Chapter 6: Misunderstanding
Grayson’s head pounded with every step he took, but he couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face. He thought about Jude’s face, sweet and soft as they talked. It felt like a real step in the right direction.
He stood in line at the local coffee shop he had been visiting at least twice a day. He caught himself smiling as he gave his order, drip coffee with hazelnut syrup and cream. He couldn’t believe that someone would actually notice something he did, especially not something as banal as a coffee order. He questions, briefly, if this means he drinks too much coffee, but brushes it off quickly.
He steps out the door and makes his way to his car when he hears a voice behind him.
"Excuse me, sir."
The voice is familiar to him, and he turns with a smile, expecting to see Jude. Instead, a stranger in a long black coat faces him. His hair is long, hanging limply past his shoulders and his eyes are dark and narrow.
"Can I help you?"
The stranger looks at him expectantly, before shaking his head. "I don’t suppose so. I apologize for bothering you." And briskly walks off.
Grayson watches him for a moment before he disappears around a corner. He grips his phone tightly in his palm, shakes off an unnerved feeling, and heads into work.
The door is unlocked as he walks in; Amelia always beats him in, no matter how early he gets there. He’s unsurprised, but can’t help but feel concerned that she always seems to be here. He makes his way to the back, hanging up his coat and sees her office lights are out. He walks around for a while, checking the stock rooms before eventually making his way to a room he has never seen her in before—the kitchen.
Amelia is whirling around the room as if something is on fire. Which, knowing her, was entirely possible. She doesn’t seem to notice Grayson for a while, occupying herself by grabbing different ingredients, staring at them for a moment and then abandoning it to grab another.
She finally looks up to see Grayson’s concerned face. "Hey, Grayson. Do you, by chance, know how to peel potatoes?"
Grayson opens his mouth to respond, but Amelia is already talking again. "See, they warned me it would be easier to just… get all my food pre-prepared and frozen. That way, I could just have any idiot back here put it in a microwave and then be done with it. You know what I told them? No way, we’ve already got a sh*tty bar in town that people are used to going to. If I don’t have something special, they’ll just keep doing what they’re used to. I worked my ass off to get a restaurant license because, hey, I might as well do this right if I’m going to do it."
She begins to laugh. "Now, here I am…a bar and grill owner that doesn’t know how to bar or grill." She laughs harder. "And I thought to myself, it’ll be fine! That’s what employees are for, right? People always need work." She begins to double over. "But I happen to live here, a place where you, Grayson Carter, are the first new person to move in…two years? Everyone already has a job here! Which leaves me with who exactly? You’re great, Carter, but I don’t have my hopes up that you’ll stay here forever. And Paul." She breathes in deeply, calming herself.
Then, she throws a potato full force at a window. It shatters instantly, spraying glass all over the floor.
Amelia blinks. "Well. I’m going to be honest with you, I forgot there was a window there." She rubs her face vigorously with both hands. "What am I doing?"
She walks over to the glass, picking up the largest shards with her bare hands.
"Stop! you’re going to hurt yourself." Grayson chastises, moving down next to her.
She looks at Grayson quizzically and immediately cuts her palm open as she involuntarily flexes her hand.
Grayson grabs her hand, making her dump out the glass and stand up. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." He sits her down in a folding chair and grabs the first aid kit. He kneels down in front of her and opens the kit. Amelia’s face is blank; she watches him inspect her hand for any leftover shards.
They sit in silence as he pours a disinfectant over the wound, her quiet hisses of pain the only sound in the room. As he finishes wrapping the gauze around he finally looks up at her.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Paul quit. Said he’s retiring, to spend time with his family or because of his health…a mix of the two, I think."
"I’m sorry, Amelia."
She shrugs. "It’s not really about him. I’m just so tired, Grayson. Maybe I should just quit while I’m ahead, sell or something."
Grayson looks at her and says nothing. He puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes once.
She smiles for a second. Then, bursts into tears. They sit like that for a second, and eventually, she sinks down onto the floor next to Grayson and he wraps her tightly in his arms. He was never the best at this kind of thing, but he realized that at this moment, all she really needed was to stop moving and feel her feelings. He was more than happy to just sit with her so she didn’t have to do it alone.
After about fifteen minutes she pulls away, her face a mess. He wipes away some tears and softly says, "You feel any better?"
She nods. "I’m sorry you had to see that, I should clean up before we open."
"We’ll do it together." He stands up and offers her a hand. She takes it and they look around the room for a moment.
"Wow, I really did a number–"
She’s interrupted by the sound of Jude’s voice calling for her. He steps into the room with a smile on his face—a smile that immediately drops the instant he sees the state of the room. He looks down at the other two, still hand in hand, and Amelia’s face red and puffy from crying.
Grayson drops Amelia’s hand and speaks. "Oh, hey. We were just—"
Jude strides up to Grayson in an instant, he reaches out to fist both hands onto the fabric of his shirt and slams Grayson into the closest wall. His shoulders and back immediately sting from the force.
"I. Warned. You." His voice is low and gruff, each word more aggressive than the last.
Grayson opens his mouth to explain or protest, but nothing comes out as he hears a snarl deep in the back of Jude’s throat. It sends a chilling vibration up Grayson’s entire spine, and he finds himself incapable of speaking. Jude’s face is filled with unbridled rage, his mouth curled up into a snarl. If Grayson didn’t know better, he would say he could almost see Jude’s canines elongating as he spoke.
"I can’t believe I actually started to trust you. You trick me into thinking…" Jude shakes his head vigorously. "You’ll pay for this." Grayson feels his feet start to lift off of the ground as Jude begins to drag him up the wall.
"Jude, stop! What is wrong with you?!" Amelia slams her fists into Jude’s back over and over. "Let go of him, now!" Her voice shakes with fear and anger.
Jude ignores her, his breathing shallow and shuttering. Grayson gulps and forces himself to look deeply into Jude’s eyes. He sees nothing back but his own reflection.
"Please…" Grayson whispers, wrapping his hand around Jude’s wrist.
In an instant, Grayson’s feet are back on the floor. Jude’s face fills with bewilderment and he steps back as far as he can.
Amelia grabs Jude’s arm. "What was that?"
"I–I don’t…" Jude looks back at Grayson, who has hunched in on himself, hair hanging in his face. Grayson doesn’t look away, piercing gray eyes narrow with suspicion and anger.
Grayson bolts for the door, ignoring Amelia as she calls after him. He doesn’t look back. His heart pounds wildly, and his hands shake as he fumbles with his keys. Eventually, he makes it back to his room and locks the door behind him. Grayson presses his back against the chill of the door, sliding down it until he’s collapsed on the floor.
He rubs his hand over his chest, the feeling of Jude’s imprint still burning. Grayson can feel the rapid beating of his heart through the skin. He stays there for what feels like hours, desperately trying to ignore the flush on his face.
He feels his phone vibrating in his pocket, and pulls it out. It's Amelia. Grayson watches it ring for a moment, and then declines the call.