Murderer

"What are you talking about?" Sara asked, not because she was clueless but because she needed to hear it coming out from his mouth. Saying anything could mean she was leading Bryce to an answer he wanted her to hear.

"Adrianna… is dead… because of me! Because I killed her!" Every word uttered by Bryce was filled with pained emotions.

"No no no… I think it's just some misunderstanding." Sara cannot believe that Adrianna is dead. As far as she knows, her only source of information about Adrianna was from two people; Harith and Bryce. Even more so, the information she retrieved was only from a short conversation. She should know better than to trust blindly.

The room now filled with mixed emotions, two people doing their own separate things. Bryce was sobbing quietly, wiping down his sniffles now and then whereas Sara was only brainstorming as much as she could as to whom she could contact to ask about Adrianna.

'How on earth would a loner like me know? If I have no idea what is going on with those closest to me, how am I supposed to know about their friends?'

Her next reasonable move was to search for information on KEI Internet news since Harith mentioned it was a big deal to be on KEI news. Unfortunately, she had not registered her laptop computer to be able to access from anywhere within the institution, regardless of the use of an Ethernet.

To go to the library now only to search the news would be ludicrous over such unconfirmed matters. A sensible person she is, she would have to wait when morning comes.

At the moment, she felt the need to attend to the man whose current sobbing image does not suit with his brawny features. Sara could not respond to anything he said, but she could only provide him with some consolation until his sobbing subsided.

She offered her company and waited silently, sitting on the sofa next to him. Her eyes were having trouble to be kept wide open. Next thing she knew, her body involuntarily tried to find a comfortable position, and she fell asleep.

Bryce, who was initially overcome with accumulated grief, felt much better after crying so much. His eyes were utterly puffy, and his runny nose has caused his lips to be swollen, leaving his entire face looking so bloated. One look was enough for strangers to know what he had been doing for the past hours.

As he walked slowly towards the toilet to wash his face, his feet felt some pricking sensation. It dawned on him that he has made a huge mess last night and looked around to find the woman who accompanied him the whole night.

There she was, lying down uncomfortably on the one-seater sofa, with her head resting on the armchair and her feet perpendicular to the floor.

He decided to wash his face before waking her up to go to her own bedroom. As soon as his hand touched her shoulder, Sara woke up startled. It had been so long since someone had ever physically woken her up that she mistook it for her Aunt Lily.

Bryce apologised for startling her as he thanked and appreciated her company. He gestured her to go to her own room to get a good rest.

Sara was still in a daze; half asleep half awake. She could see Bryce's lips moving, but her brain was not registering what he was trying to convey. She stood up and teetered, trying to comprehend what is going on. Bryce kept on motioning her to go to her room, which confused her. "Am I late for work?"

Her unpredicted question puzzled Bryce. "Huh? Wha--? What? No, I think you have plenty of time if you're working on a weekend that is."

Once her brain was fully awake, she realised what a dumb question she had asked and pretended as if she had never asked that question. Instead, she asked him a question, "Are you much better now?"

"Yes, yes. Thank you for your concern and company," was his short but formal reply due to the embarrassment of a woman seeing a grown man bawling.

"I hope you get plenty of rest then. I need to go somewhere later on in the morning." Sara recalled that she wanted to go to the library and to register her laptop computer to be able to fully utilise the Internet in the future.

In the library, it was easier than she thought to find articles about Adrianna. There was plenty to choose from. Amongst them were :

'The daughter of Liew Family has committed suicide in her flat'

'Saying farewell for the last time to the daughter of Liew, Adrianna – one of the families with the biggest shareholder of the Institution'

'KEI will be holding funeral services at eleven in the morning this Sunday, the twentieth for Adrianna Liew." A picture of smiling Adrianna was posted next to the headlines.

Reading the newspaper clippings about Adrianna's death felt surreal. The news just proved that Harith had been telling the truth but she could not find the reason towards Bryce's allegation.

'Was last night Bryce confession to a murder that no one knew? Was it guilt that has been eating him away? Harith did mention her death was suspicious. If he confessed and he did murder Adrianna, does that mean I have been staying in the same flat with a murderer?'

Her mind panicked, but she wanted to give in to the benefit of the doubt. If Bryce wanted to kill her, he would have already done so. But then again, it took him this long to confess.

Obviously, Sara was not the type of person to pretend and play a detective to find out what happened. She did spend happy and memorable times with Adrianna as flatmates, but that was it.

Once they finished their high school education to further their studies, she had never once kept in contact with anyone else. She could not pinpoint who Bryce was in Adrianna's life and the reason for his so-called heinous crime.

It did not matter to her anymore whether Harith claims on Adrianna's death was not suicidal. She was more alarmed by the state that she had been staying with someone who confessed to a murder.

'Would he murder me now that I know?'

Sara had gone full panic mode and tried to call Harith. She had no idea where else she could go. Who would believe her if she said her flatmate had confessed to a murderer when the newspaper had said suicide? Who would believe a nobody like her?

She cursed Harith when her call failed to go through, but she did not give up. She had to let someone know that she was in danger.

Suddenly Jia Yu's conversation about the importance of having three flatmates and her conspiracy theories flooded her mind. She wished she had paid extra attention when it comes to her safety. Now it was too late for regrets.

A figure was slowly approaching her from behind. She had not yet noticed his presence, but the moment he spoke, her heart beats wildly, and her body shivered, breaking into sweats.

"Sara, I hope you have not shared anything about last night to anybody."