At The End Of Their Tunnel Vision

Chapter XVIII

When Narelle reached the apartment she was greeted into a smoldering atmosphere. Elliot adjusted the thermostat again. Less than a minute she stripped the thick jacket and scarf. But still feeling warm she adjusted the temp lower into five degrees. After putting the excess clothes in her room she went straight towards the kitchen. There she saw her roommate busy stirring the inside of the pot.

Elliot was now in his casual house clothes, a simple gray sweater, and pajama pants. The sleeves of his sweater pulled all the way through his elbows, showing his tattoo arms, weirdly luminous in a faint color of cyan; which was the real color of his magic.

"I know you hate the cold weather so much but please stop recreating hell's inferno in the apartment."

The dark angel only ignored her as he turned off the stove. He grabbed the rectangular baking dish and began assembling the lasagna. Narelle took a seat on the table watching her roommate move.

"At least in hell I will never have to deal with this cold f*****g weather. This place is absolutely ridiculous. As if the outside is not cold enough. No. The grocery store has to keep their air-conditioning on. Who in the f*****g right mind kept the ac on in this freezing weather? I have to heat up the apartment after I bought the ingredients inside that store. Sorry about the heat, I thought you would get home later." He said while he kept doing his task.

She giggled at his rant. He definitely hated the cold weather, but he never told her why. A conclusion formed in her head that it might be related to his weakness, which he wasn't comfortable sharing or talking about.

"It's ok, I lowered it a bit to be bearable. Did you call for an off today?" she asked. Her feet swayed in the air watching her favorite food form.

Elliot didn't respond as he finished grating the cheese on top of the lasagna, before placing the baking dish inside the oven. The dark angel's silence brought foreboding signs. After drying his hands on the towel, he faced her and leaned his lower back on the counter. "Yes, just for today. The drama this morning drained me a bit."

"Is it because of what happened last night?"

"No. It was the accumulation of bullshit I have been putting up with ever since I was appointed in the security department."

She could tell Elliot was indeed genuinely exhausted with how dejected and angry his tone sounded.

"Aren't you the main chief in the security department?" She later learned her roommate was her superior in the department she was recently working.

"Apparently the HR thought it would be good for me if I am working with somebody else. And this person thought she was incharge all of the sudden. I had been ignoring her antics, until her boy toy messed up again." He grunted as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"This other person sounds sketchy to me. Ailey mentioned before this person is the one's at fault for giving new recruits a rotation in schedule, especially among women. Does this person hold a resentment towards women in general?"

Based on how annoyed he was and scoffed at her question she could already guess it was far worse than she thought. "Insecure to be precise. A narcissist at it's finest."

Yep, this person was indeed on his checklist of annoying people.

"If your coworker is such a disaster, why can't you get rid of her?"

Her inquiry made her roommate scowl even deeper. "Believe me I tried getting rid of her, Narelle. But unfortunately that wench is one of the CEO's beloved offsprings. A f*****g problem child that nobody wants dealing with."

Oh, no wonder Elliot was so stressed out. "Maybe I should start looking for another job, don't you think?"

His expression softened a bit, regarding her with his serious acknowledgment. "If that is what you want, Narelle."

"Really? It's fine with you?"

Elliot slightly tilted his head to the side. "Why should I question your own decision? I am only giving you an option, it is still your choice to continue or not."

But she remembered how hard it would be for her to find another decent job that didn't require a diploma. Also she was starting to like some of her coworkers.

"Actually I'm still conflicted. I like the rest of the crew in the security but I'm scared of what Jasper might do when he caught me alone."

He gave her a reassuring look. "I am sure after our talk, that dolt will behave and do the job he was paid for."

"Sooo, if I come back tomorrow at work, he will be in his best behavior."

Elliot's grin curved further when the corner of his lips rose up. There was a glint of malice in his dark blue eyes. The familiar chill of terror ran through her spine as if getting stabbed with a taser straight on her backbone with a raging cold voltage of electic shock. "Oh, he definitely should." She didn't want to know whatever her roommate was planning to do with the dark elf. And it seemed Elliot noticed her discomfort and he straightened himself again acting like he was patting off some dirt on his sleeves. "And Jasper got suspended for one week, you will not see him in the meantime."

"Why didn't he get suspended for life?"

He only chuckled at her question which totally set off another chill in her spine even though the whole room was warm like a summer heat. She never liked when Elliot was scheming some heinous deed.

"Well I'll be in the living room for a while to cool down," she jumped off of the table and went straight towards the hall to adjust the thermostat again.

Narelle was awfully aware of what the dark angel was truly capable of and Elliot never hid that fact over her. And she was still getting used to his swapping personality, as if a switch being flipped between the gentler version she knew to a murderous conniving monster.

Elliot's unstable part might still unnerve her but she still accepted the fraction of his darker side. Elliot never shied away this part of him. Instead he wore it like a piece of fine clothing, adding more confidence in his gait. But he wasn't one for showing off. It's merely for intimidation and avoidance factors in his quest for a solitary way of living he preferred.

She could imagine him attending a party looking sharp as ever and stride with refined poised, his interactions towards other guests would definitely be short, yet he would still be polite as he excused himself. He wasn't fond of such gatherings with a huge amount of people in the same room. So, he would pull himself gradually, until he found a quiet corner. Where he could silently observe the area under his vigilant eyes. A peculiar wallflower.

In all seriousness, his dangerous demeanor had its charm.

Wait? Did she just think of that? She violently shook her head, sitting straight on the couch. An exasperated huffed released through her nose upon realizing how wam her cheeks had gone when she patted both of her cheeks.

In the middle of mulling Elliot finally called her in the kitchen. She immediately took her seat across her roommate's seat vibrating on her seat with a child-like giddiness. Happily digging in her food, she couldn't help some sliver of moans slipped through her throat. Which cut short when her roommate coughed in an obvious fake manner. Upon averting her eyes towards the dark angel she noticed the dotted specks of glowing blush dusted on his cheeks.

"Stop staring and eat." He hissed at her.

She held the laughter that wanted to escape deep within her gut. He looked ridiculously cute from the blush while glaring at her as if a child wanted to be intimidating after an embarrassing event.

"Sorry, I just can't stop myself. You know how I get towards delicious food. And you're the best cook I've ever known."

"I appreciate you liked the food I cook. But there is no need to be exaggerating by producing lewd noises through your throat."

For some reason his bashful inconsistent glare goaded her slumbering naughty side that suddenly emboldened her. "Does my moan botheres you?" she playfully teased.

It appeared she hit a bullseye when Elliot zeroed in on her while his freckled blush intensified. She felt even more giddier from savoring his reaction. Anticipation was tickling her guts, knowing that the man in front of her detested lies.

"Just f*****g eat." He finally answered yet she didn't miss his struggles of maintaining eye contact when he glared at her.

The tone of her giggles inclined into something relative to a sultry sound. Just like what she predicted in her mind, he did take an avoiding route towards her question.

"Ok, then," she said in a flirty voice.

This time though she purposely moaned every now and then and watched the occasional flinch from hearing the sound she was making. Oddly she felt gratified from the reactions caused by her.

Narelle knew she was playing with a dangerous growing fire. But she couldn't stop. No, she didn't want to stop. Curious of how patient her roommate really was. If she could even manage to elicit his sense of retribution so he could punish her–

Her own train of thought froze both of her physically and mentally. Why was she thinking something like that? The sudden realization finally struck her. She lost her appetite. For a moment she was stunned and soon shame washed over her like a bucket of water thrown at her.

The cold hand of guilt gripped her even tighter when Elliot was no longer seated across the table, leaving an empty plate he used in front of her.

What possessed her to act like that?

With her appetite drastically diminished from her unexpected action she covered the remaining food on top of the table and washed the dishes.

After cleaning the kitchen she went inside the living room. A rush of disappointment strung her chest when Elliot wasn't there; he surely locked himself inside his room. It was her fault if he decided to shut her off for a while.

Lounging comfortably on the couch with her eyes focused on the tv screen, watching the reruns of her favorite series in an attempt to alleviate her worries. But who was she kidding, her attention was totally somewhere else. Analyzing the sudden changes happening to her recently.

Everything went spiraling down straight through the gutter after the night she fed from Elliot. As if all of the locks, chains, and bolts unlocked and let loose. Releasing a part of her that she wasn't familiar, a new discovered territory, a side of her she never knew she had.

Narelle had once fallen madly in love with someone in her younger, gullible years, which she tremendously regretted up until now. But she never felt these kinds of urges before.

Alarmingly even in her wake was haunted by her fantasies. Innocent daydreams that gradually shifted into carnal. Further escalating the maddening need she felt before. Did the meds stop working? Or she was literally lusting over her roommate?

A scream erupted through her throat that soon turned into a squeal while falling her back on the couch and kicking her legs in the air.

No! She knew it! f**k! She was succumbing to her lustful nature.

"What are you up to now? Recreating a dying raccoon," he grumbled with a pronounced scowl on his face.

Narelle tilted her head upward and she saw Elliot opening the window. He hissed when the cold breeze entered which made him instantly shut the window. His mood would get even worse when it started snowing and it would be soon.

"Much worse, Elli. I'm turning into a lustful demoness!"

She continued wiggling and rolling on the couch. While in the background Elliot was busy unwrapping a sucker. Totally ignoring her rampant antics of whining.

"Yes, indeed you are in big trouble. Should I prepare the tub full of holy water?" That made her whine even further. Elliot rolled his eyes as placed the sucker in his mouth, a replacement for his cigarette. "Sometimes I could not simply comprehend the amount of stupidity you have. I get more use of a hair strand than you do with your own brain. And that says a lot because I am f*****g bald." He pulled the stick out of his mouth after he bit the circular sugary treat harder from his annoyance. He sighed. "Did you thoroughly read the pamphlet given to you after purchasing the meds?"

His question finally settled her. Digging through her recent memories or anything related to the pamphlet. Well she read the basics and instructions and that was it.

"You did not read the precaution section, am I right?" He wasn't staring at her, his eyes were focused on another sucker he was unwrapping.

"I never thought about it before," she answered faintly.

"You thought I would never notice the meds you are even taking are purchased under an illegal supplier." Narelle winced, hunching her back to look even smaller. "I do not intend to meddle with the choices you made in your life, Narelle. But clearly you are not aware you are going under some sort of withdrawal."

What?!