this is me trying
chapter ten: the couch
seth
I rest my head back on the couch, peeking over every once in a while at Tatum beside me. We have been watching some sort of movie for the past hour, but I haven't really been paying attention. I just keep looking over to make sure she is okay. As if something could happen to her in the midst of me looking at the TV.
I can't believe she had come in contact with a vampire. The wolf inside of me growls at the idea of that bloodsucker touching her. I'm glad that Renesmee came when she did. Who knows what could have happened.
I am grateful, though, that Tatum invited me in. I wasn't going to leave even if she hadn't. At least this way, I didn't have to linger in my wolf form at the edge of the woods behind her house. And I am glad that she trusted me to tell me how scared so was.
"I can't believe guys actually like that girl." Tatum mutters as she motions to the lead actress on the screen. "She's kind of annoying." She adds. I haven't been paying much attention to even know much about the lead actress or to tell whether or not the actress is annoying. And to reiterate her annoyance, Tatum huffs moments later before grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. "I can't watch this anymore. I'm sorry if you were enjoying it."
I can't help but chuckle at her small outrage at the movie. It is cute and I enjoy seeing the little angry face that she is wearing right now. "I didn't think the movie was any good either." I agree with her, even though I had barely watched it.
Tatum turns to face me on the couch. "I'm sorry." A small pout forms on her lips, unwillingly. "This must be insanely boring for you. You probably have much better things to be doing right now."
"Trust me, this is way better than sitting at home, playing crap video games or something." I assure her. Though, that was never the plan.
"Are you one of those guys that is obsessed with video games?" Tatum questions as an arch in her eyebrow forms and her signature smirk appears.
"No, I just play occasionally with my roommates. I don't really have too much time for it anymore." Which is totally true.
"I love Mario Kart. Do you have that?" Tatum asks with a grin.
"I do." I smile back at her. "We will have to play sometime. But I have to warn you, I might kick your ass. I'm a total pro at Mario Kart."
Tatum gasps. "That's insulting that you are insinuating that I'm bad." She says as she playfully clutches her chest as if she were completely insulted.
I love this playful side of her. "I'm not saying you are bad… I'm just saying I'm better." I tease back at her.
Tatum holds out a hand for me to shake. "You are so on." She challenges. I shake her hand in agreement, excited to hopefully see the competitive side of her. The light in Tatum's eyes continues to glow as she rises from her seat on the couch. "Do you want a snack? I'm kind of hungry."
When am I not hungry? "Sure." I chirp as I watch her move to the kitchen. I stand too and slowly take in my surroundings of the house. It's so strange to be here and for Cade not to be. I shake the thought, not wanting to upset Tatum. I move into the kitchen and settle at the counter to watch. "How has it been staying here?" I question.
Tatum peeks over to me as she peers into the fridge in search of food. "It has been interesting." She says before shrugging. "And weird." She confesses after a moment. She grabs something from the fridge. "I feel a little out of place. Like this is Cade's home. I feel like I can't really make it mine, you know?"
"That's understandable." I agree with her. "You could always start with a few things." I suggest.
Tatum's head bobbles as she cuts slices of cheese from a cheese block. "I need to get my stuff from my storage unit from Seattle and decorate a little. But I'm kind of dreading the drive up there." She sighs.
"Is that where all of your stuff is from college?"
Tatum nods her head. "Yeah, when I got the call about Cade. I just packed up and threw it all in there before I left. It's crazy, really. I didn't think twice about packing up and leaving my life behind." She says before shaking her head as if to erase the memory away. I wait for her to speak, knowing I shouldn't bring up the Cade subject anymore. It is still very sensitive to her.
It's a while before she chooses to speak up again. And what she says, shocks me. "Do you remember when we were young and my parents were gone for a week?" She asks, peeking up at me shyly.
"You and your siblings had to stay at my house." I say, nodding my head.
Tatum bites down on her bottom lip as she refocuses her eyes. "Do you remember what else had happened that weekend?" She asks, almost nervous.
I think back to that weekend. I remember her and her siblings being at my house but I don't really remember all of the events. I was pretty young. Maybe 6 or 7 years old. "I can't really remember." I admit honestly.
Tatum's face darkens with a red color. "You don't remember our marriage?" She gasps, jokingly. "I'm insulted."
The memory instantly hits me like a wrecking ball.
"Seth, stand here." Tessa Locklear had scolded me as she and my older sister, Leah, had me dressed in an extremely uncomfortable outfit of dress pants, dress shirt and one of my dad's ties. Leah had even put some of my dad's hair gel in my hair. "Leah, is Tatum ready?" Tessa had yelled from the end of the make-shift wedding aisle they had made in my parents' backyard.
"No!" My sister hollers back. "Tatum says she doesn't want to marry Seth."
"Marry?" I hear Cade's voice chirp as he storms into my backyard with Sam Ulley on his heels. "No one is getting married." He huffs out to his sister before looking down at me. I bow my head down nervously.
"Cade, stop talking." Tessa scolds him. "You are interrupting the wedding." Sam lets out a chuckle as Tatum appears at the end of the aisle wearing a dress.
Tatum has her arms crossed over her chest and she stomps her way down the aisle. Her face is painted with crazy colors of makeup and her hair is sticking up everywhere in some wild hairstyle. But I still thought she was pretty.
"Seth, stand up straight." Tessa hisses under her breath. I listen to her and straighten my posture. Tatum stops in front of me as Taylor instructs her.
"Tatum, do you take Seth as your husband?" Taylor, the middle triplets, reads off from the lines that Tessa and Leah had scripted for her.
"Say 'I do', Tatum." Tessa hisses under breath.
Tatum shoots a glare my way before she blows a piece of hair out of her face. "I do." She says angrily.
"Seth, do you take Tatum as your wife?" Taylor reads before looking expectantly at me.
"I do." I whisper, confused and small.
"You can kiss the bride." Taylor finishes off her script. She motions for me and Tatum to kiss. But Cade steps in.
"Enough." He says as he stops from either of us moving. He is protective over his little sisters and he clearly did not want me to kiss her. I don't think I want to kiss her either to be honest. The boys at school said girls have cooties.
"Oh, yes. The backyard wedding. How could I forget?" I say, laughing at the memory. "Thank goodness for your brother. It would have been a bad divorce if we had sealed it with a kiss." I tease.
Tatum lets out a beautiful laugh that causes my heart to skip a beat. "Married at age 9. Divorced at 10. What a horrible reputation I would have had." She jokes. "Too bad, you would have been my first kiss."
Damn, maybe 7 year old me should have kissed her.
Tatum takes a few more minutes to finish up the prep of the cheese plate before she sets it in front of me. "Bon appetite." She says with a cheeky smile. It is a small masterpiece in front of me. My imprint is wife material for sure.
Tatum messes around with the small radio on the counter top before joining me in one of the countertop chairs. Soft music fills the air as we both begin eating. "First day of work tomorrow. Are you nervous?" I ask after a few moments of listening to the music.
Tatum swallows her food before shrugging. "I haven't really thought about it too much." She says before shaking her head. "Which is kind of awful, I know. I just haven't stopped thinking about that guy at the mall. I know it's silly but… He just looked-" A shiver running down her back interrupts her.
I gently rest my hand on her forearm. "It's not silly, T." I assure her, giving her a comforting squeeze.
"It's just… I'm not used to being in a house all alone." She says looking around at the mostly dark house beside the small light in the kitchen. Tatum quickly stands and moves to the fridge. "Do you need something to drink?" She asks, quickly diverting the topic. I notice that is a habit of hers. She doesn't want to talk about things that make her uncomfortable, like Cade's death.
"Sure, I'll just take a water." I answer before grabbing more food. "You know, I can always sleep on your couch for the night to give you some sort of peace of mind."
Tatum turns around and her shoulders sag with relief. "You would do that?" She asks quietly. I nod my head as she hands me a water bottle. "No." She quickly responds. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do that."
"I don't feel like I have to do anything, Tatum." I assure her. "I don't want you to not get sleep tonight because you are worried about some creepy guy. Let me stay to give you some sort of peace of mind." And me some peace of mind, I add in my thoughts. "You want to make sure you start your day off on the right foot."
Tatum nods. "You're right. But you shouldn't sleep on my couch. I'm pretty sure you won't fit." She comments. "You should take the bed and I will take the couch."
"No, I am taking the couch. End of discussion." I say giving her a look of 'don't argue with me'.
"Fine, fine. But I owe you one." Tatum says as we finish up the last few bites of the food. I want to argue and say that she doesn't owe me but I know that it's not worth the arguing. Besides, I got what I wanted in the end. I am staying at Tatum's for the night to protect her from this vamp out there.
After the snack is finished and cleaned up, Tatum and I move into the living room where Tatum arranges a bed for me. "Are you sure you don't want to take the bed?" Tatum questions one last time as she looks to the make-shift bed that she made for me on the sofa.
I settle on the couch and look up to my imprint. I knew I was going to sleep well tonight, even if I was on this small bed. Just being so close in proximity to my imprint was enough for me. "The couch is fine, T." I assure her.
Tatum looks at me with a look of uncertainty, but she doesn't argue with me. "Okay. Have a good night, Seth." She says quietly. Her green eyes look into mine deeply and I want nothing more than a goodnight kiss from her. "Thank you, again." She says before she walks down the hall toward the bedroom.
I lie down on the couch, pulling the blanket up. I barely fit on the couch. My feet hang over, but I rest my eyes and listen to the sound of my imprint settling herself into bed. I am content.
I wanted to post this yesterday but was too distracted. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really loved having a flashback to their childhood. Let me know if you liked/disliked that or what you liked in this chapter. I love reading your reviews that you all leave so if you have time, I would love to hear from you. Also, if you want to continue following this story, give it a follow or a favorite. Thank you guys! xx M