The Case of Monachopsis

Chapter 6: From Dusk Til Dawn

Something had happened—something that was irreversible. The nightmare continued. Elijah was back in the argument, yelling and screaming about whatever had upset him in the first place. At the time, his heart was full of fury, and the more he yelled, the more angry he became. Elijah couldn't remember the last time he was ever that angry at Ira. It pained him to relive the biggest regret of his life. In his mind, a young version of Ira was visibly trembling where she stood. Elijah's heart ached when Ira glanced at the younger version of him with fear. As soon as he saw himself shift into his dragon form and his gaping maw lunge toward Ira, Elijah cried.

"No, no. Please, not this part. I hate this part. Stop! Stop it!" Elijah screeched, barreling towards the younger version of himself in an attempt to stop what would happen.

He wasn't fast enough. Teeth sank into Ira's forearm, and Elijah saw only blood and tears from there. His younger self, now fully transformed, sent Ira flying as he released her from his mouth. Elijah screamed at himself until his throat gave out. His choked sob and pleas fell on deaf ears as the nightmare continued in front of him. The young Ira landed with a painful grunt as she watched her former friend advance on her. Guilt furled in Elijah's stomach at the sight.

In another desperate attempt to stop himself, Elijah swung at his dream counterpart, clawing away at the tough exterior of his scales. He dug as hard as he could, seeking to draw blood until he woke up, drenched in sweat and screaming. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, but the panic he felt increased when he realized his hands felt damp.

"Elijah?" Voiced by someone who seemed all too familiar.

Seeing that he was no longer dreaming, Ira stepped away, nursing her bloodied forearm. In his frantic state of unconsciousness, Ira did her best to protect him from hurting himself. Unfortunately, she couldn't do so without getting hurt in the process. She was accustomed to pain, though, and one glance at her arm revealed that reason. Most people would walk away with a wound that would take weeks to heal, but Ira walked away with a ruined shirt. At least, when she could step out of the interrogation room.

So when Elijah opened his eyes very slowly, soaking in the dim light of his confinements, Ira sighed with relief. Elijah's eyelids felt incredibly heavy, like they had been glued shut for eternity. His eyes twitched back and forth to examine the face looming over him. She smiled sheepishly, attempting to hide her injured arm. Elijah soon realized the smell of blood was coming from his hands.

He felt his eyes well up, knowing he had hurt her again. He wanted to sink deeper into his thoughts of guilt and shame, but Ira's eye caught his attention. Her welcoming face came into view as she wiped his hands off with a towel she retrieved from the bags she brought.

"How... How long have you been here?" Elijah finally asked.

"A while. I was going to wake you up, but you looked so tired until..." Ira frowned, glancing at the wounds on her arm. "I'm guessing you have nightmares often?"

"Yeah." Elijah closed his eyes and let the comfort of her touch seize control of his mind.

"Sorry for waking you so suddenly, though."

"You didn't wake me up. It's okay. I'll be okay, thank you." The pounding in Elijah's chest decreased to a soft flutter as Ira did the best she could to clean him up.

"Why are you here, though?" He asked, closing his eyes to feel Ira's gentle hands against his own.

"I thought I'd drop off some items and bedding for you." Ira said, waiting for Elijah's unusual sensual reaction, "And before you say it, no, I won't bed you."

Ira watched the side of Elijah's lips quirk into a slight smile. Relief washed over her as she set aside the bloodied towel. Noticing he was feeling more like himself again, she stepped away to create space for him to breathe. When he finally opened his eyes again, he looked up to see a familiar, lopsided grin. Ira chuckled, rolling her eyes in response.

"I didn't say anything!" He huffed, shifting a bit so he was no longer lying uncomfortably on the ground.

"You were thinking about it." With one eye looking at him, Ira crossed her arms, teasingly.

'Actually, I was thinking about how much I'd hurt you, and how I regret it.' Elijah said in his mind.

Instead, he added, "I was not. Your bedside manner still needs some work, Lagear. Insulting a distressed man like that? That's low even for you."

This elicited a sigh from Ira.

"It is low, seeing as though I'm the taller one here." She argued.

Elijah gasped in faux shock.

"I also have some clothes, an extra blanket, and other things for you." Handing over the bags she had taken a towel from, Ira placed it into Elijah's lap.

"Oh, thank you." He glanced down at the gift. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Still dusk."

With widening eyes, Elijah realized Ira most likely hadn't slept. Though, one glance at her told him all that he needed to know. At some point, the lack of sleep became so common that it didn't bother her as much anymore. It made him recall their past, when he'd watch Ira spend days and nights studying for an exam. He'd seen her like this many times before, but it had been so long that he had almost forgotten. His body keened as he shifted to open the bags on his lap.

The items she bought for him included clothes, bedding, and hygiene items. A bit of softness spread across his expression as he examined some better fitting dress shirts that were his favorite colors. He held on tightly to a plum colored shirt, mentally making a note that he'd wear it as tomorrow's outfit.

"If there's anything you don't like, let me know, and I can return it." Ira said, nervously.

He held out a black tie that he had produced from the bottom of the bag.

"I'm not a fan of anything restricting around my neck." Elijah watched as Ira reached out for it tentatively.

"Oh." Ira's face dropped. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Don't apologize, you did a nice thing for me. Nicer than I would have treated myself, honestly. I'm not a fan of handouts, but this was thoughtful." He admitted as he saw Ira's face turn a light shade of pink.

"It's not a handout, it's... a gift I guess." Ira said, finding herself unable to make eye contact at the moment.

"Thank you, then, for the gift." Elijah replied, rifling through the rest of his items and discarding any he wouldn't like.

"I'll take that off your hands then." A sense of relief washed over her as she added the tie to a bag of items to return.

Elijah continued to rummage through his new personal belongings, finding a couple of shampoo bottles and soap. He seemed uninterested in most of them, until he reached for one that smelled just like Ira. Upon opening the bottle, the scent that greeted him made him sigh with contentment. He inhaled once more, this time more deeply to savor the fleeting beauty.

"Is this the one you use?" Elijah gave Ira a faint smile.

"No, that's a brand new bottle." Ira checked her receipt to make sure.

Elijah quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, you meant the brand." Ira chuckled at herself. "Then, yes, it is."

She took a moment to process what had been said, "Wait, how do you know what I smell like?"

Elijah looked away, embarrassed.

"We've been very close, it was hard not to... know." He placed the other bottles he didn't want in the return bag Ira was holding out.

Ira stayed silent for a moment, her face growing flushed, thinking about what he said. She was suddenly aware of her own smell. The grip of the bag in her hands grew tighter as Ira felt unsure of how to respond. Do co-workers know each other by scent, or was this just a weird thing they had going on? For a few painfully silent moments, the two did everything in their power not to look at each other. Ira realized she was probably thinking about this too much, and put it on the back burner for now.

"I hope I don't smell bad," She said, clearing her throat.

To make a show of it, Elijah closed his eyes and sniffed the air dramatically, saying, "Not at all."

Ira's fingers twitched against the bag in her hands, itching to drop it and run out of the room. The sheer embarrassment that clouded her mind was enough to make her look in the other direction as Elijah finished making his final selections. Ira almost managed to hide her anxiety ridden expression until Elijah's voice shattered her resolve.

"I can't repay you at the moment, so I hope you can forgive me until I can." Elijah spoke while Ira made the mistake of meeting his gaze.

"Do you need anything else?" Ira blurted out.

"More sleep." He admitted.

"Okay! I'll leave you be-" Ira turned so fast that the return bag slapped her in the stomach. She let out a strained gasp before heading towards the door.

"No." Elijah managed, biting his lip.

"No?" Ira tilted her head to the side, questioning.

"I mean, you can leave to go tend to your arm but... I don't want to be alone right now." Elijah casted his eyes down in shame.

Ira's gaze softened a bit at the display.

"Okay, I'll stay for a bit." She dropped the return bag by the door and paced back to where Elijah was sitting.

Ira swallowed, making use of her residual anxiety ridden energy to remake Elijah's sleeping arrangement. She didn't want to watch him lie there on the ground with just a thin, sheet blanket and a pillow. So with little effort, Ira tore the foldable mattress out of its packaging and. Aided by Elijah, they added his new sheets and pillows to the makeshift bed before he curled up in it. Now with hazy and half-lidded eyes, he watched Ira pull his new comforter over his frame. Something twitched across her face, but he was too tired to read into it.

Instead, he let himself drift into sleep again, knowing that Ira did not move or pull away after resting her hand on his back. Elijah wouldn't know it, but once he fell asleep, Ira continued to give him a strange look. Gently, she brushed a lock of hair away from Elijah's eye to rest behind his ear. She wondered what he would dream of next, and hoped that it was of something fonder. He was, and yet again, it was something related to her.