forum •Favorite Liar• [one/one]

Started November 26, 2022 by @Dayzed forum

tune

“Tam, don’t say that. Please… please don’t say that.” She gently held his face in her hands. “I know you care about me, but you can’t- you can’t to that extent that you would kill yourself if I died, okay? There’s so much to life for, Tamryn, so much you could do with your life. You just gotta give meaning to it.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, thinking deeply. She hoped Tamryn was just saying this because of the shock, not because he actually meant it. What if something did end up happening her? She was going into a very dangerous line of duty, after all. What if Tamryn did hurt himself?

“You have to promise me. Promise me that you’ll stay alive if something happens to me. Please, Tam.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “You can still live a long life. You can get married, have a job, grow old… so many things you can do.”

Tamryn's eyes lingered on Andy's and how sad they got. What was he supposed to say to that? No? Andy talked about meaning, he had meaning, and his meaning was her. Tamryn was not generally a depressed person, only mildly from time to time he would dip so low it hurt, but he liked to believe that everyone went through something like that once in a while, so he didn't pay too much attention to it. He didn't realize his words would be taken so seriously by others, as he didn't take them seriously himself. He would truly fall apart if it came to Andy's death, that was something set in stone, something he knew would happen if it came down to it.
"Sorry…" He muttered, feeling like he had said the wrong thing. It wasn't his intention to upset Andy, he knew his words hit hard, but that's only because he really meant it.
Tamryn set his hand on her head when she rested against his shoulder.
You have to promise me. Came her words and Tamryn froze. Promise? Could he really keep a promise like that? Even if he wanted to do nothing but rot away in his room when the time came? How miserable would his life be without her? She was something akin to his light, someone who he felt alive around. If she died that light would be gone. What then?
"I…" He hesitated. Promises were heavy things for Tamryn. If you promised something, you had to keep your word, no matter if you wanted to give up on the said promise. Especially when it came from someone so special, who meant a lot to you.
"I promise" His heart sank. He was unaware that tears had started forming in Andy's eyes, on the verge of crying, but there was nothing he could do but pull her into a tight hug.
"I shouldn't have said that. I won't do anything. I'm sorry" He said softly. "On the bright side, none of us are dying, either way, no use having this conversation," He said with a heavy heart, again, trying to lighten the mood, but those words felt very wrong in Tamryn's mouth like something was bound to happen.
After a while, Tamryn pulled away from the hug.
"Don't worry about anything, I'm sure we'll be fine, it was just a scare, nothing more" I hope.
"On that note, let's drink our teas, they'll get cold…" He said, talking in a low voice to appeal to the atmosphere that had been created.

“Mhm. Sounds good.”

She held him there tightly a few moments before she finally released him, his warmth leaving her. She hated how she never knew what to say in these sorts of situations. She never knew how to make things better. So, she simply stood there, staring at the floor. Finally, she picked up her tea, walked with him to the sofa, and turned on the TV. She didn’t watch much television at home, but she needed it now. If anything, to drown out her thoughts.

She leaned against Tamryn as they sipped their teas. She was never normally this touchy with him or anyone, for that matter. But with everything that happened, it felt right. She felt safe when she was near him, and part her hoped he felt the same when he was around her.

Eventually, after she finished, she looked over at him and admired for a moment how the light of the TV illuminated his face. She wanted to ask so many questions about the man who had chased them. Who was he? Was this a targeted attack or at random? Was she safe with him still roaming around? Should she call the police? She wanted to ask Tamryn all these questions, but she knew he couldn’t have the answers for her. Instead, she tried to lighten the mood.

“So, I’ve told you all about what I want to do with my life. Being a police officer and all.” She placed her mug on the table and settled down on the sofa. “How about you? You know, you could always work with me. Be my secretary or something.”

She laughed softly and glanced over at him, her honey-colored eyes flickering in the light of the TV.

It was getting late and Tamryn was starting to feel the heaviness hit from the lack of sleep. When he sat on the sofa he nearly sank back into it with how much he was leaning back. At this moment Tamryn couldn't feel more at ease, this was his ideal scenario, one he loved the most. He was a huge softy for these types of things.
As Tamryn's attention was stolen by the TV, he also wondered the same things. He hadn't seen the man before, even when they gathered for new instructions, he wasn't a part of the organization, that much he was sure of. Tamryn would get to the bottom of it though if it was the last thing he did. He didn't care if it was dangerous, it was more dangerous to have him run around the city terrorizing others. Not that Tamryn was any different, but at least he didn't target others for the hell of it.

A small smile appeared on Tamryn's face at her maybe not-so-fake joke.
He looked down at his mug.
"I've been thinking about it, being a part of the police force, but I don't think I'm qualified," He said, knowing exactly why he wasn't qualified.
"Maybe something else, something more doable" He muttered at the end.
To be completely honest, Tamryn hadn't thought that far ahead because he didn't think he'd get that far ahead. At any moment the target could be turned on him and before he knew it, he'd be running for his life and most likely die, be killed. The business he was in was no joke and they were ruthless. You stepped out of line once and that was your life on the line.
"Being your secretary wouldn't be so bad, I think I'd enjoy it" He sweetened his words a bit and laughed. "I'm not exactly failing my classes at the moment, but it's getting there, I'm not sure I can make that up even if I tried now," He said, a hint of sadness in his tone. It was because his life had already been decided for him, not by him, but by others, to whom he held negative connections. He couldn't do anything else even if he wanted to. He felt stuck, like this line of work was the thing he'd do for the rest of his life.
He regretted the first time he decided to end someone's life. That had been his going under.
Tamryn looked at Andy, his eyes a bit heavy, yet relaxed.
"I think maybe a crime scene cleaner" He spoke in a low tone. It was what he had always done, he knew the ins and outs of everything, the chemicals used, and how to replace things.
"I heard it's a hard job, but I think I could do it," He said. Lying was never his strong suit, and yet he still did it. It felt wrong lying to Andy, but no matter how beloved, or how much she loved Tamryn, this was something no one would understand. Hell, Tamryn himself didn't understand it.

“A crime scene cleaner? Ooh, interesting.” She smiled faintly. “If you choose that, I’m sure you’ll do great at it, Tam.”

She closed her eyes, feeling his warmth. Andy herself had thought about being a crime scene cleaner before; it seemed like a much dangerous job than being a police officer. However, she couldn’t miss being part of the action.

Andy opened her eyes, and already, she felt sleep creeping up on her. Her eyes flickered to the clock nearby. It was already almost around midnight.

“Just let me know when you need me to leave so you can get some sleep,” she whispered. “It’s been a long day.”

"Thank you" He replied, a soft smile on his face now, though, he didn't know if he would even have a chance to be a crime scene cleaner for the good of society.
"I think it would be nice for you to stay, but I know you have that thing tomorrow," He said, his eyes slowly becoming more droopy as another wave of tiredness hit him.
For the next hour or so they kept talking, taking brief pauses and not talking at all at times and enjoying each other's presence. The silence was never awkward for the both of them as it was something they were used to when there was nothing left to be said.
Tamryn's eyes soon fluttered closed, but he caught himself and forced himself awake once more.
He led Andy to the door and once she was in the car, he took one long look at her and the vehicle. They had almost died and he was still very nervous about her leaving so late. If the man came back and found her, he'd surely kill her. He tried not to think about it though. It was fine. She'd be fine. The man didn't know where she lived- or so he hoped, and she would be safe once she got home.
Tamryn quickly took his phone out and texted Andy before she left the driveway.
Call me when you get home so I know you go there safely. He considered putting a heart at the end but figured it was a little much.
He soon waved Andy goodbye and watched her leave.
Once she was gone, Tamryn closed the door and immediately sighed in relief. He loved Andy, yes, but his apartment was filled with things that could give him away. He hid his tools away for the most part, but there were several things that he had forgotten to put away, subtle things like cleaning supplies left out on the kitchen counter, potent stuff. Something you usually wouldn't use to clean a kitchen and reserved for the tougher messes. The bottle itself had hints of red on it, considering that he took it with him whenever he had another job.
Tamryn snatched the camera from beside the couch they had previously been sitting at and clutched it in his hand, heart racing a little. The thing was full of evidence of what he had done. The organization he worked for usually liked to have proof that the job had been done, so Tamryn took pictures and turned them in. Every person he had killed was kept on record. Why? So they could make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid like go to the police for help. They could easily put him behind bars if they wanted to. All they had to do was turn the evidence into the police station anonymously and wait. He'd be screwed.
Tamryn quickly took the sd card out from the camera and stuffed it into his jeans pocket. He'd put it away later, for now, he needed to get some rest.

(Don’t mind me, can I stalk?)

sure thing! i don't mind :)

(Sounds good! 👍🏻👍🏻 Also, I’ll be out of town today and tomorrow, so I prolly won’t respond much until tomorrow evening)

Andy had an impossible time falling asleep that night. Every time she would close her eyes, she would see him in the corner of her mind, and if she tried to fall asleep, she would have nightmares about him. That was why, when she woke up, she almost called the police department and told them she would be there because of a sickness. They would’ve believed with her voice. However, it was her job to show up. So, she dragged herself out of bed, got ready, and headed to the station.

When she got there, the officer she mainly worked with, Officer Clifton, say her down and explained what would be going on that day. He talked about the in and outs of the crime scene, what Andy was allowed and now allowed to do, and so much more. The talk lasted at least an hour, and Andy was already half asleep before they went to join the other police officers at the scene.

The crime scene was just as hectic as Andy expected it to be. Police vehicles lined the road, and the home the murder had taken place in was cover in tape. Andy got out of the car and walked over to the house, and she immediately caught the eye of a blonde haired police officer near by.

“Dang, Andy,” he said, “you look like you crawled out of a tomb.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes. Jack, the man she was talking to, was only a few years older than her, and despite her being a intern, they became fast friends.

Andy shrugged. “It was one of those nights.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He stood up and motioned her inside. “Here, follow me. I wanna show you around the crime scene.”

Andy nodded and followed him into the home. The first thing she noticed was that the home looked as if it had been ransacked. It was a complete mess.

“Are the deceased’s valuables still here?”

“No. Her wallet and cell phone are both missing.”

Andy and Jack continued to walk around the crime scene, examining different aspects of it. Andy didn’t understand why, but something about this home set her on edge. There was something strange about it.

(that's alright! i might be a bit choppy with my replies for a while since i'm figuring some things out here on my end, but i'll try to reply, not as much as i was doing before, but somewhat. not sure when i'll get back on track, but i hope you don't mind.)

Tamryn hadn't followed Andy to the crime scene.
Maybe he had. But he had to make sure the weirdo from yesterday didn't try anything. Tamryn would get his hands dirty, even in front of Andy to prevent anything from happening to her.
Once she was with the other officers he relaxed a little, a sigh of relief leaving his chest. Then he spotted an officer who seemed to be a little too close to Andy. Maybe not physically, but he could tell they were good friends.
He stared. Envy rushed through his body. He decided it wasn't worth it and pulled out of the parking space he had been in. It was a distance from the police cars so no one would be suspicious or notice he had been there for a few minutes. It was risky being this close.
Soon Tamryn pulled out of the spot he was in and waited for the traffic to clear so he could turn the other way.
Tamryn wasn't a fan of hauling around a body bag with an actual body in it. But he had done it again anyways. Part of him was numb to it all when he was alone, when he was with others is when the anxiety started to kick in.
He tapped at the steering wheel as he waited for the cars to pass, every moment that passed was another second closer to being discovered. Today he had a lot to do. First, he would get rid of the thing in his trunk, then he'd get to the bottom of who that guy had been.

It didn't take long for Tamryn to get back onto the road. He had a long drive ahead of him. Five hours to his destination, which was the city next to the one they lived in, and five hours back. It was safer this way, he had brought a lot of attention to his killings lately and anymore and he would lose his mind from the paranoia.
He hoped that Andy would be safe, after all, she was surrounded by individuals who knew what they were doing. Kind of. They still needed to step up their game, but they were competent and that's all that mattered.

(That’s totally fine! 👍🏻👍🏻)

It wasn’t long before Andy finished up her work at the crime scene and eventually, she made to the end of her shift. Relieved, she hurried out of the building and towards her car. Once she got inside and locked herself in, she reached for her phone to call Tamryn. But, when she patted her pocket, there was nothing there. She grabbed her purse and began to dig through it, figuring it was somewhere inside, but she found nothing but her wallet, sunglasses, empty gum wrappers, and a single hair band.

Andy leaned forward and covered her face with her hands, feeling the panic begin to rise in her chest. Normally, this was not a big deal. If she forgot her phone, she would just find it when she got home. But this was not like normal days. With the event that happened the day before, she didn’t feel safe without her cell phone; she was alone during a majority of the day, and she wouldn’t be able to call for help if something happened. She tried to rack her brain and remember the last place she had it. Well, she didn’t have it this morning. She had been so busy that she had no time to check it. She wasn’t on it last night either. In fact, she remembered not being able to find it when she was trying to text Tamryn, so she ended up calling him on her home phone to let him know she got there safely. She figured that it was somewhere in her purse and that it would show up. But now that she getting a good look in her purse, she discovered that it was no where to be found. That meant the last place she had it was Tamryn’s house.

She tried to remember back to being at Tamryn’s place, but with all the emotion that night, she had a hard time recalling what was said and done. However, as she continued searching her memory, that’s when it hit her. She had left it at Tamryn’s place. While they were sitting together in the living room, she had taken it out to check the time and never picked it up.

Without a second thought, she drove over to Tamryn’s house. She knew the way there by heart, and when she parked her car in his driveway, she made sure to take a good look around. She didn’t want any unexpected visitors surprising her. After she made sure it was safe, she got out, walked to his front door, and rang the doorbell.

Andy stood there for a few moments, bouncing her knee. She didn’t hear anyone in the house, and the door didn’t budge. She rang again. At least eight more minutes passed, and Andy began to steal nervous looks over her shoulder. There’s plenty of places a person could hide— behind the shrubs, in the trees. She rang the door bell for a third time and even tried the doorknob. Locked. However, this time, she didn’t wait as long. She left the door and headed around towards the backyard.

Andy, like most people, wasn’t a fan of breaking and entering; she was a police officer in training, after all, so she was supposed to up hold the law. However, in this case, she didn’t know if she had much other choice. If she headed home without her cell phone, something could easily happen to her. If she waited, there was no way of saying how long it would take Tamryn to get back, and it would be dangerous to wait inside her car. So, the best case scenario was to get in through a window or back door, get her phone, and get out. After all, Tamryn wouldn’t notice, and she would only be there for a matter of minutes.

Andy scanned the windows on the side of the house. She knew that Tamryn was very adamant about keeping windows locked, but it sometimes got hot in his house. Luckily, she found one. She had actually been the one to open it; Tamryn would likely never do such a thing. It was one that was higher up, so she had to climb on his large air conditioning system just to get into it.

The window led into the bathroom, and as Andy got inside, she noticed a strange smell in the air. It was somewhat familiar, but she ignored it as she headed into the house. To her delight, the cell phone was on the table as she’d suspected. She quickly grabbed it and shoved it her pocket before she headed to the door. That’s when something stopped her.

Ever since she was little, she was always good at noticing hints. It was one of the things she’d used when she started training to become a police officer. And when she began walking through Tamryn’s house, she knew something was off.

Tamryn was on the road for the majority of the day, the only stop he made was on the side of the woods on an abandoned road, which no one ever used. This was his go-to place when he wanted to be quiet about things.
When he stopped, Tamryn got out and popped the trunk open.

There it was, his tools and the body. First, he pulled out the shovel, then the matches and axe. He found that if he chopped the body into little pieces and fed the meaty parts to the vultures around this area, the chances of the body being found- and better yet, identified, were slim. He also used the axe for chopping down wood, the dead parts of the trees, as most of the forest had been destroyed by a recent forest fire. Nothing that had to do with Tamryn, but it was ideal for his line of work. Some of the trees still stood tall, like the ones on the side of the road, the fire hadn't reached the road, but it had demolished most of the place.

Quickly, Tamryn headed down deep into the woods until he reached the burnt area, then he started to dig. The digging, as it was only him doing all the work, took hours. It was the hardest process and required a lot of muscle put into it, but soon he would have a hole deep enough to toss the body into. Once he did, he jogged back to his car and opened the trunk once again, never leaving it open when he was away, it was a just-in-case precaution on Tamryn's part. You never knew what would happen. Someone could get lost and drive down the road he was on.
He pulled the body bag out and dragged it all the way back to where he had excavated. He hated hauling around a body as sometimes they were extremely heavy. It depended.
Tamryn got to work on collecting dry branches while cutting others from nearby trees. He threw them into the hole with the body and lit a match. The body bag always came back with him. The insides would be caked with dried blood, but that was another thing for later. He would most likely be up all night cleaning the darn thing.
Tamryn stared at the fire that started low at first, then raged until it consumed everything in the pit. He sat on the ground, his clothes covered in dirt. He honestly need to buy disposable clothes meant for this line of work, but he just hadn't had the time yet.
After two more hours of the pit burning, he started to throw the dirt back in to cover the remains of the body, effectively extinguishing the fire as he did so.
The vultures had been fed, the hole had been covered up, and now all that was left was to gather his tools and head back to his car.
Inside, he melted into his car seat, exhausted from it all. Five more hours and he'd be home. He didn't even want to drive at this point, his legs feeling numb from so much movement. He thought about staying at a nearby hotel but decided he didn't want to take his chances.
Tamryn begrudgingly inserted the car key into the car and started it.

As he was on the road, he planned what he would do next. First, the body bag. He would clean that right away, then a shower, then a bath, and another shower to finish it off, at the end he'd get sleep, hopefully. Tamryn took many showers, even if he hadn't done anything that day. He'd take two to three a day, something he tried to stop doing, but found that it made him anxious and paranoid if he didn't, like he was covered in dirt and blood.
Even though he made sure to clean himself thoroughly, he almost never cleaned his tools because what was the point? He usually threw them in the basement with all the other equipment, only fetching them when they were required.
Either way, they would only get dirty again.

Andy knew she shouldn’t have been snooping around. There’s no saying when Tamryn would arrive home, and if he caught her searching through his belongings, there’s no telling what his response to be. But something about this place made her feel like it needed to be done. Something about it unnerved her, and she wouldn’t be able to rest until she found out what that feeling was coming from.

The first she did was take a knife from the cabinet in the kitchen. She didn’t know what was setting her off, but she knew that the man from yesterday could’ve been hiding inside the house. If he was, Andy wanted to leave as soon as possible as well as call Tamryn and tell him not to come home, but she didn’t have proof that he was hiding there. Plus, she would rather herself get injured than Tamryn if he was here.

Luckily, as she walked through the house and opened almost every door, her suspicions about there being a killer hiding in the home vanished, but she noticed other things that made her confused. For instance, in the bathroom, that same strong smell forced its way into her nostrils again. Was that bleach? Well, she did know a lot of people who used some bleach to clean their bathrooms, but the smell was incredibly strong. Tamryn had been a bit of a clean freak lately, so maybe he just cleaned his bathroom with excessive amounts of it.

The next part of the house that concerned her was the locked basement door. Of course, that was easier to brush off than the bathroom. He could easily have something valuable down there, something that he didn’t want people getting a hold of. But, she couldn’t help but have a bit of curiosity about what lurked down there as she moved onto the next room.

The last of the rooms she went into was his bedroom. She didn’t snoop through any of his drawers, of course; she just wanted to see if the man was there, not dig through his things. But she couldn’t help but notice that in the clothes hamper in the corner of his room, there was a shirt with several red stains on it. Was that blood? He definitely could’ve had a bad nose bleed, or maybe the man from last night had injured him and he didn’t tell her. That thought shook her. She would ask him about it later. She wouldn’t insinuate that she’d been in his home, of course, but she would find a way to question him more discreetly.

Once she finished checking his bedroom, she headed towards the door to leave. She just prayed he wasn’t there, waiting in the driveway for her. She would have a hard time explaining all this away.

Tamryn drove down the highway, with a hint of anxiety washing over him. It always came after he got rid of a body. The act itself, surprisingly enough, was not what made him on edge, it was the getting from the last destination to his house. Anyone could spot him and ask him what was up with him. It had happened twice and he had lied through his teeth to get away from the situation as soon as possible.
As soon as Tamryn made it back to the city, he stopped by his old friend's workplace, an arcade.
Tamryn got out of his car and hesitantly walked into the small building. He looked around, and when he spotted a familiar face, a nervous smile lit up on his face.
"Tamryn?" Came a voice, that belonged to a tall African American man about his age. The man's golden green eyes stared at Tamryn in awe at how much dirt was caked onto his clothes.
"What the hell-" He started, but Tamryn cut him off.
"I need you to find someone, or if you know someone more specifically." He said, looking uncomfortable that he was still in those clothes. "Please, Artemy?" Tamryn added at the end, to which Artemy looked around like he was unsure.
"Listen, Tamryn, you're a good friend of mine and I would do anything for you, but I just don't do street business anymore," He said, gesturing to the arcade.
"Why do you think I settled down here? That was ages ago when I was a kid and didn't know any better. I don't want to ruin what I have going on." He said, trying to let Tamryn down slowly, but Tamryn wasn't having any of it.
"The person- who I need you to find. He tried to kill me and a good friend of mine. I think he's after us and I'm paranoid, I don't know who else to go to, I thought about contacting the police myself, but it's way too risky" He rambled on, not realizing he had said the last bit.
"This is a really serious matter Tamryn, you should call the cops, as much as I hate to say it. They'll know what to do." He spoke. "And why would it be risky? Have you done something you'll be caught for?" Artemy raised an eyebrow at that.
Tamryn froze and laughed, as naturally as he could.
"Yes, I was supposed to go to court for a ticket but I've been avoiding it- I'm not rich Artemy" Tamryn quickly made something up.
Artemy was quiet but sighed.
"You should really go get that checked out," He said, crossing his arms. "As for your request…I think you should call the police, regardless. But. Since we are long-time friends and you haven't ever asked anything of me all these years…I could maaaybe…probably….get you some information. Only this once though." He said, narrowing his eyes.
Tamryn's face lit up with a smile.
"Thank you! I'm sorry to bother you I really am, but I have to get going. I'll keep in touch?" He said as he was getting ready to leave.
Artemy was quite confused by everything. Tamryn's hurriedness and his desperation. The police would be better with this information, but Tamryn had come to him. Why?
Artemy rolled his eyes. Whatever. He'd get the information from Tamryn later, and see if he could dig anything up on the guy, an address or something. Though he quite doubted his skills were any good anymore, it had been a while since he tracked someone down. He was rusty.

Tamryn sat in his car, pondering if this was the right course of action. He could ask Andy to call the police for them, but all they had was a brief description of the man, nothing more, nothing less.
He sighed and started his car up once more. He'd call Andy when he got home, and ask how she'd been. Hopefully, she was alright.

After she left Tamryn’s house, Andy wasted no time getting in her car and driving home. Sure, her house probably wasn’t anymore safe than any other location, but something about her home made her feel secure. However, there was one thing that worried her; her uncle was going to be out of town for a few days, meaning she would be all alone in her home.

Once Andy got inside and made sure all the windows and door were locked, she turned on the TV to drown out the noise. It didn’t help much. Every moment she sat on the sofa made her more anxious, and she couldn’t help but constantly glance back at the shadows that filled her living room, searching for any intruders. Now that she had time to sit down and think, she began to think back on Tamryn, and she realized that she hadn’t seen or spoken to him the whole day. Was he okay? He was out of his house; what if something happened to him while he was away? She knew she shouldn’t be anxious— Tamryn could take care of himself— but she couldn’t seem to be able to help it. This was why she was more than relieved when a little while later, Tamryn called her cell phone. She immediately picked it up.

“Hey, Tam.” Andy let out a sigh. She was so anxious that she could even hear it in her voice. “I’m glad you called. I need someone to talk to for a while. Uncle Mark is away on a trip, so I’m stuck here alone.”

As soon as Tamryn pulled into his house, he sighed in relief, turned the vehicle off, and promptly got out. He popped the trunk once more and pulled out his tools, then went inside his house, locking the door behind him. Tamryn dug around his pockets for a while before he found a key, which he used to unlock the basement.
His basement was a royal mess, tools scattered about, dried blood on the floor, tables with maps on them, and the walls covered in splattered blood with some news articles taped to them. He always kept track of what the media had to say about him. They knew he was male, but not the description of what he looked like. They hadn't given him a name yet, which Tamryn thought was the best course of action. He didn't want a name. He didn't want to be branded as a serial killer even though that's what he was.
Tamryn set down the shovel and axe on the table along with the maps. He made his way over to the wall and stuck another news article on it. It was the recent one. The one had left in the house. He definitely had time to clean up the place and take the body elsewhere but he hadn't done that. It was too risky as it was in a populated area of the city. Though he guessed all areas of the city were populated. That specific day though, people were out and about, more than usual, so he didn't get the chance.
There were a number of ways he could have done things but the sleepless nights were getting to him. He had chosen the lazy way out. Which might as well have gotten him caught.

Tamryn wasted no time in calling Andy, as she was the highest priority on his list.
"Hey Andy" His voice came through. He listened, then stopped dead in his tracks on the way to the bathroom. Had he left his bedroom door open? No. It wasn't something he did. He still had unclean clothes in there, and he always left the door closed in case he had anyone over. Tamryn swallowed. Had there been a break-in? Or was he going crazy?
"You're alone?" He echoed, though he was not really fully listening to Andy at this point.
He cautiously walked into his room but found nothing out of order. He then went to check every other room and found nothing that set him off. Okay. So maybe he was going crazy and had accidentally left the door to his room open. That was a first. But he couldn't be careless like that. He needed to focus more.
He refocused on the conversation once he confirmed that everything was in place and okay.
"Well, you could always come over if you don't feel safe, I'm always here," He said, switching the phone to his left ear and taking his boots off, then throwing them into the basement. He'd get them later when he needed them again.
"But if not, then make sure to close everything, double check in case you missed anything. It's what I do" He said casually.
"How did today go? Make any new friends?" He said, hinting at the blonde-haired guy he had seen talking with Andy, though he kept the bitterness out of his voice so it sounded more natural. He knew he'd probably been friends with Andy for a while as she had been an intern for a few weeks now, but for some reason, it still bothered him.

“New friends? Nah. I mean, I talked to Jack a little bit at the crime scene. He’s somebody you haven’t met yet,” she said. “I told him some about what happened last night. He offered that I stay in the extra room in his house, but I turned him down. I’m beginning to regret that decision.”

She laughed, but it came out as forced. She wanted to keep up her optimistic personality at least for Tamryn. She knew how much he was likely suffering from the recent events. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to bring up her mood.

“Tam, if you don’t mind, I might stay over at your place during the next two or three days. I’ll sleep on the sofa, and I’ll be gone during most of the day, so I’ll only be in your hair at night,” she said. “Is that okay?”

She sighed and looked at her clock. At least she’d hoped he would only be gone a few days. Her uncle never told her the details of what he was doing, just that it had to do with the recent killings in their area. He was a police chief after all, so it was his job.

Tamryn froze. Yes, he had offered for Andy to stay over but….he looked down at his clothes and then remembered he hadn't locked the basement, also, he needed to put his white-stained clothes in bleach to get rid of the blood.
"Oh…" He said, sort of panicking. Although the thought of this Jack character offering for Andy to stay at his place was nice, it irked him. He was glad she had turned him down. Maybe that was selfish of him. No. It definitely was selfish of him.
"I don't mind if you sleep in my room and I'll take the sofa unless you really want to sleep on the sofa, then I won't stop you," He said quickly, not thinking about it. He was digging himself into a deeper hole here.
"So yes, you can stay over, I mean, two is better than one" He gave her a nervous chuckle. "Just…." He looked around. How long would it take him to get everything ready? An hour? Two hours? More??

"Give me an hour to clean off, I'm not in the best condition to greet anyone right now, I'll take a quick shower and I'll call you back, how does that sound?" He asked, though, the thought of taking a quick shower made his skin crawl. He needed at least an hour and a half to take a shower. He needed to really scrub until he knew he was safe. Oh well. He'd have to deal with it this time around, maybe he'd sneak in another shower when Andy was asleep.

Andy was totally good with waiting around an hour as she hadn’t even begun to pack yet. However, she one of the things she noticed was how nervous he sounded. She summed the peculiar tone of his voice to being because her trip was very last minute; he probably wasn’t to keen on having her over without much warning, which she understood.

“Alright, an hour it is. Thank you, Tam.” She stood up from the sofa and headed towards her room. “I’ll make sure to pay you back, okay? Next week’s dinner is on me.”

After talking with him for a few more minutes, she hung up the phone and allowed him to take his shower. While she was waiting, she got out her suitcase and began to pack everything she needed for the short get away. Once the hour was over, she loaded her belongings into the car and headed off towards Tamryn’s home. She parked in the driveway, headed up the steps, and rang his doorbell.

She shivered as the cold winter air pressed against her back. She tried not to think about it, but she knew that around this time last night was when they were attacked. She just prayed that nothing like that would happen again.

Hanging up the phone, Tamryn wasted no time and immediately took everything off, almost tripping when he couldn't get one of his socks off. He threw them into the basket with his other clothes that were in his room and went to shower. Forty-five minutes. He took forty-five minutes to shower and he still wasn't satisfied. Normally a human being would spend fifteen to twenty minutes in the shower, max, so as to not waste water, but Tamryn didn't care about that. He could spare the extra cash for that.
When Tamryn got out of the shower it didn't feel right. His body crawled with all the imaginary impurities and there was no way to get rid of the feeling. He didn't have time.
Tieing the towel around his waist he went into his room and dragged his hamper to the basement. He quickly made a concoction of bleach and a few other cleaning supplies that he knew wouldn't have a bad reaction to each other. He threw the blood-stained clothes into the small old tub he had down there and poured the mixed ingredients over top. He started the laundry load for his dirty clothes, Tamryn had two washers. One for his regular clothes and another one for the blood and dirted caked ones. It was unusual for some but it made perfect sense for him. He had a dryer, but for that, he threw all his clothes in there or did separate loads.
That took him about five minutes to get everything done down in the basement. When he was done he locked the door again and hid the key, as he always did. He always had the basement key on him and if he didn't, he had it hidden somewhere.
Five minutes left.
Tamryn raced to his bedroom. He had mostly dried off, it was only his hair that was still wet, so he threw on his pajamas which consisted of warm fluffy joggers and a regular t-shit, he never really bought actual pajamas and used t-shirts he didn't use anymore. The joggers were sort of like a pajama to him.
Hearing the doorbell ring alerted him that his time was up. He felt disgusting, to say the least, but nothing mattered more than Andy's safety.
Tamryn opened the door and greeted Andy with a sort of shy smile. He still hadn't gotten the dirt off the floor from his boots, he hadn't had time, but he hoped Andy wouldn't think anything of it.
"Welcome stranger" He moved to let her in and closed the door behind her.
"You can put your stuff in my room, or wherever you want to sleep, it's up to you, though I do offer my own bed" He smiled and led her to his room. "I don't mind taking the sofa, it's quite comfortable"

“As long as it’s good with you. If you get too uncomfortable on the sofa bed, I’ll be happy to switch with you.”

She smiled at him and, before she went into the room to unpack and get ready for bed, she pulled him into a tight hug. She held him there for a few moments before she released him and stepped back into the room. “Have you eaten dinner yet? If not, I’ll fix us something. My treat.”

After they stood there and talked for a few minutes, Andy went back into her room and threw her stuff on the bed. She began searching through her belongings when she realized something was missing. She opened the door of her room, walked to the top of the stairs, and called out to Tamryn.

“I hate to be an annoyance, but could I borrow a shirt for bed?” She snorted. “I completely forgot mine.”

Once she asked him this, she went back upstairs into the room and continued getting ready, throwing a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and after she finished, she walked back downstairs and sat on the sofa with him.

Tamryn nods at Andy's compromise.
"Sounds good" He gives her his typical tired smile, though, stiffens when Andy hugs him out of the blue. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this one bit. He relaxes in Andy's arms and hugs her back, a grateful smile replacing his tired one.
Tamryn looks to his kitchen and blinks. He'd eaten breakfast- always fast food as it was the easiest, better than actually taking the time to cook meals for himself. But from time to time he would treat himself, even if the food he made wasn't that good- at least it wasn't burned.
"If you'd like," He said sheepishly. "I did eat, about ten hours ago…" He admitted. He hadn't had time to pass by someplace on the way to get rid of the body as he wanted to be back before it got too dark, so no lunch for him and he was way overdue for dinner.
He watched as Andy unpacked her stuff, and figured he'd give her some space to do so, but as he was turning to leave, she called out to him.
He paused.
A shirt…yeah, he had a few…though most were getting washed. He was sure he had a spare somewhere.
Tamryn walked over to one of his drawers and dug through it till he found a suitable one. It was an old skater t-shirt that an old friend of his had given him. He smiled at the memory, he missed that guy sometimes. Tamryn wore the shirt whenever he could back in the day, it was the most comfortable one he had, but he also had a dilemma of not wanting to fade or ruin the design in the front so he had retired it. That was until now.
Tamryn playfully threw the t-shirt at Andy and laughed in the process.
"You can wear that one. It's one of my favorites" He said.

Tamryn sat on the sofa as Andy got ready, his leg bouncing. This was nerve-wracking. Not only because he had the whole ordeal going down in the basement but because Andy was staying over. It wasn't often that they did this. Sometimes they planned movie nights, but that was limited due to college and work. They barely had time for anything these days. Tamryn was caught up in his own thoughts that it startled him when Andy sat next to him.
The familiar warmness filled his chest and he leaned back into the sofa. He was so tired, his muscles were sore from digging so much and the chopping, all he wanted to do was get proper sleep.
"Think I might skip dinner this time around" He struggled to keep his eyes open. "I could really use some sleep" He looked at her, wondering if she'd let him opt out of eating.

“Nuh uh. You shouldn’t have told me you haven’t eaten for ten hours,” she replied. “You’re not going to bed without food in your stomach.”

With that, she got up off the couch and headed towards the kitchen. Sometimes, Tamryn concerned her. Not just with his comment a few nights ago about how he wouldn’t be able to live without her, but also with how he would sometimes stop caring for himself. He hadn’t eaten for ten hours? Andy didn’t think she could make it that long without at least two meals and a snack.

Andy pulled a pot out of one of the cabinets and turned on the stove. Despite being busy with school and her internship, she always found time to cook. In fact, it was one of her favorite hobbies. Her aunt had loved cooking as well, and she’d taught Andy how to do it starting when she was young. After her aunt had died, Andy had stopped doing it for a while as it reminded it of her, but she later picked back up the hobby. It was the only connection she had left with her aunt, even if she was no longer on the earth.

After she finished making the spaghetti, she brought two plates of it into the living room and placed them on the table. She sat down next to him and handed him a fork.

“Be careful,” she said. “It’s hot.”

For a while, she sat there with him, eating her spaghetti and listening to the rain as it pounded down on the roof. She spoke to him some, but for most of the time, she sat there enjoying the silence.

“Tell me when you’re ready to sleep, okay?” she said softly. “After you finish eating, of course.”

Something about the way Andy said things made his heart feel heavy, so when she got up to make food, he sat there in shock, thinking about how he let things get this bad with his life. He was reaching a breaking point, he could hold out for a few more weeks, days even, but he could feel something snap inside of him when Andy brought back spaghetti.
As they talked, Tamryn kept up a smile until they fell back into silence. It was then that he looked down at the food, his lip trembling as hot tears threatened to escape down his cheeks. He seemed flushed as he looked away. Maybe she hadn't noticed yet and he could play it off. He quickly went to wipe his eyes.
"Thanks for the food, it means a lot" He said, now grabbing the fork and digging in, as he ate and the warmth hit his stomach he felt the despised tears slip down his face. He was crying while he was eating. How pathetic was that? Why was he even crying in the first place? Sure, things hadn't panned out for him in his early twenties, this wasn't what he wanted and he felt trapped, but what more could he do?
"Sorry, the food is just so good" He laughed, even though there was something clearly tormenting him and it showed in his eyes and the way his voice wavered.
After finishing the plate and wiping his tears away, he sat there, not knowing what to say. Tamryn had cried many times in Andy's presence but this felt different. He knew she wouldn't judge him, but it still felt embarrassing.
Embarrassing that he couldn't keep it together when he had dug his own grave. Now how was he supposed to explain that he was crying because he was a killer and hated killing people, even though it's what he did weekly? It sounded stupid even in his mind, if he spoke the words out loud, surely they would sound just as much if not more idiotic.