The next morning dawned too early for the sleep-deprived archfiend, who had spent the better part of the night tossing and turning from the noise of Zayzann’s relentless pacing in the kitchen. Byxx wiped jagged deposits of sleep from his eyes and forced himself to greet the day. “Good morning, Zay.”
“That remains to be seen.” Zayzann quipped back from his patrol in the kitchen. His entire body shook with an uncomfortable itchiness that radiated all over. “Though I doubt it will be any better than the night.”
“Everything okay in there?” Byxx propped himself up on the floor and allowed a tattered blanket to slink off of his chiseled frame. “You’ve been at it for hours.”
“It’s fine.” Zayzann insisted as he contorted to reach the areas on his legs, back, and arms that were most in need of a thorough scratching. “And I would appreciate it if you would leave it alone. I’ve had enough annoyance for one day already.”
“Old gods and new, who p*ssed in your porridge?” Byxx ambled into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of juice from the refrigerator. He noticed that the interior of it was rather bare as of late. “Hey, do you know that we’re out of, well, everything?”
“Yes, but Iris has barely been home long enough for me to say—Gah! This wretched itching!” Zayzann shimmied for relief and pressed his wing backs into the wall to scrape them. “It’s been so bad that I can’t even make it through the night without waking.”
“Ah, I get it now.” Byxx raised a brow at Zayzann as he continued to dig between his feathers. “Iris kicked you out after you kept waking her up, didn’t she?”
Zayzann drew his lips back to reveal rows of sharp, glittering teeth. He began emitting a low rumbling noise to warn Byxx to back off, which was interrupted by the unexpected arrival and disappearance of Khazmine rushing through the front door to the spare room. She had been out all night again after being away from the apartment for several days in a row.
“I wonder what’s up with her.” Byxx harnessed her convenient appearance to distract the grumpy Paxoram. “Has she said anything to you about it?”
“No, she hasn’t.” Zayzann snapped back, but was silenced by the sensation of the archfiend’s immense hand being pressed against the dorsal feathers that ran between his wings. “Hey, what are you—”
Byxx’s long, black fingernails vigorously raked the sensitive flesh underneath Zayzann’s feathers. The startled Paxoram arched his back and fluffed up his wings on instinct, but the scratching felt so satisfying that he permitted it to continue without complaint.
“There you go, Zay. I bet that feels better, yeah?” Byxx gave Zayzann a bracing pat on the shoulder and watched the subtle, contented twitching of his long, plumed tail. “You looked like you needed a good scratching.”
Despite his crabby attitude, Zayzann gave Byxx an affectionate bump on his upper arm with the flat of his forehead, much like a cat would on Earth. Zayzann muttered some barely audible rambling about “giving good scratches” before toddling off to collapse on Byxx’s still-warm bedding heap in the living room.
Well, I guess I don’t have to clean it up yet. Byxx chuckled softly and shook his head at his passed out roommate. He took a moment to peek through the curtain of the living room window to the parking lot outside and ruffled his curly hair gently. Gods, it’s been ages since I went outside. I think I’m going stir-crazy in here.
His curiosity got the better of him, and Byxx swaggered off to the spare room to check on Khazmine. A strange, burning smell greeted him after he knocked on the door and heard nothing. “Khaz? You okay in there?”
“What is it, archfiend?” A strained, robotic voice replied from behind the closed door. “I am incredibly tired and am in need of rest.”
You and everyone else, lady. Byxx scoffed silently and rolled his eyes.
“I was just wondering if it was okay to go back outside today.” Byxx motioned his head closer to the door to hear her metallic replies. “I realize that someone’s been watching the building, but it’s been almost a—”
“I really am quite tired, Byxx.” Khazmine insisted. “If it’s not an emergency, please—”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.” Byxx clicked his tongue and skulked off to the living room to busy himself with a book. You’d think I shacked up with a bunch of grumpy buggers.
Khazmine shuddered from behind the spare room door that she had pressed her back into for balance. She slid to the floor slowly, relieved that Byxx hadn’t insisted on barging in on her and discovering what she had done. Her hands trembled as she braced herself for an agonizing power disruption. Another orange warning message appeared in her vision before her world went dark.
The distracting hum and intensity of the fluorescent office lights aggravated the increasingly intense headache that had crept up on Iris late that Friday afternoon. She was finalizing a stack of reports for Warren when her troublesome symptoms returned. Iris rummaged through her faux leather bag until her fingertips grazed the plastic box that contained her medication and pulled it out discreetly. She counted the pills within and sighed wearily.
Almost out again. Iris winced and suppressed a groan. It’s either these meds or groceries. I don’t have enough money for both.
Despite yesterday’s payday, Iris was already tapped out on funds. Mrs. Rozniak had demanded another payment on the broken glass door, rent was due, and she needed money to feed the boys back home. Zayzann’s fishing helped offset his meals, but it wasn't enough to keep everyone fed. The painful realization left her mouth parched and her spirits low. Lethargy, memory lapses, time blindness… It’s getting worse.
She was so focused on the challenges in front of her that Iris scarcely noticed the mounting rumblings and discord spreading through the office cubicles. Iris didn’t even look up from her workstation as Lane and Javier from Accounts chased Warren back to his office with a ream of paperwork.
“This is a huge opportunity.” Javier panted as he trailed behind the others with his printouts. “Please, sir. Can you look at these—”
The office door slammed in their faces as Lane and Javier were shut out and left speechless. Iris craned her neck to see what they were doing while the pair haunted Warren’s doorstep. Lane paced back and forth with a clicking pen in his hand while Javier juggled the massive pile of paper.
“He’s not going to let us try.” Lane lamented. “Sometimes, I wonder if he even wants GC&S to be successful…”
Iris sidled up to the pair and asked the receptive Javier what was going on. Both men were eager to vent their frustrations, and Iris was an avid listener of their woes.
“You heard about the new prototype universal tether unit, right?” Javier asked. “Well, Mr. Whitley’s expressed an interest in hearing more about our project and we have an opportunity to pitch it to him. He’s an eccentric millionaire with a good eye for investments, and I think we have a real shot at winning his business.”
“What do you need Mr. Maker for?” Iris wondered aloud.
“We need someone to help build a proposal presentation.” Lane replied. “Though anyone who has our template and software could build it, in theory.”
This could be the chance we’ve been waiting for to break out of our last quarter’s losing streak…
Iris allowed an idea to percolate in her mind before she trotted off down the hallway with several handfuls of their paperwork. “Come on, we’ll ask Mr. Cavendish. He’ll help us put it together.” Sure enough, Mr. Cavendish excitedly reviewed the detailed proposal notes and jumped at the chance to prepare figures for a presentation. Between Lane, Javier, Iris, and Mr. Cavendish, the quartet stayed late into the night to prepare a slideshow for a pitch meeting on Saturday morning with Mr. Whitley.
It was after midnight by the time Iris put the finishing touches on the presentation. Lane and Javier had left hours ago to get some rest before the big pitch meeting at ten in the morning, leaving Iris and Alden to complete the slideshow on their own. Alden had briefly stepped away to collect a few last-minute data points for the slides, only to find Iris asleep with her head down at her workstation. Her frigid body was warmed by the radiating heat from her overworked laptop, and Iris refused to stir, despite Alden’s attempts to wake her.
Poor thing. She’ll be so sore tomorrow if she stays like that. Alden sighed. There’s nothing for it. I’ll have to take her home.
Alden had little trouble carrying the featherweight woman down to the elevator, then the garage, and setting her up comfortably in his black sedan. He buckled Iris safely into the passenger seat, drove carefully on the backroads, and arrived at her apartment before he knew it. It was a shame that time passed so quickly when they were together, as he’d become greedy to spend even fleeting moments with Iris. She had a habit of lifting his spirits with her presence alone and the effect was magnified by her continual kind gestures and heartfelt smiles.
Iris was still asleep in the passenger seat when Alden prepared to tote her up the darkened steps to her apartment. He reluctantly delved into Iris’s faux leather bag to retrieve her key before carrying the tiny woman to her front door. Once inside the darkened void, Alden had no way of spotting the unconscious Byxx on his linen nest between the couch and the coffee table, and so continued his trek to find Iris’s room unaware that her roommate was home. He attempted to open the spare room door first, but Khazmine was still powered down and leaning against the closed door on the other side, preventing his entry.
At last, he pushed open the faintly squeaking bedroom door to find her modest accommodation with a freshly made queen-sized bed. There were no traces of Zayzann in the room at present, so Alden had no knowledge of his regular stays in the shared space. He laid Iris down gently on the bed and pulled a blanket over her body. She looked so peaceful and contented lying there that Alden frowned at having to leave. When he turned away to depart, a gentle tug at his shirt sleeve stopped him cold.
“Hey, wassamadder?” Iris drowsily asked Alden from her reclined position. Her words slurred together so badly that Alden couldn’t be sure she was even awake. “C’mere. Stay wiff me.”
“Uh…” Alden protested but was unable to pull himself away from her tiny, trembling hand.
“Issbena long day hassinit?” Iris asked as Alden's face flushed. He sat patiently on the edge of the bed until he felt the familiar grasp of her delicate hand on his sleeve again. “Come ress wiff me.”
“I really ought to head out, Iris. It’s late, and—”
“Pleece? Doan go…” Iris begged. “Pleece doan leave.”
Alden couldn’t understand this strange power she had over him at that moment. He was supposed to be a staunch, icy tyrant who was incapable of being moved by such a fragile being. Alden had been raised from a young age to eschew all distractions in favor of continuing the family business, yet here he was, afraid to abandon the frail woman who pleaded for his company.
“Didju half a bad day? Dassokay, juss stay wiff me an rest.” Iris drowsed as she spoke, and only had strength enough to wrap her arms around Alden. Before he could respond, Iris craned her head to reach his ear to whisper her earnest request. The sensation of her breaths on his ear and neck sent a shiver down Alden’s entire body. “Hey, kin I ask you summing?”
“Sure. What do you want to know?” Alden felt the blood rush to his cheeks as his body flushed all over.
“Do you think we kin goada beech sometime?” Iris snuggled into Alden’s arms and nestled against his body for warmth. “I’ve never been da beech…”
“I’d like that.” Alden smiled and filled his nose with the gentle aroma of her floral perfume. His eyes grew heavy as he continually lost the fight to keep them open. “More than anything…”
The last thing he remembered was the tranquil feeling of holding her close as the pair was lying down in darkness.
Hi there! Skidiggy here. Congratulations on reading Book One of Apparent Secrets! There's still a ton of story to enjoy, which will continue in Book Two, coming soon. I'd like to thank you for sharing the journey with Iris and her fantastic roommates, and hope you join us for their continuing adventures.
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