Call of the Alpha - Part 1(12)
She watched him, her eyes widening at the sight. He was hovering over the food and wolfing it down like some savage animal. He had not noticed her yet, seemingly lost in a daze, his eyes furrowed and intensely focused. He ate one of the burgers in three huge bites, barely taking the time to chew before he swallowed it down.
He then went to the bacon, grabbing it up and bringing it to his face. When he did this, he saw Jessica standing there and suddenly stopped. He went as still as a statue and almost glared at her for a moment, before lowering his eyes and looking away. There had been a ferocity in his stare, but now all he looked was shameful. Fear leaving her in that moment, Jessica immediately wanted to comfort the man, but didn’t know what he’d do if she approached him. She should just leave the room, she realized belatedly, but her legs wouldn’t respond to the thought and she was stuck there, standing in the doorway staring at the man who was now trying to back away from the mess in on the kitchen floor.
They stared at one another like that, the silence extending for five seconds. The house was deathly quiet…so quiet that Jessica could hear the hum of the refrigerator, its door still open and spilling its meager light across the floor.
The man then dropped the package of bacon he was still holding to the floor and slowly shook his head back and forth. When he looked back to Jessica, the glare was gone from his eyes, as was the ferocious quality she had seen there. Now, he looked like a confused man who had been caught doing something almost unspeakable.
“Oh, my God,” he said softly. He then scrambled back, falling onto his knees and scooting to the fridge. “Can you…please…look away. Let me clean this up and then I’ll…I’ll leave. I’m so sorry.”
He’s embarrassed, Jessica thought. And then on the heels of that, there was another thought. And I’m just standing here staring at him, making it worse.
“Let me help you,” she said in a soft voice.
He shook his head at her but as she walked across the kitchen floor, careful to step around his mess, he didn’t try to back away or argue with her. He was beyond embarrassed, she saw. He was appalled at what he had been doing and seemed to be a totally different person than the one she had walked in on.
“It’s okay,” she said. She then extended her hand to him. “Come on. I can help you. Just take my hand and let’s go back to the bedroom and make sure you’re rested up. I’ll get you some water and make you something to eat and—”
“The bathroom,” he said, getting shakily to his feet.
He got up and blazed past her, making a jump over the mess in the floor. She watched him go and was suddenly struck by a strong urge to protect him, stronger than she’d felt since she’d brought him into her home. There was something wrong with him and he was simply hurt and confused. Being hit by a car while being chased by something in the woods certainly hadn’t helped, either, she supposed.
But what about the rapidly healing wounds?
The question would not go away. And suddenly, it annoyed her. She had excused her negligence of not contacting the hospital because of his ability to heal at a rapid speed. So why not get to the bottom of that and then get him to a hospital to get the proper care that he needed?
With that logic set firmly in place, she turned on the living room light and headed down the hallway. She saw that he had left the bathroom door open. When she came to it, she looked in and saw him standing in front of the sink, splashing water into his face. He looked at her in the mirror and gave her a frown.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said, the shame thick in his voice.
“It’s okay. But please…let me help you.”
“You already have. Now I’m going to go. I just need…I don’t know.”
She stepped into the bathroom and placed her hand on his forehead. As she had expected, he was still burning up with fever. She did not comment on this, though. Instead, she stepped back and nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “Is there anyone I can call for you?”
“No.”
“Can I give you a ride somewhere?”
He seemed to think about this for a while and then shook his head. “No, thank you. I’ve already put you through enough.”
She wanted to argue this, but she let it rest. She simply nodded and stared back at him in the mirror. Her heart broke a bit in that moment, seeing him so confused. “Take your time and let me know if you need anything,” she said.
She then took her exit, closing the bathroom door behind her and heading down the hall as quickly as she could without making any noise. She went to the end table by the couch and picked up her cellphone. She took a deep breath and looked back into the kitchen where the mess remained on the floor. It had been like watching an animal scavenge for food, seeing him like that. The memory of it made it that much easier to make the call.
She pulled up the number for the hospital and pressed SEND. The phone rang twice before Nancy at the reception desk picked up. Her voice was familiar but it did nothing to east Jessica’s mind.
“You’ve reached Greenview General,” Nancy said cheerfully. “How can I direct your call?”
“Nancy, this is—”
That’s all she got out before a warm hand fell on her shoulder. Before she had time to scream out in surprise, she was being turned around, the phone taken gently from her hand. When she was fully turned, she saw the man standing there, his face still wet from the bathroom. His eyes were filled with fear and shame, still stinging from that act he had been caught in while in the kitchen.