Beast in the Night

Chapter 8: Thin Walls

Rhys’ eyes flickered open, slowly taking in the surroundings of his room. The clock on his bedside table was flashing 8 AM. His eyes felt very heavy, and his bed felt warm. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, feeling really exhausted.

What happened last night?

He thought for a moment. After a dose of the vial to keep his wolf sedated, a slightly foggy memory of what happened during the beast’s absences had always been the case for Rhys. He had figured out it was the side-effect of putting half of his self to a state of torpid inactivity. But after squeezing and wracking his brains out, everything would usually come back to him.

The Old Fork.

Randy Dahl.

Jessie.

Rhys shook his head. He let his guard down and gave in to earthly desires. But did he really desire Jessie? Or was it someone else and Jessie just happened to be there and, luckily, was more than happy to fill in the void he’d been feeling. But there was no denying that the woman had some skills. And she wasn’t the type one could easily decline and ignore. So when she offered, Rhys accepted.

But why was he feeling guilty all of a sudden and somewhat ashamed of what he did? It wasn’t like he had someone waiting for him in his place. Jessie was obviously free to do whatever the hell she wanted. And if she did have someone in her life, Rhys had no idea.

No. He shouldn’t feel the slightest guilt. But could it be because while he was inside Jessie, he was actually thinking of another woman?

Emily. Why was he thinking more of her recently? And what could Emily be possibly doing right this very moment?

Despite the cold air and bright sunshine from the window, Rhys got out of bed groggily at half-past eight. He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, staring at his tired, blue eyes and messy brown hair. He thought he still needed a couple more hours of sleep but decided against it as he was already running late. He should already be done with his shower and breakfast by now.

After a warm shower, half a bowl of cereal, and a less warm of coffee, Rhys was ready to go when he dropped his car on his way out of the kitchen. A heavy groan left his lips as he bent down to pick up his key.

Damn, he was already worn out, and the day hadn’t even started yet.

Then, he suddenly heard a sound of something breaking, and a series of muffled curses filtered through the walls of his apartment.

Emily.

Rhys was suddenly very alert. He stayed still and stared at the empty wall as if waiting for another sound to reach his ears.

“Get out now! I don’t want you here!” Emily raised her voice in the next room.

“You f*****g left me, Emily!”

Rhys clenched his fists at the sound of another male in the room with Emily. He listened intently to what was happening on the other side of the wall.

“We’re done! I already told you that. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore!”

“Is this still about the text message you read when you snooped into my phone?” The guy sounded exasperated like they had had this conversation over and over again. “I already told you it was an old text and I ignored it. I didn’t f*****g go. I was with my cousin the whole time. You can go ahead and ask her.”

Who is this guy? Rhys asked himself. He could feel his beast stirring.

“I don’t care about that anymore, Logan. That’s what you clearly don’t understand. I don’t give a s**t about you anymore. You have to move on because I already have. I left Boston because I want to start a new life, and you should too.” Emily’s irritation was palpable through the walls.

“No f*****g way you’ve already moved on.”

Then silence. By now, Rhys had actually accepted that he’d be more than an hour late and was now more focused on what was going on between Emily and that guy Logan in the next room.  

What’s happening now? He wondered, almost worried about Emily and Bunny.

Rhys quickly moved to the door but stopped when he heard some things being knocked over.

A surge of heat suddenly washed over him. He could no longer just stand there and listen and wonder what’s happening. So he stomped through his living room and stormed out of his apartment.

Once faced with Emily’s door, he raised his fist but knocked gently; he didn’t want to cause any alarm. He didn’t want a rapid banging door to add to the stress that Emily might already be going through from her argument with Logan.  

He heard an undignified clamor from the other side of the door.

Emily whipped open the door with a look of complete confusion on her face. “Yes?”

“Are you okay, Emily?”

“Actually, I’m not.” Emily’s lips tightened, and she opened the door wider to reveal a guy in baggy jeans and windbreakers, sporting fresh frosted tips that he might have gotten inspiration from the early 2000s.

“Can we help you?” Logan asked from the living room, perplexed.

Ignoring his question, Emily went on to say to Rhys, “My ex-boyfriend here clearly doesn’t understand what ex means and refuses to leave.”

“Excuse me? Who is he?” Logan asked, even more puzzled.

“Why don’t you leave now, Logan?” Rhys told him.

Both Emily and Logan stared at him with questioning looks.

“How did you know his name?” Emily asked.

“I heard you. We have really thin walls,” Rhys explained. “And I really think it’s best that you leave now, Logan, and leave Emily alone.”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “And who are you to tell me that? Are you her new boyfriend.”

“No. He’s not,” Emily was quick to answer.

“Then why the hell should I listen to him? And if he is, I still won't.” He looked at Emily. “You and I aren’t done yet.”

“Can I, Emily?” Rhys took a foot forward and waited for Emily’s permission to go in.

“I guess, why not?”

He stepped inside and walked over to Logan. Standing face to face, he had an advantage as he was a couple of inches taller than Emily’s ex-boyfriend and was even in better shape.

“Leave,” he said.

“You don’t scare me, man. That killer look you’re trying to pull on me ain’t going to work. I’ve dealt with worse men,” Logan said, poking him in the chest, hard.

Rhys looked down at his finger, sticking against his chest. “Oh, I’m sure you haven’t seen the worst, boy.” He moved closer, his eyes glaring, his wolf growling. “Leave, or I’ll make you,” he whispered, his voice was tight and threatening.

 Logan stared back at him when slowly, flecks of gold started to emerge in his blue eyes, then a thin white ring appeared. His jaw clenched, his eyes never leaving the younger man for even a second.

Logan swallowed, fighting a rising panic as terror, from nowhere, stabbed his heart.

“I said…leave,” Rhys growled.

He felt his scalp prickled.

“You should really leave, or I’ll call the cops,” Emily suddenly spoke. “You and I are done. We’re never getting back together.”

But both men stood still for a stare down until Logan finally looked away.

“Your eyes―what are you?” He turned to Emily. “You stay the hell away from this guy. He’s a creep!”

Emily shook her head. She’s had enough.  “The only one I should really stay away from is you, Logan. Now get out, or I swear I will call the cops!”

Logan flinched and promptly walked over to the door. “We ain’t done yet, Emily.”

“Oh, we’re absolutely done.”

He glanced at Rhys once again. “f**k!”  he muttered loudly and slammed the door shut behind him.

Emily took a deep breath and quickly went over to where Bunny’s cage was; the adorable rabbit was busy munching on her treats, not a clue as to what just happened.

Rhys stood for a moment, studying Emily’s reaction. “I-ah…I’ll go.”

“Thank you,” Emily suddenly said, turning back at him. “I wasn’t really hoping you’d come and, well, thanks for coming and intervening, anyway.”

“You’re welcome. And I wasn’t ―well, I heard you guys arguing and then I heard something broke. So, I just came here to check…to check on you and make sure you and Bunny are okay.”

Emily smiled. “How weird that you’re always there to help. You’re always…present.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m just glad I’m here.”

She bit her lower lip and looked away. “I’m going to have to prepare for work, so…”

“I was actually on my way to work when I heard you and your boyfriend―”

“Ex-boyfriend,” she quickly corrected Rhys. “I broke up with him. I left him. I’m better off without him.” Then she narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m better off without anyone.”

Sudden displeasure flooded through Rhy’s being, which he managed well to hide with a smile as he glanced at the rabbit. “Bye, Bunny.” He looked at Emily; his smile faded. “See you around, Emily.”

“See you.”

*          *          *

“Good Morning, Rhys.” An overly pale girl, with exaggeratedly blond hair, flashed Rhys a smile after winking at him before going to her desk.

“Howdy, Kim.” He smiled back.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes again. He went into the break room to get more coffee; he could never survive the day without his fix of black coffee every few hours. He drew in the aroma of the coffee. It felt like heaven, not that he believed heaven exists.

“Are you ready to have a hardcore party full of chicks and booze?” Ryan entered the room with Yohan.

 ”Hey, Rhys,” Ryan called out to him. “Why were you late?”

“Woke up late?” He shrugged.

“Are you ready for tonight’s bubble party?” Ryan asked in his party DJ voice.

Rhys took the first sip of his coffee first before answering, “Oh, is that tonight? I don’t think I can go. Something important came up.”

Ryan threw his half-eaten donut back inside the box. “Are you kidding me? What is more important than getting laid for free, Rhys?”

Oh, I did get laid last night, Rhys naughtily thought.

Yohan made a face. “Why? Do you usually pay for s*x?”

“Yes, Yohan, and so does your dad,” Ryan snapped at his friend.

Yohan’s brown eyes narrowed as he pouted at Ryan. “I just wanted to make sure.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to it. You only do two things in this world, you either complain about poor ventilation, bad customer service, or you ask stupid questions,” Ryan barked at Yohan. And then he glared at Rhys. “So tell me. What is this important thing that just came up that you have to cancel your plans with us?”

Rhys shrugged. “Just…stuff. Very important stuff…” he trailed off.

“I got that. But what is it?” Ryan asked, pushing it.

“Let it go, Ryan. Rhys doesn’t need to share everything in his life to you or anyone,” Yohan spoke and shook his head in disbelief.

Ryan looked at Rhys with his knowing eyes, and then said, “You have a date, do you? Is she hot? Big boobs, round ass, and all?”

Yohan rolled his eyes. He was the youngest among them and came from a rather traditional family. He had been listening to Ryan’s unnecessary lectures on adult-rated subjects for a while now, yet, still, he was nowhere near okay with how Ryan talks about women.

“No date, Ryan. I just have better things to do.”  Rhys didn’t want to dawdle in the conversation for too long, so he left the break room and went straight back to his desk.

It’s going to be another dull and long day for him. He sighed heavily. He couldn’t wait to leave and prepare for his next meeting with Randy Dahl.