APEX - Season 2

Ch. 6: Someone Better

Calla

While he lay on the couch, half conscious, I went about the task of cleaning his wounds, using a first aid kit I found in his bathroom. Scrapes zigzagged over blue and purple bruises like roads traversing an alien landscape. Everything appeared superficial, but judging from his state, there was a fair amount of internal damage as well. I did what I could, and then, with great effort, I half walked, half dragged him from the sofa to his bed. While tucking him in, he reached for me, attempting to pull me in next to him.

"You said you would stay," he said as I resisted.

"I will. I'll be in in a little bit. I've got to clean up the living room from where I just played doctor with you."

"That sounds a lot more fun than it actually was."

He turned over onto his side, groaning as he attempted to find a position that didn't put pressure on any of his wounds. I waited, propped on the edge of the bed until his breathing evened out, and then headed back to the living room.

This situation was far too unsettling for me to be able to fall asleep. I'd only toss and turn and probably end up waking him up. More than anything, Rhys needed a solid night of sleep so his werewolf body could do its quick fix routine. Still, the fact that he was this bad off was making me fret. It wasn't normal.

After tidying up, I did an internet search for reasons werewolves might not heal quickly. A few articles that had little to do with Rhys's situation popped up first. As I scrolled, resigned to the fact that I might not stumble upon an immediate answer, the doorbell rang.

My fingers stilled. Who would be visiting Rhys? Was it the people who had crashed his car and beaten him? Had they come to finish the job?

I clicked on the camera next to the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Not homicidal anti-werewolf humans. The exact opposite, in fact.

Opening the door, I gave Liam what I hoped was an untroubled smile. Liam was a bit too ridged and way too into werewolf supremacy for my liking. But he was also young and impressionable. With Rhys's influence, I was certain he could mellow into a semi-tolerant, thoughtful person.

"Liam, come on in."

My attempts at looking casual faltered when I saw the look of horror etched into his face.

"What are you doing in my brother's apartment?"

Panic hit. "It's...it's not what you think. Rhys was attacked.

"He what?" Liam pushed his way past me, rushing through the living room and down the hallway to Rhys's bedroom.

"Please don't make a lot of noise," I said as I rushed to keep up with him. "I just got him to sleep."

"Got him to sleep? He's not a baby." Liam opened his brother's door and stared at him in the dim light. Satisfied, he closed the door again and retreated to the living room.

"He needed care, Liam. I found him in the alley around the back. Someone crashed his car, beat him, and dumped him there."

"They crashed into the Bugatti? Is it okay?"

I couldn't help but cringe. Was a car more important than his brother's life to him? "He told me he was driving a rental. Why I don't know. What matters is that these Humankind First people are serious about taking us down, Liam."

He laughed. "I could have told you that a long time ago. But you and Rhys and even Aamon just can't help yourselves, acting like we can all just live together in peace and harmony like we're in a cartoon utopia."

"Maybe it will never be a utopia, but I do believe we can get along, for the most part. In fact, in my opinion, we need each other—humans and werewolves. But I don't think this is the time to have this conversation."