April 10, 2010 (26)
8:00 a.m.
Evalynne’s Apartment

When I woke up Monday morning, Addison had already left the apartment. She had class that day, along with Ashton and Cole. It was the first day I had the apartment all to myself, so I’d planned to use the time to search for jobs that were hiring. I really needed to get a job because I really needed some extra cash. However, I’d decided last night that I wouldn’t need to search for a job after all. After telling Addison about the job hunt I was planning, she suggested that I get a job at the diner Ashton worked at. She told me that he would even put a good word in for me with the boss.
At first, I’d politely declined her offer, reminding her of who else worked at that diner. But she pointed something out to me, which caused me to change my mind. If I worked with Michael, I’d be able to get closer to him. And if I got closer to him, I’d be able to try and figure out what his master plan was. Because I honestly wasn’t sure what he was planning to do once he “got me to himself”. Not that I would ever let that happen…but I still wanted to know what he was planning so I could somehow put a stop to it. Therefore, I’d ended up accepting her offer.
So today, I would go down to Mimi’s, fill out an application and get interviewed by the owner of the place. According to Ashton, she was really nice and pretty easygoing, so I had a feeling that I would get this job. If a psychopath like Michael could do it, then so could I.
I yawned as I sat up in bed and stretched my arms up over my head. My stomach churned, but not because I was hungry. It was from all of the stress I’d been going through lately. From my failure of a relationship with Will. From the way I’d completely screwed things up with Cole yesterday. From my encounter with Michael and Valerie…
I sighed and climbed out of bed, padding into the kitchen for a glass of water. But before I even had a chance to open the cabinet for a cup, there was a knock at the door. I felt a sense of panic rising up inside of me. Who would be at my door at eight o’clock in the morning? Addison had class, Cole had class, and I really didn’t know anyone else that lived around here…besides Michael.
I bit my lip as the person knocked again. Accept now, it was more than just knocking…it was pounding. “Evalynne, open up! I know you’re in there,” Michael’s all too familiar voice called through the door.
Hesitantly, I moved towards the door. There was no use in hiding in my apartment. Michael knew that I was here, and I knew he wouldn’t leave until I answered the door. So, making sure to keep the dead bolt locked, I opened it up. It only opened up about three inches wide thanks to the chain of the dead bolt, which I was grateful for.
“What do you want?” I asked him, taking in his blonde, spiky hair and piercing green eyes. This disguise almost made him seem even more daunting, because it welcomed people in to him. It made everyone think that he was just an innocent boy from Wisconsin. But I knew that behind that alias of his, he was still Michael. And he was still a murderer.
“I was just dropping by to say hello,” he replied, flashing me a friendly smile. I hated how even after trying to smash my head in with an ice mallet, he could just stand there and smile at me like that. It was like it was no big deal to him that he’d tried to murder me. Like it was just a totally normal thing for him and now that it was done, he could just act casual around me. It made me hate him even more than I already did.
“Hi,” I remarked flatly. “You can leave now,” I went to shut the door, but he lifted a hand to hold it open.
“Don’t be rude, Evalynne,” he commanded, his voice taking on a stern tone. “If I didn’t have to get to work soon, I’d ask to be let inside. However, since I have to be at the diner in fifteen minutes, I’ll make this visit brief.”
I rolled my eyes, wishing he would just leave me alone. “Why are you visiting me in the first place?” I demanded. “And how the hell do you know where I live?”
“I’m visiting because that’s what friends do. They drop by to say hello to eachother, they make casual visits to eachother…they open the door all the way when their friends visit.” He glared at me, glancing irritably at the chain of the dead bolt.
“Well we aren’t friends, so none of that applies to us.” I snapped back at him. If Shaun could stand up to this guy, then so could I. “Now tell me how you found out where I live,”
“Ashton told me,” he replied matter-of-factly.
Ok, now I was pretty convinced that Ashton was telling me the truth. Maybe he really wasn’t Ash. I knew for a fact that Ash would never tell Michael where I lived. But what if he didn’t remember who Michael was? What if Ash actually did get reincarnated as Ashton, but just didn’t remember any of his past life? That would have made perfect sense. I wasn’t positive about it yet, but I was pretty confident with my assumption.
I really wanted to find out the truth though, because assumptions just weren’t enough for me. But as I looked back up at Michael, something occurred to me. If he was so smart and knew so much, then it was possible that he knew the truth about Ashton too.
“You know about Ashton, don’t you?” I asked him.
“Know what about Ashton?” he remarked, sounding truly confused. I couldn’t believe him though. He was a good actor and an even better liar. I couldn’t trust anything he said to me.
“You know how he’s somehow related to Ash,” I said.
“I have to admit, he does resemble Ash quite a lot. And I did suspect that there was some sort of relationship between the two of them. However, I’m not sure what it is yet. I can assure you that I’m working on figuring it out though.” He took in the questioning look on my face and answered my next question before I even asked it. “If you’re wondering how I know what Ash looks like, it’s because I saw the picture of you two on you’re wedding day hanging in your living room.”
“I see,” I replied evenly. I wasn’t even about to ask him when he had been in my living room. It had probably been on the day Cole and I had slept together. How else would he have seen us? How else would his cell phone have ended up in my house? He’d probably left it there purposely so that the cops who find it, figure it was dangerous for me to continue living there and send me away. It was all part of his plan to “get me all to himself”. And I fell for it.
“So do you have any idea how he could be related to Ash?” he asked me.
“I do,” I replied. “But if I tell you, you’ll most likely think I’m crazy.”
He flashed me an amused grin in return. “Try me,” he remarked.
So with a sigh, I told him what my assumption was. “I think that Ash was reincarnated into Ashton. Only his memory isn’t so great, so he couldn’t remember his name perfectly and came up with Ashton Magnolia. He also couldn’t remember other things…like the fact that I’m his wife.” I bit my lip, trying not to get all emotional at the thought of Ash not even remembering who I was, and looked up at Michael to see what his response would be to all of this.
“You aren’t crazy, Evalynne.” he stated. “In fact, you may be onto something. I’ll look into it some more, get the full story. As friends, I would volunteer to share it with you too. But according to you, we aren’t friends.” He smirked smugly, knowing very well that my curiosity would end up getting the best of me.
“Fine, we can be friends,” I retorted unwillingly. I hated how easily Michael could get his way. “As long as you figure out the deal with Ashton and let me know what it is,” I added.
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” he replied with a grin, obviously pleased with himself. “Well I’ve got to get to work now, but I’ll be seeing you later today when you stop the diner for your interview.”
I felt my stomach turn and a chill ran down my spine. “How did you know that I was going to the diner today?” I asked him.
He smiled at me, his eyes filled with amusement. “I’m a smart boy. If I need information, I’ll figure out a way to get it. I’ve kept a 4.0 grade point average since sixth grade, Evalynne. You remember that.” After reminding me of his intelligence, he turned on the heel of his Vans and walked away.
I rolled my eyes and slammed the door shut behind him. I was just so sick of Michael constantly knowing so much about me. Constantly including himself into my life, when all I really wanted was for him to leave me alone. I knew that would never happen. I knew he wouldn’t ever give up, not until he got what he wanted. He couldn’t just let it go and move on. Once he decided he wanted something, he did whatever it took to make sure he got it. Even if that meant impersonating someone who wasn’t even real. Even if that meant using a perfectly innocent girl and telling her that he loved her when he knew he would just end up getting rid of her in the end. Even if that meant killing someone else.

Author's Note: Check me out on Youtube if you want for videos I created of this series! My username is LexiWrites (: