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Chapter Two
Pressure Cooker
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Curiosity killed the cat
That was such a bullshit saying. Especially seeing that Kalevi, as the cat, knew damn well to keep his nose out of other people’s business. If only the rest of the world would grant him the same favour.
‘Are you can sure take the shift, Kalevi? You’ve been working a lot lately…’
He was sure Dave was just trying to be friendly. Maybe. Unfortunately, Kalevi was too sleep deprived to care. He fought down the cattish urge to hiss and gave a curt nod instead. ‘Yeah, I’m sure.’
‘Really? I can get Tanish to cover. He’s been asking for more Wednesdays…’
‘I can take the shift, Dave. Really.’ It took an alarming amount of control not to snap. He struggled not to shift on the spot as Dave traced him up and down, taking in his pouchy eyes, lined face, and stiff posture.
Tanish was a good worker, but he had a nasty habit of agreeing to shifts and then not turning up. His manager really seemed to be struggling with an internal battle. Kick Kalevi out for him showing up looking like a zombie and assign the guy who may not come or use Kalevi for the shift and risk him keeling over.
‘Alright. Just, do me a favour and try and get some rest, will you?’ Geez, he sounded genuinely concerned. Dave was a decent manager. Stingy, touché about any lost cents at the till but a good guy overall. He even paid for Meredith’s cold and flu tablets that week she was sick.
‘Thanks. I will,’ Kalevi lied. As soon as he got off work here at the warehouse, he was going to catch the bus to his job washing dishes for the Chinese restaurant he worked at. The pay was garbage, but they sometimes let him take the leftover food. Eli loved fried rice. Every little bit helped. Dave clapped him on the shoulder and jotted Kalevi’s name on the roster for Wednesday. At least he could pay the electric bill now. Good. He headed to the lockers to get his things.
‘Hey, we’re going to see the big game on the weekend. Have a couple of beers, hang out, you should join us.’ Cory, another decent guy though he didn’t have as much between the ears. Why couldn’t people just leave Kalevi alone? It’s not as if he put out the friendliest of vibes.
‘Sorry, I’m working,’ he grunted.
‘Come on Kal, you’re always working. You got to live once in a while.’ He had to make sure his brother made it into a warm bed with a full stomach every night. That’s what he needed to do. He didn’t even have the energy to pretend he was interested.
‘Yeah. I know. Big bills coming up, you know.’
‘Hey, I hear you man. Just found out my youngest needs braces. Shit’s expensive. If you ever need any help…?’ He let the sentence dangle.
Kalevi would rather eat his own tail. He was done accepting help from the rest of the world. ‘Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,’ he said coldly.
‘Hey, ah… are you feeling okay? Your eyes are a little…’ Cory squinted at him. Shit. Kalevi quickly looked away, grabbing his head as he wrestled for control.
‘Just a bit tired.’ When he turned back around, he nearly held his breath, but Cory glanced at his eyes again and seemed to decide that he had imagined whatever had been there moments ago.
‘Rest up. See you tomorrow.’
‘Yeah.’
It had been years since Kalevi had lost control like that. He needed to be more careful. He knew he was stretched thin, tired, and not so alert. He couldn’t afford to go cat in the middle of his workplace. That would be messy, very messy. He didn’t need the shifter elders to come poking around. Kalevi was done with shifter society.
… which was why he was doubly unimpressed to find one waiting for him at his house at eleven that night.
The man was dressed neatly in dark clothes. He was unobtrusively handsome with dark hair and almost grey eyes. Even before Kalevi made up the short walkway, he knew the man was a shifter. He was just glad Eli was staying with friends tonight. He didn’t know why this man was here, but Kalevi was about to make him leave.
‘Kalevi Nikola?’
‘Who wants to know?’
‘My name is Ben Fletcher.’
‘What do you want Ben Fletcher?’ Every aspect from his tone to his posture told the other shifter that Kalevi very much wasn’t happy about the visit.
‘I know it’s late, but you are a difficult man to get ahold of and-’
‘What do you want?’ Kalevi said again, his voice flat and arctic. If the man was offended, he didn’t show it. In fact, his expression remained politely calm. His lack of reaction only made Kalevi feel more prickly. He wanted a reason to get rid of this man as soon as possible. Ben probably knew that.
‘I am here on behalf of the shifter elders. This is a wellness check.’
‘A wellness check?’ Kal growled. ‘At midnight?’
‘Yes, well, we tried to call. Many times. Apparently, you changed your number.’
‘Probably did,’ Kalevi snapped.
Again, Ben seemed unbothered by his open aggression. ‘Kalevi, it was either this or turning up at your place of work and I had a strong suspicion that would not have been your preferred choice.’
‘It is not my choice to have you here at all. I have nothing to do with the shifter elders, nor do I want to. We’re fine. The bills are paid, Eli is in school.’
‘Can we talk inside?’ Ben asked softly. The night was unpleasantly windy, but Kalevi would rather go back to eating rats than invite an unknown shifter into his crappy house.
‘No.’
The other man sighed, his soft grey eyes closing for a moment. ‘I need to deliver my report. I want to tell them everything is well with you, but I need to be sure-’
‘You can tell them whatever the fuck you want. We don’t care,’ Kalevi said, cutting across him.
‘And where is your brother right now? Is he home?’ Ben asked. Kalevi bristled. He knew without Ben saying anything that he had lost control for a moment because the dark corners of the world brightened. For a split second, the cat had clawed to the surface, angry and hissing.
‘He’s allowed to stay with friends,’ Kalevi growled.
‘It’s a school night,’ Ben pointed out.
‘He gets good grades. I’m not going to punish him by preventing him from seeing his friends.’
‘Can you tell me the name of which friend he’s with?’ Ben asked politely. Son of-
‘I have a better idea. Why don’t you leave my brother the fuck alone? You people didn’t give a shit about us for years! The elders did jack shit when my good ol’ dad beat the fuck out pf my spineless mother every single fucking night for twelve years, why do you care now!?’ A light fluttered on in one of the neighbouring houses and Kalevi’s jaw snapped shut. He did not like the idea of others overhearing this conversation.
‘Please, Kal, let’s talk inside.’
‘Don’t call me that! Only my friends call me Kal,’ Kalevi snarled.
Ben nodded patiently. ‘Can you give me the names of a few of your friends, Kalevi?’ Kalevi was starting to lose whatever control he still had. He was tired, sweaty, and aching all over and he just wanted to go to bed. He also wanted this asshole to back off and leave them alone.
‘What is this?’ Kalevi hissed. ‘Has there been a complaint or something?’
‘No.’
‘Then why else would you be here?!’
‘We’re worried about you. Kalevi, the elders never knew how bad things got between your parents.’
‘Bullshit! The whole goddamn neighbourhood knew! They just didn’t want to get involved. No one wanted to get involved. They get to swoop in now and play parent. Not when I spent seventeen fucking years picking up my ma’s teeth from the kitchen floor.’
He was shaking where he stood, every bitter thought and angry word desperate to escape him. He’d never met this man before but it hardly mattered. He wanted an out for his anger and this shifter had turned up at the wrong time. His nails itched to become claws.
‘Your eyes are changing colour.’ Kalevi turned away and glared at the door, willing his pounding heart to slow down. Gods he was too tired for this!
‘Do you always have this much trouble with your shift?’
‘No. I’ve just finished a double and you’re stopping me from getting to bed. We’re done here.’ He went to put his key in the lock when a warm hand closed over his arm. He jerked back violently.
‘Don’t touch me!’
‘I’m sorry Kalevi, but this is serious. Just how many hours are you working right now?’
‘Bills are expensive.’
‘That’s not much of an answer.’
Kalevi whirled around, his keys clenched so tightly in his fist, the metal was cutting into his palm. ‘What do you want me to say?’
‘I want you to admit that you need help. We can help you and your brother.’
‘We don’t want your help. Not from shifters. Not ever again.’ There was an expression on Ben’s face. Kalevi wasn’t sure if it was pity or worry or confusion, but he didn’t care. He just wanted this hellscape of a night to be over. He shook his head.
‘You stay away from my brother. We’re done here.’
Ben sighed. ‘We aren’t. If you slip up, expose who you are to a human, you know the consequences. Please, Kalevi. I know the elders failed your family but that doesn’t mean we have to fail you now. We can assign a shifter to help you learn control.’
‘You mean you’ll send someone to babysit me.’ At best.
‘You’re tired Kal. You’re tired and run down and losing control over your shifts. Do you honestly like feeling this out of control?’
Kalevi shook his head. His scalp was prickling. It felt like thousands of ants were crawling along his skin. His clothes felt heavy, and the noise of the street seemed ten times louder. He needed to shift, needed to get away from all of this.
‘You have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Kalevi hissed. He couldn’t take much more of this. ‘I did everything right! I paid the bills, I kept Eli in school, the elders have no right to interfere.’
‘What about what you want? Doesn’t that matter?’ Ben asked softly.
‘What I want is for Eli to be safe and to never have to deal with shifters again.’
‘And that’s what he wants?’
Kalevi threw his hands up in frustration. ‘He’s still a kid! He doesn’t know what he wants.’
‘You’re not much older than a kid yourself.’ To his alarm, Ben took a step forward. Kalevi retreated, his back pressing up against the peeling front door. His brain seemed to fizzle, caught between flight, fight, or freeze. When the warm hand finally touched his skin, it was scorching in comparison to the icy wind.
‘You don’t know me. You have no reason to trust me, to trust any shifter after what you’ve been through. I understand that. I’m still going to try to help you, even if you don’t want it. We’ll talk again soon, when you’ve gotten some sleep and had some time to think about it. Here’s my card.’ Kalevi was numb with shock as a card was pressed into his hand. The next thing he knew, he was all alone outside his house, Ben Fletcher disappearing into the night. What the fuck was that?!
He charged inside, his skin still burning where the man had touched him. Kalevi dove for the shower, shedding clothes violently as he went. The water came out lukewarm and weak, but he didn’t care. He wanted the feel of that touch off him. He scrubbed until he felt raw before trudging to his room. He didn’t remember when he decided to shift but it was a small black cat that leapt up onto the mattress and curled up under the blankets.
He shivered, his body thin and cold. What did he want? When the fuck had that ever mattered? Ben Fletcher was wrong. He didn’t need help. He needed sleep and to stick to his plan. That was all.
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END
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