having to rely on my and me alone"
By this point, he slowly walked up to you until he was towering above your feeble form, as if trying to show you who really was the alpha in this situation.
"And yet..." he continued as he used his free hand to lift your chin up so that you're looking at him, even if you couldn't look him in the eye "the very thought of you dying hurts me, your smile would only come from pictures that hold nothing to the real one"
What scared you the most was that he was smiling the whole time and you could easily see it wobbly as his arm shook.
"What are you doing to me?"
You tried to speak, you really did, but nothing would come out and you could only cry harder in fear of what was going to happen.
"I do understand though, that you belong to me now, only I can keep you safe, it makes so much sense, maybe mother really was looking out for me after all"
His mother? But she's dead, was he really insane and you just never noticed?
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you, I don't think I could handle it if that happened" he 'cooed' calmly as he pulled you into a hug with the knife pointing into your spine.
You could only whimper as the threat of the blade kept you still.
"Let me just enjoy this moment, the moment you became mine"
You tried to run after a week of this, 'love', but he was always one step ahead of you, he even turned it into a game by letting you think you had freedom only to end up in despair. He really did love his hunts.
Which was where you were now, hiding in the trees like some stereotypical high schooler getting chased by a killer. In your case, a killer who was dead set on keeping you as his 'most valued and prized possession'. Like you were some trophy.
He was no better than the bullies, if not worse.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were having as much fun as I am"
You scream as a hand covers your mouth and pulls you close despite your fight for release, only to freeze when you find a bloody knife pressed against your throat.
"If you wanted to play, you could have said something"
You don't try to reply since your mouth was still covered and the knife was getting a little too close for comfort. You did not want to know who he killed before he found you.
"Come Oleander" that was another thing he changed, you were no longer Foxglove, you were Oleander as he thought it was more fitting than that or your real name "let's go to bed, I have a special surprise for you for breakfast tomorrow"
You want to throw up but you willingly walk with him back to the house.
"Home sweet home my deadly flower"
This was no longer home, this was a prison. You had no one because you didn't like socializing with others, you only had HIM for human contact.
He was the puppeteer and you were the puppet, trapped in a doll house/prison that no longer felt safe or familiar.
After all, Alastor was the only one allowed to pull your strings.
Mainly because he made sure to cut the strings attached to the base, and then attached the strings so that only he could operate them. Just like your now broken legs and ankles.
"You and me, together forever, and should anyone take you away from me, they will meet the same fate"