Page 44 of Falling for the Beast

“I’m sorry.” What else could he say? This was proof that he couldn’t lead a normal life. The reason he needed to stop all contact with Aribelle. Stop torturing himself.

“I know.” Her gaze fell to the floor. “It’s just…I had no way to contact you. To know you were all right. If I could have your cell number…?”

That’s all she wanted? His phone number? “Of course.” And then the embarrassing truth. “I had to order a new one. It should be here Monday.”

“What happened to your old one?”

“It broke. I…smashed it. Well, threw it, really.” Smooth.

“Why?”

“I’d rather not say.”

A small smile played on her lips. “I see.”

“Let me see your phone. I’ll put my number in.” He held out his hand.

She reached into her pocket and pulled it out, then unlocked it. “Here.”

He added himself as a contact. “There. Now once my new phone gets here, we’ll be set.” He handed it back to her.

“Are you…uh…” Her weight shifted. “Going out tonight?”

“No.” At least, not in the way she meant it.

She smiled. “Okay, then. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night.” He let her go into her bedroom before slipping down the hall to his office. He closed the door as softly as he could, then turned on his computer. He opened a browser and searched for ‘How to move a jigsaw puzzle.’

He researched several different ways and decided to use a piece of flat cardboard to slide the puzzle onto felt, and then roll it up carefully around a tube. He searched the house and found a nice, large piece of flat cardboard, but no felt, and the tube he thought he had wasn’t anywhere. He must have thrown it away.

After searching the basement, he found an old advent calendar made from felt that looked to be big enough if he used the back side. And for the tube, he decided to roll up a thin rubber mat his father had been using at the back door. That would have to do.

He went to his bedroom, put everything in a backpack, and waited until one o’clock. He listened to make sure Aribelle was breathing evenly. Then he crept downstairs and grabbed her keys from her purse hanging by the front door.

The night air was colder than he’d expected. November was here in full force. He swung his leg over his motorcycle and started the engine. Speeding down the driveway, he felt exhilarated. It wasn’t only the speed. He couldn’t wait to surprise Aribelle.

He pulled up to her apartment and carefully listened for anything out of the ordinary. The world was silent, except for the occasional car or the sound of people sleeping. He let himself in. Everything looked to be the same as the last time he’d been there.

Sliding the puzzle onto the cardboard turned out to be a bit more difficult than he’d thought. The pieces kept buckling as they went over the small lip. But that was the hardest part. He laid out the felt and slid the puzzle onto it. Then he rolled it around the tube he’d fashioned from the mat. After it was all rolled up, he used rubber bands to hold the thing together. He slid the tube into his backpack. The rest of the pieces he slid into the box and packed them as well.

When he was done, he slipped the backpack on. He’d done it. He figured he’d sneak back into his house and set the puzzle up on the dining room table. There would be plenty of room for it, and still room to eat as well. He thought about Aribelle’s face when she woke up and saw the puzzle. She’d be thrilled.

He closed her apartment door and stuck the key in to lock it. A blinding pain smashed through his skull and he fell to the concrete walkway. Gavin stood over him, a metal pipe in his hands. “I knew you’d come back around, freak.”

He ground his teeth, fighting against the anger. He didn’t need to give Gavin any more fuel. He’d already shown him his strength and healing powers. If Gavin saw him turn into what he really was, he’d have the whole town coming after him.

“You don’t want to do this, man,” he said, hoping to talk him down.

“Do what? Kill a demon? Or whatever you are?” Gavin kicked him in the ribs before he had a chance to react. Thanks to his super hearing, he could hear one of his ribs crack. “Yes, I think I do. And then, I’ll do what I want with Aribelle.”

Thaddeus felt his teeth grow and sharpen, despite using all his willpower to hold it off. “Stop!” he yelled, but it came out as a roar instead. His back muscles bulged, and the straps to the backpack cut into his skin.

Gavin’s face was screwed up in horror. “What are you? Some kind of beast? You’re disgusting!”

Thaddeus raised his hands as Gavin tried to hit him with the pipe. He caught the pipe mid-swing and tore it out of Gavin’s hands. With one leap he was on his feet, now towering over Gavin. His fingernails grew into claws. He let out a growl and bent the pipe in half.

Gavin’s face turned white and he screamed. He ducked behind one of the wooden poles holding up the overhang.

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