Myths and Legends
We drove home a comfortable silence, my hand never leaving her lap.
"I'll be running with Jacob again after dinner, if that's ok?" I said softly as we pulled up outside the cottage.
She nodded and reluctantly released my hand to let herself out of the car. I grabbed the bags from the trunk. Orla confidently took the key from me and let us inside, she really felt at home here. We were home quite a bit later than we would if we'd come straight from school, and the air con was still blowing even though the evening was cool. I hadn't switched it off since we'd moved here, trying to keep myself at a decent temperature. Maybe I should had considered it when Orla moved in. I could see goose pimples on her hands.
I left her bags in the lobby and span the dial to shut the air con off. Orla smiled gratefully, burying her hands in the big pocket of her hoody. My phone pinged with a text. I led Orla to the couch and sat with her. She looked concerned.
"Carlisle wouldn't mind seeing you tonight, if you're willing to go," I told her gently, fumbling with her hand in mine.
She raised her eyebrows as in "why?"
"He wants to see if there's anything he can do about... wait, here," I grabbed a pad and pen from the phone table, "if there's anything he can do to help you with your sleep or your speech or your eating. And, um, Heather tells me you have some scaring. He could help get that fixed, if you wanted it."
If that sort of thing was covered in my health plan I'd have done it by now.
"It's not covered, no..." I trailed off. She folded her arms at me. "You're family now."
I stood up and left to the kitchen to let the offer sink in. Her eyes pleaded with me to stay.
"I still need to ring Heather about Saturday, and I'm starving," I smiled at her, "Go and put your stuff away or something. Think about it."
I absorbed myself in washing the plates for dinner and slipping a chicken dinner into the over. I heard her little feet patter upstairs with her bags and waited until I heard the creek of her bed before heading up myself. Her door was barely ajar and I knocked softly on it. There was no response so I pushed it open and leaned in the doorway, my head brushing the frame.
"Can I come in?"
She nodded half heartedly. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she had a text book open in front of her. I considered the bed to be pretty small, but it dwarfed her. My mind wandered to an image of her sat in my king sized... I shook my head out of it.
Sorry, she scribbled, holding the little note out to me. My hand lingered on hers as I took it. I pocketed the little scrap and handed her the pad.
"What on Earth do you have to be sorry for, princess?" I settled cross legged on the bed in front of her, pushing the book aside.
You just spent more than $300 on a kid you've known for three days and now I'm sat here mooching.
I leant forward, settling my chin between her knees. I could smell her – perfume. Yeah... perfume... did she wear perfume?
"My people have a legend that for the longest time was just a story to me. A story of a guy who was all alone with no one to lov – to care about, and no one to care about him. And then one day he found a friend, and it was love at first site and he felt like they'd been together all their lives, just waiting for each other. He found his soul mate."
She stroked my hair as I spoke and let the story hover in the air for a brief moment.
I can't be your soul mate.
"I'm not saying it's a true story," I lied, my heart crushed, "I'm just saying you're different."
Her eyes narrowed in question. But soul mates are meant to be – she paused – mates. In the animal sense of the word.
I chuckled, rubbing my hand down her leg and finding her hand.
"There's no rule that says that. The other night you said yourself you thought I was different. That you could trust me in a way you didn't understand."
She bit her lip.
"What?"
It's not a true story though.
"Might be," I shrugged, "there are other stories that are definitely true."
Like what?
"I'll tell you some other time," I smiled, "It's a world I don't want to drag you into just yet."
We sat quietly for a moment, I watched her eyes as she examined my features. She pulled her hand away from mine. I frowned.
Should we do stuff like that? Her face was serious
"You said it made you feel better..." my voice showed my hurt at rejection.
But we keep doing it when I'm ok.
"I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a monster and scaring you to the hills. Do you get a warm tingle when we... touch?"
She nodded, and I saw her eyes wander as she joined up the dots. Her hand fell back into mine and I savoured the jolt I got from it.
"And do you feel... drawn to find me when we're not together?"
She nodded again.
What happens now?
She looked at our hands and ran hers up my arm, pulling me closer.
"I will be whatever you need me to be. I can feel what you feel. I want what you want. But there's a whole lot of hurdles I can't quite jump yet. And you still have a whole lot of healing to do and a whole lot of life to live before you make any of those decisions. But I'll be here."
Her eyes widened as she surveyed my face, she could see the love in my eyes. I could feel her grabbing hold of the unspoken bond we now shared.