Chapter 15. Beneath the Surface
"You know, there are things about this place that I like." Thera said, resting her head on Jonas' shoulder. The man felt...familiar somehow, which was saying a lot considering nothing about this dark place felt familiar. When she looked at him, she felt safe, calm, like all the world's problems would just work themselves out.
But the other man, the one with the magnetic blue eyes, he felt familiar too, but not in the same way. When she looked at him, she felt... well she wasn't exactly sure what she felt, only that it was a rush of emotions so powerful that it often left her dizzy. She looked at him and felt chaos and confusion dragging her down into a deep, dark place that she knew she did not want to go, but she did not know why.
No, it was far better to be with Jonas – innocuous, safe, Jonas.
"Would it mean anything if I told you I remember something else?" Jonas asked, and Thera raised her head to look at him, curious.
"What?"
"Feelings." He met her gaze, earnestness burning in the dark brown depths, and she had a sudden thought, a memory; a flash of blue eyes looking at her in the exact same way. Huh?
"Feelings?"
"I remember feeling...feelings." He admitted with a half-cocked grin. Thera remembered feeling feelings too, she just wasn't entirely sure what kind of feelings those feelings were.
"For me?" She breathed, equal parts hopeful and apprehensive.
"No, for Tor." He quipped, rolling his eyes, and she laughs, and this, too, feels familiar.
"I don't remember much," he said quietly, a moment later, "but I do remember that."
And though Thera didn't know it then, Sam would realise later that she was right - 'Jonas' was safe, 'Jonas' was easy, 'Jonas' was the right choice to protect her heart.