At The End Of Their Tunnel Vision

Chapter VII

A soft nudge by her shoulder woke her away from the weird dream she was having. Her lids fluttered under the weight of her lingering drowsiness. Upon fully opening her eyes, an unfamiliar white bleak ceiling greeted her. At the same time, the rush of what happened last night surged through her consciousness like a busted dam.

Narelle sit up while one of her hand rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. “Did I sleep too long again, Elliot?”

“Yes. But I allow it this time. Figured letting you get more sleep can somehow reduce your stress. Do you wanna stay here for a while? Or do you wanna go home after you eat some breakfast?” Elliot asked.

Elliot sat down on the couch, pulling the coffee table closer. The room got brighter this time because of the blinds from the small window were pulled up. It was a small, plain room. Which she presumed was a break room. After scanning the four corners of the area, she directed her eyes towards the dark angel beside her. He was busy pulling out food paper cartons, placing the item on top of the coffee table.

“Where are we?”

Elliot remove the lid on one of the cup and took a sip of what she smelled as a coffee. “At my workplace. I do not have any other place in mind when you asked me to bring you somewhere. I ended up teleporting here.”

Narelle tilted her head a little, staring at her roommate. “You have your own room inside your workplace?” she asked in awe. No wonder he could stay a hell of a long time at work if he had his own break room.

“No. It was barely owned now. Since some of my nosy colleague kept coming here recently just to antagonize me.” he grumbled.

She grabbed one of the cup. The smell of coffee made her salivate as she opened the lid of the cup. “Sounds to me you’re getting bullied.”

The sound of an annoyed clicking inside Elliot’s mouth while his lips twitched from irritation was enough sign he disliked the idea. “Obviously, they were just a bunch of impudent brats that craves attentions. You have not answered my question yet?” Narelle was busy stuffing her mouth with the pancakes when he looked at her. “Did you even took the syrup from my stash?” Elliot sighed before ruffling her head, which made her whine, and scooted away from him. “Fine. You can have all the sweets today.”

“Aw, you're awfully kind this morning, fruit loops. Have you finally fallen into my charm?” she teased with a grin winking at him afterwards.

Elliot only stared at her, completely unimpressed while taking a drink of his coffee. “What charm? Where is it? I am not seeing anything charming right now.” He took a drink again before he continued. “But if you want to know what you looked like at the moment. You resembled an unappealing racoon eating like a slob.”

She puffed her cheeks and pout. “Quite comparing me to those oversized rats! I’m far more superior to those trash animals.”

“How can you be so cruel to your own kin, Narelle?” Elliot grinned at her.

Narelle squinted her eyes while staring at the mischievous glint in his cyan orbs. “Fine! I’m a racoon. Happy now, you meanie!” she huffed before turning away from him, finishing her breakfast.

A soft, gleeful giggle reign over the silence as she left. But she ignored looking at her roommate. And then the giggling stopped.

“Never been happy, my little rascal.”

A heat bloomed on her cheeks when she heard another one of his random endearment. In a hurry, she swallowed the food before giving him her answer to his question earlier. “I don’t wanna bother you anymore. Maybe after this you can send me back to the apartment. Besides, I have to find another job.”

The change in her mood affected the taste of her pancakes. In an instant, she felt full. She noticed Elliot placed the cup on top of the coffee table. He grabbed the container on top of her lap, returning it inside the paper bag.

“Finished your coffee.” Elliot handed her the cup of coffee. “And you never been a bother to me.”

“Aren’t you mad I made you pretend to be my boyfriend last night? My coworkers even insulted you. You don’t deserve to be treated like that,” she said with a heavy heart.

Elliot never treated her so badly. Not even the time he introduced himself after the incident. He was nothing but a formal gentleman and polite. And beyond his unusual appearance and the grumpy expression. Elliot could be the kind of person to relay on.

He placed his gloved hands on top of her head, petting her again. “I am used to the harsh words. Sadly, the nuisance of my existence is something I dealt with a long time ago. If I dislike doing it, I will tell you off immediately. If I am mad, you already know the difference by now.”

Narelle looked at the dark angel beside her. She couldn’t comprehend an angel like him went corrupted. He never showed her any bad intention. Or ogled at her with pervasive intent. How couldn’t other people see that?

“Why are you so kind to me?”

Elliot chuckled at her inquiry. She thought he took it as an offense, but when he glanced at her, she saw his eyes twinkling into a soft aquamarine. “I am the one who should ask you that, little bunny.” His hands slid down at the side of her head, stopping at the side of her face. “Why are you so kind to me, Narelle?” he said in his mellowed timbre.

Averting her eyes, she focused her sight somewhere else, staring at the coffee table. Away from the pair of orbs captivating her in a manner she wasn’t familiar.

“I don’t know. I never thought about my interactions as an act of kindness. Heck, all I’ve been doing was relaying to you. I felt like being dependant towards you.” She bit her lips from stopping the uncontrollable tremble. Her nervousness spike up when she admitted what was bugging her lately. That she was benefiting greatly from their agreement, which she felt more and more guilty about.

He hummed, pulling his hands away from her. The effects of losing contact with his touch added the tension to her rigid shoulder. Her thoughts concluded Elliot would start calling her names. Overthinking the probable reaction Elliot would throw at her.

“Then why stay? You know you are being dependant from a dangerous creature the first year of your stay. I know you had hesitations before. Yet here you are, Narelle.”

Why did she stay? It was true she thought about looking for another place to stay. Away from him, because once upon a time she feared him. She even had three nights having a nightmare about him choking her to death. She never thought before they would even bond. Sat in the same couch watching the same series, sharing foods, or even a blanket and cuddled under it.

She stayed because she wanted to hear him laugh again, continued eating the food he cooked. Sometimes she wanted to banter with him, hearing his brutal teasings. Even in his irritable, grumpy moments when he hissed complaints. There were so many reasons on why she stayed, which soon overruled her fear on him. That the thought of leaving him vanished.

Narelle still feared him because he wasn’t shy about him being unstable when he warned her about his occasional disassociation.

She scratched her cheeks and peered at him. “From the years I spent my time with you, I actually forgot about leaving. And recently I found myself scared about losing you. That eventually you get tired of me. And just throw me out one day.” One of her hand wormed its way on her arms, gripping her limbs tightly. “I stayed because I don’t want to lose a friend. We’re friends right?” she asked. As she stared at him with a hopeful gaze. She wished she wasn’t assuming from the closeness they had.

Narelle waited for his reply, but Elliot appeared to be stunned. His pupil got dilated almost engulfed the cyan iris. Even his usual tight lips loosen slack from the slight gape. Only when she called his name did he move. Pulled out from whatever trance he delved into. Elliot focused on her again. This time his eyes no longer held the uncertainty flickered before his stunned daze.

A faint but visible freckled like glow of cyan dotted from his cheeks. He turned his head away from her.

“Are you ok?” she asked in the bouts of concern, since he suddenly act different.

Then all of the sudden he puke of pure black liquid. Narelle went into a panic mode. Gaping from all the insane amounts of ink like substance gushed out from Elliot’s mouth? Is that his blood? Oh, god please don’t be blood.

“Elliot? Oh go–golly! Are you ok?!” she stuttered. While deciding if she should even touch him or not.

Elliot looked absolutely pissed, staring down at the stain he made before he heaved a sigh. “Quite panicking! I am fine. Just–made a mess was all.” He said with an angry grumbled of curses.

“Those are not your blood, right?” Her eyes switched between the sight of the mess from Elliot busy wiping his mouth with the sleeves of his dress shirt.

He groaned upon hearing her question. “What gave it away scatterbrain?” He clicked his tongue when she gasped. “I am nothing but a pure corruption with only a skeleton underneath this pile of goo. Of course, that f*****g stain is not blood.” Elliot stood and some of the liquid gathered into his crotch splashed down. That must be the last straw from him, and he finally rolled his eyes.

Narelle looked down again when her nose picked up a familiar scent wafted through her nose.

“Is that the coffee you just drink recently?”

Elliot lost his s**t after her question, hauling her like a sack of potato on his shoulder. At the very end, Elliot acted like a gentleman, not staining her as much as possible with his pure inky substance mixed with coffee.

After he teleported them into their apartment, he immediately dumped her onto the sofa before walking straight into his room. Leaving Narelle alone with her own thoughts. When she got bored thinking about the reason behind Elliot’s hurl. Narelle remembered she was still wearing her uniform in the pub. She decided that taking a brief shower and a change of clothes was a must.

When she got out of the shower with a change of fresh clean clothes, she tread towards the living room.

“Huh, I do not get why you think you can demand a precise reason for me taking a day off. Like I give a f**k if you can not manage working 24 hours. When I come back tomorrow and everything went rampant. I will throw your useless, incompetent ass at the depths of the ocean.” Elliot snarled at his phone before tapping the screen to end the call.

He was definitely in a bad mood.

“Called for a sick day.”

Elliot leaned his head on the sofa. “Yes, but I am not sick. I do not get sick. Just some adverse reactions going on from the corruption.” he said with a scowl on his face.

She took a sit beside him. But not too close. She wasn’t sure if she could hug him. “A weird corrupted physiology, I presume. But seriously, are you ok Elliot. I know you didn’t answer my question earlier because of your sudden vomit incident. But–”

A black hand clasped her mouth, preventing her from speaking any further. “Stop mentioning it already. I am still disgusted about half of my body soaked into that damned stain. So shut up.” He removed his hands from her face when she nodded. “About your question earlier. Yes. I am your friend. You are stuck with me, anyway. Does my answer silence anymore doubt about our relationship?” She nodded again. “Can I hug you now?” This time it was her that got stunned. Elliot never asked her before. Beside the initial pull he did from the first time they hug. She nodded for the last time as an answer.

Elliot moved towards her. But this time he was the one leaning towards her. His forehead rested on top of her shoulders. And she felt him trembled when he breathe out. “Hug me–please, Narelle.” He whispered in a voice she didn’t expect holding such vulnerability.

Narelle followed, wrapping her arms around his body, pulling him closer. She felt him clutched at her clothes behind her. As if he was crumbling under an invisible force.

His question played again inside her mind and the way he was looking at her. She couldn’t understand why the image sent her heart in a fluttering beat. Did he really thought of her as a kindhearted person? Was this really fine for him? That she selfishly took every affection he gave her. Did she want to continue depending on him?

What if she ended up wanting more from him? Would he still give it to her?

Soon they had fallen into a comfortable silence again. And as much as she wanted to continue embracing Elliot. Him being on top of her was impossible. Elliot was unexpectedly heavy. The entire opposite of his slender sided figure. She was starting to doubt that only skeleton was the only thing under the black flesh, like what he always said.

Even when she asked him before, all he answered was an awful convoluted explanation that the corruption reconstructed itself based on the former host physiology. But that was all he could tell her before. She assumed he didn’t know either. He just didn’t like admitting his lack of knowledge about himself.

The dreaded time finally caught up with her when her cellphone rang and upon checking the screen of her device, she saw her boss’ name calling her. It was inevitable she had to face them, no matter what happened.

After the phone call, she informed about her roommate about going into her workplace because the owner wanted to hear her side. And Elliot, as always, even though he looked displeased, he reasonably agreed. But he insisted upon coming with her. Elliot managed to convince her to accompany her from the agreement; he would wait outside the pub.

“For the last time, fruit loops. I’ll be fine. I have to settle this one way or another. And if–if indeed something happens. I’ll call you.”

Elliot only huffed. He looked like a Nightcrawler under the darkness of his hood parka jacket. It was one of those thick winter parka jackets that would keep him warm. She couldn’t see his entire face from the darkness. But based on the color and slit of his pupil, he was pissed.

“Fine, just get done with it fast, Narelle.”

After hearing his reply, she pushed the small door through the backroom and entered. She got lucky when the bouncer tonight was someone she knew. It gave her an easy slip through the backdoor instead. She navigated through the narrow hallway and at the end of the hall; she climbed the spiral staircase up to her boss’ office room. Narelle knocked before she entered the room.

The room was decorated with different antique items and memorabilia. And it was clear so many generations went through in this pub. In the middle of the room positioned an old oak table, which her boss perched. Mr. Willow. He had a salt and pepper colored hair, a sign of an old age from mortals. But his intimidating appearance never showed that old age. After all, he was a war veteran.

Mr. Willow gesture her to take her seat before he sat upright. “I’ve heard what happened last night. You said you wanted to resign. Why?” His voice sounded displeased. While his face remained stoic.

Narelle scratched her cheeks, unsure about what she had to answer. “Yes. I’ve said that, sir. I’m sorry–” she was stopped when Mr. Willow raised his hands.

“Do you really wanted that though? Or is it just because of unresolved issues you rather keep to yourself? Walls have ears and a watching eyes from the shadows. So how about fetch you companion outside, bring him here before we have our decent discussion.”

She nodded before standing up. When she got out from the backdoor, she saw her roommate at the same spot she last saw him.

“Elliot.”

He turned his head in her direction. “Are you done?”

She shook her head. “Mr. Willow asked me to bring you in with me.”

“Why?” Elliot's question was the same question she wanted to ask earlier. But knowing the old man, he didn’t like being questioned when he ordered something.

“I think about what happened last night.”

“Fine! It was cold out here, anyway.”

Elliot began climbing up the steps of the backdoor and followed her inside. They passed the same narrow hallway and climbed the same circular staircase. Upon entering the room, Mr. Willow visibly went rigid in his seat when he saw her companion.

Mr. Willow was silent the entire time they entered the room. Before the veteran cleared his throat and straightened his posture. “I apologize if I had demanded for your presence at such a short notice. I’m not an unreasonable man, Narelle. I don’t pass judgement without hearing the other end of the line. So tell me what happened in your perspective young lady.”

Narelle bowed her head. Wringing her left fingers until her index finger passed the scar from the gap between her index and ring finger. The scar with an obvious bump of what remained of her middle finger. She bit the urge to reprimand the old man from stop calling her with that disgusting pet name.

“You all know how reluctant I got when people asked me out. I don’t like it. I–I hated it. Roan bumped into me at the grocery at Monday morning and refused her sudden invites. She wouldn’t accept my refusal and continued asking me. So I told him I got a boyfriend and run off. When the night shift started and all of us were in front, Roan told about me having a boyfriend. And everybody just wanted to meet my non existed boyfriend that I used as an excuse.” She swallowed the clump of lump in her throat before she continued. “I called him. Elliot, my roommate to pretend as my boyfriend. So everybody would be off from my case.”

Narelle didn’t care if her boss would fire her. She couldn’t stay here if most of her coworkers were being the biggest b***h towards her.