25. Chapter 25
Lennox
T he snow blew outside Lennox’s dorm room window as she sat scrunched on her chair beside it. A cold afternoon breeze attempted to make its way inside as she studied for her next test. With her left leg crossed on the seat of the fuzzy chair, her right foot beside it and her arms which held her knee up as she read. Her tired eyes skimmed the page of an open book in front of her as she pulled the hair tie from her wrist. She gathered the top part of her hair in a bun at the back of her head and tied it out of the way. It had been a struggle to get any semblance of sleep over the last couple of nights. So she threw herself into her studies.
Her phone buzzed beside her and caused her to jump. Lennox didn’t look at the screen right away. She had found every call and text sent a jolt of fear through her so she would give herself a minute before she checked. She let out a deep breath she peered over and saw Wyatt’s name with a new message.
Wyatt Steele- Hey Nox, can you give me a call when you have a moment? Nothing major just wanted to chat about something. -Sent: 6:46 pm
Quickly, she closed her book, unplugged her phone and unlocked it. A wave of relief calmed her nerves as he had at least reassured her before she hit the call button. It only rang twice before his raspy voice came from the other end.
“Hey, are you alone?” The question made her frown with concern.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, well- Not entirely. Have you noticed something off with Aron? He seems jumpier than usual.” He asked quickly and kept his voice low.
“I mean, I have…” She paused, Aron hadn’t seemed to want anyone to know about his hand. Until he seemed like he was a danger to himself, she wasn’t going to say anything.
“Do you have time to come over to talk more about this?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right over.” She agreed and ended the call.
Wyatt answered his door dressed in black sweatpants and one of the usual band t-shirts he wore. He smiled softly as their eyes met and he moved aside to invite her. Secretly, Lennox was grateful Aron was off in preparation for his guard night. She knew the two shared joining rooms as she walked in. Quickly, Wyatt ran ahead of her to grab the second door to his room as she glanced at the little living room they had made themselves beside the bathroom. She avoided the spot on the end of the blue couch Felix sat in just a few months ago.
Wyatt led her into his ever-so-familiar room, it was strangely comforting to see the motorcycle and band posters plastered everywhere. A collection of vinyl records lined the highest part of the walls all the way around the room and above the door. Even with the white walls, it felt darker with the black blankets on his bed and the dark furniture he had brought with him. On his desk sat one of his journals, a dirty romance book, and a small sprocket printer under a collage of photos of him and various friends he had made over the years. She smiled softly at the photo of Felix, Rue, Wyatt, and her. Before her eyes fell to a photo of him and Eden in the town over.
He cleared his throat, the sound caused her to return her attention back to the moment. He motioned for her to pick a spot and she sat on the edge of his bed and waited for him to start.
The demon let out a sigh as he took a seat in his desk chair. “I keep hearing him talking to someone. At first I thought it was just someone on the phone but last night I caught him talking in the bathroom and his phone was on the couch… What have you noticed?”
“Well at the meeting with us and Nick, Aron seemed on edge. Every time I got close he flinched a bit. I thought maybe it was because of what happened to Octavius- Maybe he’s worried about the next time the hunters strike.” Lennox rambled.
“We are all worried about when they will strike next. I don’t think I could handle another phone call of a death or kidnapping.” Wyatt shook his head as he peered down at the hourglass tattoo on his wrist. “But that doesn’t explain why he’s so jumpy around Rosalyn and you.”
“Do you think he thinks he’s next? Maybe Val told him about the curse and now he thinks it’s back too.” She avoided his eyes and picked at her fingers as an excuse.
The bed shifted as Wyatt turned to face her. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see sadness flutter across his face. A knot tied itself in her throat and she focused on the silver sigils and chains. A tattooed rose came into view as his hand covered both of hers.
“Nox.” Wyatt exhaled the word. “You don’t believe it’s still around, do you?”
“Felix… Rue… Octavius.” She listed every name as her eyes shot up to him.
“Ocatvius is safe.”
“For now.” Lennox stood and peered out the window. “I feel like it’s been here this whole time, looming like a shadow just waiting.”
“It’s gone, I promise. Even if it’s not, I will go down to hell and break into my office.” Wyatt’s voice deepened.
“If you go back down there it could be too hard to get you back. You left because you didn’t want to be that person anymore, if you go down and Lucifer asks you to stay…”
“I wouldn’t. I won’t become that person again. Besides, I’ve got a family here and where else would I get the latest tea from? Aron always has the best stories.”
“You two gossip like teenagers.” Lennox rolled her eyes.
Lennox shook her head and returned to her seat as she considered what Wyatt had told her about Aron. The new information drew her eyebrows together in worry. Her gaze drifted for a second as different scenarios flooded her mind as she remembered the bowl of broken mirror pieces. He hadn’t called anyone and if she hadn’t walked in no one would have known. What could be going on that Aron would act like this?
“What should we do?” She asked finally.
“I think we should just watch and make sure he’s okay. If you see anything else that’s a red flag we should go to Andy.” Wyatt shifted in his chair.
“Agreed,” Lennox met his eyes again but held the secret for now.
A hush fell between them for a moment before Lennox rose an eyebrow at him to diffuse the tension. They hadn’t had much time to talk about the interest he had taken in Eden so she motioned over to the photos on his wall and she decided it would be a good topic.
“So tell me about this adventure you two just had to take in the middle of the night.” She coaxed.
“I’d say one of my favorite dates ever. We went to that shake shop and I think this was the first time she’s ever shown me her true self.” A wide smile drifted onto his face as he spoke of her.
“Well, that’s a first. Eden is usually pretty closed off. You two must have something really good going on.”
“Her walls don’t break easily, but if she tells me something I want it to be because she wants to. I’m a patient man. I must admit, so far it's paid off.”
“I’m genuinely happy for you, Wyatt. I always knew someone would come along for you.” Lennox shifted to get a little more comfortable and leaned toward him. “Tell me about your first date, and how you two started chatting it up.”
He laughed and crossed his legs in his chair as he started to tell her about the night he went over and they studied and drank. As the sun set through the window, Wyatt and Lennox talked about the last couple of months until the conversation switched around from him and Eden to the other night when they found Octavius. For once it felt like none of this semester had ever happened. They laughed together as the hours unknowingly passed. Wyatt had eventually joined her on his bed and the two lay beside each other as they took a turn sharing stories.
“Bastien told me her birthday is coming up, so I got her-” Wyatt scrolled through his phone when he stopped to peer at the top of the screen. “Shit, it’s midnight, Nox.”
“Midnight!” Lennox shot up from her spot in bed and her eyes darted to the window. It was pitch black outside which made her look at her own phone which confirmed the time. “Aron will give me absolute hell if he catches me trying to sneak home.”
“You know what that means!” He said cheerfully and stood from his bed and moved to the open rack of outfits that held about ten almost identical black leather jackets. “It’s a sleepover night! You can borrow a T-shirt and sweats. Pick a band.”
“Thank you- Nirvana?” she asked as the shirt and pants were tossed to her.
“Of course, I’m not sending you out there late at night. I’ll be in the other room for a few minutes so you can change.”
Wyatt scooped up his phone and started to type as he left the room. After Lennox pulled off her day clothes and pulled on the borrowed ones, she decided to take a second look at the memories he had captured. Her eyes drifted to the photo of the first day she and Wyatt became friends. Her lips curved into a smile as she remembered the way he pulled out his camera with a confident, “We’re gonna want to remember this day. Our future selves wouldn’t believe us.” The memory made her smile as she remembered the few summers she left the school to find him and take revenge for the curse he had created. She had been so angry after Xemos dropped her off at the school she had wanted the demon responsible dead, for the curse that prematurely took her life with Mason and Gemma.
Her eyes trailed the photos to one of Wyatt and Eden. His smile was different from the others in that one. His eyes which usually were bright and happy seemed to hold even brighter sparks as he sat beside her. Eden’s expression was even a lot brighter than usual. For a moment she felt the grief of Rue’s death weighing down on her. However, before she could let herself go down that path there was a knock at the door.
“You’re good!” Lennox called and quickly turned back around as he reentered now dressed for bed as well.
They both went over, got comfortable on opposite sides of the bed and pulled up the covers. It was comforting to have someone beside her again and sleepiness took hold quickly as Wyatt’s voice drifted over.
“Goodnight, Nox. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The next morning Lennox carefully shifted in the blankets and peered over to Wyatt who was still peacefully asleep. She moved carefully so as to not wake him up, got out of bed and tip-toed over to the door. Quietly, she snuck to the door and gently opened it. She slid through the frame and slowly latched it closed. The sound of the door behind her made her freeze with her hand still on the knob. Please don’t be who I think it is. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second and let out a breath followed by a curse. Lennox turned her head to see Aron in the doorway with his mouth parted in surprise with his hand on the half closed door. Locked eyes, neither of them moved for a few seconds. She noticed him lean back a little and seemed to weigh his options before a mischievous smile crossed his lips.
“Well, this is something I definitely didn’t expect to see at six in the morning- Not that I’m judging or anything, I thought you were into women?” He peered at her and crossed his arms over his chest with a glint in his eyes.
“Ew, no- He’s dating Eden Miller and for your information, I’m into people.” Lennox shook her head and latched Wyatt’s door shut.
“Good to know, Lenoard.” He closed the door and ran a hand through his hair and looked tired.
“I got tomorrow’s guard, you should get some rest,” Lennox told him as he walked over toward the small couch.
“You don’t start your nights till Monday, I’ve got it. I have some free time this morning to catch up on sleep.” Aron crash landed on the seat and pulled off his bandanna which left his hair a mess as he stretched his hands behind his head.
She rolled her eyes, followed him over and leaned over the back of the couch to look down at him. With a raised eyebrow and a smirk, she reached over and pulled the red fabric from his eyes.
“We’ve had a long couple of days, I can handle a switch in the schedule.” She told him as he reached up and snatched it back from her.
“And I can handle my nights,” He insisted and sat up mildly annoyed a few feet from her.
“I’m taking it tomorrow night. If you decide to join me I guess I can’t stop you but there’s no reason for both of us to pull guard.”
“You couldn’t stop me even if you tried, Lenny.” Aron leaned in a little and peered up at her.
“I know I could take you.” She narrowed her eyes playfully.
“Is that a challenge?”
“That’s for you to decide. Now I’m going to make coffee, you get some rest.”
Lennox turned away from him, and went over toward the door he had just come in from. She opened it just enough to get through so that she wouldn’t wake Wyatt with the loud squeak it made when opened all the way.
“Leonard!” Aron’s voice called over. “I gotta know, what kind of people are you into?”
“Well, mostly anyone that I don’t work beside.” She smirked.
“Ouch, a stab right in the gut.” He flopped backward dramatically as she slipped out the door frame with a smile.