by Roxie Spears
She was way too caught up in her own thoughts when Gerald walked in. She had to do a double take, and when she was sure it was him and not some other broad shouldered man, Beth looked away.
“Oh, so you’re just gonna pretend you don’t know me now?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her. He slumped down at the nearest table, staring at her with a glimmer in his eyes. Beth shook her head in protest and got up, weaving her way between tables, attending to other customers. If anything, she wasn’t going to let him get his way.
She could still feel his eyes on her as she roamed around the place. His presence was distracting, to say the least. Customers were thinning out, and she really had no one to attend to. Instead she just went around wiping crumbs off the tables, making sure they were extra clean.
“So you’re just gonna pretend like I’m not there?” he asked as she passed by holding a tray.
Beth paused and turned her body towards him.
“Here, let me help,” he said, bouncing to his feet and grabbing a snatching a couple of glasses off the tray.
“Hey, you can’t do that,” Beth whispered, her eyes boring into his.
Gerald led the way into the kitchen.
“Hey, stop. If Billy catches you in here he’s gonna kill me!” she muttered, chasing after him. The two of them faced each other as the sound of running water drowned out all conversation. Beth shifted uncomfortably in her place, her fingers clasped behind her back. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Listen, I’m sorry I snapped at you yesterday,” he said, stepping a bit closer. Beth turned away and sighed, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. It was true, she thought, that Gerald owed her nothing. He didn’t owe her the truth, whatever that was.
Whatever that was, she thought to herself, over and over again. He was just standing there, staring at her, waiting. Waiting.
“Do you believe in werewolves?” she blurted out. It almost felt like time had stood still when she said that. Just like the other day Gerald grew tense. His shoulders slumped forward and he let out a long, frustrated sigh. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes; they glazed over and rolled back a little bit.
“You’re not supposed to ask me this, we’re not supposed to be talking about it,” he said after a long stretch of silence. Beth felt something move inside her, a great light telling her she was right all along. She knew she wasn’t imagining things, she knew she was sane. If anything, she was angry she even doubted herself at all.
“So I was right!” she said, pointing her finger at him. Gerald shook his head from side to side, like he was in denial. A grunt clawed its way out of his throat. Beth realized he was annoyed, so she stumbled back a few steps, shrinking away with childlike shame. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to upset you. It just… it’s just that you made it seem like I was crazy.”
“That’s because you are. You do realize-” He gently grabbed her hand and pulled her aside. They were standing by the refrigerator door now. “You do realize that it’s dangerous, right?”
“What’s dangerous?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowed. “You haven’t even told me anything.”
“And I’m not going to,” he said, staring at her through heavy hooded eyes. “It’s not safe for you, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Please, I want to know. I’m dying to. I just can’t stand not knowing things.” Beth realized she was acting like a curious child, but she couldn’t help it. “I want to know your truth.” Outside the customers seemed to be pouring in again. She just couldn’t catch a break. Soon they would be looking for her, but now wasn’t the right time.
“There are werewolves.” The words escaped Gerald’s lips like a poison. “But they’re not in this city. They conquered Quafin.”
“Quafin?” Beth asked, her forehead wrinkled.
“Quafin is a hidden city, no one really knows about it.”
“Is it one of those tiny villages in the north?”
“I guess you can say that. No one outside Quafin knows that it used to be ruled by a family of werewolves.”
“Used to?”
Gerald paused and let out a throaty groan. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and sat down on an icebox. His hands were clenched in his lap now, fingernails digging into the thick fabric of his pants. “That was until the dragon shifters broke our truce.”
“Woah, woah. Hold up,” Beth said, her eyes growing wider than he’d ever seen them. There was a disturbing glimmer there, a curious one. One that Gerald couldn’t handle at this time and place.
“You know what, we can talk about this another time,” he said, jumping to his feet. “For now, I gotta go home and get some rest.”
“Is this conversation exhausting you?” she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.
“Hey, this isn’t a laughing matter,” Gerald said, his nostrils suddenly flared.
“Right, sorry. I’m just having a hard time believing it all.” She paused for a moment, scanning her surroundings. She needed to make sure no one was there, specifically her hardass boss. “When can I meet you?”
“Come to my apartment at your soonest convenience,” he said, walking away from her. He burst through the plastic drapes and disappeared. Beth lingered behind him, only to realize he was already gone. The adrenaline pumped through her veins. She hadn’t heard news this exciting since city hall caught fire a few years ago. West Haven was a peaceful town, its people neutral and kind, and nothing like those sailors in the movies. Gerald wasn’t your typical dock worker. Apparently, he wasn’t even human.
Beth froze for a while. She couldn’t work or wait tables; she couldn’t do anything.
“So, was that the guy?” Lenny seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. His fat lips were slightly parted, chapped like they always were.
Beth nodded slowly. “Think I can get off work early today?” she asked, staring in a vague direction. Her fascination grew with every passing second.
* * *
She left with the sunset.
Beth raced up the stairs to Gerald’s apartment, eventually arriving at his door and just standing there. For some reason she felt like she needed to collect herself.
Suddenly the door opened, and he was there. “I knew you’d come,” he said, almost reluctantly.
“I know you think I’m just curious, like I’m just chasing you for the thrill of it. But it’s more than just that-”
“You don’t need to justify yourself. You don’t need to feign a genuine interest in my life.”
Beth pursed her lips. Gerald was obviously hard to tap into, so she kept her quiet.
“Come on in.”
She rolled past him, taking in the familiar surroundings, not feeling half as alien as last time. “Listen, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
“But I want to,” he confessed. “I just… don’t know where to start.”
“Start from your childhood.” She paused and let out an airy snicker. “Cliché thing to say, I know.”
“You know what, that’s not a bad idea,” Gerald got up and started pacing the tiny sitting room. “I’ve lived in Quafin my whole life. I was surrounded by family who loved me. Little by little I began to notice; I was different. My arms were pretty hairy for a six year old,” he marveled.
Beth inched forward in her seat.
“And then I had the talk with my parents. They told me I wasn’t like the other kids, and that they weren’t like our neighbors, the Simmons. I realized my truth, that I was a werewolf. They also told me about them.”
“Them?”
“The Makinens, the dragon shifters.”
“Are they the enemy?”
“More than that. They’re vile, they want us dead. They-” He cracked his knuckles and clasped his fingers at his lips. “For the longest time, we had a truce with them. We ruled Quafin together. There were problems, true, but we coexisted. We lived.”
“And then what happened?”
“Kris
toff Makinen. He’s power hungry. He wanted to drive us out.”
“And was he able to?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” he flashed her a smirk. “At first it felt like exile; I was depressed for months. I got a shitty job and rented out this shitty apartment,” he gestured around the place. “But then I grew an appreciation for the place and its people.”
“Really? You like the people?” Beth asked, surprised.
“They’re peaceful, that’s all I’m gonna say.”
“And Quafin… what happened to it when the dragon shifters took over?”
“Complete chaos. The city was in shambles when I left it. You know I keep having recurring nightmares about people dying, forests on fire, children.”
“Children?”
“A lot of children died. They didn’t care. They wreaked havoc on the whole city. Terrorists.”
Gerald’s eyes were swelling up with tears. He shook his head in absolute dismay, trying hard not to look at Beth. She, too, was getting emotional. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that,” she said, feeling a sudden urge to wrap her arms around Gerald. Even though the average person would’ve scorned such a story, labeled it as a faulty account by a lunatic, Beth believed him. Every word, it made sense somehow; it felt real. She didn’t move, though, but preferred to watch Gerald lose his mind from a distance. She wasn’t in a place in life to accommodate, to encompass a person whose world was falling apart.
“Funny how we never see this shit in the news.”
“It was on local channels everywhere, but that’s about it. The world doesn’t know, they can never know.” He paced around a bit more, then collapsed on the couch cushion next to her. “Beth, you can never talk to anyone about this. For your own safety, do not bring this up with anyone.”
And there it came, the thrill factor. A part of her felt special because she knew something no one else did. Her lips twitched, but she didn’t smile. There was nothing slightly amusing about this. No one had ever trusted her with such a secret, and then began to wonder if Gerald was just playing her. In the past she had met a man who managed to convince her he was a world-class athlete, and even though those two revelations couldn’t compare in severity, Beth couldn’t help but question everything. Perhaps Gerald was the madman trying to impress her, and maybe she was stupid to fall for it.
“Well, do you have any siblings?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I have three brothers and a sister, Krystal. She died around two years ago,” he said with an apparent detachment. He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back the tears. “Anyway, my brothers and I are all separated now. We can’t risk being in the same place together, it’s too dangerous.”
“I understand,” Beth nodded, not knowing what else to say. She was at a loss for words; no longer was she curious, just concerned, like a friend. The silence lingered in the air like poison.
“You don’t have to feel sorry for us, you know.”
“I don’t, I don’t feel sorry for anyone,” she shook her head frantically. “I might not know the right words to say, but I believe you. I believe every single word,” said despite everything.
“I never really thought of it that way,” he murmured, rather to himself. “Anyone else would’ve probably thought I was a lunatic.”
“Sort of,” she smirked, slowly rising to her feet. “Thank you, Gerald, for trusting me.”
“People like you, Beth, they’re like a safe haven. It’s like I’m living in a whole new world, away from all of this,” he curled his fingers and gestured with his hand. Beth’s lips came to a smile. She then headed for the door.
“Are you happy?”
“I am, but I’m missing my family. I’m missing every single one of them. And Krystal, she’s the one I miss most.”
Beth drew in closer. Suddenly the urge to wrap her arms around him felt right, so she did it. Gerald was warm and receptive. He didn’t hug her back at first, but then he gave into this seemingly sudden urge for affection; to be held. He rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes, mumbling things that were incomprehensible. Beth then pulled away and smiled at him.
“You never paid for that coffee, by the way,” she said with a glimmer in her eyes.
Gerald immediately dug his hand into his pocket, attempting to pull out some change.
“I’m kidding,” she said, holding onto his hand. She then stepped out into the hall, a grin plastered to her face still. “It’s on the house.”
Chapter 6
Gerald lay in bed, arms crossed under his head. He breathed slowly, drifting in and out of sleep. Today had been a long day, full of undeniable waves of emotion. Everything felt overwhelming; he hadn’t opened up to someone like that in a long time. That conversation with Beth got him thinking about all sorts of things, from his life in Quafin, to living in exile, to Krystal. He realized he hadn’t cried about her in a while, and he still didn’t. It almost felt like his tears had been used up, or worse, gone completely dry.
Gerald’s long persisting insomnia continued. He often stayed up for countless hours, his head racing with a million thoughts. But the dock revived him. The smell of the lake made him feel whole again, like he had a purpose, a simple one. Life in West Haven was much easier than he thought, save for the constant financial burden. He refused to ask his father for money because for the first time, he was independent. He yearned for the sound of seagulls, but they only came out in the early morning, causing him to twitch awake.
When they woke him up, he cursed them. But when he walked along the coastline, he couldn’t help but fall in love with their great white wings and squawking that reminded him of the ocean. He turned his eyes to the window. As always it was raining outside; that subtle nighttime dew. Come to think of it, Gerald had grown to love everything about West Haven, save for the homesickness that he felt in his heart.
As he thought about his conversation with Beth, his phone rang, its rhythmic pulsing causing him to jump. He picked up his phone and saw Logan’s name flash across his screen. He got excited.
“Hello?” he said, pressing the phone to his ear.
“Hey,” Logan’s voice came through, deep and gentle. Gerald rose up on his elbows, feeling refreshed all of a sudden. He had missed his family, especially his brothers, more than anything. This past year had been a whirlwind, but in the midst of it all hearing Logan’s voice was a grand consolation.
“How’ve you been?”
“Been better,” Gerald said, his lips barely moving. “Haven’t really been getting much sleep.”
“Oh, I feel you. I’ve missed you, bro.”
“I’ve missed you, too. How’s Emilie?”
“Same old, same old. Been stressed out at work, that’s all.”
“How does it feel to finally be a married man?”
Logan snickered. “Feels weird, never thought it would happen.” He took a pause, as if marveling at something. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Gerald never wanted to get married. He had liked to think of himself as a free bird, not belonging to anyone or anything. Or any place. Logan, too, was that man, but everything changed when he met this woman. Gerald wondered if the same would ever happen to him, but he scorned the thought. He had never been in a proper relationship. The only company that he could properly tolerate was his own. Other than that, he couldn’t even begin to imagine living in a house with a white picket fence. He couldn’t imagine having kids or changing diapers or driving them to school. When Logan came out with the big announcement that he was getting married, it was a shock to everyone. But he was happy for him, nonetheless.
“Never thought I’d miss out on my own brother’s wedding,” he said remorsefully.
“Never thought none of my brothers would show up to my wedding day, but it had to happen,” Logan replied with some remorse. “We’ve always lived in the same place… that mansion saw a lot from us.”
“Plenty,” Gerald mused. “We grew up ther
e. Remember when we were kids and we used to run around-”
“Run up and down the stairs…”
“Drive mom and dad crazy. Have you been calling them?”
“Whenever I get the chance. I’m pretty lonely, not gonna lie.”
“Got any company?” Logan asked, rather suggestively.
“Nah, haven’t really felt like it.” Gerald smacked his lips and smiled to himself. “Well, there is this one girl. Oh, you know what, never mind.”
“What? Come on, you can’t just leave me hanging like that, man.”
“She’s, she’s nice,” Gerald said with pursed lips.
“She has to be more than just nice,” Logan said slyly.
“Nah, she’s just nice,” Gerald said his closing remarks, trying hard to suppress a smile. “She’s curious, a curious human being.”
“About you? Wait, don’t tell me she knows.”
“Knows what?”
“About us. Gerald, no one outside Quafin can know-”
“Hey, I’m not stupid,” he said, jumping to the defense. He felt uncomfortable all of a sudden, like he wanted to hang up. If anything this was all Beth’s fault; why did she have to be so smart and pick up on such miniscule things, like fangs on a human?
“Well, anyway,” Gerald murmured. “Think I better go now. I’ve been awake in bed for hours and I can finally feel my brain shutting off.”
“Did my sweet voice soothe you like a lullaby?”
“Pretty much,” Gerald said.
The two hung up, and he couldn’t stop thinking. He was nowhere near ready to go to bed. He hadn’t felt guiltier about anything in the world. Beth knowing was a recipe for disaster, but could she ever be an ally? Emilie is, and she’s human, he thought to himself. But she’s Logan’s wife, that’s different, another voice in his head rebuked.
Well, what about Caroline? She’s a witch!
But she was Krystal’s friend, you idiot. She took her in when nobody else would. She knew Hans, she cared for them both.
