Crazy = Genius

Chapter 26: She

'And I'll be okay admiring from afar, Cause even when she's next to me, We could not be more far apart, And she tastes like birthday cake and storytime and fall, But to her I taste of nothing at all'

"You killed her because she killed Annalise? Why? Why did she kill Annalise? How did she? Why wasn't she arrested?"

Lilianna rapidly fired questions at Terrence, his two pm meeting long forgotten as he stood before the stunned, stuttering blonde.

"She was jealous of the relationship Annalise had with me. She was obsessed with me and wanted us to be a couple. She became overcome with rage towards Annalise and her status as my girlfriend that she killed her. She came over to Annalise's house when I was with her, her parents were cooking dinner. The doorbell rings, she answers the door, Innis shoots her in the stomach. She runs as I go to Annalise. Anna dies on the way to the hospital, the police say they don't know who did it, launch a crazy investigation. I track down Innis, interrogate her until she confesses for my mercy. Then, I killed her by letting her die the same way Annalise did, shot to the stomach." He explained bluntly, looking at his shoes the whole time.

"How did you know it was her from the beginning?" Lilianna asked.

"She was always angry around Anna, she would cuss her out and call her horrid things in the hall. When she wasn't around she would try to seduce me and I always said no. She was furious about the relationship we had, and she wanted it for herself. So, she figured by eliminating Anna she would take her place in my life. I made her confess to it all and then I let her suffer in pain as she bled out the same way she let Anna die. Now when I see a girl who looks like her I just become so outraged and blinded by the hate I held for that thing. She made me go mad with hate and pain and the need for revenge that now I can't stop. I've got it implanted in my head that if I kill her or her look-alike then Anna will come back. I know that's not true now. For three years I sat in that prison cell and I realized what I had done to myself." He continued. "It's why I never want to go back. It made me see who I was and I don't want to sit in my own self-pity any longer."

Lilianna stared in shock. She was speechless. She had found his motive so easily, all by asking to read a book.

"Anyway." He cleared his throat, averting his eyes from her and turning away from her slightly. "You can sit here as long as you want from here on out. Read all the books you like, and when you finish them I'll get you more. Think of this as your new home."

"Can I put a bed in here?" She asked, half-joking, half-serious. He laughed, a dry laugh that she knew he was using to hide the pain of the insinuation behind her question.

"Absolutely not." He answered, leaving the room and closing the double doors behind him.

Lilianna turned in a complete 360 as she surveyed the room again without the itching feeling of his steely eyes boring into her small frame. The smile on her face was hard to hide, her fingers twitching to grab her first book off the shelf. Her green orbs scanned the titles printed on the spines of the new and old pieces of literature, finally locking onto a black, leather-bound copy of The Devil Wears Prada. Her feet subconsciously carried her towards it, her pointer finger hooking over the top edge of the spine and flicking it out of the row. She settled down into the leather couch, her feet curling underneath herself and snuggled into the plush pillows.

"Finally, peace and tranquillity." She sighed in relief, instantly getting lost in the words of the classic novel.

"You showed her the library, I see," Jeremiah said quietly as he entered his Boss's office. Terrence smiled slightly at the memory of her glowing face as she smiled at the room before her.