Paranoia
I look behind me. There's that feeling again, like someones watching me. I shake he feeling off. It's just me being paranoid. Ever since my mother and father were killed, I have been worried that they'll come back to finish off the job.
I'm at the train station waiting for my best friend, Simon, and his girlfriend Isabelle. We're going shopping, a rare thing for us to do, but I think it has something to do with my birthday. Simon hates shopping but he insisted on taking me.
Simon and Izzy have been together for a little over a year now, I hate no idea how someone like Simon got someone like Izzy. I love Simon, I really do, but he's so awkward. He's a nerd who loves video games and comics and Izzy's this gorgeous, bad-ass model. Still, they're perfect for each other.
"Clary!" I hear Izzy and Simon yell. I turn towards them but before I turn completely, I catch a quite sight of blonde hair ducking around a corner. I shrug it off and walk over to the couple.
"Hey guys! Sp, what do you have planned for me today." They both look at me with devilish smirks. Oh shit.
Why would anyone want to kill this girl. She's so beautiful, with her long, red hair and green eyes. But it's not my job to google at whats on the out side. If someone wants her dead that much that they hire me, she must have done something very wrong.
I've been following her around for the past 3 weeks now and there's nothing out of the usual. She does grocery shopping twice a week, she goes to the art supplies shop at least three times a week, and the rest of the time she spends in her tiny apartment. This is the first time I've seen her friends, she's had lots of people go to her apartment but they always come out with a covered canvas, they must be customers. But never has she had any friends over.
My employer told me to look out for anything 'different', whatever that means, but so far nothing has changed. I followed the three of them around all day but they were just shopping, nothing else, except Clarissa looked like she was ready to murder both of them for dragging her around the shopping centre all day.
When they got back to Brooklyn, they said their goodbyes, hugs all round, and went their separate ways. Clarissas apartment was only a few blocks from the station so she walked, with her presents in her hands, home.
"Engage Stage 1." I heard my boss, Hodge Starkweather, say in my ear.
'Stage 1' : Earn the trust of the target.
It was a 3 block walk from the station to my place and the gifts Simon and Izzy bought me were getting heavier.
"Need some help?" I hear a voice ask me from behind. I turned and had a feeling of deja vu. He was absolutely beautiful. Golden hair, golden skin, golden-freaking-eyes! I must have be staring because he cleared his throat and said, "Uh, miss?"
Miss?! Well that smacked me out of my daze. Do I look like a middle-aged teacher?!
"Uh, no. I'm right, thanks." I go go to turn.
"Really, it's no problem short stuff." He says with a smirk.
The nerve! I'm practically fuming now. "What did you call me..?" I say in a deadly quiet voice.
"Sorry, Strawberry Shortcake, now are you going to let me help you?" He has a serious face on but I can see the smile on his lips.
"That's cute that you know the name of the most girliest character from the most girliest show. And no, I'm not." I huff and turn in the direction of my apartment. I hear him laugh and follow me. when he catches up he's still smirking.
"Well if you're not going to let me carry your things, I'm going to accompany you home. It's getting dark and Brooklyn can be a pretty dangerous place a night." He says with an unreadable gleam in his eyes.
"Really there's no need, I can.." I start but he cuts me off.
"Jace Wayland." He greets, holding out his hand.
I just keep walking, 1: I can't shake his hand and 2: I don't want too!
"That's nice," is all I answer with. My apartment is only a few meters away, Thank God!
"And you are..?" He urges.
"Strawberry Shortcake." I state in a matter-of-factly and turned into my building. "Well this has been great," I say sarcastically, "But I must bid you farewell, for forever I hope, and good night." I start walking up the stairs and, of-freaking-course, he follows. "Have you forgotten anything?" I'm almost a blowing capacity.
"No." He says simply, shaking his head.
"Then what do you want?!" I raise my voice which earns me a bang from the apartment above and a muffled "Shut up!". I'm now giving him my best death stare I can conjure up.
"Nothing, I live here." He says pointing to the door we've stopped in front of.
You have got to be fucking kidding me! "Well that's just fucking super, isn't it?" I wished/yell to myself.
"Gasp," he says, covering his heart, judging he has one, acting disgusted "Potty mouth!"
I groan and walk the rest of the way by myself. The elevator was out of order so I had to walk 4 flights of stairs to my apartment on the top floor. When I reached my door, I put half of my gifts down so I could have a free hand to unlock the door. Once inside, I dumped my bags on the kitchen bench, went to my room and threw myself on my bed and screamed into my pillow.
I watched her as she clambered up the stairs. As soon as I walked into my temporary home and closed the door, Hodge yells into my ear-piece, "What the hell was that?!"
"Me, earning the trust of Clarissa. What did it look like?" I said, chuckling.
"It looked like you wanted to get kicked in your precious mangos!" I swear, this man doesn't have any other volume.
"Don't worry, Hodge. I've got this. I've handled a lot of girls in my life." I say in a very proud voice.
"Oh, I'm not Casanova, because if you make me look bad, I'll have your head! Report back to me in 2 days, a full report!" And the line went dead.
I huffed and went over to my bed. I look though Clarissas file, for the hundredth time, just incase I missed something.
Full Name - Clarissa Adele Morgenstern
Changed Name - Clarissa Fray
D.O.B - 28 August 1991, 23 years old
Occupation - Artist/Painter
Residence - Brooklyn, New York City
Background -
Was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC. Mother - Jocelyn Fairchild/Morgenstern [Deceased] . Father - Valentine Morgenstern [Deceased] . Clarissa was raised mostly by Luke Garroway [Deceased] until she was 18. She moved to…
Blah blah blah, I know this already but there's nothing on why anyone wants her dead. I scan over Jocelyn, Valentine and Lukes reports. All the same. Signs of asphyxiation, struggle and stab wounds. The whole family must have been in on whatever she's done. I myself would have gone for a single shot to the head but this guy wanted to make a point. Now someone has hired me to finish the job and as soon as I get the call, I can't hesitate.