CHAPTER 35
FRANKIE
∞
The shower I just took was amazing. Being able to actually take a hot shower is underrated, and I’m hating the fact I’m getting more thankful that Wren had me move into the tower.
I’m just slipping myself into some pajama shorts and a t-shirt when my phone dings.
Hey, Frankie.
Wren would like to have another breakfast meeting in the morning. Let’s push it to nine this time so it’s not as early. Bring any information you may have come across.
I’m surprised it’s Alex messaging me and not Wren. He’s messaged me every other time, and then after what happened this morning, I thought for sure he would be the one to stay in contact. Him not texting me now, is making me wonder if I did something wrong.
Is Wren not back yet?
Alex seemed pretty worried earlier. I kept seeing him off in the corner, making phone calls and sending text messages, and he seemed to be getting angrier the later it got.
He’s home.
That’s it?
The message seems dismissive and now irritation is overtaking my rational brain.
Okay. Good night, Alex. I’ll see you both in the morning.
I say that, but my feet are padding across the floor to the door as I press send. I’m not here to be dismissed or ignored, and the fact we slept together and then he begged me to move into the tower, is making me think something else is going on. We’re not together, but I thought he would at least have the decency to message me himself.
I’m in front of his door before I even realize it, and I knock quietly. After a few minutes, I knock again, a bit louder. I wouldn’t think he would be in bed this early. It’s just after nine and he messaged me the other night, well after eleven.
A bit of panic sets in that maybe he’s actually feeding right now and I’m interrupting again. I’m just about to turn away when the door opens slightly.
My heart pounds against my chest as I get a look at his face. His eyes widen slightly when he sees me and he clears his throat, turning his face away. He looks exhausted. I don’t know what he did today in order to look the way he does, but it clearly did a number on him.
“Was there something you needed, Francesca?”
“I…”
what do I even say. He was probably in bed with how tired he looks, and asked Alex to send me a message because of it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“You’re not bothering me,”
he sighs. “Are your accommodations adequate?”
I snap my mouth shut at the fact I was about to give him an asshole response. Anything he could offer me is better than where I was living. “Yes, thank you,”
I say quietly. He nods his head and shifts to close the door, but I press my hand into it, stopping him. “Is everything alright? You don’t look right.”
“I’m just tired. I just want to sleep, but I can’t seem to shut my mind off at the moment. It’s nothing of concern.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Alex’s comment shifts through my head, that maybe if I actually talked to him and gave him a chance, that I would realize he’s not actually a bad person.
He looks at me confused and lets the door open slightly. “You want to talk with me?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“I didn’t think you cared enough to hold an actual conversation with me.”
He seems shut down. He’s being formal with me, and I can’t figure out what happened over the last few hours for him to completely change.
“You just seem like you have a lot on your mind.”
“I do, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Do you at least want some company?”
I feel like, right now, he shouldn’t be alone. His eyes look troubled and the bright green they usually are, seems muted…almost hazy.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come in right now.”
“Do you have a girl in there?”
I chirp, finally pulling a small smile from his lips.
“No. I just…I’m not well at the moment, and I don’t want to risk the chance of hurting you, Chess.”
“I can take care of myself,”
I say stubbornly.
“I know you can.”
His features take on an edge of sadness as he closes his eyes and steps back from the door, slowly opening it for me.
I step inside and hear the door click quietly closed behind me. He walks past me, and his steps seem a bit sluggish as he goes. He’s holding onto the wall as he heads down a separate hallway, probably towards his bedroom. I follow quietly behind him and watch as he drags himself into his bed, pulling the covers up around his hips. I stand awkwardly at the door while he stares at me with hooded eyes.
“You don’t have to stay, Chess.”
“I want to. At least until you fall asleep.”
“You can have a seat there if it’ll make you feel better.”
He points to a plush chair sitting in the corner of his room, and I glance back at him and roll my eyes. I walk towards the bed, and he almost looks panicked as I move to sit down on it facing him. He shifts himself further back to his side and I can feel irritation building in my chest.
“Why are you avoiding me all of a sudden?”
“I’m not,”
he grumbles.
“It sure as fuck looks like you are. You just shifted away from me.”
“Chess, I can’t do this right now.”
“We had sex and then you asked me to move in here, and now you’re acting completely shut down, Wren. Did I do something wrong?”
He rolls over onto his back and settles his hands over his stomach. “You did nothing wrong. I’m just not…I’m a bit unpredictable right now. I had some stuff happen today, and I exerted a bit more of myself than I should have.”
“Shouldn’t you feed then?”
He tilts his head towards me, and his smile is sad. “I have. It’s not really helping. I could barely stomach it, but I knew I needed to get my energy back up.”
“You really don’t like the taste of blood…do you.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted anything worth bragging about. It all tastes stale to me.”
I flop down on the bed and stare at the side of his face. His strong jaw line and brooding eyebrows, a contrast to the vulnerability he’s showing me in this moment. I reach over and brush my fingers against his bicep.
His head rolls over to look at me and he tries to shift away from me. “Does being near me bother you?”
“Right now it does,”
he says honestly.
“Why?”
He turns to stare back at the ceiling. “There’s something about you…I can’t quite place it, but you smell different. I’ve tried to bite you already and I just…I don’t want to end up hurting you by accident.”
“I think you’re doing okay though. You’re here with me and you don’t seem to be on the verge of going ballistic. You seemed scarier at breakfast than you do right now.”
“I’m tired, Chess. I’m just so fucking tired.”
I shift myself a bit closer to him to settle my cheek on his shoulder, and slowly drag my fingers up his arm and across his chest. “Just close your eyes, Wren. I’ll protect you while you sleep.”
He chokes out a small laugh and I glance up at his face. His eyes glisten with barely contained emotion. Whatever he’s thinking about right now, must be tearing him up inside. I’ve never seen him show weakness like this. I never expected him to.
“I don’t need you to protect me, Chess.”
“I thought the same thing about you and look how that turned out.”
“You deserve to be protected though…”
“So do you, Wren…so do you.”