The Beast Within

Awakening Part 2

Upon entering the lobby, Selena found the receptionist desk empty and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

The office was small, but bright, with a high ceiling and natural light streaming in from the large windows behind her. The lobby was decorated with low, round coffee tables and chairs with bright accent pillows in shades of green and blue. On the wall was an artistic collage of inspirational words, such as "energetic," "creative," and "fun." Her eyes lingered on the word "reliable" and her lips turned down in a scowl.

Selena hurried around the reception desk and down the long hall toward her office, casting an apprehensive look at a glass-walled conference room to her left. However, before she could reach the safety of her own door, she felt a tight grip close around her upper right arm, pulling her off balance and into the darkened ladies room.

Squinting as the room was bathed in garish, florescent light, Selena heard the lock on the door click behind her. Blinking in confusion, she turned to see the worried eyes of Megan Dancourt, Victoria Publishing's Director of Marketing.

"What are you doing here?" Megan whispered in a tone that wavered between worry and derision.

"I...I'm coming to work. I know I'm late, but I can stay tonight to make up for it," Selena mumbled, her eyes trailing down Megan's perfectly coordinated sheath dress and pumps, coming to rest on her own scuffed ballet flats.

Though they had been friends since college, Megan's poise could still be unnerving.

Megan leaned her back against the bathroom door, an exasperated sigh escaping her glossy lips. "Don't you check your voicemail, Selena?" Without waiting for an answer, Megan continued, "I left you two messages telling you to stay home. This was the second marketing meeting you've missed this week and I didn't know what to do. I told the Executive Director that you texted from the doctor's office to say that you have viral pneumonia. You have to get out of here."

Selena's vision blurred as tears began to fill her eyes. Whether she was crying from embarrassment or gratitude was unclear even to her.

"Megan, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me."

"I do," Megan replied. "You've been struggling ever since Jake left. I know it hurts, but you can't get fired over an idiot and I can't cover for you forever."

"I've been having strange dreams, Megan. Dreams that I'm in the woods by my grandmother's old cabin. Dreams that I'm an animal...a cat...or something. There's a man in the dreams, too," Selena trailed off, afraid of what she might confess.

She felt a blush rise to her cheeks as the recalled how real his voice had seemed in the haze of her dream and how his scent had driven her wild.

Raising her eyes to her friend, Selena whispered, "Am I going crazy?"

A crease of worry formed between Megan's eyebrows as she listened. Placing her palms gently on Selena's slumped shoulders she said, "I don't think you're crazy, but that doesn't mean you're okay." She paused before continuing, "Until this month, you almost never missed a day of work. Between your unused sick days and personal days, you have three weeks that you can use to collect yourself. We've got Adelaide's book launch covered without you. Take some time and come back feeling better."

Before Selena could reply a hard knock on the door startled them both. Megan let out a cry of surprise and Selena covered her own mouth to stifle any sound.

"You've been in there for almost ten minutes," someone whined beyond the door. "It's not a break room...can you hurry up?"

Both women locked eyes and fell silent, but Megan's expression brightened and she turned toward the voice. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry," she called through the crack in the closed door. "I had four breakfast burritos this morning and this is definitely not the place to be. Try the bathroom upstairs."

After a momentary silence, they heard an exasperated groan from the other side of the door, accompanied by the sound of fading footsteps.

Megan turned to beam at Selena and a moment of warmth and solidarity passed between them. Then Megan turned back to the door, cracking it slightly to peek into the hall. "We can't stay in here all day. Go..now," she whispered, glancing back to Selena, and please be safe. I miss seeing you happy." She then stepped back, allowing Selena to slip into the hall.

As she moved past her friend, Selena gently clasped Megan's hand and then hurried down the corridor toward the glass double doors.

Turning her face away from the receptionist desk and never breaking her stride, Selena reached the doors and ran to her car.

Once back at her apartment, Selena leaned her back against the locked door and slid slowly to the floor. Megan was right, she was not okay and she had never felt so lost. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the door and wondered what she would do now.

She had no money, only one close friend and nagging doubts about her own sanity. Where could she go to feel at peace?

As her thoughts wandered, she recalled her vivid dream from the night before -the rich fragrances of the forest and the feel of the earth beneath her feet. Her mind drifted back to the mysterious man who spoke to her in her dreams. She had never seen his face, only his piercing blue eyes, and felt the desire he awakened deep within her body.

Unbeknownst to Selena, her hand began to trace a path along her denim-covered knee, inching toward the growing heat between her thighs as she felt a surge of energy course through her veins.

Suddenly, she knew what must be done.

With a sense of renewed purpose, Selena rose and strode into her bedroom. Pulling her suitcase from under her bed, she packed quickly, grabbing some apples, granola bars and a box of matches from the counter before zipping the bag. Then, before her courage could fail her, Selena turned off the lights and shut the apartment door behind her, never looking back.