Adriel
If my heart could still beat, it would have been racing all night.
Following the incident with Theo frightening Caleb, the only thing on my mind was Caleb’s expression of pure terror. I refrained from closing my eyes in case that image flashed into my vision. It was a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling to know that Caleb had been so utterly afraid under my watch. In his ownhome, no less.
I’d failed him. I cursed myself.
As annoying as he was, I didn’t want to let him down as a protector. I was the only thing standing in the way between him and another one of Margaret’s unhinged assaults. Even though she hadn’t attempted to attack him again since the first incident, that was no guarantee she wouldn’t try it again eventually.
I had to be on my guard.
The following night, Caleb was back to work. It was my duty to escort him safely off Tenebrae property and to his workplace, just in case.
I waited for him by the front door. Outside, the air was crisp and chilly. To blend in with the humans, I wore a long black coat, leather gloves and a fashionable pair of black boots. I checked my watch. Roughly half an hour before Caleb’s shift began, and I was determined to get him there on time. I looked up the stairs, expecting to see him at any moment.
Finally he appeared and hurried down the steps. He was dressed in his job uniform, a simple button-up shirt with the company’s logo on the breast and a slim pair of blue jeans.
“Sorry I’m late,” Caleb mumbled. He seemed to be averting his eyes. Neither of us spoke since last night, not beyond any niceties like good night’s and thank you’s.
“You’re fine,” I told him. “Youwillbe on time, I promise.”
He shot me a shy smile. Up close, I noticed how small he looked in the workplace shirt, how baggy it was around the edges - like it was the right size, but Caleb just didn’t fit. I made a mental note to investigate later.
“Now follow me,” I said.
We left the cottage for the first time in days - for the first time since Caleb moved in, to be precise. Beside me, Caleb inhaled a deep breath of air. He must have been pleased to be outside.
I led him to the garage and unlocked my vehicle, which was one of three lined up next to each other. Each respective car belonged to my brothers and I. Caleb’s eyes were wide as he glanced around at their shiny, sleek exteriors.
“Wow,” he murmured. “These must’ve been expensive.”
I shrugged. “Not with the funds we’ve accumulated over the years. But to a human, I suppose they are.”
Caleb winced and didn’t press the topic. I realized after we entered the car that I’d probably been too callous with my answer, considering Caleb’s current financial situation. I didn’t want to bring up the topic again after a long silence, but I needed to watch my mouth in the future.
“Your shirt,” I said as I drove. “It seems large on you.”
“Oh.” Caleb picked at the front of it self-consciously. “Yeah, it is.”
“Why is that?”
Caleb stared out the window. “It fit me fine before, um… before I got sick. But then I lost a lot of weight, and even after the surgery, it never really came back.”
“Why don’t you ask your manager for a smaller size?”
“...This is the smallest one.”
“I see.”
Caleb sighed softly and leaned his head against the window. From the corner of my eye I saw his tired eyes reflected in the glass.
Was it something I said? Or is that sad expression just my imagination?
“Do you like your job?” I asked after a period of silence.
Caleb shrugged. “I mean, it’s a job.”
“You dislike it?”
