It Started With a Scent

No Sex-teen

Are you feeling better after last night?

Yeah. I'm fine now, thanks.

Rachael put her phone down and went back to scrolling through the job seekers list. She was looking for entry-level jobs, jobs that required low experience, or even part-time work that would tide her over until she found something a little more concrete.

It wasn't exactly how she expected to be spending the first day of the new year, but it was something that had to be done nonetheless.

Her mark had starting aching halfway through the day and she could feel her mood worsening by the hour. The bond was still too open, and with every moment that her agitation rose, she could feel Jason's grow too. It was like they were feeding off each other, tumultuous emotions whirling from body to body, wreaking havoc in their paths.

She was almost worried that she was going to have to take a trip down to Jason's shop and intervene as his emotions became darker.

Violent.

Her phone buzzed again.

It's a shame you missed the rest of the party. It was really fun. I didn't see Jason for the rest of the night either. Did you two get to talk?

Rachael wondered how much or how little to say. She didn't want to dig herself into a pit, especially since Tina would be finding out about her mating eventually. It was just a matter of when and how.

He gave me a lift home.

No problems then, hooray! :) Hopefully his good behaviour continues.

Rachael didn't reply. She wondered if Tina would be so hopeful if she could feel the anger and frustration that was violating his mind. Both of their minds.

She didn't trust herself while she was feeling like this.

She wondered if this was how he felt all the time and if so, how he controlled himself.

Her hands were shaking with the need to inflict damage and she pushed her computer off her lap before she crushed it in a fit of rage. There was a tangible fear in the atmosphere as she uncontrollably spiraled into a place that was not her own.

"No." She said out loud, cutting through the haze.

She stood up and groaned, moving to the window to yank it open and let the cold air clear her head.

She needed to stop feeding into his anger.

She needed to focus.

Her job search was fruitless. The more she looked for work, the more despondent she felt about it. There was nothing that she was qualified for that also made her brim with excitement, and the thought of picking one of the easier jobs such as waitressing or bartending left a bad taste in her mouth.

It was only when she exhausted her search that she remembered the advice Tina had given her.

It was a long shot, but the thought of being a business owner was something that she could get behind. It was something she wanted.

Although owning a diner was like nothing she had considered doing before, the moment her father had mentioned it to her, a switch had gone on. She was noticing now that it was less about owning that diner, in particular, and more about owning a place that she could call hers- being the boss of something for once.

Her mind drifted back to Jason and she found herself on the internet, searching up about sweet shops.

A knock at the door bought her back to reality, her joints stiff and achy as she stretched, darkness filtering through the window. She closed it, realising how cold it had become, then jogged to her front door, quickening her pace when she felt the chord binding her to the man on the other side throb at their proximity.