My eyes snapped open, I threw the blanket covering me onto the floor and brought my knees to my chest, huffing as I looked around.

I'm in my living room, I was sleeping on the couch.

What happened?

My detective brain activated as I recalled the events exactly as they happened, and began piecing them all together.

Right.

Jeff.

Where is he?

I glanced at the recliner and saw he was asleep, a blanket covering him as well.

His knife was in his hand, still firmly grasped.

Jeez, does he ever lighten up?

I grabbed the blanket and covered up, laying back down.

I felt surprisingly safe, knowing Jeff was right next to me.

He's a murderer.

He could literally kill me in my sleep, but I feel safe?

I must be going crazy.

I then remembered that I needed to call in sick to work.

I looked at the coffee table and saw my phone was lying there.

I left it on the bus, didn't I?

Did Jeff grab it?

I shook my head and grabbed it, typing in my passcode and clicking the contacts button.

It's 5 in the morning, I only got like an hour of sleep.

I scrolled through them until I reached the "J" section.

"Job 🤢😔🤡"

I clicked "Call" and held the phone to my ear.

"Chicago city detectives office, this is Julie, how may I help you?" The secretary's voice filled my ear.

"Yeah, this is Detective (L/N), I'm not gonna be able to come in today. Do you think you can tell the sarge?" I rubbed my eyes a bit.

"Yeah, I got you. Get too drunk again?" She asked.

"No, something came up. It's really important. Otherwise I'd come in, you know me." I chuckled.

"I know, I know. Hope you get it all figured out. Have a good day off, (Y/N)." Julie said.

"Thanks, I'll try." I smiled and said goodbye before hanging up.

Julie always has been a sweet heart.

I shut my phone off and set it back on the coffee table.

Laying back down, I sighed.

Maybe I should try going back to sleep?

I settled myself under the blanket and closed my eyes.

Slowly but surely, I fell back asleep.

———

When I woke up, it was bright, even with the curtains drawn.

I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes.

I looked over to where Jeff was sleeping, and saw that he was gone.

"He must've left." I muttered, sitting up.

I checked my phone and saw it was 12:40.

Well at least I don't have to work today.

I got up and stretched a bit, then went into the kitchen to get some water.

I noticed the glass and papers were cleaned up, the papers on my kitchen counter in a stack, and the glass in the trash can.

"Did Jeff clean it up?" I wondered out loud.

"I sure did. I also took care of the trash in your bedroom. Still working on the carpet, though." I jumped when I heard Jeff speak from behind me.

"Took you long enough to wake up." He muttered.

"The carpet? Just use bleach, the carpet is white." I said.

"You'll never get the stain completely out." He pointed out.

"Yeah I will, just watch." I said, grabbing the bleach from under the kitchen sink.

I also grabbed an old towel from the hallway closet on my way to my room.

When I walked through the bedroom door, the smell hit me.

I gagged, nearly vomiting as I ran out of the door, closing it behind me.

"Oh... guess I shoulda warned you, huh? Yeah, death doesn't smell very good. And it takes awhile to clear it out." Jeff said.

I glared at him and covered my nose with my sleeve.

I held my breath as I ran through the bedroom, opening every window I could.

It was freezing outside, but freezing is better than the smell.

After about 20 minutes, I could breath without a filter, which means I needed to get to work.

I dumped about a cup of bleach onto the stain, then let it sit for a few minutes.

Jeff came into the room and sat down next to me.

"Sorry." He muttered quietly, not looking at me.

"For what?" I asked, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

"Killing him on your carpet. That wasn't cool." He said.

"It's fine. I gave you permission, and besides, I know how to clean up a crime scene. I had to do that in college as a side job. Made a shit ton of money doing that, though." I smiled a bit, remembering some of the fond memories I made while cleaning up murder scenes.

"Sounds cool." Jeff commented.

"It was. But I much prefer doing detective work. And by detective work I mean paperwork trying to figure out where the hell you are and how to find you. But I guess it's not a mystery anymore." I chuckled.

"You aren't gonna turn me in, right?" He asked.

I went quiet for a split second.

"I should. But I know I won't. Consider yourself safe, Jeffery." I smiled at him.

"Your smile would be much prettier if it were like mine, y'know?" He stared at me.

"I'd rather keep my face how it is, thanks. Most people would agree that I look attractive like this." I said.

"Well I didn't say you aren't attractive, I just said you'd look prettier." He clarified.

"Good to know a murderer thinks I'm hot. That's exactly who I'm looking to please." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"You were looking to please me? Wow, you've got the hots for a killer. Congrats, that's a new one." Jeff teased.

"Shut up, you know that's not what I meant!" I chuckled, hitting his shoulder lightly.

"Ow! You broke my shoulder!" He said, holding the spot I tapped.

"Oh, whatever! If you were that easy to hurt you would've been in prison by now, and I wouldn't have been chasing you for 5 years straight!" I laughed.

"Yeah, well you caught me now, so good job. Want a trophy?" He asked jokingly.

"That would be nice, yeah." I smiled.

"Well too bad, I'm broke."