Chp 3.

Mary-Lynnette

Packing...packing...what else was there to get? Her eyes fell over the walls debating on the last minute pictures she should or shouldn't take. Why was this so hard? Mare bite the end of her fingernail, a habit that she had unwontedly picked up from somewhere or other. If there is one thing that I truly don't like is packing for college.

6 months from now was her birthday. She'd be 18 but wanting college years now instead of waiting no matter how much Claudia wanted her to stay. Apparently Mary-Lynnette wasn't ready to truly take on such a major event yet. But she needed to keep thinking of things other than that morning when Ash had made that offer...

My dad is seriously going to kill me... Those were the first thoughts that came to mind. Her father was going to have a major, full blown fit and it would not be pretty. But she didn't really care, at least not when things were so...perfect.

Her hair was mushed by sleep and the makeup that Rowan had focused to such a detail was all but gone with sleep. Yet she never felt more beautiful. It was strange... This warm feeling that was spreading through all the way down to her fingers, it was something new to her.

Sunrise was peeking over the hills and tugging at the lids covering her eyes. Mare felt Ash's breath hot on her neck in a rhythm that almost lulled her back to sleep. Ash was still living in his dreams, his arm around her protectively with her head nestled in the crook of his arm. The night air had been so warm that there had been no need for a blanket, only his jacket which was now draped over her... It couldn't have been more perfect.

Then ash stirred, groaning when he sifted slightly against her shoulder. "Damn sun...ruining...stupid..."

Mary-Lynnette couldn't help but biting her lip to keep from giggling, the strong vampire sleeping beside was being held hostage by the dim light. Ash pulled her closer together, "Need more warmth" his excuse.

She turned, facing him, his eyes never opened. The sight of this seemingly big cat in such a fragile state made her giddy, Mary-Lynnette was actually giddy and it was all due to the guy that was around her. So she kissed him, feeling the warmth of his breath, the surprise with unyielding lips, and then the warmth as he soon began to take the lead. Ash's hand coming up and warming the back of her neck and the way that his lips moved against hers, there wasn't a desperate sense that she'd had with his kisses before, of the excitement of no longer holding back. This was different, one that said that it was just because they were together, no urgency or hungry need. This kiss was the sweetest because they could simply kiss. The knowledge that they had nowhere to go, they were exactly where they wanted to be.

Ash pulled back, his eyes falling into hers. They were a brilliant color that reminded her of falling water the pale blue and swirl of gray. The color was born for this moment and only she was able to see it. His gaze was intense, she had to look away Mary-Lynnette watched the sun over the hills.

"It's beautiful." She said.

"Yeah" But somehow she knew he wasn't talking about the sky.

Then he pulled away slightly. The moment was gone. "I have to get going. The plane is leaving in a few hours." He stated it. And it made her heart sink, she'd forgotten all about it. Though, she didn't let him see and pulled her face away from his.

"How long are you going for?"

"I don't know this time. But I will be back sooner."

Sooner isn't good enough...but she didn't dare say it. It just wouldn't be fair; he didn't need to know her guilt. Ash didn't need to leave with that guilt either. It didn't matter though; perhaps it was this soulmate cord that tugged at him, the one that perhaps, whispered in his ear about what was really going on in her heart.

His fingers brushed against her skin, forcing her face to look up at him, "What do you want to do after this summer?"

Mary-Lynnette blinked, "What?"

"What are you doing after the summer ends?"

Her brow furrowed, "I wasn't sure really. I mean there was college of course that my parents wanted me to attend, I mean it's not something I really thought about—"

"Come back with me." He said

"I mean that there were a couple of classes that I was— WHAT?"

"Come with me" he repeated. "Come with me, if you think about it you would be safe. We could be safe together. Mary-Lynnette we could be together."

She pushed away slightly, looking up at his face. Ash's eyes a wondrous blue that made her brain and consciousness fizzles out. What was her offering her? This had come up so suddenly, of course she wanted to. But want is so much different from should.

"Ash, I do...it's just..."

Her family...

Then his arms were around her, pulling her close. "Don't worry about it. Go to college and go find more stars for us." His eyes darkened and she could swear that they were wet.

Hands grasped at his face pulling him closer, pulling him to look at her eyes. "Ash that's not fair," She whispered, "If I could I would jump on a plane with you. I just don't have an eternity of one life time like you do. I may never be an old soul. So I have to make more of everything. I wish I did, I wish that I could have had those years together that we never had. I hate that we only had last year together and now that all of this...everything with the four powers coming to play."

Mary-Lynnette turned away now afraid that her own eyes would start to show her emotions too well. "You do so much and I always feel like I should be by your side. But...I...I don't think I can be that strong person you need me to be."

Only for a brief moment the morning birds sounded off in soft lullabies. But then there was warm breath at the nap of her neck and something soft press against the skin there. "You have always been that strong person that I needed. You opened up a person that had disappeared long ago. But your right, go and see this world, away from the nightworld for a little bit. I will always be waiting for you, that's one thing you never have to fear."

Things were settled then; Mary-Lynnette saw Ash off from the airport and watched the plane disappear in the sky. She felt the silver cord inside her weaken and then sever from her. It hadn't been so painful the last time. Why was this so different?

Her lists of things needing to get done were finished, a green crayon checking off the final things. According to that she was all set. Yet why did she feel something was completely out of place? IT couldn't be homesickness already, she was only an hour away and half of her stuff was already at the college warehouse waiting for her signature to sign it out and take it up to a room number. Her father and step-mother had already gone and said their good-byes; they had left to visit a distant relative or something. Mare hadn't been really paying any attention that morning to anything but her cereal when they said that they had to go somewhere. They said they would stop by once she settled in though. ...

It couldn't be homesick. What was it?

I just need to clear my head. That's all. But almost tripped when her foot snagged against something on the floor, a book of poems...Jane Austin, this woman wrote about the different views of the world. It wasn't merely about love and the baffling flaws of it. There were no words of languishing lust or yearning for someone. It was poems that had viewed the world differently from all others. It torn at the complexity of her mind and the questions that most left buried behind in their thoughts. Yet it was one of Ash's favorite poets because of that small fact. No...not small...huge.

To someone else it might only seem just so small. But it wasn't to him. It certainly wasn't to her. Only last year she had discovered a world she only thought lived in the movies. The person she loved so much was a part of this world. It was strange how she was so involved and thinking constantly about him. How much he is a part of his own world. How she thought about him. Ash had told her the stories about some of the other soulmates that stumble onto the steps of some mansion near Vegas. How together they both dove into this new world hand in hand together. Yet how come she couldn't do this? Why couldn't she be one of them who will stand by their partner through everything? There are other human soulmates that have sacrificed the comfortable world they know...so why shouldn't she?

This is the role that comes with knowing about the nightworld.

It's about time that I finally accept it all...

"Hey how long are you going to sit there and contemplate what you should bring for this?" Mark stood in her doorway. His teeth biting into an apple, it was so much different from those teeth that she would sometimes couldn't help but think about.

Mary-Lynnette stared down at the suitcase before her. She was all packed. For college?

Most don't start until they're 18 years old. She was 17...

Her fingers curled over the metal zipper tugging along, locking her clothes in place. Her mind was made up. "I need to use to computer for a moment."

Mark stared at her baffled. "I don't know why you're asking...but ok...?"

She pushed passed him, almost knocking the apple out of his hand. "Do you think that it's too late?"

"Do late for what? Getting some sense?"

Mary-Lynnette smiled at her younger brother, "Is it too late to change the plane ticket?"