Theodore I groan as I open my eyes at the sunbeams falling in through the window, waking me up in the most ungently way. “Fuck,” I rasp out, my throat feeling like I have screamed at the top of my lungs all night. Halting in my movements, I jerk up, a flashback of how Helades slams into me flickering in front of my eyes shortly.Did I meet him? I scratch my head, thinking that it must be a strange fantasy of mine as I don’t remember much from the moment I started drinking with Dimitrios. This obsession is getting ridiculous even for me. It’s all fuzzy, a white noise static footage replacing the images from my party night. Passing my hand over my neck, I try to get rid of the goosebumps my shivers are triggering, my heart skyrocketing. I halt as I feel strangely uneven bumps on the side of my throat, and I jerk up, sitting up in my bed. “Argh.” A stinging pain jolts through me, and I lay on my side as my eyes widen. Fantasy my ass. Literally. What the hell happened last nigh
Theodore “Where the hell have you been all this time? Why didn’t you take any calls?” my mother’s voice blares out of the phone, forcing me to hold it away from my ear to save my ability to hear. Leaning back on the couch, I close my eyes, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “I was working, Mom.” She tsks disparagingly, making my blood boil. “As if… You know that Fredrik finds the time to call me every day and his beautiful fiancée brings me flowers every week. Aren’t they lovely?” “Precious, Mom. And here I was, thinking they would be too busy with the planning of their wedding in Italy.” I sigh frustrated, while she gasps. “If you would take life a little bit more seriously just as your brother does, you would do a lot better.”I roll my eyes, swallowing a sarcastic comment that is about to bubble out of my throat. My brother is a successful lawyer, as successful as you could be in a small town like ours, and he is soon-to-be-married to his university sweetheart, who
Theodore Where are you? Helades’ angry text is still dancing on my screen as I walk down the dark hallway to barge into his office. “Here I am!” I announce myself in a sing-song voice and he looks up for only a second only to flash me a disgusted expression. “Forgot how to take a call?” I shake my head, grinning. “Nope. Just thought that you didn’t want to hear my voice but wanted me here.” “Wow, so you are actually able to think. This is astonishing,” he scoffs, redirecting his attention to his papers. Stepping further into the room, I chuckle and refrain from retorting something. As I study his face, I notice that his skin doesn’t look as pale as it was in the last few days. He seems a lot healthier if I think of it, and I guess that he is feeling better. Automatically, happiness streams through me and I must be lighting up, my smile brightening. “Why are you smiling like a moron?” His annoyed voice rumbles towards me but isn’t strong enough to make me lose my ha
Theodore “Oh, you here?” Gilda looks at me wide-eyed, turning around as she is biting into what seems to be a hotdog filled with everything possible. “Theo,” she squeals, holding her hand in front of her full mouth. “Hey!” I laugh, hopping to sit on her desk. “What are you doing here this late?” She rolls her eyes, munching to be able to speak properly. “Ugh, you know how the boss is.” “Uh-huh,” Grinning, I watch her mirror my smile as she wipes her lips from the greasy stuff. “Where did you get that? I could use something to eat now.” “There is a hot dog cart right outside the building. I guess that he has noticed that I love these things and am actually making him rich with all my cravings.” Shaking my head, I chuckle thinking how some people are just gifted as she must have the best genes possible. She flicks back her red-brown hair, flashing me her perfect pearly whites. “Do you want one? I can show you where he stands.” “I’d love this,” I answer happily, but I
Why can’t I move?! Ah, it must be one of those dreams again. Or what do they call it… Sleep paralysis. I groan, but the sound is only in my mind because, like the rest of my body, my throat isn‘t responding to the impulses coming from my brain. I fail to move again while my eyes are wide open, staring into the blackness of the room. The first subconscious impulse I feel is panic, which climbs along my legs, expanding into my stomach, but slowly, another feeling takes over, my heartbeat accelerating as a strange heat pushes the panic back. My dick hardens under the covers and I cuss myself out as it rubs against the bed sheets as it grows, making me feel like burning up. And I can’t even close my eyes. I just lay there staring into the darkness, concentrating on my breathing to calm down, like my doctor instructed me to, even if I don’t want to get out of it. Not yet. The reason for it finally moves out of the shadows, materializing in front of me. My
Theodore “Have you already looked into the newspaper today?” I close my eyes as I lock the water tank of my coffee machine in place. Sighing, I hold my phone to my other ear while my mother continues to lecture me about my laziness. As if I wouldn’t look for a job daily, and collect my regular humiliation between job interviews I fail and discussions with my bank. Fucking hell. I would love to hang up, but I have to endure her mobbing behavior as I need her monthly allowance to not have to sell my motorbike. And the job at my friend's bar only covers my daily portion of a can of ravioli. “Yes, Mom,” I say, but she just continues to speak, now talking about the neighbor’s boy who just started working at a hospital. The assholes always have it better. “Good for him, Mom,” I comment, pushing the button for my only luxury at the moment. “And Fredrik is getting married. In Italy!” she gushes and I take a deep breath, rubbing my eyes. “How lovely,” I groan, but she i
Theodore My heart beats into my throat as I have my stomach churning repeatedly. The petite woman at the reception glances over to me from time to time and I always manage to catch myself and flash her a smile. At least I hope so. And I hope I don’t look like a creep. A man in an elegant suit shows up, reaching me with a kind smile and I get up, shaking his hand. “Mr. Baxter, welcome to the Hel Company. We are pleased to have you here.” I just can’t wrap my mind around how fitting the company name is after what the regular customer told me. “Thank you for having me,” I answer, pulling at my tie to make sure it didn’t shift as I follow him.But how many times have I heard that sentence before, and how many times they were, indeed, not pleased to have me in their offices? I still wonder what gets them to invite me. At least, I know that in this case, it was a recommendation. He leads me into the meeting room, and I keep myself from staring in awe as I look around, admiring the
Theodore I lean with my teeth against my glass, my lips sucking at the droplets lingering around as Alex stands in front of me. “You are pulling my leg,” he says, crossing his arms. I point my finger at him, moving my thumb as if I was firing a gun. “No, it was the absolute worst,” I say with a sigh as I disconnect myself from the glass. He repositions on his feet, signaling one of his customers to wait for a second. “They knew who you were. They had your CV. I can’t believe the CEO didn’t look at it before he called you in. What a wanker!” “Total wanker!” I confirm, taking a big gulp from my beer, emptying it. “I need another one, Axshl.” He laughs, taking the glass from me. “You are so drunk, but after you told me, I can’t possibly tell you to slow down.” “Right! The hell you can!” I say, clicking my fingers. “I’m the greatest loser of them all!” Stumbling from my bar stool as he brings me my beer, I regain my balance with a little dance. A few drunkards left in the bar cl
Theodore “Oh, you here?” Gilda looks at me wide-eyed, turning around as she is biting into what seems to be a hotdog filled with everything possible. “Theo,” she squeals, holding her hand in front of her full mouth. “Hey!” I laugh, hopping to sit on her desk. “What are you doing here this late?” She rolls her eyes, munching to be able to speak properly. “Ugh, you know how the boss is.” “Uh-huh,” Grinning, I watch her mirror my smile as she wipes her lips from the greasy stuff. “Where did you get that? I could use something to eat now.” “There is a hot dog cart right outside the building. I guess that he has noticed that I love these things and am actually making him rich with all my cravings.” Shaking my head, I chuckle thinking how some people are just gifted as she must have the best genes possible. She flicks back her red-brown hair, flashing me her perfect pearly whites. “Do you want one? I can show you where he stands.” “I’d love this,” I answer happily, but I
Theodore Where are you? Helades’ angry text is still dancing on my screen as I walk down the dark hallway to barge into his office. “Here I am!” I announce myself in a sing-song voice and he looks up for only a second only to flash me a disgusted expression. “Forgot how to take a call?” I shake my head, grinning. “Nope. Just thought that you didn’t want to hear my voice but wanted me here.” “Wow, so you are actually able to think. This is astonishing,” he scoffs, redirecting his attention to his papers. Stepping further into the room, I chuckle and refrain from retorting something. As I study his face, I notice that his skin doesn’t look as pale as it was in the last few days. He seems a lot healthier if I think of it, and I guess that he is feeling better. Automatically, happiness streams through me and I must be lighting up, my smile brightening. “Why are you smiling like a moron?” His annoyed voice rumbles towards me but isn’t strong enough to make me lose my ha
Theodore “Where the hell have you been all this time? Why didn’t you take any calls?” my mother’s voice blares out of the phone, forcing me to hold it away from my ear to save my ability to hear. Leaning back on the couch, I close my eyes, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “I was working, Mom.” She tsks disparagingly, making my blood boil. “As if… You know that Fredrik finds the time to call me every day and his beautiful fiancée brings me flowers every week. Aren’t they lovely?” “Precious, Mom. And here I was, thinking they would be too busy with the planning of their wedding in Italy.” I sigh frustrated, while she gasps. “If you would take life a little bit more seriously just as your brother does, you would do a lot better.”I roll my eyes, swallowing a sarcastic comment that is about to bubble out of my throat. My brother is a successful lawyer, as successful as you could be in a small town like ours, and he is soon-to-be-married to his university sweetheart, who
Theodore I groan as I open my eyes at the sunbeams falling in through the window, waking me up in the most ungently way. “Fuck,” I rasp out, my throat feeling like I have screamed at the top of my lungs all night. Halting in my movements, I jerk up, a flashback of how Helades slams into me flickering in front of my eyes shortly.Did I meet him? I scratch my head, thinking that it must be a strange fantasy of mine as I don’t remember much from the moment I started drinking with Dimitrios. This obsession is getting ridiculous even for me. It’s all fuzzy, a white noise static footage replacing the images from my party night. Passing my hand over my neck, I try to get rid of the goosebumps my shivers are triggering, my heart skyrocketing. I halt as I feel strangely uneven bumps on the side of my throat, and I jerk up, sitting up in my bed. “Argh.” A stinging pain jolts through me, and I lay on my side as my eyes widen. Fantasy my ass. Literally. What the hell happened last nigh
Theodore “Listen, I really am not looking for trouble. I’ll leave right away. Promised.” I have repeated the same words three or four times already. Actually, it could be more but my tipsy and panicky state is making it hard to think clearly. But the bodyguard is ignoring me anyway, not even talking to me as he gestures for me to enter into a VIP room. I look into the dimly lit and elegant room confused before looking back up at him. As I was expecting him to throw me into some cold basement before beating me to a pulp, it takes me a moment to react. Following his instructions before he gets angry and changes his mind, I walk into the room. I gulp as I walk down without knowing where I’m going. Feeling a strange pull, I take slow steps, my body yearning to reach a pool table, which is standing at the end of the large hall. While my mind screams at me to get the fuck out, I scan the people I pass. They are incredibly beautiful. Women and men with flawless skin and sculpted bod
Theordore “Welcome, Sir.” I roll back my shoulders in my improvised uniform as I open the door to a gentleman in a tailored suit. Clearing my throat, I pull at my jacket that one of the ladies of the reception had found in a locker room for me to wear. I guess that an old staff member had forgotten it down there as he was kicked out of the building before he could start his shift. At least I am still here. Even if after I had returned to my desk, Brad showed up and told me that they needed someone at the door as Henry called in sick. Of course I know who Henry is. And this smells a lot like a pre-termination. But luckily, the nice receptionist was working along with the bitch, so I could ask her about him and am now standing a few feet away from a tall and broad-shouldered security guy named Jussuf. “Since when are you working for security?” he asks me, his eyes still directed at the square in front of the building. I shake my head, sighing. “Since I fucked up my us
Theodore “Ugh, I want to die,” I groan, hitting my head against my desk. “Someone please shoot me now.” Since Gilda and I came back from our lunch, Helades had been chasing me around with stupid requests. Maybe I’m an inexperienced IT guy, but I can’t be that stupid to notice that what he asked me for was simply bullying. His requests were ridiculous, and I’m pretty sure that he just made them to keep me running. Once he made me run down through a head-spinning amount of levels to fetch something, only to tell me to put it back downstairs as he had just looked at it as I came through the door. Like he just wanted to say fucking hello to it. The asshole isn’t even hiding it. Pushing my hair back, I take a deep breath before tousling my hair with a scream of indignation. This is just not fair. As I let my arms slump, and fill my lungs with the sticky air of the cave, I let my eyes roam over the room. Due to everybody being at home, probably sleeping, as it should be at four a
Nathanael A few months before My eye risks starting to twitch at the flickering street light. I sigh as I have been standing here for hours and I should finally move out of the shadows of the trees. Checking my watch, I realize that the sun could rise any moment now, meaning that I spent the entire night watching the dark windows of what is likely to be his apartment. What a desperate creep I have become. The sun wouldn’t hurt me, but it drains a lot of my energy, and I hate it. After taking a deep breath, I finally decide to step into the run-down building. The stinging odor of ammonia wafts in my direction as I step into the elevator that seems to be out of order. Why am I even surprised? I access a flight of stairs through a creaking door and step over what seems like a homeless person lying in my way. Blending out the quarreling voices of a couple that seems about to get ready for work, I access the floor where this Theodore Baxter is supposed to live on. The me
Nathanael I look up as Gilda walks into my office humming. She has a big smile plastered on her face. I’m used to her being a ray of sunshine, all in contrast to me, but this is creeping me out either way. Especially as I know that she just came back from lunch with… Baxter. I ignore my dead heart doing an extra beat at the thought of him, even though I still force myself to address him with his last name. “What is it?” I growl, as she starts swaying through my office. “Did you transform another poor soul into a frog? Is my IT guy still alive?” She giggles, putting down a pile of documents on my desk. “Oh, I would never mess with him, sir. I know how important this one is.” I click my tongue, glaring at her as she grimaces. “And frogs really aren’t my specialty.” “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I push my fake glasses up my nose, feigning ignorance. She shrugs, rummaging through the papers as if it were her business, but I know exactly that she is just loo