SMACK!
Jerry hit me so hard that I heard loud ringing in my ear. He had put so much more force behind it and it knocked me to the floor.
"You know what's the problem with people like you? You think you're some saviour. You think no one can stop you. Well surprise, I'm going to fucking stop you if it's the last thing I do."
Tears started rolling down my face. I was fuming, and my anger had returned almost instantly. That familiar heat in my body had returned.
"Jerry, what the hell is wrong with you?!", I said as I held my cheeck.
SMACK!
My vision went blurry this time. It felt like my entire body was about to catch on fire. The pain and heat started on my cheeck but the heat had spread to my entire body. I just wanted to scream and make him stop before I burst into flames.
"Jerry, you need to stop this!" He raised his hand again but stopped it inches before it reached my face.
He erupted into a manic laughter. "You're so pathetic. I can't believe you used to be some bad ass lawyer!"
"Get up" He was smirking. "Go fix yourself and get back to your desk. You look like someone just slapped you across the face."
I was shaking out of anger, but I managed to get up and make my way to the bathroom. I didn't dare respond to Jerry. I had to focus on not exploding in this office. My body felt like someone had pushed me dangerously close to a burning furnace. It really felt like I was about to burst into flames.
Once I got to the bathroom. I started splashing my face with cold water. When that didn't work, I splashed cold water all over my body. I was not going to entertain any more inappropriate thoughts about my friend; even if it meant walking around in cold wet clothes.
Run.
I looked around in the bathroom, but didn't see anyone. "Who said that?"
Run, I heard the voice again.
This time I checked the bathroom stalls. I was the only one in there. Who was telling me to run?
"Whoever you are, stop playing some sick joke on me. I'm having a hard enough day!" I screamed to no one in particular.
The bathroom was silent.
My body had cooled down, but now I increasingly started feeling like I needed to get out of there. I couldn't explain it, but I decided to go with it. It was the end of the day and I had every right to leave, just like every one else. But how? Jerry was not going to let me leave.
I looked at my watch and saw that it was already 5:30 pm. I really needed to get home and help Mathew.
I noticed a large window in the bathroom. It would be risky, but I think I'm thin enough to wiggle through. I would just have to squeeze my chest and butt to get out.
I convinced myself that Jerry would just think I was too depressed to leave the bathroom. He'd eventually leave the office and he'd be thrilled if he thought he locked me in here for the entire night.
I mustered enough courage and started trying to escape through the bathroom window.
The window was high up so I couldn't reach it. Luckily, the sink was close to the window. I climbed on the sink and tried reaching for the window. I had to really stretch out my hand and try my best not to fall.
I lost my footing and was about to stumble to the ground when my right hand managed to grab on to the window rail. I pulled my left hand up to grab onto the rest of the rail; then I pulled myself up and popped my head through the open window.
I had to keep kicking to push myself through. Fortunately, the opening was wide enough for me to get through with relative ease.
I saw a full trash can at the bottom of the building and figured I could aim for it. The office is on the second floor so I should be okay. I aimed for the trash can and fell right on top of soft, wet and smelly trash bags. The smell was so bad that I almost threw up.
I fought my way through the bags and managed to climb out of the trash can. It was almost 6pm and this was one thing I could not afford to be late for. If I was going to get home in time, I needed to sprint for the next five blocks.
I started hearing that voice again. Run. You need to run.
"Who are you?" I wasn't speaking to anyone in particular. Now I could tell that the voice was coming from inside my head.
No one replied.
"Gosh, just how hard did Jerry hit me?" I muttered to myself.
I started running towards my apartment.
I'm not athletically gifted at all. However, right around the time my life went to crap, I started feeling different. I've gotten a whole lot faster, stronger and more aware of my surroundings. The other day I was running late for work and I swear I outran the bus while trying to catch it! Mathew doesn't believe me, but it's true. He always laughs at me when I tell this story.
I ran to my apartment with no problem at all. I managed to dodge all the people on the sidewalks and I was even running faster than some cars. I could see the shock on people's faces. Most of them were notably disgusted by the smell of wet garbage rushing by them but I didn't care. I couldn't be late.
When I got home, I ran to the basement and started calling for Mathew. We only had 5 minutes to spare before 6pm.
"Mathew! Mathew, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I'm late, Mathew" I was running down the staircase to the basement.
The moment I saw him, I felt a wave of calm wash over me.
He rushed towards me and held my face in his hands. "Elizabeth, breathe", he said in his soothing voice. "Take a deep breath in and a huge breath out." I did as he said while looking into his bright green eyes which were getting darker by the second.
"We still have a few minutes to spare. Plus, I knew you wouldn't have flaked on me because I'm your only friend". He chuckled when he said the last part. I was feeling calmer so I was able to laugh at his joke.
I felt his soft lips kiss my forehead while his hands gently held my neck. His thumb was gently rubbing the crook of my neck and it was sending sensations up and down my spine.
I quickly stepped away from him and stopped my thoughts from turning this into another inappropriate fantasy.
"What do you need me to do?" I was trying to ignore the sudden cold and empty feeling in the pit of my stomach after leaving his embrace.
"You just need to lock the bars with these chains made of silver. Make sure to spread the other silver chains all over the floor after you lock me inside. That way, if the thing I've turned into tries to hurt you, the silver will hopefully slow it down."
I nodded my head.
"Why do you smell like sweat and rotten eggs?
I rolled my eyes. "That's a long story for which we don't have time for at the moment. Get inside the cell and I'll lock you up."
As soon as he entered the cell, I used the silver chains to lock it. Afterwards I laid additional silver chains on the floor outside the cell, just like Mathew told me.
As soon he stepped inside the cell, Mathew put on a silver chain, a silver ring and a silver bracelet. Then he drank some water that contained some wolfsbane and silver.
We were both quiet. This was the scariest and worst thing to have happened to either of us since we met.
**
We had 2 minutes to go before 6pm. The full moon would be at it's highest at that time and then a terrible thing would happen to the kindest person I know.
"Megan broke up with me today", Mathew suddenly said to me.
I walked closer to the cell to comfort him. Before I could respond, I heard a hard cracking sound. Mathew let out a loud roar and I had to use my hands to protect my ears from the sound.
Every bone in his body started breaking right infront of me. He was morphing into something. His arms and legs got longer and more bones started forming around his body. His muscles were shifting and growing larger every second and thick charcoal black fur started sprouting from his body. His entire body was covered with black fur except for a few small spots on the front right paw. That area had gold fur shaped like the seven cycles of the moon. It looked remarkable.
Mathew's eyes were also no longer a warm green. They were dark ocean blue.
The creature before me was almost as tall as two fully grown men. Its size was...it was huge. It looked like it could tackle a bear. This wasn't Mathew anymore. It was a gigantic wolf and we didn't know how to get rid of it. All we knew was that silver and wolfsbane was supposed to weaken it and hopefully kill it.
When Mathew first told me that he suddenly developed the ability to turn into a werewolf, I chucked it up to it being just one of the many things in our lives that's gone wrong.
The very first time he shifted, he and I had only known each other for a month. Apparently he shifted all by himself in the woods. The next morning, he knocked on my door with nothing but a branch covering his manhood. Neither of us knew what the hell was going on. And yet, none of it scared me. My best friend was telling me that he had developed the ability to turn into a monster, and all I wanted to do was hug him and tell him I would be there for him.
Mathew said he couldn't precisely explain why he ran to my apartment and not Megan's, but he's planning on telling her about this when the time is right.
After he told me his secret, he and I spent our savings and I sold all my valuable items just to soundproof the basement to my apartment and buy some silver. However, the monster he turns into is not affected at all by silver and wolfsbane. The jewelry Mathew was wearing just seconds ago was on the floor scattered in pieces.
The creature looked at me intently for a few seconds before it started walking on top of all the silver chains that were in the cell. I could feel pure anger radiating from it. It was suffocating me. I couldn't breathe and started to fall to my knees like I have in the past.
I somehow managed to climb up the stairs. When I finally made it to the top, I immediately shut the door and spread wolfsbane on the floor. This was supposed to block some of that anger from spreading to the rest of the house.
I was still heaving and coughing and ran to the kitchen to get some water. When I got there, I took a big gulp from my water bottle and sat down.
I had promised Mathew after the last shift that I would stay in the basement the whole night just so he wouldn't be alone, but I couldn't do it. I would've died if I had stayed in there.
"I'm sorry Mathew", I muttered to myself. "I guess I'm not strong enough". I started tearing up just thinking about him spending the whole night alone in the cold basement. Despite the basement being sound proof, I could still hear some roars coming from there. I didn't have the courage to go back in.
"I didn't used to be such a fucking coward!" I screamed while crying. "I just want my life back. I want to be that girl who believed she could conquer the world. The girl who didn't care what others thought and who wasn't afraid of a damn thing! Where is that freaking girl?!" I was sobbing uncontrollably at this point.
I started thinking about Jerry and all the abuse I've endured from him. I also started thinking about how I'd always done my best to help others in the past, but now I couldn't help anyone anymore. Maybe smelling like sweat and eggs is my life now. I couldn't stop the sobs escaping my mouth and I just fell to the floor while crying.
I eventually fell asleep on the cold, hard floor. After a few hours, I woke up due to the discomfort.
"You can still help people", I told myself while staring in the mirror. This is....I don't know what this is, but you'll find a way through it. Now go shower before you stink up the whole apartment!" I managed to muster a slight smile when I said this.
I wanted to make sure I got the disgusting garbage smell out of my hair. My hair is long, thick and curly so if I don't take care of the smell right now I might be stuck with it for a few days.
I spent about two hours washing my hair and washing myself. Afterwards, I threw my clothes in the laundry machine.
I wore my cozy pink pajamas, wrapped myself in a blanket and then headed to the basement door. If I couldn't stay with Mathew in the basement, I'd at least sleep infront of the door so I could be close to him.
I woke up to my alarm at 5am. I usually woke up at 6am, but after every shift Mathew is more hungry than he usually is so I make some breakfast for him.
Since we met, it seems like he started inhaling all the food he could find. And yet, he has remained perfectly toned. I've met a lot of attractive men in my life but not a single one compares to Mathew. He's 6ft3 with a well defined six pack. His muscles always make girls flock to him just so they can feel his biceps. The other day, a group of girls even asked asked to feel his thighs and buttocks. He politely declined, of course. He works out everyday so I guess his body makes sense.
His face however, still has an unknown origin because he's adopted. He has a perfectly sculpted jawline with full lips. His skin is olive toned without a single blemish and he has thick, wavy dark hair.
I made eggs, toast, muffins, pancakes, sausages, mushrooms, lamb bacon and a fruit salad. I would have made normal bacon, but Mathew refuses to eat it because he had a pet pig as a kid. I guess he grew really attached to it.
After putting all the food on the table, I went to the basement. By 6am, Mathew is usually back to his old self after each shift.
When I got the basement, Mathew was busy wearing the clothes that were tucked away by a little corner in the cell. I gave him a huge smile when he looked up, until I realised that wasn't Mathew looking back at me.