Chapter Eighteen: Withdrawal

Soft snores swept throughout the small bedroom. The man lay on his stomach with his mouth wide open. Every once in a while drops of drool escaped his mouth and soaked the pillowcase. The curtains were closed shut leaving the room in darkness for the man to slumber. The room was nearly silent until the sound of his cell phone rang loudly. He groaned saddened that he was awoken from his sleep. He turned his head towards the nightstand and reached out for the cellular device. Without glancing at the caller identification, he picked up the device and answered.

"Hello?" he answered the phone still groggy.

"Good morning sleeping beauty."Greeted the caller. "Did I wake you up?"

Without a moments hesitation he replied groggily, "Yeah."

"My apologies," The caller atoned but quickly ignored the apology. "Listen. I need you at the headquarters immediately Garfield."

His eyes widened and looked over to the alarm clock. It was only nine at night and he had no prior obligations. "I thought you said yesterday that there would be no assignments tonight."

"I did, but things change."

Garfield rolled onto his back and sighed in exasperation. "Dude, Rae. You promised, and I was kinda looking forward to taking a nap."

"Well I'm sorry this had to happen, but we need you here. The others are starting to complain about your absence."

He dug his hands in his sandy blonde hair and stared at the dark ceiling for moments. "Okay, let me get dressed and I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Thank you Garfield, and don't call me Rae."the woman said with her infamous monotonous voice. Still groggy, Garfield did not object and was going to hang up before Raven had one more thing to say. "By the way, don't even bother wearing your uniform, it will be unnecessary for tonight."

Raising his eyebrow he asked, "And why is that?"

"Just get your ass over here."she demanded and the phone went silent.

Guess I better get ready thenhe thought as he got up from his peaceful slumber.

As he parked in the parking ramp, Garfield noticed a dark silhouette by the elevator door. The figure lurked there for moments and Garfield began to have an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. When he exited his car, he looped the keys around his fingers keeping the key out for protection. He thought it was foolish of him to leave his trench coat at home due to the fact that his gun was in it, but his only means for defense at the moment was the sharp edge of the key. As the man approached the elevator door, the dark figure continued to keep its ground. Garfield cautiously advanced near the figure until a familiar scent infiltrated his nose. For what he could smell, it was a mix of jasmine and lavender that brought his body at ease. He retracted his keys from his hands and casually walked towards the figure.

His hypothesis was validated when he saw Raven standing near the elevator door with her arms folded. She wore a calm expression on her face and to his surprise; he swore she was smiling at him.

"Glad you came in a timely fashion." she greeted. The woman unfolded her arms and proceeded towards the elevator. He noticed that she was not in her uniform as well, which was unusual by this point. She wore black jeans, gray heels, a gray army style cardigan, and a purple blouse underneath. The woman even had her hair down at this point as well. It was strange, since she usually pulled her hair in a ponytail or halfback. After further observation, he noticed that she no longer had jet-black streaks in her hair. In fact, her hair was completely and naturally violet.

The elevator ride was silent as they proceed up to the ops room. Once they reached the floor, Garfield gestured her to go first and she responded with a small smile. He followed behind her little paces afterward.

"So what is this all about anyway?" he asked breaking the silence.

They stopped in front of the operations door and Raven faced him. "You'll just have to find out." she said with a smirk and placed her hand on the door. To his surprise the room was dark and it appeared untouched. However, he could sense people in the room. Suddenly, the lights turned on. A loud burst arose and the seeming empty room was immediately filled with the Messors with smiles beaming on their faces.

"Surprise!" they shouted in unison. "Congratulations!" They cheered and Garfield nearly jumped out of his pants.

Once he gained his composure, a grin quickly filled his face. There were balloons all over the room, streamers were hung from wall to wall, and a large banner that read "Congratz! One year!" It wasn't his birthday, and he wondered what the celebration was for.

"Dudes, this is all wonderful and all, but what's the party for?" he asked. The smiles on everyone's faces widened even more.

"It's your one year anniversary as a Messor. That's celebration enough." Raven said behind him and nudged his elbow. "And Cleaver wanted an excuse to eat cake."

"Thank you guys!" Garfield smiled and walked into the ops room.

To his surprise, Garfield enjoyed the party. He never had a celebration this big and he felt that he had made friends with all the Messors. They didn't think of him as inferior to them and did not fear him due to the creature lurking inside him. He was glad that they actually cared for him. Everyone was enjoying each other's company and conversing over topics that did not involve demon hunting. Cleaver provided a cake he baked and supplied expensive wine for everyone to partake. Garfield wasn't a drinker recently, but he did enjoy a glass of wine every now and then. Although he was enjoying himself, the man noticed that there was something missing from the party. Particularity, a certain woman. He glanced around the room searched for the person, but found no sign of her. He walked over to Cleaver who was sitting on the couch laughing jokes he was sharing.

"Hey Cleaver" Garfield greeted "Have you seen Raven? In fact, I haven't seen her since the party started."

"Well that's Miss Raven for you." he chuckled. "She's not the one for parties and doesn't really care much for them but I persuaded her enough to throw this celebration for you. Dante and I made a bet that you wouldn't last a year and I won. By the way. . ." the man trailed off. "Dante! You owe me twenty bucks!"

"Thanks for you reassurance." Garfield said blankly and walked away from Cleaver. He continued to watch as the Messors conversed with each other. Somehow, he felt that he should go find Raven to see if she is all right. He never saw her slip away from the party. Unnoticed by anyone else, he drank the rest of his wine and exited the room. Garfield could smell her scent from across the hallway to the elevator. He looked at his watch and it was nearly midnight. On a Saturday night around this time, there was only one place he knew where the woman would be. He proceeded towards the end of the hallway to the elevator. Once, he entered the elevator, he pressed the button to the roof.

Once he reached the elevator door, Garfield's nose was immediately filled with the woman's scent. As he opened the door, the man peered around the large rooftop looking for the woman. Her back was facing towards him as she stared over the clear night sky.

As he approached closer to her, she glanced over her shoulder to see Garfield on the roof as well. A soft smile appeared on her face, but returned her gaze to the tranquil scenery.

"Thought I'd see you up here with a cigarette in your mouth." he greeted and stood next to her.

"You know, you need to come up with better jokes." she replied, "Especially if you said it months ago. It wasn't funny then, and it certainly isn't funny now. Additionally, I quit that habit months ago."

"Really?" he asked, "why'd you quit?"

She simply shrugged. "Wasn't really my style."

Moments passed as they stood in silence looking over the lighted city. Months ago, they shared the same moment staring at the city lights. Although this time there was no tension between the two. It was peaceful this time and the calm atmosphere complemented the mood.

He couldn't help but glance over at the woman next to him. Even though the lighted scenery was beautiful, it was nothing compared to the woman standing next to him. Over the past year, he became more close to her. When they first met, it was under unusual circumstances. It was awkward at first, but now, as they stood together side-by-side it seemed normal to him. She was there for him when he began as a Messor. Although they had their few altercations, they would overcome it. He had this fluttering sensation in the bottom his stomach every time he was around her. Garfield thought about her when he woke up, and wondered about her when he fell asleep.

There was a light breeze and Raven's hair blew with the wind. Her scent infiltrated his nose giving him a feeling of awe. Sensing him looking at her, she turned her attention to him.

Crossing her arms she asked, "Was there something you wanted?"

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Um, I was wonderin' if you wanted to join the party. It's a lot of fun down there."

"No thanks." she shook her head. "I'm not the one for parties."

"Then why did you throw one for me?" Garfield asked.

"Wasn't my idea. Cleaver's the one who set it up. I just played along with it."

"Really?" he raised his eyebrow. "You had nothing to do with the party?"

"I am certain." Raven replied. "And before I forget, congratulations."

"Thanks, but if you don't mind me asking how long been doin' this?" he asked.

She raised her head to the sky and placed her left index finger on her bottom lip. She was mouthing numbers silently to herself and then returned to answer his inquiry. "Almost eight years."

"And you never had a celebration for your hard work?"

"I don't really need one. There's nothing worth celebrating in my life."

"Well, I think you deserve it. Even if there's nothing to celebrate. Might as well enjoy what you have."

She was baffled by his words. He had surely matured since he started as a Messor. It seemed as if the tables had turned around. Instead of her giving him helpful advice, he was giving her support. To her surprise, his advice was helpful.

"Thanks Garfield, but I don't want a party." she gave him a soft smile.

"You know, you are a wonderful person." he said blankly and stared into the city.

"What?" she asked blankly hoping that he would explain.

"I've never seen a stronger person than you. After all that you have been through being the daughter of a demon and human, your mother being killed, and the social difficulties of being a half-demon. Yet, you don't care what anyone else thinks. You keep your head held high and know when to take the position of a leader. You truly care for everyone in the squad and would sacrifice yourself for his or her safety. Especially mine, even though you have known me for only a year."

She was nearly speechless after his explanation. "Well it's my job as a leader to help my fellow Messors. If one of you dies, I don't know what I would do with myself. But you. You are always optimistic, vibrant, and fun when it comes to everything you do. You succeed without a moment's hesitation. I truly envy you Garfield." Her hair fell in her face blocking her view of him shamefully.

Slowly her reached out for her face and tucked her violet locks of hair behind her ear revealing her delicate features. Garfield could see a blush creep on her cheeks. She continued to look away from him. He softly seized her chin and turning her face back to him. Raven was looking directly into his eyes.

"Why would you envy me? I don't have the face of an angel." Garfield whispered.

"What?" she replied confused.

"I've only known you for only a year, but I feel as if I've known you longer than that. In that period of time, I've got to know you. You are a strong beautiful woman and you take yourself for granted. Your eyes are the most gorgeous things I've ever seen in my life. I can't help but want to touch your soft skin against my hand. Although you call yourself a half-demon, I see you as an angel. Just a dark angel. The perfect balance between the darkness and light."

She continued to become lost in his emerald eyes as he spoke. Raven thought he was lying, but his eyes her telling the truth. He truly meant what he was saying. Garfield was the only person that could ever feel the way she was now. She felt like she was walking on clouds and he was there to support her.

He couldn't help but notice her silence and gaze into her amethyst eyes. They made direct eye contact for what seemed like forever. Unknown to them, their faces slowly began to inch closer and closer to each other. The space between them began to close and Garfield could feel his eyelids become heavy. Raven's eyes slowly shut and lightly breathed on in face, which was only inches away.

Garfield could feel this sensation within him, but he felt something odd as well. A voice inside his head kept repeating that he was taking this too far and he should halt. He fought between himself and his mind for moments debating whether or not her should follow through with it. He wondering if she would be mad or even regret if he even kissed her. Fear began to overwhelm his body and he recoiled from Raven.

The man stepped backwards and stared at the woman in front of him She was clearly confused and disoriented by the withdraw. Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. Garfield took another step towards the elevator and softly said, "I'm sorry." Then, he quickly exited the roof. Before he shut the door, he thought her heard the sound of Raven's voice calling his name. Shamefully, he ran down the stairs of the building.

On the rooftop, Raven stood disoriented as ever. She crossed her arms to keep herself warm from the chill she felt throughout her well-being. The woman returned her gaze to the city across from her as a crisp tear slowly traveled down her cheek.