Chapter 17
“How has your first day been?” She asked.
“Good, busy. Oh god, dinner, yes, I won’t be too much longer. I’m sorry, it's been a lot to process today.” I said with a sigh.
“Actually, I was wondering if I could get a rain check? I have to go home tonight, it's a family thing, I’m sorry.” She replied sadly.
“Don’t apologise, family comes first, we will have that second date soon. I’m not planning on going anywhere.” I smiled at her. “Is everything alright? Can I help?” I asked.
“No, it’s nothing big, just a little business that needs seeing to sooner rather than later. It’s complicated and messy, but I promise you it’s nothing to worry about.” She didn’t seem convinced herself though. I didn’t want to pry so I said nothing. “How would Friday work for you?” She asked a smile on her face again. “We could go for dinner and drinks, and you could tell me all about your first week, and then if it goes well, we could go back to my place for dessert?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“That sounds great, I look forward to it.” I smiled back.
“Me too. Goodnight, then, see you tomorrow.” She said as she put on her coat and headed out. I worked for another hour or so before the words on the desktop started to blur, so I shut everything down and decided to head home. I didn’t see anyone on my way to the elevator, so my ride down was quiet. When I reached the lobby, I was slightly turned around, the staff elevators were nowhere near the visitor one. I tried to remember the layout upstairs and headed in the general direction of the front of the building. It took me a couple of minutes, but I came to a row of gated stalls, five had exit stamped across them on the right, and five had no entry stamped on them to the left. They must be the entrances from the other side, I thought, chuckling to myself at the ingenuity. I walked up to the middle stall and saw a card swiper; I remembered what Mr Summer had said about my security ID and quickly retrieved it from my heavy bag, which had both my laptops and phones inside. I decided on a ride share rather than haul everything home on the subway, I pulled my personal phone out to order a car when I was stopped by a security guard.
“Excuse me miss, I’m afraid I will have to see your employee ID.” He said, with a suspicious tone, he couldn’t have been older than twenty-two, and his hand never left his Taser.
“Oh, sure,” I replied pulling it back out of my coat pocket. I handed it over and he double-checked the photo before he swiped it through a handheld device, he removed from his belt.
“Oh, today was your first day. No wonder. Sorry about that but it would’ve been my job if you had been from a rival company. You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve caught people trying to sneak in.” He said with a smile.
“Really?” I squeaked. “I had no idea!”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, I’m good with faces, I’ll remember you tomorrow, so you won’t be stopped again unless I’m not on shift and then if you show your badge to whoever is, you won’t have any issues.” He puffed out his chest a little clearly proud of his team and their security systems. I was a little doubtful he would remember me, but I was fine with being stopped every night.
“Well, I feel very safe knowing you’ll be here to protect us from corporate espionage.” I gave him a genuine smile and his cheeks flushed, even his ears turned pink.
“I um, I’m sure, I will remember, I mean, I will know, no, I mean.” He stuttered and stumbled over his words adorably, I couldn’t help but smile. He took a deep breath. “I’m sure that in about a month all of us on the security detail will be familiar with you- no not familiar I mean.” He groaned clearly flustered.
“You think you will all recognise me after just a month?” I offered, hoping he wouldn’t spontaneously combust, as he had become as red as a tomato from his hairline to this shirt collar.
“Well, you’re pretty unforgettable.” He muttered, he was practically luminescent, it was sweet.
“Well thank you, um...” I couldn’t see a name tag anywhere which I thought was odd.
“Oh, it’s Kyle, I mean Security Officer Henry.” He looked aghast, with himself.
“Thank you, Security Officer Henry, I’m Charlie, and I will see you tomorrow.” I gave him one last smile and walked past him to the glass doors, he scrambled to hold the door open for me.
“Goodnight, Miss Charlie, see you tomorrow.” He said with a smile, his face was still bright red.
When I got home, I immediately dropped my bag on the couch and slid my boots off. I pulled out the pasta salad I made the day before and grabbed a bottle of water. I put my food on the coffee table and pulled out my new laptop. By 8:30 I was done setting up my company devices and transferring all my files over. I was dog-tired, so I packed everything away in my bag and left my old laptop on my coffee table. I shuffled towards my bathroom, stripping my clothes and jewellery off on the way. I was usually quite neat, but I was so tired I left them on the floor, telling myself I would pick them up in the morning. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and climbed into bed naked. Convinced I was forgetting to do stuff but too tired to care. I made sure my alarm was set and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.
I was in the meadow, our meadow, I forgot to take my pill, and call my mother, and check my messages, and check on Mrs Shapiro. I was so tired; I didn’t check the email I sent myself with everything I was supposed to do. But the most pressing matter was I was about to see him again and I couldn’t handle it right now. A cold fear wrapped itself around my insides, its icy tendrils circling my heart and stomach. I felt a panic attack coming on, but I couldn’t move. I closed my eyes and focused on my feet, I needed to ground myself. I could breathe, I kept repeating to myself as my chest grew tighter. I could feel the grass beneath my feet, it’s just a dream, breathe, I can smell the wildflowers, and the air is cold, breathe.
“He’s not here, you’re alone, and you can breathe, there is air, you can breathe,” I said out loud, but the tightness in my chest wouldn’t go away. I needed a distraction, something to ground me, I started reciting Newton’s laws, one hand on my chest, the other straight out in front of me. It was something my therapist had taught me when I was in college. I didn’t cope well, being away from my mother and with all the pressure of maintaining my grades, for my scholarships, and working. That was the first time I had taken sleeping pills after collapsing at work. I had stayed awake for three days straight during my first set of midterms. My therapist said it was quite normal, but I felt like a failure, until she gave me breathing techniques to calm my anxiety and she and a Councillor from the school helped me manage my schedule better. But in that moment, it wasn’t working, the terror was building, and my breath was ragged and choked. My knees gave way and I fell to the floor as I gasped for air. I have no idea how long I stayed like that, tears streamed down my face, making everything blurry as I felt like I was dying. I couldn’t hear anything other than my desperate gulps and strangled sobs. Suddenly, he was there his arms around me, holding me tight, and I could breathe. I sucked in as much air as my lungs could take, forcing it back out before I greedily inhaled more. Until my heartbeat stopped pounding in my ears and I could hear his deep voice softly telling me to breathe slower. I gripped his arms, his shirt anything I could hold onto for dear life, until my pants finally eased and the pain in my chest subsided. He stroked my hair and wiped the tears from my cheeks with his big rough hands.
“It’s okay, I’m here now, it’s okay.” He kept repeating it like a mantra, to calm me down. When I finally composed myself after what seemed like hours though it was most likely minutes, he shoved his face in the crook of my neck. He ran his nose along my shoulder and neck taking deep sniffs.
“Why do you do that?” I whispered, he seemed to do it whenever he needed comfort.
“So, I can smell you better.” He murmured, his lips against my skin. I felt a shiver run down my spine. “It calms me when I’m upset and riles me up when I’m horny. You’re my safe place, my home, the other half of my soul. My... my mate.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
