Chapter Eight

I opened my eyes and jolted out of my bed when I heard a loud banging on my front door. I threw the covers off my body and left my bedroom to the living room. "Ugh, is it too much for me to ask for more sleep?" I mumbled to myself and sauntered toward my door. I unlocked it and swung open the door, ready to face the noisy idiot behind it with the nastiest glare on my face.

"What is it!?" I stopped when I saw who it was. "Kai!" I gasped and tried swinging my door shut. He grabbed onto the edge and pushed against it. We both struggled but I was losing.

"How did you find me?!" I shrieked.

"Phoenix..." I heard him cough. He managed to fit himself inside my apartment and the door slammed closed once he was completely inside.

"Get out!" I pointed at my door. "This is trespassing, you stalker!"

Kai coughed again and sniffled in response, and I realized that he had come all the way here in the rain. He probably caught a cold. I snapped my fingers in front of him, but he barely glanced my way.

"I need... your assistance." He grabbed onto his head and fell forward. I squealed as his body hit the floor. I'm a matter of seconds, he went unconscious. I poked him with my foot nervously.

"Kai? Don't play with me! Get up!" I nudged him but he didn't budge. "Oh no, please don't be dead!" I bent down and placed my hand over his head. Warmth engulfed my hands. He was burning up from a fever.

"Oh come on!" I whined and grabbed his arm. I dragged him over to my couch. With every last bit of strength I had left, I wrapped my arms around Kai's torso and raised his butt over the cushion. His head bobbled over my shoulder, and I could feel his soft breathing brush against my skin. "Ew!" I pushed him off me and let his body hit the couch.

Then I picked up his heavy legs and tossed them over the arm of the seat. He was too big for my couch, and I feared that he would damage it somehow. "Oh, my beautiful couch. This was an expensive set." I tapped on the pillows gently. "Now you have to be defiled by this putrid man's feet."

Get it together, Casey. You only have 45 minutes to get to work. I took a deep breath and thought of ways to handle this situation in time.

"First, I have to put a cold rag on him so he doesn't die while I'm gone." I jogged over to my bathroom and grabbed a clean pink bunny rag off my towel shelf. Then I doused it in cold water from the sink. "Alright, this should be enough." I jogged back into my living room and placed the rag over Kai's forehead.

His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw clenched, which was a good sign. It made me sigh in relief. After making sure Kai was comfortable, I quickly got dressed and went to work.

When I got there, all of my colleagues stared at me awkwardly. It wasn't until I took an elevator to my workstation and saw my manager, Mrs. Chance at my desk giving me the stink eye.

"Casey."

"Good Morning." I smiled at her and plopped myself in my seat.

"Are you going to just pretend that you didn't disappear from work yesterday?"

"I was just about to acknowledge that. Listen, I'm sorry. I really am. I ran into a difficult situation yesterday where I couldn't come back to work."

"I don't want to hear any excuses." She snapped at me. "I hope you understand that our company tolerates no games or play from our employees. When given a job, you are supposed to take it seriously and finish it."

"It's not an excuse." I groaned. "I know what the company policy is. Believe me, it wasn't my intention to just disappear. Ask anyone else who works here, they know I am very serious about my work."

"This isn't about them." Mrs. Chance rolled her eyes. "The issue is you. You were given a task—"

"A task that's out of my line of work, by the way. I sacrificed some of my precious time to get you and a few other leaders coffee. That's Susan's job, not mine. I only did it because she had to pick her son up." I snapped.

"I don't like your attitude, Casey." She huffed.

"I'm only stating the truth. If you want to lash out at someone because you didn't get your coffee, don't go after me. My job is to organize and file the work that you're supposed to have finished. How much of the new contract did you finish while I was gone? I bet you couldn't because you were so worried about a drink."

"Casey Brown!" She slammed her hand on my desk, knocking over my picture frame. I watched as it crashed onto the floor. The wood split into many pieces and the picture fell out. "Oops." She voiced monotonously.

I bent over to grab it and quickly snatched it up. The person in the picture was my mother right before she passed away. I held it close and glared at my manager. Mrs. Change paid no mind to the broken frame and placed her hands on her hips.

"This isn't the first time you've done something like this." She rolled her eyes. "I'm giving you another chance, only because I'm nice. If you're unable to complete a task assigned to you in the future then please give us a heads-up and let us know. We will do what's right for the company and terminate your contract with us if needed. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yep." I flashed a fake smile, knowing well that all the respect I had for this woman was quickly fading.

"Great. Oh and here." She handed me a black folder. I briefly skimmed over the documents inside.

"To Celebrate the growth of our team and enhance the cooperation between leaders and members, the Spring Evening Dinner party is to be hosted by you. What?"

"As you know, every season the company has different staff members host team-building meals. This time, it's your turn."

"I'm sorry, what?" I blinked at her, not completely registering the information I was given.

"The details are on the paper, sweetie." She poked her pink-painted nails at the document. "You'd better get started on it soon. It's only a week away."

"Wait! I have to host a dinner party for our entire company?"

"No, just for our floor. But the CEO will be attending as always. This is just a thing we do to ensure that all employees are satisfied with their work. The happier we are, the more willing we are to work, which means happy profits for the company itself."

"So I have to host a party for the entire 5th floor!?"

"Again, the details are on the paper." She flipped her dyed blonde curly hair. I watched as she turned on her heel and walked away. Her heels click and clacked as she turned the corner.

"Ugh!" I slumped into my chair.

I tossed the black folder onto my desk and took a deep breath. I didn't know where to start. My apartment was too small to host a large party for at least 30 people, and it was too shabby looking if the CEO was going to be attending too.

Would I have to cook the food? That was going to be a lot of money for ingredients. "I have to buy a new dress!" I groaned.

So many of these thoughts flooded my mind for the rest of the day, preventing me from getting much work done. I'm convinced that Mrs. Chance did this to me on purpose.

Because I was so distracted by my thoughts, I went home with a heavy heart. And I had completely forgotten about the stranger in my home. When I opened the door to enter my apartment, my mouth dropped. "What... the heck?!" I glanced around my living room. The place was an absolute mess!

"What did— my couch!" I shrieked when I saw my pillows and cushions on the floor torn open. By the time I had walked over to examine the damage, I saw water and soap suds oozing out into the living room from the kitchen.

I rushed to the sink and saw that the water was on and spilling out of it. Various food items were scattered all over my floor, mixed with the water and my refrigerator door was wide open. I quickly turned off the water and pulled the drain and closed the fridge. My water bill and electricity were going to be off the charts.

I opened my cabinet and a bunch of plates and cups spilled out, and I screamed and dodged them. Every plate and glass smashed and crashed onto my kitchen tile and I grunted. These were all gifts I was given and now they're just stacks of trash.

Did a hurricane occur when I left? Where was Kai?

"Kai?" I walked over to my bathroom and opened it, but surprisingly, it was clean and untouched. I sighed in relief and closed the door. Then I walked over to my bedroom and hesitated briefly. I didn't know what to expect on the other side. "Forget it. Just face it." I shook my head and opened my door. Before I could step inside, a knife whizzed right past my face and put a small hole into my wall.

"Kai!" I screeched and ducked out of the way. There he was, on my bed in an upright position. His hair was wet and his clothes were covered in cereal and juice stains. "What did you do!?" I whined.

"I waited for you." He dragged himself off my bed and I saw more glass shards fall to my carpet. "Your home is defenseless, there are no other weapons here to protect you. So I made some for you."

"What!?" I shouted. "You ransacked my home, to make WEAPONS!?"

"Your home is unharmed." He shrugged. "It's only filled with traps for my enemies."

"It's a mess!"

"It's not. Come." He motioned me over and pushed my bedroom door wide open. "There, I noticed a power source coming from the cube that releases cold air. I found out that when water touches it, it will cause a shock for those who intrude. And there, I ripped out the guts of those soft pillows. It creates a feeling of desolation and is sure to steer anyone with bad intentions away. And these," He grabbed my hand and placed a butter knife in it. "They are throwing knives. The blade is dull, but with enough force, you can cut through these walls and strike a target."

"Are you... insane?" I felt my blood boil as he gave his explanation.

"I am not sure of those words."

I laughed. Not out of Joy, but because he had pushed me over the limit. Right now, I was thinking of so many ways to kill him and hide his body. But I couldn't risk my freedom for that. So I acted on the only logical solution that came to my mind. "Get out." I grabbed him by his ponytail and dragged him over to my front door.

"Ow!" He growled at me and pulled away. "Release me!"

"Oh, I will!" I scoffed. "When you're out of my sight!" I opened my front door and shoved him into the hallway. Then I slammed my door closed as he hollered.

"Phoenix!" He shouted and began knocking on my door. "Phoenix, let me in!"

"Go away!" I huffed.

"You and your people are in danger! Open this door!" He slammed his fists harder against it.

"If you don't leave, I'm calling the police and they will take you away!" I retorted. "I don't even know why I let a stranger like you stay here in the first place! I should've hauled your butt somewhere far away!"

"I am not a stranger!" I felt Kai lean against the other end of the door. "We've met before! It is you who is unable to remember who I am."

"I don't believe it." I snorted.

"I don't know how to prove that I am familiar with you, Casey." He groaned. The sound of my name coming from his mouth made me realize that I never told him. He had been calling me Phoenix this whole time. And maybe he could've seen my name somewhere within my apartment while rummaging through my things, but something was urging me to listen to him.