Chapter 3: In Which He Explains

The next time Sora woke up, she was on a comfortable bed, much like her own. She couldn't help but stretched out her limbs without opening her eyes, not yet fully recalling the events before. She felt like she had taken one of the best naps ever except the slight soreness in the junction between her shoulder and neck which served to jog her memory of the previous events that flooded back to her mind making her eyes open wide and sit up straight from the position she was previously lying in. Upon taking a look around the realization dawned upon her that this wasn't her room but an unfamiliar room with grey walls and a king-sized bed with black silk sheets, no wonder she felt so comfortable. She quickly got off the bed and on her feet as she headed straight for the door but when she twisted the doorknob it wouldn't budge indicating it was locked. Tears welled up in Sora's eyes as the thought that someone was holding her hostage crossed her mind and that the person keeping her here was most likely the murderer who murdered the man she saw in the alley. Chances were, he would murder her too or worse, he would torture and rape her before killing her in cold blood. Out of fear she started rattling the doorknob roughly in a desperate attempt to pry the door open but her efforts were to no avail so she started banging in the door all the while scared and crying as fears took over her senses pushing all rational thought out. She just wanted to get out of the room. She felt trapped. She felt suffocated, as if her airway was closing up. Ashton put the bowl full of dog food in front of mocha who instantly came wagging his tail, that's when he heard the banging noise and commotion from the upstairs room where he had left that girl. He quickly climbed the stairs to his bedroom where he had left the sleeping girl and locked the door behind just as a precaution in case she woke up and got any ideas of escaping before he had a chance to talk to her and warn her of the situation she had gotten herself in. Upon reaching the door he quickly unlocked it and opened it wide. Sora finally dropped her hands to her side and backed away from the door as it opened only to reveal a man standing there, a man she recognized first from the park and then from the murder sight before she had blacked out. Her captor. "Please don't kill me please don't kill me" Sora pleaded backing away from her, putting as much distance as she possibly could before she hit the bed. Ashton realized that she thought of him as the murderer after seeing him at the crime scene. "Hey calm down I won't murder you or hurt you in any way" he said keeping his voice gentle and arms slightly raised to show he meant no harm as he inched closer to her. "Please don't come closer" she said and he halted in his steps. "Alright alright if that makes you comfortable then fine, just take a seat I need to talk to you. I'll answer all your questions and then explain my situation to you as well" he negotiated. Sora really didn't see any other way out and she did have a lot of questions so she meekly nodded taking a seat at the very edge of the bed without breaking eye contact with him. She didn't wanna let her guard down. "Okay... that's good, that's better" he said taking a seat on the other end of the bed, keeping a safe distance in between them and keeping his arms raised as to indicate he wasn't gonna try anything with her so that he wouldn't scare her again. The girl was already jittery, with good reason, she had after all woken up in a stranger's house after witnessing a murder and was locked in. He then got the glass of water from the side tables and inched it towards her. She hesitantly took a hold of the glass with both her dainty hands and started taking hearty gulps of water. Ashton observed her as she did so, she was a petite little thing. Huge light brown eyes, pin straight brown-blonde hair, a heart shape face and a button nose. She was indeed an attractive girl and she looked extra vulnerable right now with her jittery hands and tear stricken face. "You killed the man?" That was her first question after finishing the glass of water. He took a deep breath before answering. "No, I didn't kill him. I was just... cleaning up after" he said and her brows furrowed in confusion. Upon seeing her confused expression he decided to elaborate. "Well... you see, I work for a Mafia family, the Takaheshi , you've probably read or heard the name in news somewhere. Well their men killed that man for some reason and my job is to clean up all the evidence and that whole crime scene in general after their dirty work so that's what I was doing when you stumbled upon the crime scene" he told her. "So you only clean up, you don't kill? You've never killed?" She asked feeling a little confident though still shaky. "Yea I only clean up and no I never kill and I never have" he answered. "Will you let me go?" She asked the most important question. "Well... that depends on whether I can trust you not to go to the police with this" he stated. She stayed silent, gazing up at him from underneath those thick lashes. "Look you can't go to the authorities with this because it's gonna be in vain. The Takaheshi control the police here, they'll bury it like the dead and then they'll bury you too. You go to the police and they'll inform the the mafia bosses, they'll murder you and everyone in your family and no one will ever know" Ashton explained, trying to convince her and make her understand the severity of the situation. Sora pondered on his words. She had read the Takaheshi family name countless times in the news, never in good graces and thinking about her grandmother dead made her devastated but it didn't feel right to not report a man's death. However, she would like to keep her life and keep her grandmother both safe. "I won't tell the police, I promise" she mumbled out. She didn't really have a choice. "Good" he said. This was progress. "How do I know you're telling the truth and you aren't the one who killed the man?" She asked as it suddenly came to her mind that he could very well be lying. "If I murdered him I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of witnesses like yourself. That's the only reassurance I can give you, I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it like I am taking yours on not going to the police with this" Ashton explained and she gulped. It made sense. "Can I go home now?" She asked, her eyes pleading at him. "Yes, you're free to go, I can drop you off if you want" Ashton offered. He wanted to know where she lived so he could keep an eye on her for a few days to ensure she doesn't do anything stupid and this would make it easier for him but Sora was smarter than that. "No no umm can you just call me a cab please" she asked. "Suit yourself, I'll call you a cab, what's your name though?" He asked "What's yours?" She answered with her own question. "Smart girl" he complimented. He wasn't gonna tell her his name and make it easier if she went to the police and she simply didn't feel comfortable telling him hers. They sat in awkward silence in the lounge, waiting for the cab to arrive. Ashton had made her a sandwich in the meanwhile when he heard her stomach growl, she was embarrassed and looked pitiful. She didn't ask to be in this situation so a sandwich was the least he could do for her. Finally, the cab pulled up and Ashton informed Sora of it making her quickly get up and start to head out the door with mocha following behind. "Remember, you go to the police and it's end game for you, your loved ones and me" he warned again and she vigorously nodded. She REALLY wasn't going to take that sort of risk. As she got into the cab and it drove away he took out his phone and looked at the red dot on the map that was getting farther away from his house now. He had sown a tiny tracker on her jacket while she was passed out. He played it smart he didn't wanna take any risks and he didn't wanna hold the girl hostage either.