A Plethora of Prompts - 2. That's not my Package!

“That’s not my package!” Walter tossed the square box back to the man standing in front of him.

“OK. Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.” The man disappeared into the room behind him, shutting the door and snicking the lock.

Walter crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. A minute later, the man returned, carrying a rectangular box this time. He held it out, and Walter took it.

“Oh my God, Dray! This isn’t it either! What the fucking hell? How can you not know where my package is? I told you I was expecting an important delivery. This could get me fired, you know!” Walter threw the box back to Dray with a little more force than necessary.

Dray swallowed and nodded. “I know you told me. I remembered, honestly! It’s here somewhere. I just need to find it. I will find it, I promise!” He clutched the box to his chest and moved to open the door behind him.

“Wait!”

Dray winced and bowed his head against the dark brown wood of the cellar door.

“I’ll help you look,” Walter proclaimed.

Dray’s emerald green eyes widened, and his hands shook. “Uh… that’s OK. I don’t need help.” He stood protectively in front of the door. The last thing he wanted was for Walter to see what was down there. He really didn’t want to hear the words I told you so. Man, he hated those fucking words!

“Dray… what did you do?” Walter’s voice was low and sounded threatening to Dray.

“I didn’t do anything! Now the sooner you let me go look, the sooner I’ll find your stupid package!” He didn’t feel the bravado in his words.

“My stupid package is irreplaceable! Shit! I knew it was a mistake having something so rare and valuable shipped, but noooo… my boss said it would safer to have it shipped to my house, especially since my boyfriend works for UPS and could intercept it at the delivery hub! So, where the fuck is it, Dray? And why do you have so many packages addressed to other people?” Walter scowled at the man cowering in front of him.

Dray exhaled and slumped his shoulders. “Fine. You want to look, then go look.” He opened the door and gestured for Walter to go first.

“You know I love you, D, but damn if I don’t want to smack you upside the head sometimes.”

“Go ahead. I suppose I deserve it.”

Walter rolled his eyes. He placed his hand on Dray’s cheek and kissed him. “You know I would never do that.”

“Yeah, I know.” Dray smiled, despite the massive lump in his stomach. Walter was not going to be happy when he saw what was in the basement.

Walter headed down the wooden stairs, followed slowly by Dray. He stopped dead when he reached the end and stared at the sight in front of him, slack-jawed. Dray moved past him and set the rectangular box down on a pile of similarly-shaped boxes.

“Hon… what. Did. You. Do?”

Dray removed box after box from a tall pile, looking for his partner’s package.

“Dray!”

He flinched and stopped what he was doing when he heard Walter’s harsh tone. “What?”

“What the hell? You’ve been at UPS for what, a month now?”

Dray nodded.

“Did you deliver any of your packages?”

The large basement was filled with boxes of varying sizes, stacked neatly in tall piles around the edge and tapering into smaller stacks as they reached the middle of the room, forming what looked like a large nest.

Dray slunk toward the indentation and flattened his ears as he curled his tail protectively around a pile of items.

“Fuck. I knew it was a mistake for you to take that job. You just can’t resist having everything for yourself, can you?”

Dray puffed out a cloud of smoke as he spoke. “What did you expect? Dragons hoard things. So duh, I’m keeping it all.”

“No, you’re not. We have to deliver all these. And find my freaking package! Then you’re looking for a new job. One that doesn’t involve delivering things.”

Dray pouted. “Spoilsport.”