It was currently the 25th of May. A few weeks had passed since I first moved to California with my best-friend. A lot had happened, but at the same time not much did. My new job was demanding. I had crazy hours and had to take the bus when Dorian couldn't drive me. Eric was right about the intense physical labor. I was positive I grew new muscles I never knew could exist under all that soft skin. The tan was a work in progress—most of my time was spent inside the warehouse, not outside.

I was afraid. A familiar feeling was slowly creeping back into my life. A feeling that weighed me down until it felt like my lungs were being squeezed under all the pressure.

Life was boring, I realized. If you weren't filthy rich, then you were struggling day-to-day, hoping to make it through, just so you could do it all over again. Running away from my little town wasn't solving my problems, it was only giving me new ones.

Dorian had no clue what was going through my head. He was enjoying his time in California and I wasn't going to ruin his mood by complaining. The move was great, regardless of how I felt. There was so much to do in this new world and so many new people to meet. Just in my job alone I met hundreds of people. Bear in mind, I wasn't friends with any of them, but it was more people than I had ever served at my old bartender job.

Yet, I still felt empty.

My new problems weren't big enough for me to wish I hadn't moved. I was thankful that I tagged along. I just needed to give it a little more time, and maybe find a different job. I never went to college, never could afford to. My options were limited. But this job? It was bad.

Every day I woke up early as fuck with Dorian's limbs twisted with my own in the small bed. And yes, I did feel like we were practically married at this point. We woke up, showered (Not together), brushed our teeth, had a quick breakfast, and drove half an hour to our destination. I would not see Dorian till my day was over, because I worked longer than him. He would go home and come back when I was out.

Today was no different and that was the problem. I didn't want to fall into a routine.

I was eating a delicious Indian breakfast that Sonam made for us after she found out I started skipping breakfast. She woke up just a little earlier than us to cook a whole meal. She was super happy watching us eat, but we had to eat fast if we wanted to be on time.

On the way out of the apartment, my phone rang. For a second I thought it was going to be Chance since he called me at least once a week. He texted everyday, so the calling was nothing. But it was not him, it was my job calling me. My heart raced fast as I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Mars." It was a woman, not one that I recognized, and I knew everyone's voice by now.

"Hi."

"Your schedule has been changed. Your new hours are from 1PM to 12AM. Thank you." She hung up fast.

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed.

"What? What happened?" Dorian said, turning back around.

"They changed my work hours." I stared at my phone, reading the number over and over again, wondering if it was some kind of prank.

"Really? Why?"

"She didn't say. All she said is that I work from 1PM to 12AM now and then hung up before I could even ask anything."

"Aw, I won't have my buddy in the mornings anymore." He pouted.

"Can you still drive me?" I asked, putting my phone away.

"Yeah, I think so. It's a lot of driving, but anything for you, babe."

"I'll take the bus back home, I just need to get there."

"Of course, I'll pick you up as soon as I get off."

"Thanks, Dory."

"Enjoy your long sleep, Lucy."

When I was back inside, all of the lights were off and the kitchen was cleaned. I was amazed at how Sonam managed to clean everything that fast. I moved to my room quietly and closed the door. I stripped out of my clothes and laid them down on the bed to use for later. As I was putting on shorts, Sonam barged through the door and screamed when she saw me. She tried to run back out, but her foot got stuck on the door stopper and her body dove into the ground, taking the entire door with her. The door literally broke off the wall and fell on top of her.

Eric woke up from the commotion and poked out his head. I was still shocked at what the fuck just happened. Eric yelped when he saw her struggling with the door and ran to her, lifting it up.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, fixing herself and doing the walk of shame back to her room.

"What just happened?" Eric asked.

"I don't know, honestly."

Did she always go into our room when we weren't there? What if she came in here to steal our dirty clothes? What if she really was a weirdo like Dorian said she was? She seemed . . . so normal.

"Why aren't you at work?" he asked as he leaned the door against the wall, staring at it with a hand on his chin, looking deep in thought.

"They suddenly changed my hours."

"Oh, yeah. They do that when people quit, get fired, or disappear. They just need to sort things out until they find replacements."

"Disappear?"

"How the fuck am I supposed to repair the door? I can't fix this. I'm gonna have to call someone."

The place where the door used to be was badly torn. Either something was up with the wall or Sonam had supernatural strength.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," I said.

"Really? Thanks. I'm used to doing all of the work around here. Glad someone is taking responsibility, even though you didn't do it."

"Yeah, it's no problem."

"Hey, you're really weak," he pointed out, staring at my shirtless body. That could have also been the reason Sonam screamed and may not have been because she was crazy.

"Thank you. A lot," I said sarcastically.

"You should come to the gym with me some time."

"Really? I've never really gone to a gym."

He walked forward and touched my biceps, again. This time he also touched my chest and my abs. I was suddenly getting the wrong impression. Did he really want me to go to the gym with him? Or did he want me to go to the gym with him. There were two meanings in the gay world—not that I knew anything about that, my only experiences were with Chance and that one kiss with Dorian.

"Yeah, but not the gym here. It's another gym I go to. I'll pay for your membership if you decide to join. We can try going tomorrow or this weekend if you want."

"Sure."

"Cool. Going back to sleep now, later gym bud," he said, giving me the finger guns.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Are you gay?"

"Fuck no. No offense."

I snorted and shook my head as a sign of 'none taken'.

I tried to go back to sleep, but for some reason I felt nervous. It had nothing to do with the fact that I had no door. Just something unsettling in my stomach. It was an anxious feeling.

-

I must have been seriously tired in order to sleep till 12PM. As soon as I glanced at the time, I panicked and bolted out of bed. I had no idea what to do since I wasn't used to this schedule. I grabbed my clothes and headed into the bathroom to take a second shower, because why not. I left the bathroom after my shower in such a hurry that my hair left wet trails down my clothes.

"You're not gonna eat?" Sonam asked me as I headed for the door.

"No time, see you later."

Dorian was waiting in his car, jamming out to music and using his fingers as drum sticks.

"Put your head out the window," Dorian said once I was seated inside.

"What? Why?"

"So you can dry your hair? You look crazy."

"I'm not a dog."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself, dog boy."

When Dorian backed up the car and started to drive, and the wind blew nicely against my skin, I was actually tempted to stick my head out like a dog, but I controlled all urges to look like a fool.

"Not to rush you or anything, but can you drive faster? We have to be there in less than thirty minutes."

"You're totally rushing me and I don't appreciate your tone," he whimpered.

I gave him the biggest, loudest, most dramatic sigh.

We arrived three minutes before I'd be assumed late. I jumped out of the car and ran for it, knowing very well that this job took itself too seriously and the littlest mistake could give them the excuse to fire you.

Inside the warehouse, where the main office stood, I clocked in and grabbed my work vest from my locker. I started the day just like I would have normally, since they didn't tell me anything else on the phone.

I worked all day long and it wasn't until 10PM when exhaustion started to really hit me. My arms hurt and my head hurt. I was hungry and tired. For once I just wanted to just lay down and sleep with Dorian next to me.

The last two hours were painful. Most people started leaving before that, leaving me and a couple of people in this massive building. The only time I really got a break was when I was told to work on some papers. I was able to sit down and stay cool under an air vent.

Before I could finally clock out, my boss came out of his office to ruin my day further.

"Lucian, I'm gonna need you to pack the last van," he ordered. "Bill already left and Michael isn't here, so I need you to do it."

I was so incredibly tired that I wanted to snap in that moment. For my sake, I didn't. I was usually a chill and quiet person, so controlling bursts of anger was easy to me. It took a lot to provoke me. But it didn't mean that was always the case, and under the right circumstances, I'd do more than just snap. It was like an inner demon inside of me slowly building up all of those emotions, while human me masked it, until eventually it all blows up.

"Sure," I said.

He threw me a pair of keys. "Once you're done, close it and leave the keys on my desk."

"Yup."

I marched to the back of the warehouse where all the white vans were parked. They were securely locked behind gates and ready to be driven and delivered to another warehouse by the morning—all except one. Just my luck.

When I saw the boxes, I groaned out loud. There were so many of them. They were roughly the same size, but when I picked one up, a new sound came out of my throat.

"What the fuck is in here? Dumbbells?" I said, trying to hold my grunts as I put the box down.

The boxes were all stacked right behind the van. For some reason they couldn't find the time to load the van themselves. I opened the back with the keys and began the process of moving. Five boxes in and I was panting like a bitch.

I wasn't that weak, I swear. No matter what Eric or anybody said. I worked all day long with no break and no food. Me sitting down next to the boxes was rightfully acceptable.

While I caught my breath and rested, I heard rustling behind the gates. I couldn't see from my position since it was on the other side of the boxes, but I could clearly hear someone. I decided to ignore it, assuming it was a worker on his night shift.

"I'm glad we could all gather on this fine night," said a voice, a man with a hoarse voice.

"Yes, can we get to it already?" This time it was a woman, her voice was unusually familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Bring him in," said the first man.

I was curious and decided to peek through the boxes. There were five men and one woman. I had never seen them before. They were all wearing black suits and the woman a pencil skirt and a tight jacket like a sexy secretary. There was also one last person that I hadn't noticed until they all moved. He was on his knees and his hands were cuffed behind his back. Tears were pouring from his sad eyes and they were quieted by the tape over his mouth.

"Because I'm really nice, I'll give you one more chance to talk," said the man I heard first. He was older, but handsome. His hair was black with a few streaks of grey, and it was nicely slicked back. He wore black sunglasses and had little to no facial hair.

The man on the ground mumbled something and shook his head.

"I told you," said the woman. "This is a waste of time. Just do it already."

The first man took out a gun from his back pockets and my blood rushed like crazy. I never thought my heart could race this fast, but it was currently running an endless mile.

This was not happening. This was not happening. This was not happening.

I turned around, refusing to look at what was about to happen, and almost screamed. All this time, there was another man watching me, crouched down barely a foot away from me. He was smiling at me from ear to ear.

"Whatcha up to?" he whispered.

He didn't look like the rest, but there was no doubt in my mind that he was with them. He was middle eastern, possibly a year or two older than me. His skin was strangely pale, like he was sick. He had a buzz cut and his facial hair matched. He didn't scare me, there was something freakishly adorable about him. As something horrible was happening behind me, he made me feel calm. I had to mentally snap my fingers to break myself out of the trance he was putting me in.

"Don't have a tongue?" he asked once he realized I wasn't going to talk. "It's rude not to answer me, you know?" He grabbed my face and moved it around like he was trying to find the tongue. "You're lucky you're so damn cute."

"Elijah?" the woman called when she heard him, as he was no longer whispering. "Did you find something?"

Elijah stood up and looked bored. "Nope."

"Come," she said. "It's time to finish the job."

I glimpsed back through the boxes and watched in horror as Elijah walked around the boxes, took the gun from the man's hand and effortlessly, without a pause, shot the man who was on his knees, right through his skull. Nobody even flinched when the body dropped to the ground and blood began to gush out like a water through a hose.

My eyes started watering. That Elijah dude knew I was behind the boxes. If he told them I was here, that was it for me.

"Go tell the boss it's done," the woman told Elijah.

"Why should I go? You tell him," he said, annoyed.

"Fine, you clean the mess up then."

"I'm cleaning nothing you blue-eyed reptilian."

"Ugh! You are SO annoying!" she complained and stomped away.

For the next five minutes, the men wrapped up the body and carried it away. Even after they were long gone, I didn't move a muscle, fearing that they were right around the corner.

After this encounter, I knew one thing was for certain: this job was not worth the ten dollars an hour.

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[Author's Message]: The story is starting to pick up fast and I couldn't be more excited I'm about to SCREAM. Slowly you guys will start to understand the meaning of the title, but for now this is what you get. This was the first introduction to Elijah and I can't wait to write the next chapter so you guys can see more of him and who he is, because even though he did what he just did, you guys are going to LOVE him. LOL. And he's hot ofc. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter, please vote if you liked it, it means a lot. Comment what you think so far <3