Kill of the Night [BXB]

Chapter 24

 Surprisingly, it seems that Sascha's laid off the whole watchdog act, which means Rion and I get to be alone again like yesterday. I'm glad we are, because I have a few questions for him about his relationship with Jessie.

"Tell me about your day," I begin.

Rion picks his pencil up and starts writing. "I woke up and I went to school. That's it."

"Oh, so you're sleeping well again?"
"I didn't think you'd remember that."

"You're an interesting case. It's hard to forget much about you."

"You sound like a stalker."

"Maybe I am," I say, not knowing why.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. How are you feeling?"

Rion's shoulders tighten. "I dunno, why are you asking?"

"When someone looks like they've had a rough day, I see if I can understand why," I answer.

"A rough day?" Rion scoffs. "Jessie's been up my ass the whole week bothering me about why I rejected sex that one time. Of course I'm kind of pissed off."

"Why are you even with her, again?" I ask. "Is it a fear of some kind?"
"I'm not afraid of her. She can't hurt me. I'm not afraid of anything. She just . . . I don't know. I just know her, so it's easier to be in a relationship with her."

"Rion," I say calmly. "What is the central emotion in your relationship with her?"

Rion frowns. "What's your goal asking all this?"

"I'm curious."

"Fine. I guess it's just some kind of negative emotion. Either one of them that I'm forgetting the name of or all of them combined. It sucks."

I lean forward, resting my jaw on my hand. "Is there a goal in mind?"
"...I don't know," he says quietly.

"So why?"

"Why do you care?"

"I want to help."

Rion's pencil slows until it halts. I see confusion, and then frustration, and then something flat and neutral. "Why?"

"Why not? Do you consider us more than strangers? I do. I'd like to know about your life, and Jessie's the most intriguing part of it."

"It just feels like you're mocking me. Like you're a scientist in a lab and I'm the rat whose whole life has been manipulated for your gain. It feels like you know too many things that I don't, and I don't like it."

"So you see yourself as inferior?" Alphas are prideful. If anything, they should see everyone else as inferior. I assume it's different because he's going through a hard process that's probably taken a hit to his self esteem, especially if he stubbornly believes liking dudes is something to be afraid of.

Rion's face remains blank.

"I think you're pretty smart, though. And I do know stuff you don't, but it's not anything that's helpful to your life."

"Whatever."

"I know it's cheesy, but maybe you should believe in yourself. You seem like a community leader, so I don't think displaying control over your life will be anything but a positive."

"I do have control," he sneers.

"Not over Jessie, you don't. She's also doing nothing but harm to you and herself, and that's what's got me wondering. Why stay with her?"

"Because if I break up with her . . ." The neutral expression fades away into a telling frown of his true emotions. He's still frustrated and confused, but there's also some kind of sadness that tugs at my heart. He shakes his head. "First of all, there is a reason why I'm with her. You don't have to know what it is. Second, she's not that bad, she's just annoying."