Unbearable by Tracy Cooper-Posey

January 2, Present Day
    Riley crept into the room, even though she knew that Damian, who was standing at the window, would be able to hear her no matter how quiet she was. It was the mood of the house that made her move quietly. In fact, it had been the entire day that made her want it to slide past unnoticed.
    She and Nick had tracked down some rumors of wild animal attacks early that morning, in lower New York state. Nick had been the same—morose and withdrawn, even when they were on their own. It had been like trying to stir cold molasses.
    Nick was bringing up the duffel bag with their swords and Riley had hurried ahead, not quite articulating in her own mind the idea that being on her own for a moment would be a relief. Instead, she told herself she was eager to see Damian after a long day of fruitless work, which was only partly true.
    Yet here he stood, staring out at the spitting snow, as still and silent as Nick.
    He turned when she was barely past the open door and gave her a small smile. But it didn’t reach his eyes, which were sad. Then he held out his arm and relief touched her as she hurried to his side. He pulled her in against him and lifted her chin to kiss her. “It didn’t go well,” he guessed. “Your face is a story of its own.”
    “This whole day has been utterly useless,” she declared. She looked over her shoulder. “I don’t know what has got into Nick and it feels like you’ve been bitten by the same bug, too.” She gripped his sweater. “What am I missing, Damian? You know Nick will never tell me. He’d rather stake himself than talk about feelings.”
    Damian sighed. “We’re both guilty of that. Today of all days, especially.”
    She pressed her lips together, holding back her questions. Damian was often easier to provoke into talking about himself and Nick, or about slippery emotions, but that was relative. Nick clung to his British reserve, while Damian was so ancient he had been raised in a culture that celebrated war, not peace. He was just as prickly as Nick. Only sometimes and only because it was her, did he unbend enough to talk.
    But not right now. She could feel the tension in his chest. He had the shields up.
    Nick shut the apartment door and locked it and Damian sighed and let her go and turned to face Nick as he moved into the room. “That’s it for today?” he asked.
    “I am not moving out of this apartment again today even if the fire alarm goes off,” Nick said heavily, dumping the duffel bag on the sofa. “What a spectacular waste of a day.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
    Damian caught his gaze, then glanced at her.
    “What’s going on?” Riley demanded, as Damian moved over to the French Empire desk in the corner of the room and opened one of the drawers.
    Nick picked up her hand and drew her around the sofa to stand in front of him. “This has been a terrible birthday for you, Riley. I’m sorry about that.”
    “Oh….” Her heart jumped a little. “You knew it was my birthday?”
    Damian came over to where they were standing. He was carrying a wrapped gift in his hands, a flat oblong with bows and flowers on it. “We have reason to never forget the date. It is engraved on our memories more deeply than any other event in our lives.” He held the gift out to her. “Happy birthday, Riley. I hope this helps make up for our bear-like behavior today.”
    She took the gift, puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
    Nick touched the gift. “This will help you understand.”
    She pulled at the ribbon and tore the paper, even though she didn’t want to. Her hands were shaking. The dark mood that had gripped both of them was making her heart hurry along far more than it should.
    The paper fell away. Nick plucked it out of the air as it drifted toward the floor and crumpled it into a ball with one hand.
    Riley looked down at what she was holding. It was a thick wad of cheap office paper. The first sheet was blank.
    She rifled through