Chasing Eden Ch. 10-13

"You didn't freak me out," Peter answered with a genuine smile. "That might have been the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

As Irene and Peter both looked up at the sky, they noticed a shooting star. Pointing it out, Irene exclaimed, "Look!"

"Are you going to make another wish?" Peter asked with a chuckle.

After a little chuckle of her own, Irene came to a stop and stared into Peter's eyes for a moment. Then, when the moment felt right, she leaned in and planted her lips against his. It was their first kiss, on their first date, and the first stepping-stone to a beautiful relationship they would have together.

Over the next three years, their relationship would blossom into an unbreakable bond. They explored the best of both worlds they had with each other, respecting each other professionally while loving each other as best friends and soulmates.

Peter and Irene played instruments together, went on road trips, watched TV together, and spent so many nights under the stars. They eventually bought a house together outside of the city, where they could get away from the hustle and bustle of the Central Business District.

Before they knew it, the couple enjoyed their wedding, and they shared their first dance together at the reception in front of all their friends and family. But unfortunately, her hand would eventually disappear from his, due to the tragic reality that she would soon became just a memory to him.

The ballroom where they had their reception was one of the first places Peter visited after the funeral. He stood there for hours with his hands out, pretending he could hold Irene just one last time.

***

I'm not exactly sure where to pinpoint the beginning of my story, but the rage started right after she was taken away from me...

Irene grew worried that I was being complacent with my career because we were settling down together. We both wanted nothing more than to start a family together, but she didn't want me to sacrifice striving for happiness in my own career.

For years, the only thing about Sunshine that piqued my interest was learning more about the secret scandal that was going on. It felt as if Eddie, Irene, and myself, were the only ones that knew something shady was going on.

Hoping to bring some fulfillment to my career, Irene made a fatal mistake and took screenshots of open sources in Sunshine's hidden coding that was being monitored. They must have tracked her doing it, and they didn't want whatever information that was locked in that algorithm to get out, so they took swift action to make sure she wouldn't live long enough to decipher it and give it to the media.

Irene's brakes were cut, and I wasn't there to protect her. She died scared and alone in her car as she crashed down the side of a cliff. If only I could have stopped her from diving deeper into their information. If only I could have done a better job of showing her how happy I was, despite what was happening in my career.

Although I blamed myself, Greg Hawthorne knew that his hands were covered in her blood. He immediately tried to move me out of Sunshine's finance department and into Moonlight's outreach program as not only a distraction, but a purposeful maneuver to get me as far away from them as possible. But with the info I possessed, it was too late for them to stop me from finding out the dark truths.

From the moment she died, I became a madman, hell-bent on making them realize what they had done. The rage built up inside me as I was overtaken by the daunting pain that they had caused. And what made me the sickest of all was the cowardly way they executed it, allowing them to pretend they could walk away with clean hands. They didn't even have to see the damage they had done.

I became the demented psychopath they would eventually accuse me of being. It took all the strength and alcohol I could find to contain myself, but at the same time, I was letting the fire grow inside me by giving myself reminders of the pain they made her feel.

Every step along the way, my hands had an influence on things until I could finally reach the point of no return. Eddie and Kenny had hopes of stopping me from creating a tragic ending, but all the while, I was several steps ahead of them.

I accepted the position on Moonlight's outreach team, knowing I could complete my task anywhere in the world. I chose Eddie to go with me, because I knew he could create a team to take Sunshine down in court. And I chose Camilla, not only because she was good at her job, which left me isolated with my own project, but because I needed someone that hated me so that if things went bad, she wouldn't be associated with me and suffer the same fate Irene did. All the while, I didn't allow anyone to drive, at the risk of having their breaks cut.

I created the mole narrative just to play mind games with them. I allowed them to see the necklace without the flash drive, so they'd never think to check my neck again. I strategically decided to let Camilla know about Irene's death, so she would back away from me when they were forcing her to get too close.

It was me who gave everyone an ultimatum the day before the Shareholders' Meeting. It was me who made sure the live feed wouldn't be cut once I was revealed as the mole. It was me who made sure Jack wouldn't show up to the Shareholders' Meeting by going to his house the night before and threatening to blow my brains out in front of his family. It was me... every step of the way.

Then, late that night, only hours before the big revelation, I smoked my very first cigar. It was something I had planned on doing when my first child was born. Yet somehow, the moment felt fitting.

I followed that by going into the shower and cutting myself one last time. I made sure to push the knife so deep, it left me throwing up from the pain alone. I almost didn't even care if it destroyed one of my organs.

Cutting myself was something I developed every time my life started to get too pleasant. I needed to give myself reminders of what my wife felt that night. I needed to give myself reminders of what I was fighting for. The pain would bring me back to the dark psycho I needed to be behind closed doors.

And then the day came, and I confirmed my target by the look in his eyes. And though I didn't accomplish my mission that day, here I stand, looking down at his house in the middle of a cold and rainy night. Somehow, this feels like an even better end to a cruel story.

***

As Greg Hawthorne and his wife were preparing for bed late that night, they did one final sweep of the house to make sure all the lights were out. However, as Mrs. Hawthorne was walking past a window near the front door, she suddenly stopped because something had caught her eye.

Noticing a dark figure approaching, she fixed her eyes on it to decipher what it was. Starting to grow weary, she muttered to her husband, "Honey, it looks like there's a man standing outside in the street."

"Just lock the door and turn on the security system," he ordered, not wanting to take any chances. "As long as he's not on our property, he could stand in the street all he wants."

With her eyes growing big, Mrs. Hawthorne continued, "Honey... he's getting closer... He's walking to the door..."

As Greg Hawthorne rushed to the window, his eyes grew big and his mouth shot wide open at the sight of the figure. It was like a scene from a nightmare, as he watched Peter, shirt open and filled with cuts, approaching the door like a zombie with malicious intent.

"Fuck, he found us!" Hawthorne screamed as he made sure all the locks were reinforced. There was panic in his eyes, and his breathing was getting heavier. Before he knew it, he was shaking so hard, he was having a difficult time hitting the emergency button on the alarm system.

"You know him?! And what do you mean he found us?!"

"He's a lunatic employee!" Hawthorne explained frantically as he tried to call the police. "My address is hidden! How did he find us?!"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the door, causing the whole house to shake. As the Hawthornes watched on in utter shock, the door eventually came collapsing down as Peter kicked his way through it and stepped inside.

As Hawthorne tried to run away, his wife immediately followed suit, scared out of her mind. She was confused and lost, not knowing what else to do but follow her husband as he struggled desperately to make an escape.

They scrambled their way into a back room, but Peter followed them, walking calmly the entire way. Hawthorne tried to lock another door behind him, but Peter kicked it down, much more easily than he did the front door.

Suddenly, both husband and wife were on the floor with their backs pressed against the wall. As Peter's presence slowly made its way towards them, their eyes became fixed on the gun in his hand and the cuts all over his body.

Out of desperation, Hawthorne got up to his feet and attempted to run around Peter to escape. However, the deranged man grabbed him by the neck and shoved him back into the wall, causing him to fall down once again.

Looking up, Greg Hawthorne met Peter's eyes for the first time in years. They were the same eyes that saw agony three years ago. And now, they were the eyes of rage, locked on to the man who was responsible for all the pain and suffering.

Picturing the destroyed car one last time, Peter looked down at Hawthorne and warned, "It's time...

...to face what you've done."

To be continued...