Beast Beloved

Chapter Eighteen

V: I'm in the back booth. I have a Christmas sweater on.

Eli got into the line for the counter. He glanced around the café, trying not to let his gaze linger on any spot, until he found her. He hadn't been sure about the gender, but yes, it was a girl. Her jumper was bright red, and had a deer protruding from the front. Its antlers rose up to her shoulders, where they disappeared behind purple hair. Her eyes were slanted and black. They were focused on him.

A flash of indecision made him hesitate. The same way it had made him hesitate when V had invited him into a group chat. Then again when he'd been invited into a private chat. And then something much stronger than hesitation stopped him when V had arranged the meet up.

Yet here he was, sliding into the booth opposite a stranger who he'd met in an online forum about monsters. He couldn't talk much about her though. He'd agreed to it all.

"I'm surprised you showed up"

"Me too"

V cracked a smile, only for it to vanish in the same second. "I didn't get close to it." Her black eyes raked over his stitches. "It did that?"

"Yes" Eli didn't think twice about his answer. He hadn't come all this way to lie.

"My co-worker got attacked" V folder her hands between them on the table. "I think it was about 7ft tall. Its skin was black, and black hair was all over its body. There were a lot of scars too. Its eyes were pale."

"What happened to your co-worker?" Eli asked. The cold delivery of her story was the only reason he could ask at all.

"He's fine." V's eyes flashed with anger, or something heated that was akin to it. "He said it was a wild dog. It didn't even make it into the papers."

Eli, absurdly, felt something like relief in his chest. He wasn't completely convinced about her story. But hearing her talk made him feel less crazy. It was possible that they were just equally crazy. "I was walking back to my house" Unbidden, like his admission before, the story poured out of him.

V listened attentively. Nodding, and then looking tense. When he finished she asked questions. A lot of questions. He talked about his nightmares which he no longer thought were nightmares, but he didn't mention Kaylen. That part of the story he couldn't voice.

Eli was sipping his second coffee when the table became silent. V had pulled out a notepad and was scrawling down notes furiously. Eli wouldn't ever need notes to keep track of this. It was burned into his memory from the moment he'd met those golden eyes.

His attention wondered across the café. Three members of staff were grouped together, chatting, and leaning against the counter. The display held an alluring assortment of cakes.

The closest worker turned and their eyes met. His initial reaction of jerking his gaze away was delayed, mainly because as she turned a black tattoo crawling up the side of her neck drew his attention. Her eyes moved over his cheek in the same manner, as though it was a tattoo. Maybe from the distance she thought that's what it was.

The tattooed girl dropped him a wink.

Eli tilted his head to her co-worker, a sandy haired guy whose profile alone gave him away as the girl's relation, and flicked his eyes up and down, before meeting hers again.

A wry smile crossed her lips, and understanding filled her face.

V cleared her throat. His attention returned to her, and found a brown paper bag sitting on the table. He peeked inside. There were a few folders and a small tin box wedged between them.