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Yet.
But I will.
The food comes, and somehow…some freaking how, Wells manages to let me eat in silence. Like he can tell I’m stewing in my thoughts, delving into self-deprecating ones, and it would be better to leave me be for now than have me snapping at him for no reason. I finish quickly since I have to be back to work soon.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom before we leave.” I stand up, and he goes to follow me. “It’s right there, Wells. You can watch me the whole way.” I don’t know why, but it always feels weird when he stands right outside the women’s restroom waiting for me to finish. It isn’t illogical, but it makes me feel self-conscious, like he can hear every bowel movement I make.
His gaze is stern, but he relents, sitting back in his seat. “Don’t be too long or I will charge in there after you.” At his words, I hustle to the bathroom.
It’s a good thing I only had to pee, I think as I’m washing my hands a few minutes later and eyeballing the door through the mirror, imagining Wells charging in any second. Only, I don’t see him in the mirror. I see a mop of long blonde hair and striking blue eyes coming through the door. From the smell of her, she’s a beta, can’t be much taller than five feet, and is absolutely beautiful. Not wanting to be the creep that stares too long–which I’m sure she gets a lot–I look back at my sudsy hands.
Coconut and creme fill the space beside me as I feel her walk up to the mirror. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her fluff her hair in the mirror and adjust her clothes. She’s wearing a completely white outfit. A uniform it looks like. I think the kind that chefs wear.
Maybe she works here.
“Ugh. I had to have a bad hair day today of all days.” Feeling like this is sort of permission to stare, I look up from my hands and smile at her. There isn’t a hair out of place. It’s all long blonde curls, coiffed to perfection.
“Your hair looks amazing,” I reassure the stranger. “Big day?”
“Sort of,” she shrugs, still fiddling with her hair. “I’m meeting my ex here. I haven’t seen her in a while. She dumped me for someone else.” Her blue eyes darken a smidge before she plasters on a smile.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess that didn’t work out though?” Since she’s meeting her here, I’d hope not. It would be hard to sympathize with this woman if she’s openly admitting to cheating.
“Oh, no. This is sort of our thing. We break up and get back together all the time. The time apart makes the sex that much better when we do get back together.” She winks at me, and I have to force a smile. Sounds toxic to me; but who am I to judge?
“Well, good luck. You look great,” I reassure her and turn away, waving my hands under the air dryer to my left. A few seconds later, I feel a sharp sting in the back of my arm.
“Ow! What the…” The stranger is standing right behind me. She pulls her hand behind her back and looks at me with chagrin.
“I am so sorry. I’m so staticky. I must have shocked you when I walked by.”
I narrow my eyes at her, wondering what her deal is. The throbbing in my arm that is still very much present doesn’t feel like it was caused bystatic.“Static?” My tone drips with disbelief.
“Yes,static.”Why does her voice sound so forceful? Heat washes through me, starting at my head and traveling through me to my toes. My head swims a little, and I sway, catching myself off the wall.
“Woah, easy. You must have had some bad food for lunch. Maybe you need to go home and lie down.” Yeah. That makes sense. The steak did taste funny. I’m nodding along to her words as she ushers me toward the door.
“Your car is waiting in the alley. Your pack will be with you soon.”
I nod, and a smile stretches across my face, cheeks burning, with the thought of my pack. I love them so much…
Wait.
Why can’t I remember their names? And why is my head still fuzzy? And where is Wells?
That steak really must have been rancid. Black spots start to appear around the edges of my vision and the heat is ratcheting up another notch, but I keep walking toward the side door that leads to the alley.
Once I make it to the car, I can pass out. Sleep off whatever I feel attacking my immune system right now.
A black SUV idles right outside the door. I try to walk toward it, but my vision blurs, and I stumble. Where there was one SUV a moment ago, there are now two. The sun beats down on me, making me squint. No matter how hard I try, though, I can’t see anything.
The ground that felt solid now moves with me. I throw my hands out to brace my fall when the asphalt dances beneath my feet, but it doesn’t help, and my face slams into the rough pavement.
I groan, trying to move my arms so I can push myself off the ground. At least into a sitting position. But where there should be two arms, it feels like they’ve been replaced by weighted sandbags, and I can’t move.
“Motherfucker. Can’t make anything easy,” someone grumbles.
“Just grab her and put her in the car,” another voice says. Suddenly, I’m being lifted by someone…male. That’s about all I can tell. If I could move my head even an inch, I’d see who it was. But as it is, my head is lolling around like it’s a heavy weight being held up by overcooked spaghetti.
