Aden cursed as two black tennis shoes toppled over in his attempt to enter his apartment, nearly sending him stumbling headfirst into the hard floor. There was a brief sting of pain in his ankle from the slight stumble but he quickly brushed it off when he realized what the pair of shoes meant. If Logan wasn’t holed up in the bedroom when Aden left for work, he was already gone and out the door before Aden woke up. This morning, it was the latter, but he was back now.

“Oops, sorry,” Logan huffed, exiting the bedroom out of breath as he pulled his bag over his shoulders. “I had to, uh…run back. Um, for work. My work apron…” he held up the maroon material as his voice trailed off.

Aden blinked, momentarily surprised. He hadn’t heard Logan’s voice in days, and his head was still rattling from everything he’d had to stuff into it during class. How he’d pass next Friday’s test was a mystery he barely acknowledged as he simply stared at Logan.

“I-I gotta go,” Logan stammered, his eyes darting to the shoes Aden was standing in front of.

Subconsciously, Aden stepped to the side and Logan flew by him without another word, barely securing his shoes as he bolted out the door and down the stairs with a sprint that would impress any sportsman. A sprint that was even more impressive to the fire fighter who knew was injuries laid beneath his torn hoodie.

It was only once Logan disappeared from sight that Aden realized he could have offered Logan a ride back to work. He silently cursed his earlier class from leaving him so braindead, just as the bird hissed, Opportunity is wasted on you.

Aden didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like the bird was wrong. For once.

Still, Aden couldn’t say he didn’t feel a warm sense of pride prickling his chest. After not seeing Logan for days at a time, he felt a slight victory at how Logan handled the random encounter. He’d come out of the room, panicked for sure, but it wasn’t a panic brought forth by Aden’s presence. Just a completely necessary and urgent desire to make it to work on time. In his rush, Logan had failed to properly shut the door, but that was fine.

Everything was fine.

With practiced hands, Aden properly shut the door, sealing out the winter cold that had slipped into the apartment. Shroahrohel's warmth warded it off with ease, but Aden was determined to keep the temperature steady for Logan’s sake. He’d already seen the rough of it; Aden wanted to give him the best. Or, well. The best that he could manage.

Being as tired as he was, Aden barely dropped his bag to the ground before falling on the soft cushions of his couch. When he opened his eyes again, a few hours had passed as dusk began beating out the light. He’d needed the rest, but his wakefulness alerted him to a different problem at hand. He was starving, and his stomach pangs sprang to life as though he personally beckoned them.

Aden already knew what was on the menu, his ingredients neatly lined up as he took the proper measurements to complete his mise en place. The stove should have been turned on first, but Aden forgot and cursed at the time he’d lose. He could’ve waited for it to chime out that it was ready, but his impatience quickly put an end to that thought.

Besides, if he took his time with the sauce, it wouldn’t have to set out for too long. It’d be fine.

So, Aden threw his butter into his heated saucepan and began the process of making blackened Alfredo sauce. As unfortunate as it was unsurprising, the oven took forever to heat, and Aden only managed to keep his aggravations in check when he realized it’d given him the time to properly trim and prep the chicken before seasoning, and rationalized it just wasn’t worth the frustration.

Chicken in the oven and sauce nearly completed, Aden started the pasta and idly scrolled his social media as everything came together. There was once a time when he’d traded his textbook for the toxic disease rotting his brain, but this semester was different. It drudged up everything Aden wanted buried and happened to also come at during one of his most challenging obstacles to date.

Besides, scrolling social media was a little different for him than that of billions of other users. He saw a lot of what they couldn’t. Creatures hidden in the fog of disbelief, only visible to those that did. The supernatural was funny like that, and sometimes rather cruel. Nightmares lent so much more credence to those who feared their existence, and when you feared something, you believed in it. And once you did that, well…congratulations. Now you get to see it. Worse. You get to feel it.

Aden checked his noodles and the sauce respectively. Surprisingly, nothing showed itself in posted photos and videos, though Aden could appreciate their absence. He strained the fettuccine and stirred the sauce before returning to his phone. This time, though, he saw a little red number in the upper-right corner of his messaging app, and Aden felt his heart clench.

Mary hadn’t found out, had she? Aden’s father knew Logan and him had reconnected. Did he let it slip?

A relieved breath leaves his lips as he realizes it’s just a random text from Henry, whining about Callie turning him away from the bar. Apparently, she knew about the exam he had tomorrow morning—because Aden told her so—and didn’t want to be the reason he was hung over. Aden had been right to tell her about the exam. If she could, that woman would shelter the whole world beneath her warm embrace.

Aden shot a sarcastic reply back and almost put away his phone before it vibrated in his hand. Another message.

Don’t be Mary, don’t be Mary, he pled to whatever God was listening.

God may have been listening, but so was the devil. It wasn’t Mary, but it wasn’t better.

UNKNOWN: [Sent 7:57 PM] Hey, Aden! It’s Kyle!

UNKNOWN: [Sent 7:57 PM] This is my new number! Figured we could reconnect. Been a while hasn’t it?

Aden had to focus to avoid grinding his teeth against each other. Kyle shouldn’t have his number, there was quite literally no way he could. Exactly five contacts were stored on his phone, four of whom didn’t even know Kyle, and one of whom would sooner kill Kyle than give him any reason to reconnect.

UNKNOWN: [Sent 8:01 PM] Wait, this is Aden, right?

UNKNOWN: [Sent 8:01 PM] Probably should have checked first.

Aden troubled his lip, his finger hovering over the keypad. A vertical line blinked steadily, waiting for his orders. After typing out a few, fury-laden words, he decided it wasn’t quite angry enough and erased the whole thing before trying again. It was only when the acrid scent of burning meat reached his nostrils that Aden realized how long he’d attempted to write a response.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, though he realized most of the food was just fine. The sauce was a little thick, sure, and a few pieces of chicken were burned to all hell. But that wasn’t enough to completely ruin dinner.

“What’d you burn?” a curious voice asked from the open front door.

Aden whirled on his feet, noticing for the first time that Logan had been standing there. Shoes removed, door completely shut. How’d he manage that so quietly?

Aden took a deep breath. Logan misunderstood.

“Sorry,” he apologized at a lower volume. “Didn’t mean to, uh…startle you.” He chuckled lightly and looked up into Aden’s eyes with a dim glimmer of mischief. “Didn’t really know you were capable of being startled.”

Aden couldn’t stop the smile that spread his lips. “Ha ha,” he muttered lightheartedly. “And what exactly would lead you to that conclusion?”

Logan opened his mouth to say something, his eyes full of mirth, but suddenly clamped his lips shut and looked hesitantly behind him. When he turned back to Aden, the darkness that had so suddenly appeared in his expression had fled just as quickly. “Are you kidding me? You’re literally a bear, and bears aren’t generally scared of anything other than other, bigger bears.” He gestured to himself. “I am hardly a bigger bear.”

Aden couldn’t shake the concern for Logan’s strange actions, but he also gave in to the chuckle that escaped him. He shook his head. “Whatever you say. Anyways,” he continued, changing the conversation before he had more time to dwell on Logan’s rapid changing emotions, “I got, uh…distracted. But! Most of the chicken is salvageable.” He presented the tray as though to establish the proof of his claims.

Logan clicked his tongue but smiled, though it seemed fragile and unstable. “I guess there is a pretty good smell underneath it.” He paused, seemingly turning words over in his head as he looked toward the alfredo sauce. “I guess I wasn’t expecting that, either.”

“Oh,” Aden stated unintelligibly. He wasn’t expecting a compliment. “You wanna eat now, or are you headed off to bed? I can put a plate away for you tomorrow if you’d like.”

It was hard to not beg Logan to sit down with him and join him for another meal. They hadn’t eaten together since Logan first moved in. But, he’d been patient thus far. Whatever Logan’s answer, he could wait a little while longer.

Logan let out a tired sigh. “Saving a plate sounds good. Today was…rough.”

Aden nodded his head to disguise his disappointment. If Logan realized that was the case, he didn’t show it. Instead heading directly to the bedroom.

“G'night,” he said, stopping momentarily and shooting Aden another fragile smile.

“Food will be on the second shelf,” Aden replied with a smile. “Goodnight, Logan.”

(continue to next chapter)