Silent as Death

He stared past her with a blank expression, his head leaning to one side.

"I don't understand you," Emilia said quietly, "why won't you speak to me anymore? I really think we need to figure this out."

The silence awoke her anxiety.

She knelt in front of him and touched his face. "Please talk to me? I want to work this out," she said as she wiped the crust from around his mouth.

He didn't move or speak. 

Perhaps Lucas just needs to be alone again, after all, men don't know how to process their emotions as quickly as women, she thought.

It seemed he'd been needing a lot of alone time for the last couple of days. He never wanted to talk anymore, he just sat there staring at the wall. She missed the way things used to be. 

Emilia picked herself up from the floor. "We will talk about this later then, okay?"

Nothing but silence.

Breathing in deeply, Emilia wrinkled her nose at the smell. "You need some fresh air. This room smells awful," she said, opening the window. "I guess I'll be back later." She gave him one last glance before closing the door.

Emilia tried to go about her day as though everything was fine, but her insides wriggled with an intense mixture of anger and sorrow. For several days she had cared for Lucas, loved him, told him secrets about herself, and now he refused to talk to her. Would things ever go back to the way they were or was it over for good?

How could he be so cold? 

Usually, he would yell ridiculous things that would make Emilia laugh and sometimes even cry but now he said nothing, and it drove her wild.

Later that day Emilia finally decided to see Lucas again and try to talk with him. As she opened the door and looked in she said, "Are you ready to talk to me now?"

Nothing but silence.

"Please?"

Silence.

"Fine. No dinner for you once again!"

He still didn't react.

"You're an absolute asshole!" she screamed, slamming the door behind her.

Suddenly there were loud bangs on the front door. "Emilia Fox?" someone said, knocking harder now

She calmed herself down before acknowledging the person. As she opened the door with a smile on her face Emilia was greeted by two officers. "Yes?"

"You were one of the last people to be seen with Lucas Hewitt," one of the officers said, holding up a photo of Lucas. 

"Yes, he's my boyfriend," she said.

"Well, he's been reported as missing. Do you happen to have any-"

"Lucas isn't missing. He's in there." Emilia pointed to the bedroom.

"Can we speak to him?"

"He's refusing to talk. He won't come out."

"Mind if we come in then?"

Emilia gestured for them to enter. 

The officers walked in and as they opened up the bedroom door they both glanced at each other for a moment. One of them grabbed Emilia by the arms roughly and put them behind her back while the other officer said something into the radio.

"What are you doing!" Emilia yelled.

"You're under arrest." the officer said.

"For what!" She struggled as they handcuffed her. 

"Murder."

"That is absurd!" she protested. "What are you talking about?"

"He's been dead for a while it looks like," the other officer said.

"What? Lucas is not dead!" she said, feeling panicked. "Tell them, Lucas! Tell them you're fine!"

Nothing but silence.

"He is just upset with me! He is fine!" she yelled as they dragged her out of the house.