At The End Of Their Tunnel Vision

Chapter XVII

When the bright morning sunlight shone towards the window, illuminating her room and radiating a late morning warmth. She overslept again, that's for sure. When she felt the room's temperature go even hotter, she threw her blanket off of her body and rose up.

She was thankful she had a dreamless sleep this time. It would disgust her if her subconscious kept leaving her horny in the morning when she woke up.

Narelle just realized she slept still wearing her uniform. No wonder she felt warmer than usual. Welp, might as well take a shower to fully wake her still dazed mind.

After the shower she went towards the kitchen and saw a lone tupperware placed on the table with a sticky note attached on the container.

I cooked those pancakes you have been whining about since last week. Just an advice, eat your food at a slow pace this time, please. So you will not end up choking like the last time. Also you do not have to go to work later, knowing the other superior in the security department the wrench will definitely take Jasper's side.

Huh? So Jasper had a connection with the higher ups if Elliot was taking the matter at his hands.

A pang of guilt slid straight through her chest like a stab that slowly trailed down to her guts. But she immediately shook the feeling out, it wasn't her fault if the dark elf was a total jerk in the first place. She was purely there for work and the intention of seducing anybody never came up to her.

While Narelle ate her breakfast she began thinking of better ways of distracting her besides watching trash series on tv. She even rounded up around the house to check if there were any household chores for her to get occupied for the meantime but she found none.

She was bored and she didn't like whenever she got nothing to do. It was time for an outside excursion. Grabbing her phone she dialed the number she considered her best friend even though the woman was miles away, she knew Vicky could meet her up anytime she rang.

Narelle waited for a few rings before the line finally connected and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my little imp. It's about time you get to call me again. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Do you wanna hang out? I don't have work today and I had nothing else to do."

"That was rare for a workaholic succubus like you. Be honest deary, you didn't get into trouble again, right?"

She hummed which very much confirmed the assumption from the other line caller. "Just the usual, Vicky. I'm used to it."

An audible sigh resonated out of the speaker of her phone. "Let's meet up so we can discuss this over personally. It's been a while since we last saw each other anyway."

Narelle happily agreed with the woman on the other end of the line. After agreeing the meet up place were, she began changing for a thicker set of clothes and this time she wore a beanie to hide her horns.

She looped around the thick fabric of her scarf around her neck when the winter breeze gradually passed towards her as she strolled down the street towards the nearest cafe. Upon reaching the small quaint cafe, the welcoming warmth greeted her from entering the establishment. She could just hope the elf from the last time didn't recognize her. The sense of familiarity instantly identified the woman sitting at the far right corner of the cafe, waving at her. A small giggle shook her shoulders when all of the snake head attached on the woman's head also wiggled as she walked towards the table.

Someone looked excited for their little reunion.

Victoria or she endearingly dubbed as Vicky is a gorgon. And thanks to the magic glasses she was wearing right now that prevented her magic from petrifying every living creature she stared at. Narelle met Victoria way back in her earlier troublesome years. A friendship formed in an unexpected predicament and found comfort with each other's relatable experiences. Vicky was also the main reason how she escaped the nightmarish life she had before.

"You're just in time. I already ordered some drinks for us so we can start catching up." Vicky was still the energetic cheery woman she knew back there.

The snakes around Vicky's head finally relaxed, some perched on her shoulders, some laid on her head on top of the other as they listened to her and Vicky's conversation. Eventually their order came and she couldn't be happier when it wasn't the elf named Sherril who served their orders.

After a few moments of contemplation Narelle finally brought up what happened at the bar she's been working for in the last two years, and how she ended up resigning. Vicky agreed she just did the right thing since most of her coworkers were going toxic and even meddling with her life, she deserved better.

Vicky knew about her situation, living with the dark angel. Of course at first her best friend was so worried, after all only her friend knew about the hellish life she went through. But after she reassured her that her roommate was a sensible man, her best friend relaxed from being worry-wart. Yet recently Vicky began to teased her of having a crush towards her roommate, which she opposingly denied every time.

And just like usual Vicky didn't easily let go where the part Elliot played being her boyfriend. Her friend teased her from the possibility of Elliot mutually liking the idea of being her boyfriend. Which wasn't a far fetch idea now that she thought about it, especially with what happened last Sunday. Just remembering the sensation of his peculiar lips on her jolted a bolt of pleasure towards her lower region. Her cheeks instantly heated up a notch, she immediately covered her face with both of her hands, praying her friend didn't notice the sudden change in her reaction.

"Wait?! Oh my gosh! Did he actually ask you out?"

She abruptly and violently shook her head. "No! He didn't. None of that happened. He is perceptive and he figured out I don't have any interest towards commitment."

"Why do I feel you're not telling me everything this time?"

Parting the fingers covering her eyes she hastily stole a glance at her gorgon friend. "Well, he helped me get my new job. He was the one who offered the security position in the company he's been working at." Then she slowly pulled both of her hands away from her face.

"Let me guess another coworker is bullying you?"

Her features formed into a grimace upon wincing from the resurfacing memories of Jasper's degenerating words and attempted assault towards her. Her right hand creeped towards her left arm, holding her limb into a tight grip. "Far worse than getting bullied by a woman Vicky. One of my male coworkers harassed me last night." She took a breath towards her nose counting till five and breathed through her mouth. "If Elliot didn't show up, Jasper might take the violent approach for retaliation since I tase him."

"So, I assume your roomie is taking care of the problem?" The snakes on Vicky's head hissed as she took a sip of her drink with a displeased scowl on her face.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's what he told me last night. But I can't shrug off the feeling of being a burden for him. All he did these past few months is help me."

"If you feel so guilty about him being your knight in armor with shimmering splendid, I can only suggest doing something for him in exchange."

"Like what?"

Vicky arched her right eyebrow as if saying, 'are you serious' at her, then she adjusted the glasses and stared at her with a serious expression sporting her face. "Narelle you know I love you but sometimes you're such a dumbass. You're living with him for almost three years next month. Don't tell me you still know nothing about the man who's willing to save your sexy ass multiple times?"

"Uhm, he's into stitching and a caffeine addict, a chain smoker that worked a lot, and had an unconventional way of eating fruit loops of all things. Definitely a workaholic guy. He liked satire humor, rarely goes outside of the apartment with the exemption of going grocery shopping. I doubt he will even want to go out for an outside excursion in this cold weather."

"Go on. What else you got?"

She bit the side of her lower lip as she thought of other things she knew about the man she was living with. It was a sad realization when she couldn't think anymore to add anything helpful in her case. All she knew from the man was his surface persona. The only personal info she learned about Elliot recently was the voices and the story of his downfall. Disappointingly, she didn't know anything else.

Vicky sighed, staring at her impatiently. "That's all?" Her friend asked.

Narelle looked at her friend defeated and she nodded. She took a sip of strawberry cream frappuccino.

"Deary please be honest. Issues aside, do you like him?"

Yes!

"Yes." She admitted meekly.

"Then what do you like about him?"

What did she like about him?

"Elliot never treated me less of a person. Always regarding me with respect, even though you might hear him blurt an insult here and there, I've learned it's his defense mechanism whenever he was embarrassed." She chuckled when a flash of her roommate's grumpy face appeared in her mind. "He can whine and complain for a solid minute but eventually he will still do the task I've asked him to do. And for a guy who says he doesn't care about what other people might think of him a lot, talks too politely even though he expresses a crass attitude. Also he is awfully self conscious of his appearance, especially the wound on his head. So he always hid it under the hood of his jacket whenever we went out for grocery shopping." She didn't notice she just released a dreamy sigh that didn't escape from the observant eyes of her friend.

"But he looked good without those extra layers, right?" The wagging of Vicky's eyebrow installed different ideas in her head.

A blush instantly blossomed on her cheeks. "My roommate is a control freak, that's why he always kept himself in a pristine appearance all the time."

"Control freak, ey? And you're not just ogling him from looking sharp in his work attire?" Vicky teased her with a mischievous grin. Of course her friend never forgot the one time she admitted one of her kinks and it was proven she couldn't trust the woman in those types of information.

"N-no!" Oh f**k, she stuttered.

"My, my someone's been naughty these past few months." Vicky released a lighthearted chuckle before staring at her with a business-like seriousness in her look. "It is clear you like him, Narelle. And I'm not doing this to push you into a relationship. I only wanted you to be aware of your own feelings. Now that you finally came to terms by knowing you're indeed infatuated with your roomie, what's your plan?"

She could only stay afloat from her cloud of denial for a while before it dissolved and plunged her once again in the pit of reality.

"Same as before, Vicky. Live my life, earn money for my meds and eventually save some money to live alone somewhere from the far east."

"And your roomie?" Vicky asked with a hint of disappointment laced in her friend's voice.

"We'll stay friends. What else will there be? You know I'm too broken to be in a relationship."

"You're not broken, Narelle. You're just scared, traumatized."

As much as she wanted to believe in her friend's words, broken was indeed what she thought about herself.

Narelle knew her desire for a companionship was becoming painfully obvious as the years went on. It was in her nature to naturally yearn for a constant companion because of her need as a succubus. But the trauma in her past left a scar which stopped her from reconnecting again, normally.

And it hurt her whenever she wanted to try getting attached on a deeper level. A fear that another cold collar encircled around her neck and metal chain would bind her, dragged her back in that miserable hell.

"I can't. You know what I've been through before," she said almost in a murmur with how she now covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sobs coming out of her uncontrollably.

"I know deary. But that doesn't mean Elliot will do the same or anybody else will be. There are still genuine men out there that will accept you and protect you. Please don't do this to yourself. You deserve to be happy."

"But what if–" her mind was starting to get off track again from the unwanted memories.

Her friend immediately cut her sentence off. "But what if he doesn't? What if he is different? We'll never know if we come down with a conclusion immediately." Vicky reached towards her left hand, holding her as she stared at her with a sincere determination. "I'm not saying you should date him or anyone right off the bat, Narelle. I'm asking to give yourself a chance, because that is what you deserve. Don't close yourself off just because of your ex. He is no longer in control of your life. We got rid of him, we are free, you are free."

Narelle heard these words so many times she lost count, and no matter how reassuring the words spoken by her friend, the lingering fear still pestered her mind, like an infested crop for winter. Mere words weren't simply enough for her to heal.

"I'm still not ready, Vicky." she whispered.

Of course her friend never pressured her and the look of understanding was enough for her tears to settle down from leaking. She used the dangling end of her scarf to wipe the trail of tears on her cheeks and the dampness gathered around her eyes.

"I know. Sorry if I came off too pushy again. Take your time deary. You're the one in control this time." Vicky pressed the hand within her hold. "I'm still proud of your recovery and from how brave you've become for choosing to defend yourself this time."

She smiled upon hearing her friend's praises. And when she finally settled down they talked about their plans for the incoming holiday next two weeks. This time she was determined to bring Elliot with her from spending Christmas at her best friend's place. And so she could finally introduce her best friend to Elliot.

As they continued their conversation, a vibration and muffled sound of her cellphone's ringtone caught her attention. Upon seeing Elliot's caller id, a thrum of confusion overrode her calm expression which was also mirrored by her friend.

"Why are you calling right now? Is there any problem?"

"I just got into the apartment. Where are you, Narelle?"

"Aw, how sweet. Are you worried about me, fruit loops?"

Vicky gave her a questioning look which she only giggled at.

"Sure." Oh she didn't like the sound of his tone. "So I assume you are planning to have your lunch from wherever the hell you are right now. I guess I should turn off the boiling water for the lasagna?"

Her unoccupied hand slapped the table with unrestrained force as she hastily stood up. "Wait! No!"

"No? You do not want the food I am making? Ok."

This bastard, using her damn favorite food; her weakness against her. "No! Damn it, jeez Elli! I'm with my best friend right now. At the cafe where I always brought the strawberry muffins."

"Thank you for answering my first question."

"Whatever you control freak." Her friend continued observing her as she took her seat again. Then in her irritation she hung up on the call.

"Wasn't that a bit childish reaction just now, deary." Her friend said as if reprimanding her.

She just pouted at her best friend knowing the woman was right. It was Vicky's turn upon checking her phone and she could immediately read on her friend's expression it was time to be in their separate ways again. Time surely flew by when in a good company.

"Your mate is looking for you?"

Vicky gave her an approving smile. "Just like your roomie."

Narelle huffed and puffed her cheeks. "It was just a coincidence, Vicky."

"Oh, and before I totally forgot. I can't help but notice that you appeared a lot glowier than usual. Happier to be precise." Vicky shook her head upon noticing her sudden aversion but she knew the blush on her cheeks was obvious. "Whatever may be the cause of this happiness, you know I'll fully support it, deary." Finally her friend stood up and she followed. When they got out of the establishment, they hugged each other goodbye. "Never hesitate to call me again when you need me, Narelle."

"Thank you, Vicky. I will, I won't forget. See you next time."

She breathed out feeling over her chest no longer weighed so much anymore. Feeling recharged, she strolled on the other side of the road opposite to the path her best friend took for the teleportation express Vicky used to travel all the way towards their meeting place.

Maybe next time they met she could conjure enough courage to tell her the attachment she established towards her roommate. It was becoming infuriating how much of a coward she could be most of the time, always preferred hiding away or avoiding conflict as much as possible. No wonder Elliot always forced the truth out of her, because of her tendencies.

Next time, Narelle promised. Next time she would definitely tell everything to her best friend. But for now she deserved a break from all of the drama. She hoped she didn't pissed Elliot with her hanging up the call earlier.