Can't Woof It Out | Marshall x Everest [Book Two] ✔⚙

Chapter Twenty-One

          Laughters echoed through the cream walls and floors primed with velvet wool. Whispers of goodnights came to conclude of what they had begun. Doors slowly creaked shut and slowly it had filled the halls into a ghost scene, to only hear distant conversations of those who have booked themselves into it.

          Warm air had escaped the lungs of an exhausted boy as he slowly sunk himself to the cool tiles; troubled clouds puffed up his head and dampened his spouts that has yet to actually do their supposed job.

          The day had ended already, though it feels like it was far from that for one guy. What lies ahead of him, sprawled on his already messy duvet, is a heap of paperwork. Printed in ghastly and dreadful ink, its scent emitting of fresh mail, Ryder drew closer to it as he has risen upon his sore feet. Picking one up, it had a streamline of digits and formal demanding requests, and the other had blaring red headlines and a confidential mail from various companies that were situated near his clothed knee.

          It looked worse than neon colors being splattered without any forethoughts on a plain canvas. Truly, it looked like an eyesore both for his eyes and his heart. Breathing out once more, he tossed himself to the mattress and crossed his legs and threw everything back onto the covers and hung his head back — completely thoughtlessly ruminating a way to dig his situation out from the pit he's stuck in.

          Despite his eyes being clearly pinned to the ceiling, his sights were much farther than that as his mind reverberated with ways on how to resolve everything. He's got the answers, but which one is ideal? Answers came by like a raging river with an abundance of fish, though presented in mass amounts, he can grasp neither.

beep.. beep..

          A white light illuminated his bedside table and vibrated continuously. It read "Katie" just below that time which indicated "10:47 pm". Picking it up, he hung his phone near to his ear and listened.

         "Hey," she began, her voice sounding faint and unsure. He replied with the same word, though more lifeless and lost; on the other line, he could hear her pen tapping against the wooden surface and the soft purring of Callie. The silence that fills the room that plays on his device somewhat gave him comfort, evoking him of his home that's miles away from where he is currently.

          "How's.. Everything on your line lately?"

          He remained quiet though, he was unsure of how to respond to her and weighed whether he should fess up his situation or not. So many words that have yet to be said, but for some reason, there was a conflict of an invisible seal wrapping him whole.

          "..You know. Same old. It's been going well." he replies, still motionless on the bed, as his right arm hung loosely on his right knee.

          Katie's line went silent for a moment, if it weren't for the subtle movements that made sounds that she've created herself, he would of believed that she had hung up already. He repositioned himself into a much more comfortable one and decided to hover his visions on the unattended bills as he asked "You good? Still there?"

          "Yeah. I just don't believe you're really feeling okay with that tone of voice. You know you can tell me anything, right?" he bit his lips in hesitation at her statement. Gulping the lump that's developed on his throat, he threaded his locks back and merely sighed in response.

          "Uhm.. Are you running short on money? I could transfer you—"

          "—Stop." a firm voice was transmitted through the line and took Katie by surprise, in the background, her cat's claws clicked against the floor as she scurried away from her, mistaking her for some threat. She could only blink in disbelief as she've never witnessed this sudden side of him.