Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 98: Pressure

"Just take it," Louis said, not looking at him.

Pina waited, but the deer didn't pull the wad of cash away.

"You don't have to pay everyone who helps you," the sheep added.

Louis violently shoved the wallet and cash back into his pockets before opening the car door and slamming it shut behind him. Pina watched after him sadly as he opened the door to the back entrance with his key card and slammed that door behind him too. The reporter sighed before reversing back out to the road. He had a preexisting get together with an old friend he didn't want to miss.

~~~

Louis walked down the darkened hallway devoid of electric light. In the blackout, the only light anyone had to go off of were flashlights and the sun when it streamed in through the windows. Most herbivores now carried flashlights to continue going about their days with some normalcy, but Louis was used to the shadows. He walked silhouetted against the window where sunbeams streamed into the long hotel hallway. He stopped in front of a door, looking out the window for a moment before turning to his room. He forgot to use his key and ended up walking into the wood of the door. He slammed his fist into the wood multiple times, bruising a few knuckles before pulling out his key and turning it in the lock, careful not to snap it off inside in his rage. He then opened the door and closed it behind him. He threw the small piece of metal to the ground and loosened his tie, unbuttoning the top few buttons and pulling off his coat. He haphazardly threw it on a hanger before putting it in the closet. He took off the square glasses and carefully placed them on the bedside table. Once he did all this, he finally noticed the stinging burn from his hand. His wedding band had a few new scratches on it and the smooth surface was now tarnished. He pulled it off as he fell back against a wall and slid down the single sliver of sunlight that shone through the curtains. Bringing his legs to his chest, he wrapped his arms around them and gripped the metal band in his fist to the point he thought he might bend it out of shape. He then buried his knees into his eye sockets.

Being alone, he didn't bother holding back. His eyes wept hot tears of sorrow, anger, rage, loss, stress, and confusion. It was too much. Too many things had happened and he still hadn't recovered. His mind hadn't had time to catch up until Azuki was torn from his life in a cruel twist of fate dictated by a mad, hellbent terrorist. Not only had he lost his wife, he had lost his home and family owned corporation. Everything he had were material goods confined to a new apartment and the storage locker. And his bank account, which despite being filled to the brim, felt empty without anything behind it. He could feel the funds seeping away through the cracks in the vault.

Everyone was worried about him. Yuta, Legoshi, Haru; they had all called or texted, trying to talk to him. He didn't want to talk. He didn't need a shoulder to cry on. He would handle this like he had always handled things; alone. And when he was ready to face the world again, that would be when life could resume normally. He didn't need pity, nor did he want anyone to burden themselves with his issues. These were his crosses to bear. No one else should burden themselves with his issues. He gripped the cold metal of his prosthetic and squeezed his bruised hand around it. The increased blood flow caused the bruising to flare up and it hurt more. Good. The pain was calming to him.

There was a knock on his door.

"The 'Do Not Disturb' sign is there for a reason!" he shouted between the sobbing and sniffling to sound as normal as possible. He listened for the sound of footsteps to leave his door before quietly sobbing to himself again. Then the footsteps returned, maybe a minute later, and he heard the click of the door opening. His head raced through a million thoughts, but the loudest one that screamed in his head was 'Intruder-Alert!'. He reached under his arm and pulled his pistol as he spun and aimed down the mini-hall that led to the door. Juno gave a startled shout before covering her mouth.