Poke The Bear
Written by Nohbodee
Bear
Rivertown Warehouse District
The cops arrived outside of Cecelia’s house a little past twelve. Bear was standing outside, just like everybody else, watching as coroners and officers pulled one skeleton out of the house after another. Bear wasn’t sure what was happening, but after all of the research he’d done on the Perry’s — he wasn’t surprised that their daughter found the rest of the skeletons.
Cecelia was standing on the front lawn, talking with an officer. He wanted to go over to her and take her from all of it, but that made him feel guilty. He could never…
Bear bit his nails as he watched her cry. It pained him to see her stop at the front door and look up. She was on a mission to reveal all of her parent’s secrets. A lonely task, Bear imagined.
With one determined look, Cecelia pursed her lips and went back inside, followed by the officer. A second officer with a camera also filed in behind them —
“Heard about the bodies,” Jacoby Greyson said from behind him in the doorway. It startled Bear, but he didn’t show it. “Still, only a portion, though.”
Bear winced.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Bear greeted his new guest. He turned to Jacoby, straightening to his full height. “There’s a lot we need to talk about and it’s probably going to fuck up your day.”
Jacoby looked exhausted. Bear noted the dark circles under his eyes and the expression of defeat set in them. “After everything?” was all he said.
Bear couldn’t help it, but he chuckled. “You always look so glum when I see you.”
“Spit it out, Bear,” Jacoby snapped.
“You send another Handsy, I’m gonna shove my hand up your-,” Bear began to say.
“You don't understand!” Jacoby yelled, looking a little manic. “If I have to hire every assassin on the East Coast to keep this Earth balanced, then I will. And no amount of your strength will stop it,” he threatened in his gentleman’s tone.
A muscle in Bear’s jaw jumped when he smiled. “Let me rephrase this,” he said, “No one is going to touch Cecelia.”
Jacoby nodded, his eyes thinning into slits. “Then I guess you’ve drawn your line in the sand,” and Bear saw something serious flash in Jacoby’s eyes.
Without warning Bear grabbed Jacoby by the throat and pressed him hard against the wall. Jacoby choked out, clawing at Bear’s inhuman strength. Bear leaned in closely, “You and I both know, I’ll get you before you get her.”
Bear released Jacoby — who fell to his knees, coughing — and forced himself to cool down. He couldn’t lose control. Not being this close to Cecelia… the beast was fond of her, too.
When Jacoby got back onto his feet, he chuckled darkly. “You fool,” he said, rubbing his throat. “A prey falling in love with its killer,” Jacoby spat blood from his mouth onto the cement floor, “She’ll kill all of us and all you can do is think about her pussy.”
Bear had never seen Jacoby behave this way and it started to make him nervous.
“Enough,” Bear turned away from Jacoby. “It’s over. You need to find another way, old man.”
Jacoby wiped dirt from his slacks and straightened his jacket, before turning and leaving the garage. Bear stood there in the silence for a long time, thinking very hard. This wasn’t over and he needed to think of a way to keep Cecelia safe.
Jacoby….the way his eyes shone. Like an animal stuck. For the first time, Bear was concerned about Jacoby’s true intentions.
He went to the garage doors and peered up into Cecelia’s window. She wasn’t there, but her cat was.
Sleeping soundly.
