Chapter 26

~Alistair~

I drummed my fingers on the table, thinking hard. Ever since Eliana’s old friend, Sam, was transformed back into being a human being, all she spoke about was him.

It was sickening watching how our everyday lovey-dovey discussion, turned into a discourse for only Sam. What was more annoying was the fact that she did not get the fact that I was so not interested in him, or in anything that concerned him. I always have one-word replies to her whenever she brought him up, but she still couldn’t grab that I actually did not want to talk about him.

For a week now, I tried to conceal my anger, but I felt like I was going to explode anytime soon, if things didn’t go back to how sweet they used to be, as quickly as they had changed.

When we had planned to go visit the cinema today, I had been elated because I could finally get to spend some alone time with her, and talk in hushed tones about any movie she decided to see, instead of talking about Sam as usual.

However, a few minutes ago, Eliana had been nice enough to tell me that she wasn’t going to make it. Why wasn’t she going to make it? Well, apparently, Sam needed her to go to the hospital with him, and was scared of injections. His parents were still treating him, to be sure that he was indeed safe and sound. To them, it had been a miracle that he had showed up after so many years, and they weren’t ready to lose him again.

The worst part was that Eliana hadn’t even taken the initiative to give me a phone call, so, I could tell how sorry she was from her voice. Instead, she had sent a short text to me, which meant that she had hurriedly typed it out.

“Hey. Can’t come today. Gotta go with Sam to the hospital. Love ya.”

That was the simple text she sent to me, and it didn’t even seem like she was sorry about not being able to make it. All through last week, she had been going with him to the hospital, because he was stupidly afraid of injections. It was amusing as to how a 28-year old grown-up man, was scared of something that wasn’t even hurtful. Also, I wondered why none of his relatives who were delighted to see him, could go with him.

Why the fuck did it have to be my Eliana? I hated this, seriously, and I couldn’t find a way to communicate how I felt to Eliana. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was being jealous, inconsiderate, or just basically exaggerating the issue, and overreacting to it.

A knock sounded on my door, and I could sense who it was.

“Yes, Jenny, come in,” I said.

Jenny opened the door, and came in, wearing a black suit, and holding some files in her hands, which she kept on my desk.

“Here are the reports you requested for,” She said.

“Thank you,” I said, waiting for her to leave, so, I could go on with thinking deeply about this pressing issue, that was slowly beginning to eat me up.

“Are you fine?” She asked, wearing a concerned look on her face.

“Yes. Why do you ask?” I retorted.

She shrugged. “Well, obviously because you don’t look fine,” She said.

“Well, I am fine,” I told her, in a defensive tone.

She put her hands up in surrender. “Okay, then. If you say you are fine, I won’t argue with you,” She said.

“Thank you. By the way, I was doing something before you came in. If you don’t mind, I’d like to be left alone, in order for me to continue with what I was doing,” I told her.

“Sure, I’d leave you alone, and I’ll be sure to close the door on my way out,” She said, in an annoyed tone, and turned her back on me, proceeding to leave the office.

Midway, she stopped right in her tracks, and turned around, with clenched fists.

“What now?” I inquired.

She turned around swiftly, walked back towards where I sat, and pulling one of the chairs in front of my desk, she sat down, with her legs crossed, and her arms folded.

“I’m listening,” She said, giving me a firm look.

“Listening to what?” I retorted.

“Listening to what exactly is up with you. I was going to just leave you here, but I’ve decided against doing that. You’re not fine, and there’s something wrong with you. What is it? A problem shared is half-solved,” She said to me.

I rolled my eyes, thinking about the whole situation for a bit. Instead of killing myself inside with the numerous thoughts going on in my head, it was best if I discussed the issue with someone else. Perhaps she could understand the situation better, and let me know if I was right to worry, or if I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“Um... The thing is that lately, things haven’t been going well with Eliana,” I started.

“What do you mean by that?” She asked, listening intently.

I shrugged. “I don’t think she knows something is not right with the two of us, and I feel it’s just me who is taking the whole matter too far,” I explained.

“I can barely understand what you’re trying to tell me. If you’re going to confide in me about this, you should be willing to tell me all the details. What matter do you feel you are taking too far?” She asked.

I heaved a deep sigh. “Sam,” I replied, hastily.

“Sam? Is there something wrong with Sam? Is he going to turn into a wolf again?” She asked, not quite getting the gist.

“Sam is fine, and yes, he can turn into a wolf if he wants. I told him I was going to teach him how to switch in-between being a wolf and a human being on the day we rescued him, but he hasn’t reached out to me yet,” I said.

“Well, maybe he’s not interested in being a wolf even for a slight second, after having to be one for ten good years,” She said.

“It’s not like he has power over it. He may be able to control his transformation now, but trust me, soon, he’ll come begging for my help, especially when the full moon starts getting closer, but that’s not even the issue, and I honestly don’t know why we’re talking about that right now,” I told her.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You were saying?”

Although I felt like keeping everything to myself, I had known Jenny for a very long time, and I felt that I could trust her. “You see, Eliana has been spending way too much time with Sam ever since he became a human being again, and even when we talk, she always brings him up, and I’ve not been seeing much of her because she’s always with him, saying that she has to help him adjust with stuff and all of that. Now, she just cancelled our date at the cinema to go with him to the hospital,” I said, pouring out all my anger, without waiting to pause for breath.

“Wow, Alistair. So, even you is capable of getting jealous,” Jenny said, laughing at me mockingly.

“I’m not jealous, I’m just not okay with knowing that she’s with another man,” I said, in defence.

“What’s the difference?” She asked.

“There’s a big difference. I just want to know if I’m right to feel this way, or if I’m taking things too far,” I said.

“I understand, Alistair,” Jenny said, placing her hands on mine.

“So, what do you think? I should be happy that her friend is back after so many years, and instead, I’m just being uncomfortable with the fact that they’re always together. Give me your honest opinion. Am I wrong to feel this way?” I asked, in a low tone, feeling really down. Saying my mind out loud was making me feel really bad, and for the first time, I felt clueless as to what I was to do.

“Listen, Alistair, you’re not wrong to feel what you’re feeling right now. Everyone would feel the same way if they were in your shoes. It’s normal to get jealous or angry or whatever, when the person you like is with someone else, so, you shouldn’t beat yourself up about this,” Jenny said, in a soothing voice.

“I know, right?” I asked, beginning to feel a little relieved.

“Anyways, I don’t think anyone can blame Eliana though. You, of all people, should try to understand her. I mean, he was her first love, and no matter how much time has passed, he’d always come first. It’s just natural, and you shouldn’t be so worked up about it,” Jenny said.

“He was her first love? What do you mean, Jenny? How would you even know that?” I asked, rage seeping through me again.

“Hold on, she didn’t tell you? Wow. When I went to meet her to tell her about my theory of him being alive, she had said that he was her first love, and she lost him once and couldn’t bear to lose him again. Therefore, I should, please, do all I can to help her get him back,” Jenny said to me.

“What?” I yelled, shocked to the bone.

“I’m sorry, Alistair. If she didn’t tell you this, it probably means she’s hiding something from you. Anyways, don’t think about it too much though. Like I said, it’s natural that she’d choose him over you, since he’s her first love,” Jenny told me.

I was fuming with anger, and my clenched fists tightened. You know when you’re doing the opposite of what you’ve been told? That’s exactly what I was doing right now. Jenny had asked me not to think about all she had just said too much, but I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t help but think about it all too much.

All Eliana had said was that she and Sam had been friends since they could talk, and I had expected that they were just close friends. He, being her first love wasn’t even my problem. She’s a beautiful girl, and even if she had had ten boyfriends before me, I wouldn’t have had an issue with it. My problem presently, was the fact that she had found it convenient to confide in Jenny about it, but hadn’t told me.

“Alistair, are you okay?” Jenny asked, in a concerned tone, giving me a worried look.

“I’m fine. Just go,” I said, dismissively.

“I can’t just leave you here like...”

“Go!” I yelled at her, and my eyes flashed with a red glow.

She shuddered, seeing how provoked I was, and immediately, she got up, and walked out hastily, closing the door gently behind her.

I was trying hard to control my anger, but I couldn’t do that. My heart bled with rage, and I was so furious at not just Eliana, but at the whole world. Getting up from where I sat, I walked to the wall, next to the shelf, and in anger, I threw in a punch, aggressively.

My fangs shot out, as I kept on dealing the wall with several punches, not minding how bad it was going to hurt. I was going to heal in a matter of seconds after all.

The last time I had gotten this angry was a year ago, when I had been told my foster parents had died in a car accident. I didn’t cry, all I did was get angry, and deal the wall with blows. Now, it was because of Eliana.

Dammit! I shouldn’t have let her come too close. If she was capable of getting me this mad, it could only mean that she now had me wrapped around her little fingers. Not even Jenny could make me get so angry, and I had known her for so many years. What was so special about Eliana that I could get this mad because of her? Why did my heart beat so fast anytime I saw her face? Why did my heart ache this much because she hadn’t been completely honest with me? Why was I so angry because she was with another man?

No one had the right to make me feel so angry, no one did. I just really loved her so much, and I didn’t even know why. Even as I angrily punched the wall, I still had a soft spot for her. I loved her, but she was breaking my heart into many different pieces without even knowing. Just as she made me so angry right now without knowing, she had also made me so happy a lot of times, unknowingly.

That was when a thought crossed my mind. Perhaps, she had hidden the truth for my sake, because she didn’t want me to start feeling weird if I saw both of them together. Slowly, my heart stopped pounding angrily so much, and I gradually stopped feeling angry.

Eliana would never do a thing to hurt me. I could sense how she felt, and I knew all she did was for a good reason. She wasn’t completely honest, not because she had something to hide, but because she was trying to avoid something like what I was doing right now. However, why did she have to choose him over me all the time? I had done wrong. I should have confided in her first that I didn’t like what was going on, and should have listened to her explanation, instead of discussing it with a third party, and getting angry in this manner.

I stood in front of the broken wall, calculating the expenses at which I would use to fix it, all because I had been immature, and had let my anger get the best of me.

When Jenny had said that a problem shared was half-solved, she had misled me terribly. To me, it made matters even worse, and I couldn’t help but think about all the bad things that could have happened if I had continued boiling with anger. I’d have probably called Eliana on the phone, and warned her sternly against speaking to me again.

Anger was the most terrible emotion anyone could possibly feel, and in a split second, someone could do things that should not be done, or say things that should not be said, and end up ruining everything. Everything one has worked for could be destroyed in minutes, just because of anger.

I went back to my seat, and took out my phone. My wallpaper was one of the pictures Garrett had taken Eliana and myself on the day we had all hung out at the beach. I touched her cheeks, like I was touching then physically, and slowly, I began to feel lighter, as a smile crept up to my face.

Now, I’d always look at her picture anytime I was on the verge of exploding due to my anger. It didn’t matter who or who wasn’t her first love, what mattered was the fact that she was with me now, and if there was something I felt bothered about, I was going to talk it out with her henceforth. Nothing was ever going to tear myself apart from Eliana. Absolutely nothing.