by Elisa Leigh
“Cara! Mandy, what the fuck happened to her?” Bishop roars, and I hear Mandy crying.
“I’m so sorry Bishop. I didn’t know what was going on at first, and then it happened again.”
Crouching in front of me, he palms my face, lifting it, so I’m looking at him. Staring at me he tries to figure out what’s going on. “Mandy you aren’t making a whole lot of sense here. Did someone hurt her, she looks fucked up.”
She’s silent, and I can feel Bishop’s anger pulsating off of him, like heat waves from a fire. I grab onto his biceps to steady myself.
“Mandy, tell me what’s going on.” He shouts at her.
“She denied your claim, Bishop,” Mandy whispers.
“She what?” He yells, and I whimper.
“It’s okay my pretty girl. I’ve got you.” He puts his arms around me, so one is under my knees, and the other is supporting my back, then he picks me up. Immediately the pain is gone, and a warmth blooms from my heart, slowly rippling through my body. Healing pulses wash over me, and all that was wrong is suddenly right. I moan at the relief and snuggle into Bishop’s chest, rubbing my face into his muscled chest.
“Mandy, go to class. I’ve got her.” Bishop orders gently.
“Okay, Bishop.” She says sadly.
“Thanks for getting me Mandy, this could have been a lot worse. This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. You did what was right.”
“Yeah, I’ll check in with you later.”
He pulls me tighter to his chest and begins walking in the direction of the parking lot. I release a contented sigh and wrap my arms around his neck. He smiles down at me, leaning down, he rubs his nose along my jaw, and I feel his heated breath on my ear as he says, “You were a very naughty little girl.” He nips my lobe lightly and releases it. “If you ever do that again, I’m going to spank your pretty ass, you hear me, baby?”
I bury my head in his chest and nod, not sure exactly why I just gave him permission to spank me. He chuckles and continues walking as if he can read all that is going on in my head.
Twenty minutes later we are in what I assume is his home, more specifically his wing of the mansion. I had fallen asleep in his truck as he drove us here. Feeling safe for the first time that I can remember, I let go, let him take care of me. Still feeling out of it, he carried me through the house up to his room, through it, into what looks to be a very masculine living room. Now I’m sitting on his dark leather couch, waiting for him to say something while he starts a fire in the fireplace.
Once it lights, he goes to a spot in the room, and I hear Mumford and Sons start playing softly in the background. Bishop sits next to me, so close that our legs are touching, hip to knee. Nervously I begin to bounce my knee. His hand settles my leg, and he starts rubbing my thigh, calming me, but heating me up at the same time.
“Bishop, I have no clue what is going on here. You need to give me something.” Pausing in rubbing my leg, he looks up at me and then shakes his head slowly.
“I wasn’t going to tell you any of this yet. I was prepared to woo the shit out of you, and it wouldn’t matter when I finally told you. I’d be able to get away with it, and we’d be happy.” He says frowning and looking at the wall in front of us.
“Bishop.” He doesn’t respond and continues to look away as if he doesn’t hear me. "Bishop,” I say again, more urgently, hoping to gain his attention. “What the hell Bishop?” I shove his hand off my leg and stand up. I start walking around this room, which is pretty sweet, I wonder if he decorated it. Focus Cara, you need to get out of here, he’s acting crazy and not saying anything. Who knows what the hell he or Mandy were talking about just now, and earlier.
Walking to the door, I glance back at Bishop, and he’s still staring blankly at the wall. “Well, thanks for the talk. It was all kinds of informative. I’m going to get out of here.”
That snaps him out of it, and he jumps from the couch and rushes to me. Grabbing me, by the shoulders he guides me, so my back is to the wall he was just staring at. “No! You can’t leave.” I study him, like the crazy ass he is being.
“And yet, you can’t make me stay,” I say defiantly.
He stares at me intensely and sadly replies “No, I can’t. I want you to, though. This whole conversation started wrong. I’m not ready to have it, but I know it needs to be done. Cara, will you please sit with me one more time? If you don’t like what I’m saying, I’ll drive you back to your house.”
Hearing the honesty in his words, I relax my stance, and nod, agreeing to see this conversation through. Bishop’s chin meets his chest, his eyes close, and you can see the tension leave him with a sigh of relief. Releasing my shoulders, he grabs my hands in both of his and kisses the top of each one. “Thank you, my Princess. Let’s go sit again, and I’ll try not to be such a bumbling fool this time.” He says with a half-smile, attempting to bring some levity into this situation. I smile and walk with him, hand in hand, back to the couch.
Chapter 9
Cara
Sitting in the corner of the couch, I place my back against the arm and pull my bare feet onto the cushion in front of me. When Bishop sits down next to me, he pulls my feet into his lap and starts to rub and massage my left foot. I try pulling my foot from him, but he holds onto it, gentle, but firm and looks at me, pleading with me. “Please let me. I need to touch you. In some way, my body needs to be touching yours.”
Something clicks inside me, whenever he’s around me, he’s always touching me in small ways. “Is that part of what’s going on between us?”
He nods, still staring at my foot he is continuing to rub. “Did you know that my family built this town?” I shake my head no. “Yep. About two hundred years ago my great, great, great grandfather came over from Italy with his wife. They escaped so they could be together. Geo, my great, great, great grandfather was to be married off to someone of the same class as he was. One day, he met my great, great, great grandmother Abelie one day by a creek while she was washing clothes, and he was enraptured by her. He didn’t know what it was about her, but he loved her then and there.
Even though he was supposed to be married to someone else, they started meeting once a day, spending time together, getting to know one another. He found it difficult to keep his hands to himself when he was with her, and couldn’t help thinking about her while they were apart. After about two weeks, they were in about the same state and couldn’t go without each other without it causing them physical and emotional pain. Hiding their love from his family was taking a toll on him, and when he denied his love for her, he would become sick.”
I had been staring at his hands rubbing my feet, being lulled by his words, but when he said that, I looked up quickly to see Bishop watching me intently, edged in pain and need. I began to see how his story related to me, to us. Not being able to stand that look on his face, I caress his cheek. His eyes slide close, and he nuzzles his face into my palm. I could see what my touch was doing to him, soothing him, easing whatever was disturbing him. Interesting. Releasing Bishop from my touch, I urge him to continue.
Albeit with reticence, he does. “When Geo figured out that denying Abelie was making him ill, he understood that he couldn’t go on without her. He told his family about her, the woman that was consuming him by the minute. They didn’t believe their son, and they thought he was being tricked by her beauty to get him to marry a commoner. He was to be married to another woman in a few days.
Frustrated that his parents didn’t understand, that they wouldn’t bless his marriage to the woman he loved, he started tearing his room apart. He knew what he needed to do. He packed everything he would need to start over. Before he could leave the grounds of his family’s home, his nona stopped him. She told him that she didn’t agree with what his parents were doing, that it wasn’t the way of their family. “There’s something special about the men of this family, my polpetto. Once they find their Tesoro, they know immediately. There is nothing that can keep them apart. It’s
not something that has been talked about, but you will see that you will become an even better man with your Tesoro by your side.
You know that when your papa was very young, your Nono died. I did the best that I could, but we had nothing to our names. I survived without your Nono, but it hasn’t been easy. Your papa didn’t want a life like that, so he worked hard to become an important man. I was very proud of him and all he had done for himself. When your mother’s papa presented her to your papa, he begged him to marry her. I don’t need to explain why, you know how your mother is. Your papa saw the wealth there was to gain from marrying into her family.
I begged him to wait for his Tesoro, but he told me he never wanted to love another like I loved his papa. He didn’t want to go through the same pain he saw in my eyes every day. This is why they are trying to marry you off to that horrid girl. All your parents care about is gold, they want more wealth. You must leave. You must go to your Tesoro and keep her safe. Your family will never understand the life you must lead my polpetto. You will see that everything will work out for you.”
He escaped with Abelie to a few towns over, and they were married, just the two of them and the priest in a small church. Once married, they came to America on a ship. Geo always remembered the words his nona had said to him and vowed to keep his Tesoro safe. He never talked to his family again, although they tried contacting him for years after finding him. Geo lived in New York for a few years where he was able to make enough money for them to move into the mountains here and lived as they had always dreamed. Geo was a natural leader, but with Abelie by his side, he was more, a better version of himself. They founded this town and our family has run it ever since.”
“Bishop, that is a beautiful story, but why are you telling me this? What does it all mean?” Bishop threads his fingers with mine and pulls me to him, but I resist. Sighing slowly, he reaches for me at my hips and places me on his lap so my legs are to the side and my back is leaning on the opposite arm of the couch than before. “Princess, look at me.” I look up and find warm, reassuring eyes meeting mine. “Cara, I know this sounds crazy, trust me. I’ve heard about it since I can remember. I didn’t even completely believe it until you ran into me.” He says, with a laugh reminding me of how we met. I smile at the profoundly sweet moment we shared only yesterday. Bishop continues. “The men in my family know instantly when they meet their soulmate. It’s more than that, though. Physically we are unable to be away from them for long, or we become sick and depressed. The longer we are in the presence of our ‘one’ we become enhanced. After we have met her, we start to change, becoming better versions of ourselves. It’s always been called The Sight, and once the men in my family have found their One, and they’ve...” He clears his throat, “uh, consummated their relationship.”
I let the silence hang for a beat and whisper-shout at him “Consummated? Like, have sex?” He nods. Well damn, didn’t see that one coming.
“Once the two have bonded, the men’s enhancements are complete, and they're able to be the leaders they were born to be.”
Becoming uneasy with what he shared I jump from his lap and start walking around his room. Finally, I ask “Is this what you want Bishop? You don’t even get a choice in this. It’s just your body telling you that we belong together?”
Coming up behind me, he places his warm hands on my shoulders. “It’s my destiny, Cara. It’s not about what I want. It’s what is supposed to happen.” I shrug out of his grasp and continue to walk his room as he speaks. “I was born to lead this town. Since my father died a few years ago, the responsibility falls to me. The people here look to me to protect them.”
I'm pissed at all of the shit coming out of his mouth. It’s one thing for someone to feel connected to you and want you because it’s love at first sight. But, to want me so he can become the man that this town needs is insulting. I am so tired of not being the person that is chosen first, for me.
“Right. Can’t get between you and your destiny.” I mutter under my breath. I stop my perusal of his room and stand still staring at him. “Look, Bishop. I need to wrap my head around all of this. Please take me home.”
He looks at me, eyebrows pulled together. “What? Why? You know we shouldn’t be apart.”
I snort because he's wrong. There's nothing I want more than to be away from him. “I’m sure I can handle it.” I snap with ire pumping through my veins.
With the control he naturally exudes, Bishop tries again, edging closer to me as he speaks. “Cara, we need to be spending more time together, not less, so we can grow our bond.”
I step away from him as he grabs my hand. “So, you can start going through your enhancements, right?” I ask annoyed with everything.
“Well, yeah. That too, but-”
I hold my palm up to his face, “Bishop, take me home. You just told me a lot of things that I’m beginning to believe since the signs are there. I need some time. I know you want to start your change or whatever so you can fulfill your destiny. Let me be alone right now okay?”
With a grim nod, he accepts. “Whatever you need Cara.”
After driving me to my uncle’s house, he walks me to the door and kisses my forehead. I stiffen at the contact. “Call me if you need anything.”
I nod and close the door on him. Leaning my forehead against the door, and blow out a heavy sigh. After a few minutes, I hear his truck start up and grow quiet as he drives away. Once he is gone, I lock myself in my room, and I lose it. The truth is, if he told me that he wanted to be with me because of me, I would have an easier time with all of this. Flinging myself on my bed, I bury my head in my pillow and cry for all I have lost. I cry for my dad who I’ll never talk to again and for the mom I never knew and didn’t want me. I cry for being alone in a world where I’m only tolerated out of familial obligation. I know I am feeling sorry for myself, but I’m done. Too much has happened in a short amount of time, and I think I have the right to be upset about it dammit! For a girl who didn’t cry much before a few weeks ago, I’m doing awesome at making up for lost tears.
I never want to feel what I felt this afternoon when I considered giving up Bishop. The pain my body endured was nothing compared to the utter despair I felt searing my heart. What the hell am I supposed to do with all of this? I wonder if it can be reversed or maybe he could find another. Probably not, from what he said, this thing is permanent.
Hell, I don’t want this life. I am leaving in a few months to go to Chicago for my internship. Not being ‘the one’ to some leader of a town that I'm not even a part of. Am I just a means to an end for him? Why can't I find a place where people like me for who I am, not what I can give them?
Thank God no one here knows how much I'm worth. No one needs to know about it, or it will be just like back in the city, only hanging out with me because of the things I could buy them. When my dad died, he left everything to me and put it into a trust. I get a monthly allowance that Uncle Greg manages. I won't have control over it until I'm twenty-one or I'm married.
Rubbing my temples, I try to ease the tension that has been building all afternoon. I feel trapped in a world that no one wants me a part of. I eventually fall asleep, feeling the most alone I have ever felt in my entire life.
Chapter 10
Cara
When I enter the kitchen, Uncle Greg is standing in his pajamas facing the coffee pot, watching it brew.
"Can you give me a ride to school today?"
He looks over at me quirking an eyebrow. "I don't mind, but I thought Bishop was driving you in."
"Why would you think that?"
"He called me last night. Asked how you were doing? I told him you were sleeping and he could ask you himself in the morning."
I grab two mugs out of the cabinet and put them on the counter next to him.
"I have the feeling things are tense between you two. You want me to say something, get Bishop to back off?"
"Would it make a difference?"
He stare
s at me blankly, giving me nothing.
"Did you know that Bishop thinks I'm his soulmate?" He continues staring, and it's my turn to quirk my eyebrow at him. Eventually, he nods. “A lot is going on here Cara that you don't know about, yet."
“What I know is that Bishop and I are connected physically and mentally. If I even think about not being with him, my body starts to shut down. That's child's play compared to how I get mentally. I'm not even eighteen years old yet. How am I supposed to know who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with? Because of how my body is reacting to his?"
“You need to talk with Bishop. He can explain all of this more than I can."
"Why bother? He only seems interested in the fact that our connection will make him stronger. I'm not interested in being used. I've had enough of that to last me a while, Uncle Greg." With that parting comment, I turn around and go back to my room to get ready. I'm exhausted, and it's only five thirty in the morning.
We get ready, and he drives me to school trying to make small talk on the drive. I commandeer Uncle Greg's office until the warning bell rings. While I walk to my first class, I'm happy that the halls are close to empty. I have no interest in seeing or speaking to anyone here. As soon as I walk through the door, Mandy pulls me to our seats, looking concerned and hugs me tight.
“You okay Cara? You didn’t answer any of my texts last night or this morning.”
I hug her back and sit down. “Sorry, I had a lot on my mind and forgot to look at my phone.”
With squinty eyes, she says nothing, and I can see the wheels turning. She's trying to figure out what's going on with Bishop and me.
Mandy seems to know I don’t want to talk about it and she doesn't ask, though I can tell it costs her not to. I’m grateful she picks up on my need not to share. Good thing too, I wouldn't know what to say. I follow her around all morning, sitting next to her, and only half listening to our teachers.