I wake up to groans and moans from the other side of the wall. I squint my eyes open and look for my phone. After I turned it on, I saw that it was four in the morning. You've got to be kidding me. I try to go back to sleep, hoping for the extra rest since Luke's house is closer to my job than Saiya's, but to no avail.
I begrudgingly toss the covers off the bed and dig in my suitcase to collect my clothes and items. My room isn't big, but it's not small either. Luke's guest room has a nice bed, desk, and closet—nothing more and nothing less. I grab a sleeveless black top and a pencil skirt.
I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and clothed myself. I decided to make a messy bun, spray some perfume, put on deodorant, and pack my things.
While putting on my heels, I hear, "That's it, baby, cum for me, " I internally cringe. I don't know whether to be disgusted or amazed that they've been at it this long. They were already fairly worked up when I woke up, so clearly, they'd been at it for a while.
I don't make it a point to complain since I randomly showed up at Luke's door asking for a place to stay like a stray. I decided to eat out since I have spare time and require fast food. Before I take my keys and leave, I bang on Luke's door.
"Shower now, or you'll be late!" I demand. "What are you, my mom?" Luke shouts. "Just someone who can get your late ass fired," I say while walking away from his door, and down the stairs. His response is muffled, and I don't bother to return to hear it.
I grab my keys off the hook and get into my car. After a quick breakfast, I get comfy at my desk, prepared to do paperwork all day. I unlock my drawer and find the files I never gave to Jason. I stormed out of his office and the entire building before I could. Then, Jason took me to get our outfits tailored.
I really don't want to see him right now. Especially not if he's in a bad mood. I can only imagine the tantrum Saiya went into after he went back. I grab the files and knock on his door. After no response for a minute, I push the handle to go in, but it doesn't move. It's locked. Jason never locks his door. The only times he does is when- my thoughts are interrupted as Leila struts up to me, swaying her hips.
"Mr. Madden isn't here today," she says, confirming my suspicions. He does this every month and I end up leaving the files in a locked briefcase outside of his door. Great, yet another detour. These files were supposed to be given to him yesterday. If I give it to him after work, he'll be playing catch up.
I don't like the man, but when he's mad or frustrated, the entire office is mad or frustrated. The easier his workload is, the easier our lives will be.
"So, have you seen Luke around?" Leila asks, batting her lashes and popping her hips. You'd think I was the person she was trying to seduce. Why Luke hasn't told this poor woman she doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell is beyond me.
I'm tempted to tell her I heard him fucking another man upstairs, but I hold my tongue. If Luke hasn't told her he's gay, that's his business. It isn't my place to spread that information.
"No, I haven't," Apparently, this doesn't satisfy her as her face turns into a deep frown. "I see you guys together all the time. Don't tell me you're trying to gatekeep him for yourself. There's no need to lie. If you're jealous, just say it,"
I'm left speechless for a few seconds. Where did this come from? Has she always had it out for me? Since when am I attracted to Luke that way? My confusion turns into annoyance. I already have work from yesterday plus everything from today. I don't need this mosquito buzzing in my ear about this nonsense.
"If you're desperate, just say that. But if you must know, he's at home fucking someone else." I smile sweetly at her and turn away from her gawking mouth.
I lock away today's files and slip yesterday's in my bag. I grab my car keys out of my bag and leave the building. I put Jason's address into my GPS.
It's a twenty-minute drive from the building. I arrive at his penthouse, grab the briefcase from the backseat of my car, and walk to the front of the penthouse. I sign in, greeting the two security guards at the front.
They're both dressed in all-black suits. They're both extremely buff and wear sunglasses. They're like the Hollywood bodyguards that everyone sees accompanying celebrities on TV. I put my information on the sheet. It's a monthly schedule for all of us.
After they check my information, and make sure I'm in the system as a regular guest, despite them knowing my face by heart, they give me a gruff grunt, telling me I'm good to go. I walk into the building and check in with the receptionist.
After she does a confirmation of her own, she sends me up to the elevator. I click the button with the number twenty and start my ascension. I step out of the elevator and arrive in a long hallway. As I'm walking down the hallway I notice something is amiss.
As I get closer, I see that the door is ajar. This instantly puts me on alert. With the mass amounts of security cameras and guards which I know are somewhere else around this building, there is no way he would leave his heavily secured door open. It has multiple keyholes and a padlock for fingerprint and a password input.
I peek through the crack and see everything is a mess. Lamps are shattered, tables are flipped, chairs are stuck in walls, and utensils are all over the place.
Without thinking it through, I rush in. It's even worse. Lights are flickering, and there are claw marks along the wall. What the hell happened here? Did someone attack Jason with a really big dog? Who was able to get past all of the security with a dog in hand? One big enough to do so much damage.
I stop in my tracks. If this person was able to do such damage with or without a dog, what chance do I have to fend them off? My best move would be to yell for the security scattered around the building.
I go to turn around toward the door again, but I'm stopped by a rather large-looking dog. My breathing stops and my eyes go wide. It's gray, and my height standing on all fours. There's no way wolves and much fewer dogs grow this big. Its eyes look feral, intent on making me another scattered part in the room.
I try to stand as still as possible. I've watched videos on what to do when faced with bears and snakes but never an overgrown canine! I start to get lightheaded from my lack of oxygen. It's now when the thing snarls and charges at me.
Oh fuck. I immediately dash towards the door. My fight or flight kicks in and I'm definitely not winning against this thing in a fight. Much to my surprise and horror, instead of pouncing on me, the thing leaps over my head toward the entrance and slams the door shut as its rear crashes into it.
This thing is playing with me. Instead of stopping in my tracks, I make a beeline for the nearest door. I look for any door in this damned place that doesn't have an electric padlock. Who the hell places one on every door? It's insane and highly inconvenient right now!
My breathing is rapid and I'm panicking as I'm twisting and turning through this labyrinth of a house. I see a flight of stairs descending and decide not to take it. I don't need to go further into this death trap. I make a right and finally find a door without a stupid padlock. I'm fighting for my life here!
The only reason I've been able to avoid this creature is because of the sharp turns I've made from my split-second decisions. It forces it to go to an abrupt stop and slam against the walls and, on occasion, the windows.
I bust through the door and shut it behind me. I'm face to face with a walk-in closet that's the size of my house. What in the actual fuck? I don't have time to gawk at the fashion designer-branded suits, jewelry, and shoes that he has.
Why is it that fashion designers don't wear their brands? Shut up, brain. That's irrelevant. There's another door leading to god knows where. As the creature slams into the door I had just entered, I exit the one in front of me. I enter a bedroom. I don't acknowledge the size or decorations. What I'm looking for is the nearest exit.
I slam the door I'm against shut. I hear the sound of cracking wood, and my heart drops to my ass. My vision is blurred with tears, and my luck gets worse as the next and only door in here has a padlock on it.
I'm so fucked. There's no point in crawling under the bed. I'm sure it has a superior smell, but in a desperate attempt, I do so anyway. The creature gnaws at the door I'm behind.
How did this happen? Why has it come to this? Everything was so normal this morning, so what changed? Jason. Is he already dead? I don't want to die alone, cold, and under a bed.
I roll out from under the bed and climb into the bed. I hide under the covers and put my knees to my chest. I wrap my arms around myself and cry harder. The creature's insistent banging is a song of death to my ears.
Do I want to die like this? Going out without a fight? I peek out from the covers to look for any possible weapon. I get out of bed and rummage through the drawers. There are pens. It's not much but a good stab in the eye ought to do something.
That's if I get that close without my fingers being chopped off. There's nothing for me to possibly throw. I then see a remote. It'll do little damage but it's all I have.
This reminds me of those videos where your weapon is the closest thing beside you and they ask if you'll survive a zombie apocalypse or whatever. This makes me laugh as I'm sure I have no chance in hell of winning this battle with a pen and a remote.
The wolf finally manages to barrel through the door. It immediately sets its eyes on me and suddenly I wish I was wrapped under those nice and warm covers.
I throw the remote at it. It grabs it in its mouth and crushes it. I imagine that being my skull and whimper. The son of a bitch leaps toward me and I instantly hop on the bed, hoping to circle it to make my way toward the door he busted through.
I'm not successful as the creature is at least a thousand times faster than me. It pins me to the bed and growls in my face. Its breath is rancid but its eyes... Its eyes are so...familiar. I stare into them and see a dark abyss. "Jason," I absent-mindedly say. Something snaps in the creature. Its eyes go wide. Its pupils are no longer small and dilated.
The creature makes no action to move. It moves its head closer to mine. I press into the mattress as deeply as possible.
The creature begins to sniff me and my neck. It's not ripping me to shreds. That's a good sign. It removes one of its paws from my shoulders but quickly replaces it with its head. The thing lays beside me, resting its head on my shoulder.
I'm terrified but comforted at the same time. Something is soothing about an animal when it's not chasing you to your death. Exhaustion falls upon me. My feet ache from running in these heels, I have a headache from balling my eyes out, and I'm out of breath from the run.
I haven't run since track in 10th grade. My entire body aches and all I want to do is sleep. My fear stops me from doing so, as this humongous cretin is still lying on top of me. It seems to have fallen into a slumber, but what if its appetite changes after it wakes? I'm stuck lying there for about an hour before sleep falls upon me, and I'm taken into darkness.
--
I open my eyes and find myself alone in the bed. I would have thought this was all a dream if I wasn't lying on what I thought to be my literal deathbed.
My face feels crusty and puffy from all the crying. My headache is now a dull thumping in my head instead of a sharp pain. The wolf, or whatever it was, is gone. I look at the curtains and don't see any light shining through them anymore.
I look around for my phone but have no luck finding it. I get up from the bed and peek through the curtains. It's pitch black outside. How long was I asleep? Normally, I would panic. I'm two days behind on work, and our gala is in a few weeks.
I haven't scheduled any meetings, and I'm falling behind on file work. Despite the long nap, I'm drowsy and hungry. I look at the busted door, then turn my head to the door that had the padlock on it. It's open.
I slowly walk through the door. I couldn't be stealthy even if I wanted to. My heels clack with every step, and there's no way I'm taking them off with all the scattered glass on the floor.
How did the guards not hear any of this ruckus? The hallway is short, and I soon appear in another living room. It's comfier than the one I saw coming through the door. At this point, I don't know where I am in this house.
There's a bar across the living room with stacks of alcohol. It's antique and elegant, yet modern. The marble glistens and the stools are in perfect condition. Of course the bar would be the one place to not get wrecked.
I go around the counter and pour myself a glass of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Whiskey. I grab the bottle and sit on one of the many bean bags. I grab the remote from the coffee table in the middle of the room. Before I get a chance to turn on the t.v, I hear a door creak open.
I lazily turn my head, not caring who or what is coming through the door. Jason walks in with damp hair, no shirt, and joggers hanging loosely around his waist.
His body is a sight for sore eyes. Nonetheless, my eyes remain sore. His eyes connect with mine, and his blank look turns to one of sorrow.
I turn away from him and continue to sip my drink. "You've got some explaining to do," I say with a hoarse voice. Who knew nearly experiencing death would make you feel dead?
He sits across from me on another bean bag. "I never took you for a cute-comfy kind of guy, but I guess the bar cancels out the effect. Or maybe it adds to it. What do I know anymore?"
Jason's brow creases in, almost as if he's debating on what to tell me. "If you don't want to talk about that mutant wolf, we don't have to, but you are going to have to pay for my therapy and spa sessions, "
Jason chuckles, but it isn't lighthearted. "You never seem to lose that sense of humor, " he looks into my eyes, never breaking contact. "Humor? That wasn't a joke, I'm so serious,"
He gives me a look that I can't make sense of. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it is admiration. "I know," he doesn't say anything else.
I don't rush him to continue. I simply keep sipping my drink. His eyes dart to the bottle of whiskey in my hand and he cocks a brow. "I'm not paying for this," I tell him. He tilts his head, questioning my actions.
Finally, he gives me a small smile with tired eyes and says, "It's a long story, but I'll tell you everything." I raise my hand in front of me as a sign for him to pause. I get up and rummage through the mini fridge by the bar. I grab a bag of grapes that I figured would be there. I'm not drinking wine, but it works just as well.
I sit back down and signal him to continue. "Okay, now you can start," he stares at me for a minute before sweetly smiling at me. "Okay,"