by Shelly Crane
“Gah, Ava.” He knew, but hearing it was another thing. He gulped. He saw my tears coming. “Come here.”
He put his arm around me and took my numb body to the couch in the den, the same den where Seth had come and met my family, the same couch we had sat side-by-side on as we navigated our first day together.
Daddy sat down, setting the cup down on the table next to us, and then pulled me against him. I put my feet up on the couch and turned so I could curl up, putting my head on his chest. He dragged his fingers through my hair. He would get no protest from me.
It was amazing how two men in your life could love you, soothe you, hold you, comfort you, and it be in completely different ways. I wrapped my arms around his arm like it was the only thing connecting me to this world and let him soothe me. Momma came in and picked up my legs so she could sit under them. I was holding Dad’s arm hostage so she settled for rubbing his neck, her arm along the back of the couch. They stared at each other.
Caleb and Maggie. Always Caleb and Maggie.
Their love story was what sparked the need and want for my own. It wasn’t just because I was a Virtuoso. It wasn’t just because I knew my soulmate was out there. It wasn’t just because I had been told it was coming all my life.
It was because of these two people right here.
The way they loved and cared for each other was beyond what our hearts and mind could comprehend—it went straight for the soul, winding around, locking in tight, and putting everything else to shame.
I always hoped I would find my own story, but honestly, didn’t think it could measure up to theirs. Like their love story was on a pedestal no one else could reach.
But then I met Seth and I got it.
Everyone’s love story is epic in its own way. It’s up to you how epic you make it. It’s up to you how much you love them and how much you fight for them and keep them and wind them around your soul.
I closed my eyes, tried not to fly apart into a million pieces, but failed as the quiet and still finally let it all settle into me.
“Oh, God…” I whispered, breaking the silence. “He almost died, Dad,” I cried miserably.
He squeezed me tighter, in true form. “I think I’m finally understanding that.” He kissed my ear and whispered, “I’m sorry. Breathe, baby girl. Just breathe.”
Mom scooted even closer and I pulled my knees in so we could huddle.
Luckily, since Seth couldn’t be there, I had the next best people there holding me together. I cried on Daddy’s shirt for a few minutes, but the rest of the next hour we just…were. Sometimes you just needed to be together and right then, I needed to just be with them more than anything if Seth couldn’t be there.
Rodney had come in and was trying to look like he was texting on his phone, but I knew better.
“I’m fine,” I muttered and looked over at him. He was sitting in my favorite big brown and teal club chair with his ankle on his knee. His leg was bouncing like crazy.
“What?” He shrugged his shoulders.
“Thanks for coming to get me.” I didn’t mention how he knew to because I didn’t want to get into it in front of Mom and Dad. He apparently didn’t either.
He nodded quickly. “Of course.”
Mom patted my leg. “You may not want hot chocolate, but I do.”
“I could go for some, actually.” I looked at Dad from under my lashes. “Sorry I snapped at you. And wasted perfectly good hot chocolate.”
He kissed my forehead. “It’s forgotten, baby girl,” he whispered.
He must’ve been really worried about me. He hadn’t called me that in a while and now I was going to start counting.
“Ava,” Mom called from the kitchen calmly. A weird, too-calm.
Dad tensed and said softly, “Go, Ave.”
I got up and walked at an almost run past the living room to the kitchen and stopped at the sight of my mother hugging a dirty, sooty, exhausted, obviously distressed, and very confused version of Seth.
His arms stayed a little out to the sides and I didn’t know if that was because he was dirty or just because she hugging him and he didn’t know why.
When he looked up and saw me, his face changed so drastically to one of relief. “Ava.”
I’d never felt so loved. Was he really that happy to see me?
He shook his head as he moved forward, my mother long gone as soon as she saw me come in, and said low, “We’re going to have to work on that, little bird.”
His long, big arms hadn’t even wrapped around me before his mouth was pressed to mine. This was not open-mouthed, tongues, and hands like in the fire station that day. No—it was so much more than that. With just the pressure of his mouth, he was simply saying he needed me and that was so much more than any passionate romp we could have.
As he lifted my feet from the floor and pressed me to him like he’d never let go again, I hoped I was conveying the same thing.
He put my feet down, but didn’t release me, just put his forehead to mine. Our breath raged between us.
“I’m sorry,” he said, the agony back on his face. As he leaned away, I questioned him with my eyes, but I saw him shift his gaze to my father. I hadn’t even realized they had followed us in, but should have guessed. He was next to Mom. Seth gulped. “I’m sorry that I put her in danger. I never meant… I would never have gone in if I thought…” He sighed angrily.
“Seth,” Mom tried softly.
“I couldn’t stop my heartbeat.” He leaned against the counter, keeping me right against him. I could tell he was beyond exhausted. “Couldn’t calm down. I tried. I tried everything.” He looked down at me. “It was like my body called to you without my permission.”
“Your bodies—when we imprint,” Dad explained, “that’s what it does. It imprints a little piece of you on the other person’s soul. If we’re ever in trouble, that’s why it calls to them. We have no control.”
Seth grimaced, his hands shaking with anger on my hip. “She could have died trying to save me!”
“That’s not how it works for us,” Mom stepped in, leaving Dad’s embrace. He seemed loathe to let her go. We were all on edge. She came and leaned on the counter next to us. “For our kind, our gifts are for a reason.” She glanced at Dad for a second. We had just had this discussion. “If you’re given an ability, it’s for a purpose.” Seth’s arms tensed around me and I didn’t know why…or maybe I did. I peeked up at him. He was so exhausted. He had soot on his cheek… No, I wasn’t going to grill him about that now. “Our kind believes that these are gifts, not burdens. If you were meant to be saved, then you were. You bonded to my daughter for a reason. You can’t look at this like a human would.”
Seth scoffed tiredly. “Like a human would? What—rationally?”
Mom smiled. “Remember that I was a human.”
Seth squinted. “I didn’t know that.” She nodded. “The Visionary is a human?” She nodded again and smirked. I shook my head. Mom loved it. “Okay, I understand all that, but you don’t understand what happened tonight.”
My heartbeat spiked.
Don’t mention the humans.
He looked down at me. Humans, he scoffed. What? Why?
Because it’s against the law. For our kind.
He stared. Oh…you’re serious.
It’s a big law that they don’t know anything about us.
They won’t say anything.
I’m sorry. I know I screwed up, but what was I supposed to do?
He cupped my jaw.
They won’t. Say. Anything.
He looked back at my mom, who was waiting patiently for us to finish. It wasn’t the first time she had to wait for a Virtuoso couple to talk amongst themselves and it wouldn’t be the last. He sighed, rethinking everything.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were on the way here?” I asked.
“He didn’t want you to go after him before he could get here,” Dad guessed and nodded. He looked at me as he moved toward us. �
��Which you would have, by the way.” I opened my mouth, but stopped. Maybe… “I appreciate that,” he told him and held his hand out to Seth. Seth separated from me and looked at his slightly dirty hand, but Dad didn’t care as they shook. Then Dad pulled him in for a hug, which surprised the ever-loving mess out of me. “Glad you’re okay.”
Seth leaned back, looking so exhausted, but was clearly surprised. “Thanks, Mr. Jacobson.”
“Caleb. And you don’t have to thank me for being glad you’re alive. You’re my daughter’s significant and if something had happened to you, she would be hurting. So you’re here to stay, kid.” He patted his shoulder, while I went to take Seth’s hand. “Now, why don’t y’all go on upstairs.” It wasn’t a request. “We’ll talk tomorrow. You both look like you’re about ready to fall over.”
“Go on,” Mom urged and smiled at me. “I’ll bring you some tea up in just a second. Do you need anything else? Seth, are you hungry?”
“No, ma’am,” he answered so quietly, rubbing his head. I’d never seen anybody this tired before. “Something to drink would be perfect though, thank you. I’ve got everything else I need.”
I put his arm over my shoulder and we started out of the kitchen, with my first real smile of the night on my tired face.
Fourteen
Seth kicked his boots off at the top of the hallway. It turned into carpet near our bedrooms and he didn’t want to get anything on it, he said. I did the same, just in case, looking down, mourning my ruined Chucks that Seth had so lovingly made special.
“Aw, I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
I tried to shrug. “They’re just shoes, right? Do you want to take a shower?” I asked.
“No,” he sighed, “I don’t think I could make it through it.”
When we got into my room, I realized that Seth had gotten another jacket from somewhere. It was sooty and dirty, too. He took it off, going into the bathroom and laying it across the sink. I followed him in and he reached for my jacket before I could even try. I let him and when the jacket left my body, a huge whoosh left my lips at how much lighter I was. He gave me a small smile.
Turning to get a washcloth from the cabinet was my first look at myself. I stopped. It was hard to breathe and process and think…
Seth was dirty and sooty and exhausted…but so was I.
I had soot on my cheek and my neck. My pants and shirt were ruined from crawling through the building. My chest had scratch marks on it that I could only imagine were from me when I was freaking out about Seth coming across the ladder. My hair was all over the place. My eyes were so red from smoke, from crying…
I looked like a horror film’s leading lady.
And then I looked over at Seth to ask him why he hadn’t said anything, or why he thought my parents hadn’t said anything—I mean I probably ruined the stupid sofa and their clothes—but he was looking at me like there was nothing in the world he’d rather be doing than standing in a bathroom with me, cleaning up, getting ready for bed, knowing that our touch would carry us to sleep, and that we’d wake up, withdrawal free to start a new day together. A day that we would always cherish because we had survived.
And I guessed my stupid soot face didn’t matter that much anymore. A tear escaped, but I still turned to get the washcloth.
“Ava, here’s the tea, and I added a couple turkey sandwiches, just in case,” Mom called. “Also, I put a stack of clean clothes out here of your Dad’s for Seth—sleep clothes and clothes for tomorrow, okay?”
“Thanks, Mom,” I called back through the open door, but wet the cloth and didn’t look out for her.
When it warmed, I wrung it out and looked up at him. He wiped the tear from my cheek, but smiled and I knew it just smudged the dirt there. I pushed his stomach until he sat on the edge of the tub and then bunched it in my fingers before rubbing the cloth across his forehead. He sighed so loudly. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, opening his knees for me and tugging me in between them with his hands on the backs of my thighs. Even in his exhaustion, his hands sought me out.
I kept wiping, feeling the relief settle into me more and more the cleaner he got, the more I could see his face clearly. I cleaned his neck next and each arm, leaning over to rinse the cloth in between. I made him stand and when he did, he winced a little, instantly regretting it when I saw.
Everything in me went on high alert again. “Off,” I ordered.
“Ava,” he soothed.
“Off,” I said again and gripped the hem of his shirt.
He pressed his lips together and I knew why. He knew that whatever I was going to find under there I couldn’t do anything about. We hadn’t ascended yet so I couldn’t heal him.
He felt like it was pointless to put myself through it to see it if I could nothing about it.
“If I was hurt, would you want to see?” I countered.
He growled a little under his breath. “That was dirty.”
“It’s fair actually.”
He reached for the hem of his shirt with me and, even though I was exhausted, I opened my mind so I’d know how he truly felt, if he was really in pain or just playing it down for my benefit. I helped him pull it over his head. He made no noise and I knew it pulled a little, but it didn’t seem too bad…until he dropped the shirt and stood up straight.
I couldn’t even appreciate the fact that he was shirtless and amazing in front of me, and I would always be angry at that fire for taking this first experience from me.
He had a large hand-sized bruise forming over his left ribs. I moved right up against him and barely touched it with my fingertips. “Oh, Seth.”
“I caught the railing. It’s okay. These things happen sometimes. It’ll heal. It’s not broken…this time.”
“You’ve broken a rib before?” I whispered, but couldn’t tear my eyes from it.
“Yeah,” he said and sighed.
I waited, thinking he was about to give me the list of bodily injuries, but realized that was a stupid thing to think. He would never do that. I let my gaze move to up to meet his blue eyes, but he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at my fingers on his ribs.
“I can’t believe you’re being like this.”
“Like what?”
“Why haven’t you asked me yet?” He finally looked up and he looked equal parts scared and curious. “I thought it was going to be the first thing you asked when you got me alone.”
He wanted to know why I hadn’t asked how he got Rodney there by just closing his eyes.
“You said you wanted to wait, right?” I said carefully. He nodded. “There was a reason for that, I’m sure.” He nodded again. “Honestly, after what just happened, I just don’t care about anything else right now. I’m too exhausted to process anything else but you being safe.”
His hand covered mine on his ribs for a few seconds before he steered me to the sink. He lifted me to sit on it before I could protest. “It’s just a bruise. I’m fine,” he insisted.
He got a new washcloth and repeated the process with me that I had done with him, washing my face, neck, and arms.
Even in the state I was in, it was hard not to notice how amazingly rugged everywhere he was. I tried not to stare at his chest, but he was at eye level. I almost groaned at his shoulders alone…they were so…hard and strong.
I looked away, feeling bad for looking at him like that after what happened tonight. His friend died, for goodness sake. He didn’t want me to gawk—
He made me look at him and my belly ached so sweetly at the sweet smile he was trying to give me. “Gosh, you are the most adorable woman I have ever…” He sighed, so tired. “Of course I want my significant to think I look good with my shirt off.”
The corners of my mouth lifted as he matched my smile.
Then he lifted me back down and walked out to the stuff Mom had brought and put on the bed. “Your mom is the best,” he said softly.
On the tray of food was two glasses of iced tea and two sandwiches cu
t diagonally down the middle. With the pile of clothes. She had even put socks and a new toothbrush on top.
I smiled. “Yeah, she is.”
He took his pile into the bathroom and I got dressed quickly in my room. I tossed my destroyed clothes in the small trash can by my door and stared at them as I drank the tea and sat on the bed. I started to open my mind to make sure that Seth was okay, but decided not to. He was going through a lot and I wanted to let him have his peace. I thought maybe he’d sit in there for a while and take a minute.
He didn’t take long at all.
He emerged wearing some of Dad’s VOLs pants and one of his band t-shirts—The Rocketboys. The pants were a smidge too short, but that did nothing to mar the image. “This is the most adorable you’ve ever been.”
He cracked a small smile as he made his way over. “That’s not exactly what a man wants to hear.”
“You’ve been every other step on the spectrum already—adorable was the only one that was left. Rugged, handsome, gorgeous, searing to the point of eye damage.”
He chuckled as he sat next to me on the bed and took me in. “Okay. I’ll let you have adorable this time,” he said softly, his eyelids barely holding themselves up.
“Here,” I said, feeling bad for joking. I handed him his tea and then took the tray, setting it on nightstand. Last time he stayed here we just flopped on top of the bed in our clothes. Not this time. He deserved a real night’s sleep with comfort and warmth. So I got my favorite big blanket from the window reading nook and spread it out on top of the bed. I turned back to him and he had almost downed the whole tea and had started in on the one half of the sandwiches.
“You don’t have to.”
“No,” he said and chewed slowly as he moved to look at my room. “Now that I’ve tasted it, I’m starving. That’s a mean turkey sandwich. What the hell is on this?” he said comically.
“Avocado.” I smiled. “Mom made it her mission to be a good cook since she was so epically bad at it when she and Dad first got married.”