CHAPTER 4
Reporters, journalists, and passersby who had seen the viral video immediately recognized Amato as the man on the stairs. Amato was already famous for his outstanding work in solving every case that came his way, but the Love Kills case had become his biggest obstacle and now his downfall from grace. A man with a high reputation and respect had been kicked out of his throne and thrown to the ravaging wolves. Like sharks in a tank with live bait, they surrounded him as he sank into the situation. Reporters and onlookers alike took out their mics and phones, swarming the destroyed man.
It felt like his entire life had been snatched from his hands after being offered a piece of candy. Amato felt distraught and lost. Jason took notice and pushed his way through the buzzing crowd. Questions were being thrown at Amato, and he could hear them clearly. He couldn’t ignore them as his brain scrambled, trying to hear his own thoughts. Like a fly constantly buzzing in his ear, the questions only irritated him. All he could see were cameras, all he could hear were questions, and the lights were blinding. He couldn’t concentrate. He tried to push through, and when a man grabbed him, he punched the man in the face out of anger.
The poor guy fell onto the concrete floor, clutching his right eye, and the crowd went silent. Finally, a moment of silence rested in Amato’s ears like the taste of sweet golden honey. He turned around and saw Jason lying on the floor, appalled by Amato’s violent behavior. Jason couldn’t believe Amato had resorted to violence, a clear sign that Amato had truly fallen.
“C’mon, let’s go,” Jason mumbled angrily.
“I–I’m—”
“Let’s go!” Jason yelled at him. “Take me home.”
Jason grabbed Amato by the shoulder, leading him to the white car. The ride to Jason’s home was quiet, filled with an awkward tension. Amato didn’t want to talk about what had happened, but Jason was dying to know his thoughts.
“I’m actually surprised you didn’t see this coming,” Jason said, trying to start a conversation. He then flicked his head towards the back seat. “Y’know… because of that book you have there.”
“I didn’t check.”
“Oh—”
Jason couldn’t tell if Amato didn’t care about being fired or if he felt strong resentment towards him. He discontinued the conversation, believing Amato was angry at him. Finally, the long and tense ride ended. Jason hopped out of the car without saying goodbye or looking back. He was relieved to leave the awkward atmosphere and hurried to his door. As he rummaged through his keychain, he cracked open the door to his house. His beloved wife and son were waiting inside, and as he stepped inside, he could smell the fresh food lingering in the warm air.
“Hey, Jason!” Amato shouted before Jason disappeared into the house, “I’m sorry.”
Jason froze at his doorstep, watching Amato drive off. A sudden weight hit his chest, filling him with guilt. Amato used to treat Jason worse than anyone else in the precinct, and everyone knew why. Jason was a survivor of Love and didn’t die like everyone else. He survived the impossible, which filled Amato's heart with resentment and jealousy—or so everyone thought. In reality, Amato was simply worried about him. He belittled and insulted Jason because he felt Jason shouldn’t be having kids and a wife at this time, especially because he could die at any minute. Simply put, Amato found Jason ridiculous for even getting married.
At first happy to go inside his beautiful home, Jason found himself guilt-ridden. He didn’t care about losing his job because he had his friends and family. He could still meet and hang out with his work friends outside of work, but he knew Amato wouldn’t. Amato was a reserved man who didn’t let anybody into his heart or humble home without a good reason. Nobody liked Amato, but his presence would be dearly missed. Even if they never admitted it, he made work easier in the police station, and that was one way to miss the person they hated to love.
Amato drove for hours until he reached an empty beach. He decided to sit on the cool, soft sand. He picked up a huge chunk of sand and squeezed it tight as bit by bit the small grains eventually escaped through his large palm. The sand fell through his hand like water, then he let go as the wind picked up and carried it away. It fell away with the swift motion, carried alongside the calming wind. Like his lifelong work, it simply fell through his firm and large hand until there was nothing left. His job had been taken away in a swift motion. As he watched the waves crash down onto the smooth, wet sand, a tidal wave of nostalgia hit him. The wave made him crash his back down to the floor while the sand caught his fall.
The beach gave him a tragic reminder of his parents' death. His parents had died by the beach as they watched Amato play in the sand and ocean. As he continued to splash in the water and make sandcastles, he didn’t see his dead parents lying on the ground. Only when he felt hungry or tired did he go back to see his parents in a deep sleep. At a young age, he understood that his parents were forever gone. As he continued to remember his deceased parents, he looked up at the ocean of stars in the pitch-black sky. The multitude of stars lit up the dark sky with their luminous light. It was like music for one’s eyes—relaxing and beautiful. If stars were an instrument, Amato imagined them sounding like a piano.
“Hey.”
“What the—” Amato jumped off the sand when the person above him accidentally threw some in his eye. The stinging pain made him cry as he tried to rub it away. His peace was interrupted again.
“A-Are you crying?”
Amato could remember that obnoxious voice anywhere. It was Dierdre again. He hadn’t noticed her approaching because he was too lost in his thoughts. Meeting her on an empty beach in the middle of the night wasn’t a coincidence. She had obviously followed him there out of guilt. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to ruin your life,” Dierdre said, admitting to posting the video.
“It’s alright,” Amato mumbled. “I was already planning to move to Colorado with my uncle.”
“I-I know who you are!”
“Sorry?” Amato didn’t believe he had heard her correctly, but he was still uninterested in what she had to say. He continued to rub the sand from his eyes, which still stung.
Amato was well known before the case was leaked for millions of people to see. He was a spokesperson for the police force and the lead detective. He had been through plenty of interviews, perfect for his tough and unwavering personality. He mainly talked about the dangers of falling in Love.
“I want to prove to my viewers and the world that you’re spreading fake news,” Dierdre said bravely. “I want you to participate in an experiment and prove that you are wrong about the Love Kills case.”
“... Sorry, what?” As if he needed his eyes to hear, he tried to open his stinging eyes, but his vision was blurry and watery. “Love Kills case… wrong?”
“Yes, I believe that it’s all propaganda to make peo—”
“You must be one of those idiots who would rather believe in a conspiracy theory from Facebook than face the cold and hard TRUTH! I’ve been investigating this case for years, and yet people like you come out saying everything I’ve done is fake,” Amato said, raising his voice with each syllable. He didn’t want to hear a conspiracy about a case he had been investigating for years. “Now, could you do me a favor and leave?”
Dierdre could hear the man’s frustration seeping through every word. She couldn’t tell if he was crying or still had sand in his eyes, but she hadn’t come all the way here for nothing. “I won’t leave until you prove me wrong,” Dierdre stood her ground. She couldn’t tell if the man was still thinking about it or ignoring her. “Please.”
“Prove you wrong how? If you truly knew me, you could see the mountains of evidence I’ve published, said, and shown. What more could you want?” Amato asked while walking away from her. He was trying to end the futile conversation. “You influencers, news, and content creators always want more, and it’s never enough with what you have. I’ve seen some of your videos ridiculing me and my case.”
“I want an experiment!”
Those words made Amato stop in his tracks. “An experiment with humans? Do you want to play with human lives?”
“Everyone’s done it. All you have to do is go to court and ask for it. It’s pretty easy. I already have a consent form if you’re interested.” Dierdre whipped out a thick pile of papers and handed them to Amato. “Here, take it with you.”
“I could die.”
“We’re all dying according to you. But I say we’re not dying because of Love.”
Amato placed his hand on the form like it was a fragile piece of glass. At a snail’s pace, he took it from her hands. He looked at the heavy pile of papers and scanned through each page. He was mesmerized by how there could be a contract for certain death. He flipped through the pages with care—fifty-two pages in total. He took a deep breath and brought the packet to Dierdre’s eye level. He began tearing the pages one by one in her face,
savoring the appalled expression she gave him.
He continued ripping them up until Dierdre stormed off, leaving him alone on the beach. Finally, he was left alone without any interruptions and continued to listen to the sweet sound of the never-ending waves crashing down. Just like the beautiful waves taking the sand, he thought of Dierdre’s never-ending hunger for content. Her hunger for likes and views could take a life, if not many more after that. He sat longer on the beach's sandy floor than anticipated, thanks to Dierdre’s unprecedented and heartless request. As he finished thinking, he headed home, hoping to catch a night’s rest.
When he got inside his car to drive home, he noticed his fortune teller, “MyDiary.” He began reading page by page until they were blank. The Diary only showed up to three days in the future. If someone read more than three days ahead, the rest of the pages would be blank until twenty-four hours had passed. If the pages ran out, they had to buy another one from the company. Reading about his future made him less anxious about dying. He’d be ready for any experiment Dierdre would throw at him.
When he got home, he found one of Dierdre’s missing dogs in the lobby. He remembered the shivering dog and went to pick it up. As he reached for it, the dog bit his finger, drawing a bit of blood. Annoyed, he tried again and held the loud, yapping dog in his arms. He went up the staircase slowly, hoping the neighbors would hear and have a reason to kick Dierdre out. When he finally reached his floor, he knocked on Dierdre’s door, but there was no reply. Amato checked his watch and realized it was incredibly late, and everyone was probably sleeping.
He took the yapping dog into his apartment and gave it cold hotdogs to eat. He sat at his cold metallic and glass desk as he taped the contract paper back together using clear tape. It took him about twenty-two minutes to piece them back together. He then got on his laptop and sent an email to his lawyers about the contract, requesting a consultation.
Comments (0)
See all