Standing in the corner of his kitchen was my best option, having the butcher's block within an arm's reach away was my only option. I already pulled a knife on him, though, I didn't really know how to use it, he didn't know that though. Since my frantic break down, I had effectively stunned him, with a slap, and escaped to the kitchen. Thankfully he redressed after he, whatever he did. After he became Four again. Still, my level of trust to him is close to non existent, and I dread every moment I catch his eyes on me, afraid that he might change into that thing again. Four has remained hospitable, and understood that I would seriously hurt him if he got close enough to me, so he kept his distance. I felt like one of those dogs you see on TV, cowering in the corner and baring it's teeth in case anyone got close, striking ferociously if someone dared to.
The thought of just running for it crossed my mind many times, and every time, I supplied for myself scenarios where my escape went south. I was used to filtering sound, now that I could concentrate on blocking out the slow thumps of his own heart beat, and the sound of his bones grinding together at the joints whenever he moved. But that was because I was so limited to the sounds that underwent inside his house, I'm sure if I ran outside in that moment it would be a repeat of earlier this morning. Then there was the matter of the street being busy and narrowly missing a car. Those thoughts in mind I stayed in my corner with my select favorite heavy handle knife just at my side, and my gaze locked on my boss.
He smirked at me, a huff of a laugh passing his lips as he turned to look at me, "I'm not going to hurt you," I scoffed,
"Right, that's what they all say,"
"Really Tris, if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so already,"
"You sure tried," I sneered, my eyes narrowing at him as he stood, walking around the couch and stopping at the edge of his kitchen. I avoided eye contact, knowing I would freeze up under his intense gaze. He stood straight and crossed his arms, "I like how of all the things you could attack me with, you chose scissors,"
"What- You would have picked something different?" It was almost like we were talking about tools to screw something in other than a weapon I used to defend myself against whatever he turned into. He smiled, the corners of his lips curling, it was a shy smile that said he needed a shrug to accompany it, as though he were innocent but knew something I didn't. My heart jackhammered against my rib cage and I dared to demand some answers out of him and his amused eyes, "What are you?"
"Lycanthrope, same as you, but I'm blooded, born with it not bitten," He lost me after the first word. He was a fucking werewolf? I couldn't help the mad grin that cracked onto my face, nor the bubble of laughter that had me gripping the counter, I'd never heard of someone ever declare themselves to be a mythical creature. Yet my boss apparently had the balls to do it, with a straight face. "So, next you'll tell me there are vampires and mermaids and witches roaming around the street," I said jokingly, rolling my eyes, seriously doubting my sanity in the back of my mind. But then I caught his expression and the laugh died in my throat, his lips were pressed together in a firm line and his brow was raised, "No way," I gasped, my jaw nearly dropping as he nodded to me. "How is that possible? They're all just stories,"
"I was once told that mankind has lost the capacity to construct creative ideas since the Renaissance," He said in that gruff tone of his, dropping several octaves as he took a step closer to me,
"So people saw them and told everyone about them?"
"And the stories only grew more unrealistic from there," He added, looking at the floor and then the counter beside me. Why was he telling me all of this? Oh god, what if you're not supposed to tell people this, and the penalty for this knowledge is death? My wide eyes fell onto Four, and a look of pity flashed through his eyes, and it was then replaced with sorrow and regret, "For example, silver bullets aren't real, and a shot to the heart isn't enough to kill us. Those are stories, and not all lycans transperse through the streets every full moon as savage animals. Vampires are even more stereotypical than we are," He glanced at me, eyes flicking along my face and seemingly satisfied with my attentive skills, he continued, "Nosferatu do hate the sunlight, and it is one of their only weaknesses, holy water and sharpened wooden stakes were created to supposedly protect roman catholic church goers, their minister was actually the one that fed those lies to them before he enslaved them like cattle. Most nosferatu are very religious actually, most were turned against their will,"
"You know quite a lot about all of this," I mumbled more to myself than him,
"I've had a lot of time to study," He told me offhandedly, leaning against the counter beside him. Arms crossed over his chest. I was thankful he wasn't shirtless again, I don't think I could take in all the information with him standing like that. The more that I thought about it, the more I doubted that I wasn't roofied and was given some pretty crazy drugs to have all of this happen to me. So far, everything felt real, but in my mind, I wanted nothing more than to get away from all this. To have all this thrown at me in one day was close to an overload of information and experience I wasn't ready for. But I knew that if he didn't tell me all of this now and left me hanging, I wouldn't stop asking him questions to fuel my curiosity.
Warmth pulled me from my daze of thoughts, and I blinked, his chest was very close, in fact he was cornering me. Fight was the first thing I did in reaction to the fear that sprung through my blood. The knife beside me was in my hand and flying towards him. Then he caught my wrist, and twisted. Pain shot up my arm to my shoulder, and I yelped as he drove my arm further up my back.
I struggled, shaking and jerking, swinging my other elbow back into his stomach but it was no use, he was a freakin' brick wall. I yelled out in frustration and pushed back from the counter he had me against, and he let up just enough for me to spin out of his grasp, and out of reach. And then his hands are on my forearms and he's crushing my bones in his grasp, his body slamming mine into the door I had run to. A yelp escapes me as my head slams back and I try to keep my eyes open, my first instinct is to kick, and I do, but I miss the desired area of pain.
Upon recoil he jerks me further back into the door, and when my lips part to cry out again, the sound his eaten by his lips. Everything freezes, my heart stutters in my chest and my blood boils too hot for me to feel it rush. My eyes widen on their own accord, and my breath halts in my chest. Is he kissing me? He draws back, his grip on my wrists much softer, and his eyes considerably darker. Was that his goal? To get me to still like a deer in headlights? It worked, I can't even formulate words as a response, and my limbs are like jelly. His eyes search mine for something before he tells me, "If you weren't trying to kill me I wouldn't have,"
"Well, you know, on top of all the crazy shit that's happened in the past 48 hours, why not add the immoral relationship of boss to coworker?" I manage at a whisper, he smirks at me before his eyes land on the door behind me, his expression going far away. Then he blinks, his eyes fluttering closed as he leans in and brushes his nose along my skin, the sensation makes me shiver. My mind screams at me how wrong all of this is, holding him to a knife point and running for my life before hand, and now letting him overwhelm my senses with his taste and his smell. A deep sound comes from his throat and it makes me bite my lip.
Suddenly he draws back from me like I burnt him, his brows furrowed and his lips pulled into a frown. I'm wondering what I had done when he speaks in a low voice, a threatening one, "You're the second resting lineage aren't you?" I had no idea what that meant. Until he elaborated and took a step away from me, eyes locked on my form of confusion, "No wonder your transformation was so violent,"
"My transformation? You mean-"
"You're finally getting it? You're a lycan, and a powerful one, but a rouge from a dormant bloodline, how the hell did you end up in a city like this?" He sounds like he's mostly speaking to himself, which scares me a bit, not that his actions erased all the fear of him within me. But the idea that I'm one of the things he turned into is absurd, and I want nothing to do with it. The creature he turned into was the size of a small bear, and he's saying that thing is inside of me too? Panic races through me and my breath heaves from my lungs.
Four is on me like a piranha in an australian river, his arms holding me up and taking me to the couch. My lips ramble as my mind scurries away from me, "It was real wasn't it? I really did kill them… Oh my god, oh god! I crashed the car, they all exist- there's a whole fucking world- I'm like you!" I scream suddenly and I'm consoled on the couch, the real gravity of something straight out of a movie crashes down on me, and everything I thought I knew about the world, about myself, is a lie.
Four is kneeling in front of me, frantically trying to get my attention, but my body is a husk of fear and borderline psychotic break. But then I'm chanting how much I wish none of this happened, that this isn't real. And before I know it, Four frowns sadly at me before his hands cover my eyes and the tips of his fingers press into the back of my head, and he says words that I don't understand and a cool feeling washes over me and then-
Sounds slowly filter into my ear canal, and the gravity of the earth centers me into my soft bed. Sleep tugs at my bones, willing me to further curl into my warm bed sheets. My face rubs against my soft pillow, the fabric working to root me to the mattress. My bed is my enemy, keeping me here when I have work later. A groan escapes my lips as a complaint and my eyes squeeze open as the pounding on my door only gets louder. By the third knock the person is yelling my name and I instantly know who it is, a sound of annoyance huffs from my chest as I swing my legs over the side of my bed. The cold of the floor waking me quickly as I skitter to the door.
Her fist is poised for another knock, and her face is worried. Eyebrows raised and lips pulled tight, she tears up when she see's me and shoves her way inside my apartment. I sigh and welcome her as she falls onto my couch, curling up under a blanket and holding a decorative pillow. Of course, Christina would be here at- I glance at the clock- fucking 5 in the morning. I sigh and begrudgingly make myself some coffee, making a full pot in case she decides she needs some too. With a sleep frozen face and unruly scold worthy hair, I snuggle myself on the couch beside her and put my arms around her trembling form.
It doesn't take long for her to give, and her sobs echo through my empty looking abode. Tears rush from her eyes and pour like chocolate waterfalls down her cheeks, her fingers gripping my hand tight enough to rival that of a woman giving birth. Such is the way of my friend to choke out the gory details and fatalities of her 4 month strong relationship plummet. I thought Chad was a douche poodle, anyway, but she liked him so I stayed out of it. It took me four cups of coffee and two zombie movies for my best friend to get her mind off her now Ex boyfriend who has no shame in cheating and dumping her. Now at a reasonable time in the morning, Christina is asleep on my couch, and I realize that I have to do the paperwork with Four later.
A quick shower didn't hurt, it was the kinks in my limbs that made me lag and take my sweet time. The water felt warmer than normal, and it was on the same pressure as always, I made a note to mention it to my water company. I stepped out, drying my hair quickly before wrapping my towel about me, my hand coming up to wipe away the collected steam on the mirror, my eyes catching a glint of something strange. My fingertips meet the cool mirror just as the door pounds.
A yelp passes my lips and I'm several feet away from the door now, staring at it, "Tris?" It's Christina, I didn't take that long of a shower did I? My hand closes around the door handle and I crack it open, the tired face of my friend greeting me. She smiles slightly, "I was thinking, because you've always been hospitable and have the guts to deal with me at 5 in the morning, maybe we could have an all girls day?"
"Uhm,"
"Please?" Her hands clasp together in front of her chest, eyes squeezing shut, "It's been forever, and we need to catch up,"
"Alright," I sigh, smiling at her, I never minded shopping with her, it was the dragging me through countless stores and sections that I never once considered going in. And of course, she insisted that I dressed too plain. I sighed again when she smiled at me, her eyes nearly sparkling with delight, I watched knowingly as she pulled open my dresser drawers, fingering undergarments to match before she lays it all out on my bed, comparing bra colors with shirts. She was a strange one, but I let her do what she loves. Clothes are her life, and makeup, I'm sure she'd be the woman behind the stage of a runway, painting and dressing up women to show her skill and enhance all of their natural beauty. She had a way of picking out the right hues of makeup and the most complimenting clothes that were considerably conservative. It was one of the things I loved most about her.
I pulled on the underclothes she set out for me and wandered to the kitchen, "Chris! You want to eat here or out?"
"Whatever!" She shouted back, and I rolled my eyes. Cereal it is then. That was an inside joke, I needed to go to the store. Like really badly. "Tris! Get your little ass in here!" I blushed furiously, glaring at the door as I marched over, "Okay, one Chris, I don't have a little ass, and two, what demands my attention?" She looked up at me helplessly, a small smile on her face, "I can't figure out which one would fit better, what of you run into a guy?"
"Is this what you worry about every morning when you dress yourself?"
"Well yeah," I laughed at her, watching as her eyes narrowed. "Okay, some of us actually want a fairytale love story!"
"Mhm, and he'll call you princess and ride off into the sunset with you,"
"Well," She began, eyeing the clothes before her shyly, "Not with me, per say, but on me,"
"Oh my Fuck, Christina!" I blurted, shutting my eyes as if I had seen something awful and impure. Her cackle filled the air next to me, and I knew it was the stomach holding laugh, the one that made her eyes water up. I held my forehead, smiling and shaking my head at the ground, I knew she said things like that to get a rise out of me, knowing my hesitance when it came to the subject. I wasn't fond of touch, either. I threw on the outfit on the left of her, black skinny jeans, a white t and a red hoodie. Of course, I had to perfect my look with my grey beanie, only, I can't find it anywhere. After a few minutes of searching through my drawers with my brows pulled together and a frown on my lips, Christina walks over, "What's wrong?"
"You know the beanie that Caleb got for me?"
"The grey one? Yeah,"
"I can't find it," I huff, glaring at my dresser as if it physically ate my hat. Christina links her arm with mine and sighs against my shoulder, "We can get another one,"
"No, we can't,"
"Okay," She says after a moment, "Well, let me do your makeup, I'm thinking gold jewelry and gold and black eyeliner, maybe a light bronze will lighten the bags under your eyes," I pull a smile for her, and let her grill me about the job interview and had an earful about why I didn't call her afterwards. She's working on my hair, weaving it into a long and intricate braid, "I'm sorry Chris, it didn't cross my mind, I was tired and eager to go home,"
"Well, you did work a full shift," Her fingers massage my scalp as she gently pulls and pins each hair in place, "Hey! Did you meet my friend? You know, Uriah?"
"Oh, yes, I did," I huff at her, my eyes narrowing at the mirror at the coy smile she gets,
"So?"
"So he was a jerk! And kept flirting with me! Does he have a girlfriend or something? Plus he's worse than your blabber mouth," She laughs at me,
"You love me! And I would have warned you, but you were in one of your moods,"
"I don't have any moods,"
"Yes, you do," She argues, a friendly smile on her face. Her hands reach over my shoulder, grabbing the chain crown she then inlays to my hair, pinning it in place so it trails down my braid. It all seems incredibly girly to me, but it kind of makes me feel better, and pretty, it's been rough for my emotions, the loss of my parents. And doing all of this lets me talk with my girlfriend, and lets her become a models make up artist for a little while. She puts the finishing touches of a necklace and earrings, red and gold. As I'm grabbing my wallet and figuring out which shoes to wear, she stops me and smiles, "So, don't freak out,"
"Chris?" I raise an eyebrow at her,
"But I bought you some shoes,"
"Are they stilettos?"
"God no," She says, "I don't want you to kill yourself," I grin at her, she knows me so well. "Anyway, I got them out of my car while you were in the shower,"
"When did you get them?"
"While you were working, I figured if you weren't going to call me, that you needed space. So I went shopping!"
"Okay, sounds fair enough, I really am sorry I didn't call you though,"
"Don't worry about it, just don't do it again," She chimes, leading me to the living room, where she holds out a box for me, inside are heeled high tops, with buckles and a zipper in the inside. They're all black. She starts speaking as I examine them, "I was looking and looking and couldn't find a damn thing that I know you'd wear, because I wanted something practical and a little flashy, you know? Something that draws more attention to your stunning look, and I saw these and I was sold. I got them for you, low enough that you'll be comfortable, but high enough to be heels, you can strut around in them at work too,"
"Thank you, Chris, it really means a lot, and they go with this outfit,"
"Does that mean you'll wear them and not shove them in the back of your closet?"
"Yes, I'll wear them, right now," I tell her, unzipping them and sliding them over my socked feet. They're more comfortable than I thought they would be, and I hug her. She smiles, "Okay, let's go." The drive there is filled with gossip and laughter, and it heals my soul, reminds me that the bleak and grim feeling that gripped me after my parents death wasn't what life was all about, that I didn't have to be an empty shell of a person just because they were gone. They would want me to be happy, it was what they told me every time I wanted to make a tough decision and went to them for help. They would have wanted to tell me never to forget them, but to never forget myself, I knew I would never be as kind or as selfless as them, and so did they. Maybe that was why they encouraged me to always branch out farther than the confines of the small town I grew up in, they moved here because of me. They would have told me to continue to be the amazing person they raised, to be creative, to chase that adventure that guided me.
I'll remember to be happy, I'll remember them as they were, kind, selfless, and quiet people who meant and still mean the world to me. I'll remember the laughter, and the smiles, the tender hugs and the hushed goodnights. Never the fights, never the few moments of dark that I mulled over too often. I'll be me, like they wanted.
So, to me, I was moving wayyy too fast through the plot line, and I was like, what could I do to stop it? Because I wasn't going to scrap anything, and then my boyfriends like, have him erase her memories. I was like, whaaaaaaaaat? Because doing that is incredibly complicated and requires immense attention to detail. So I tried that in this chapter, and I'm seeing what I can do to stitch it all back together with the plot line. - This chapter is a large mix of things, you get to see two different sides of Tris, one that is a normal girl and carefree, and another as she tries to put together all of the crazy stuff that's happening to her. I also wanted to touch down on the very girly and close relationship that Tris and Christina have, because developing a relationship between them is very important. But, if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask, just know that I can't tell you much about the future plot line, tell me what you think though!