The Beast

S I X : O N T H E E D G E O F R I S K S

***

Fun fact: When Theo said, "I can smell your arousal", he did not mean it literally lol. Jessie was drooling and her mouth was hanging open so he assumed she was thirsty 👅💦
Onto the story haha

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Jessie was laying in bed, looking at everything but focusing on nothing. She was pulling at a thread on the cover next to her and was biting her lip all at the same time. Today was the day they had to go into town and she was so stressed out.

Jessie imagined Theo was just as stressed out because she heard his footsteps going up and and down the hallway next to "her" room. If her ankle wasn't broken, she would have joined him in his pacing. But then, if her ankle wasn't broken, they wouldn't have been forced to go into town.

Jessie sighed and tried to lift up her leg. She had tried to show Theo that she was okay but he wouldn't listen so she was going to try and strengthen her leg on her own.

As soon as her ankle left the pillow it was resting on, a wave of pain hit her and she let out an involuntary moan of pain. She quickly put it back on the pillow, hurting it even more.

As soon as she let out the moan, Theo burst into the room, almost as if a wild animal were chasing him.

"What's wrong?", he asked frantically, rushing to the foot of the bed to check on her ankle.

"Theo, I'm okay. I just...", Jessie started, the trailed off.

"You? What did you do again?", he asked in an exasperated voice, looking at her in disapprobation.

"Hey! Stop looking at me like that! Like I'm some kid", she exclaimed, then muttered the last words. She hated when people treated her like a kid, it was frustrating.

"Then stop acting like one", Theo retorted, then held her bandage covered ankle, his gentle touch belying his harsh tone.

Jessie whimpered at Theo's soft touch and he looked up in alarm. "Did I hurt you?", he asked, and Jessie almost got lost in his grey eyes- almost.

"Ahh- no. No, no, you didn't. I just-ah- You know what? Forget it", Jessie said, silently scolding herself for being a bumbling idiot.

Theo looked confused for a moment then smiled knowingly, making Jessie blush even harder. It was hard to keep het attraction to Theo a secret. And it embarrassed her.

Theo got up suddenly from the foot of the bed and looked at Jessie intently, making her frown in confusion and tilt her head in askance.

"Is everything alright?", she asked and the only thing he said was, "Let me run you a bath". Jessie looked at his retreating figure and rolled her eyes.

A little while later, Jessie had taken a bath and was dressed, ready for the day. She limped precariously to the living room. As soon as she stepped into it, Theo took long steps towards her and carried her bridal style.

She opened her mouth to protest, closed it, then settled in, leaning com for tabling against his chest. As he went through a door she had never seen to a garage, Jessie became more alert. She had no idea he had a garage, let alone a car or anything of the sort.

Theo went to the passenger's seat, opened it and put Jessie in and buckled her in, closed the door and went to the driver's side. He drove the car outside of what seemed like automatic doors to Jessie.

Jessie's eyes widened in surprise when the car got on a paved road. "All this has been here all this time?", she asked incredulously.

Theo appeared to be fighting a smile when he asked, "How do you think I got all my stuff in there?"

"If I had known...", Jessie started then trailed out. Theo clenched his jaw. They both knew what she had been about to say.

If she had known this car and the garage existed, she would have gone away easily and successfully.

The rest of the ride was silent with Theo sitting rigidly in his seat, a stony expression on his face and Jessie looking out of the window, a wistful expression on her face.

Soon enough, Theo had reached the tarred road and was driving towards the neighboring city. They continued the drive in silence until they reached the hospital.

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Theo came out of the car and went to Jessie's side. Seeing the door already open and her trying to come out on her own, he sighed and shook his head, holding her gently and helping her out of the car. He carried her up again in bridal style and this time around, she actually voiced her protests.

"I can walk", she said, looking everywhere but at his face.

"You can limp", Theo corrected, ignoring the glances they attracted as he walked into the hospital with her.

Two hours later, Theo and Jessie walked out of the hospital. Jessie with crutches and an ankle brace and Theo with a grim look on his face. They reached the car in silence and got in.

"I'm going to stop at the mall and get some stuff", Theo said, breaking the silence.

"Okay", was all Jessie said. Theo sighed lowly and looked at the frustrating woman sitting in the passenger's seat. He sighed one more time and turned his gaze to the road.

At that moment, his decision was made. After the 4 weeks the doctor said it would take for her ankle to be healed, he would take her back to her home.

***

Jessie watched Theo go into the mall absently before sitting up, more alert. She knew this place! Not five miles away was the home she shared with Patrick.

She opened the door and got out slowly. She walked as fast as she could with the crutches and moved in the direction of the apartment.

Midway, she stopped. Did she really want to go back there? Confront Patrick on his cheating? After a moment of thought, she went back to Theo's car, cursing her stupid cowardly brain.

She reached the car, got in and buckled herself in, breathing hard as a result of the pain in her ankle. Then she sighed and laid her head on the dashboard. Sometimes risk taking was not the best solution.

***

So this chapter is short and trash, like I don't know???

First of, let me apologize for updating two days late 😪😪
I have a project I'm working on in school and it's taking up my energy 😭😭 it made me sick, guys.
Then my phone decided to stop charging and I had to fix it because I write my drafts on it
To top everything off, no Wi-Fi. I swear I have the worst luck ever

But on another note, tomorrow (or today, depending on where you are) is my birthday!! Happy 18th to me!!

See you guys next week. Much love,
Essie