The next morning Scarlet was disappointed to find herself in her bed. She had fallen asleep at the beach and she wished that Stephan had taken her back to his house or had come with her to her house. She remembered wanting to remain in his arms forever.
Stephan had called Solara the previous night to pick Scarlet up. He knew that he would be with Kayla at her place. Solara ran to the garage and drove back With Scarlet asleep in the back seat. He didn’t ask him any questions he knew that what happened between them was private.
Their odd relationship carried on for a while. Each time she would try to talk to him about it, he would interrupt her with kisses or he would leave. Finally, she gave up. She would get all that she could now. She would wait until his demons were all dead then they would define their relationship.
She wondered why he had shared that night with her at the beach, that night he behaved like they were lovers and now he pulled away from her. It was not fair; he had given her a taste of affection only to take it away from her. She was patient with him hoping that soon they would go back to the beach.
Meanwhile, Solara and Kayla were way past cloud nine. Their public display of affection was on the borderline of romantic and nauseating. One thing was for sure they complemented each other. Scarlet knew that soon she would either be in a crowded house or an empty one.
That night Kayla had left with Solara, he had something special planned out for them. When she left the diner Stephan was there. She had the routine embedded in her head, walk to the car a kiss on the forehead, and bye.
She walked at his side as she had done the past few nights. As she reached for the driver’s side door, he touched her hand to stop her. She looked up confused. This wasn’t in the routine, was there something she missed.
“Why don’t you let me drive you home today?” He said it in a low raspy voice and led her to the passenger’s side.
She watched him as he went back round to the driver’s side, hoping he could fit into her matchbox of a car. She was a bit confused but was happy about the improvement. He pulled out of the lot and as he drove down the street he took her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. Too stunned to say anything, Scar sat by and was silent only speaking up to give him directions to her house.
When they pulled into the driveway, Scarlet could feel her heart racing. She didn’t know what would happen now; this was out of the ordinary. He opened the door for her and she led them into the house. She fussed with her purse and coat dumping them on the couch as she usually did, didn’t seem right. When she finally turned around, he was staring at her.
“I adore you. I know the past couple of weeks have been strange and confusing. I know I haven’t been fair to you. I’m just was not ready to talk about us at the time.” So there is an ‘us’. Scarlet mused to herself.
She was glad that he realized the torment he was putting her through. She couldn’t take the hot-cold attitude anymore; she was getting scorched and needed a time out. Or he needed to blow the final whistle and let her live on in peace.
“I have been trying to talk to you, but you always found a way to weasel out of it.” She felt awkward. She didn’t know whether to go to his side or remain standing across the room.
There was a long pause before she decided to speak again. “I need to know what this is. I am in love with you. But I feel like there is something that won’t let you completely love me.” She was going to bare her heart out to him. It was a risk she was going to take for her happiness.
Silence again. “I need to know if you are willing to let me in. I want to help you with whatever it is.”
Stephan plopped down into a chair behind him. He had his head in his hands. “You can’t help me with what I’m battling, no one can. I’m trying to put it behind me for you so that we could be together. I just need time.”
He spoke with his head still in his hands. He never looked up at her. He was afraid to meet her gaze. Her beautiful eyes always drowned him in love.
“Please don’t shut me out.” Scarlet voice cracked in desperation. She kneeled in front of him and placed her hands on his knees. She tried to lift his head so that she could see his face but he wouldn’t budge. She gave up and sat back on the floor.
She was going to wait until he was ready. She looked at him wondering what could be so terrible to tear him apart. She ran her hands up and down his legs and waited. When he finally moved he crawled to put his head on her lap. She stroked his hair. She wouldn’t pressure him, not until he was ready. They sat for a while in silence.
She rubbed her hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him. He loved it when she would do that. At times he couldn’t bear it. He could cry, for some reason he could. No one was able to explain how his body functioned, because he was the first of his kind. He was the only one who survived the Conselho’s neurotic experiments.
***
They lay on the floor and he held her in his arms. Telling her the truth was the right thing. He expected two outcomes, one less likely than the other. She would love him regardless and he would disclose everything about his past. The other outcome he would rather not think about. She would hate him, and leave him. Tightening his grip around her he realized it was not an outcome he could handle. He almost had her. He realized that he was holding back because of Sotera. He would have to tell her about Sotera, everything about her.
A light snore brought him back to the present. Scarlet was asleep, part of him was glad, he had more time to prepare his confessions. He picked her up in his arms and followed her familiar scent to what he supposed was her room. Gently he laid her on the bed, covering her before he lay beside her. He was going to watch her sleep tonight; hopefully, he would be able to do this every night.
He had never done this before. Watching her sleep was extraordinary, she looked so peaceful. The moonlight peeped in through the crack left by her curtains. The moon was nothing new for him, he had seen it for centuries but today there was something different about it. Something that made him feels that he was looking at it for the first time. Tracing the curves on her face he memorized it, every feature. He loved everything about her. The way her chest would rise and fall as she slept, was a rhythm that he would cherish for as long as would allow it.
He thought about it. Would she allow it, after he told her what he was? How would he do this, he had to find a way to break it to her gently. He loved her, she couldn’t replace Sotera, but he still loved her. Drawing her closer into his arms, he buried his face in her hair. He loved the scent of it. It was his way of getting high.
A different kind of high.
He thought of the times he played with Sotera’s hair, strawberry blonde her curls would dance around her back every time she moved. He loved spinning her hair on his finger. How could he completely love her when almost everything about her reminded him of her?
He would have to deal with this as soon as he could. Scarlet was hurting, the distance he left between them was unfair to her. She would never be her and he had to come with that. He couldn’t replace her, he couldn’t have them both. A decision between her and a dead girl was impossible. It was ridiculous; he could only have one of them, a memory or flesh and blood.
Flesh and blood.
She cuddled closer to him, whatever she was dreaming about made her happy, the smile on her face was proof of that. He leaned down and kissed her curved lips. She was precious, and didn’t deserve the pain he was putting her through.
Kayla walked toward her down the hallway to her bedroom; she decided to check in on her friend. She cracked the door open and was surprised by what she saw. Stephan pretended to be asleep, he wasn’t in the mood to face his inquisitive roommate. He tightened his hold on Scarlet when Kayla walked towards them. This was something she never thought she would see.
***
The next morning was different and strange. Stephan waited for her in the living room as she got ready for work. She remembered how happy she felt when she opened her eyes to his face. He was watching her carefully as she moved about her apartment.
“We got to go.” Kayla ran down the stairs and stopped at the last step when she saw him on their couch. “Good morning good people.” She gave Scarlet a quick wink and she turned a deep shade of red.
They left for work. He would be driving them today. Stephan’s phone rang; he used his free hand to flip it open. He pressed it to his ear and nodded.
“Sure I will meet you at the diner in ten.”
He took Scarlet’s hand and kissed it. Today he would find out his fate. Their fate. He could only be with her if the Conselho backed off. Solara’s informant had something, and today they would go see him. All he could do was hope for good news. His mind was already in a mess. He pulled into the lot.
He looked across to the garage and wondered if he still had his job. At the moment that was the least of his worries. He walked with them into the diner. Solara was already there in his usual booth. He raised an eyebrow at this unusual scene.
“Hey babe, hey Scarlet. Stephan.” He reached for Kayla and held her against his chest. They had a lot to do today. He realized her, after planting a kiss on her forehead. He sat back down when Stephan joined him. He could see how anxious he was.
What do you know?
“The seer’s name is Mike. He said that the Conselho is desperate. I thought we could go see him today, figure this all out. So what do you think?” Solara didn’t have to do much convincing; Stephan was already on his feet. He gave Kayla a quick wave before following him to the lot. They got into the convertible and headed down the road.
“So what was that this morning.” from the corner of his eye he could see Stephan stone-faced. He could see he was tracing circles on the dashboard, musing over a thought. He couldn’t see what he was thinking, his guard was up. He at times wondered what he was thinking when he shielded his thoughts.
“Specifically, you come in with the girls this morning. I could tell you arrived together and judging by Scarlet’s happy thought I am guessing you had a good night.” He had a smirk on his face. He would pry until he got his answer. Why didn’t he make it easy for himself and drop the shield?
“What exactly is the deal with this seer, can we trust him or will he squeal the first chance he gets.” Stephan planned to ignore any questions about Scarlet. He had to figure it out on his own.
The previous night played back in his head, one part specifically appealed to him. Scarlet was in love with him, as much as he wanted to reciprocate the feeling, he had to be careful. He had to make sure that he was in love with her and not……. She reminded him about her, though they looked nothing alike, they were the same in so many different ways.
“No, I think he’s cool. A couple of my acquaintances worked with him before. He has a pretty solid reputation. So he won’t roll on you to the Conselho if that’s what your wondering.” He was impressed with the way he completely avoided the question.
The subject seemed to be very delicate to him; he didn’t envy the torment he was going through. He thought he should say something along the lines of Sotera would want you to be happy, but decided to leave it alone.
“I have enough going on with me, I don’t need anything more on my mind.” Stephan sighed; he didn’t need the trouble.
“I already told you his last vision, but hopefully there is some good news.” Hopefully.
He raced down towards the China Town. They were almost there. He felt his pocket; he hoped that he had enough money to pay him. There was nothing cheap about the seer apart from his technique. He had the talent of reeling people in, by giving them a sneak peek at their future. He would then name his price according to the reaction they had. A dirty trick, that paid off every time.
Although Solara could read his mind to get the answers he needed but decided not to cheat him out of his money. Of course, if he decided to play them, he would pick his mind, or unleash something he had never seen before. Stephan was a useful card to play. Not all the supernaturals knew had seen his kind, but they had heard about him before.
He pulled up in front of a shack. Stephan raised his brow to him. “I thought people paid top dollar for his services. Why does he live in this dump?”
“He is trying to keep a low profile. He doesn’t want to attract any unwanted attention to himself.”
They were walking up the steps when the door flew open. A short grungy looking man stood at the doorway. He had a mean look on his face. He wasn’t happy about them being there. You would think for someone who was about to be paid, he would be a bit happy.
“You must be Solara.” He glanced at Stephan before he asked, “And you are?”
“No one you have to know.” He was about to protest when Stephan’s eyes turned to a shade of red.
His grey eyes disappeared when he was mad. At times he would do it to get the effect he wanted. Solara chuckled. He knew he would always come in handy. He placed his arm on Stephan’s shoulder. He needed him to stop before the seer decided to take off through the back door. He could see all the escape routes he had planned to use.
“Hey Mike, this is a friend of mine. As you can see he likes to remain unknown.” He followed the short man into his makeshift living room and plopped down on a seat. “So I have the cash, you give me the information.” He tossed a roll of fifty dollar bills on the table and used his head to gesture at it. He could see the greed in his eyes.
“Information, we don’t have all day, and my friend is getting a bit impatient.” He winked at Stephan to get some help. Mike was still thinking about the money, and not his vision, he couldn’t get the information he needed. Stephan cleared his throat; the deep voice was enough to get him to focus.
“You want to know about the half breed. I got a phone call from our mutual friend about it. The thing is…”
Before he could finish what he was saying, Solara had seen more than he needed. “Don’t worry about it thanks, we will be on our way.”
Mike was confused he looked back and forth at them, he hadn’t said a word. It took him a few seconds before he realized.