Black and Blue: The Storm

11.

Sunday,
August 4th, 2017
2:17 AM

Omniscient.

Elijah rolled onto his back and extended his arm, retrieving his cellular device from the night stand, to quiet the rapid notifications. Through squinted eyes, he noted the text messages from Zena and began to read the thread, I'm drowning and suffocating, and all I want is for this pain to go away. After pressing the symbol in the center of the video message, frown lines embroidered themselves across the bridge of Elijah's nose and in between his eyebrows, as he sprang upward from the Tempur-Pedic mattress.

Tossing the cover from over him, he stood to height and took lengthy strides to the walk-in closet, as he awaited to hear Zena's voice come from the other end of the phone. He entered into the darkness of the grande amenity and blindly seized the nearest t-shirt from the wardrobe. "Goddammit," he cursed upon receiving her voicemail. Hanging up, he used the flashlight from his phone and located a pair of Yeezy slides, sliding into them and exiting the closet.

With his hand on the bedroom's doorknob, he peered over his shoulder, laying eyes upon the sight beneath the cast of the moonlight's silver glow. Eliana's tiny hand palmed the side of her mother's face, their noses nearly colliding from the close proximity of their bodies. With Nyla's arm draped across Eliana and her lips slightly parted, peace exuded itself in the soft purrs that spilled from her lips.

He couldn't help but to stare for what he knew could be a second too long. The picture perfect view was one of Elijah's own heart in human form and he wanted to engrave every single detail within the deepest part of his conscious, for it was the only beauty within the most of the mess he had no intention of creating. Overstimulated with more emotion than one, he looked ahead and opened the bedroom door, disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

The drive from Babylon to Manhattan was just over an hour. The longer Elijah's phone calls to Zena went unanswered, the more he increased the speed of his automobile. Sitting straight up, with his hand tightly gripping the steering wheel, gruesome thoughts haunted him, while his organ beat thunderously against his chest. Despite his knowledge of how dangerous his love with Nyla could get, he would have never imagined it would threaten this type of harm.

After frequent bouts of swerving in and out of traffic, and spewing profanities and obscenities at obstructing traffic, Elijah arrived in front of Zena's condo building. The streets of New York City were always bustling with locals and tourists, and tonight was no different for the city that never sleeps. Having retrieved his firearm from a hidden compartment within his vehicle, Elijah exited the luxury SUV and hastily advanced towards the building's door.

Piggybacking inside of the building, his steps were halted by a middle-aged couple stopping abruptly in his path. "Excuse me," the olive toned man looked Elijah over from head to toe, "do you live here?" Not in the mood nor the mental capacity to deal with the interrogative questions, Elijah attempted to maneuver around the gentleman. Once again, his movements were restricted. "Hey! You either need to show me a keycard that works for that front door," the man pointed, "or go back outside and buzz whomever you came here to see."

The witnessing spouse gasped as Elijah's hand clamped around her husband's neck. Pulling the man into him, Elijah lowered his mouth and whispered into the unsuspecting prey's ear, "you live in 417, yeah," Elijah strengthened his grip, "I'll gut you like a fish and have you fed to piranhas by dawn." Elijah gave a firm shove by the neck, sending the befuddled man stumbling backwards, while Elijah resumed with his route.