Body and Soul (The Chronicles of Light and Darkness Book 1)

by Jamie Loeak

half-thankful and half-afraid of the man that was willing to talk to a little girl.

  When Kate and her parents walked away from the man, her father yelled at her. He told her that she was never to leave their sight again and that they had been worried about her. She never did leave their sides again, always staying close to her family, afraid of being yelled at. Most of all, she was afraid of disappointing her father, the man that loved her most in this big world. And now he was sick, so sick that Kate was afraid that he would never get better, that things would never be the same after his yelling at her.

  Kate shook her head in an attempt to forget that moment, and was fully brought back to the present when someone knocked on her door. She opened it to find Rico on the other side, carrying a package. “May I come in?” he asked shyly, his voice a whisper.

  Kate turned toward her parent’s bedroom. He wasn’t coughing right now, but it didn’t mean that he was done. However, she needed a break from sitting inside all day and she wanted to see Rico. “My father’s pretty sick so we have to stay downstairs but come on in. Let me warn you; it doesn’t sound pretty. He’s got the flu.”

  Rico stepped over the threshold, the package tucked under his arm. “Did he catch it at work?” he asked as he followed Kate into the living room.

  “I think so,” Kate said. “He came back last night and was fine, but started coughing this morning. He’s not doing so hot.”

  Rico’s eyebrows pulled together. “Do you want me to come back another time?”

  Kate shook her head. “No. Right now works perfectly fine,” she said.

  “What’s wrong?” Rico asked. He was worried about Kate, and it showed in the way his deep voice shook.

  Kate bit her lower lip to hold in the tears. “He just yelled at me, that’s all.” Her voice sounded weak, pathetic to her own ears, and she felt stupid for saying that out loud. His sickness was taking a toll on her too.

  “He’s not feeling well, Kate. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it,” Rico said as he pulled Kate into an embrace, allowing himself to hold her until he was forced to let her go. When he did, he rested his hands on her shoulders.

  Kate smiled, feeling better already, and glanced down at the package that was now resting on the coffee table. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at it.

  Rico removed his hands from Kate’s shoulders and wrapped them around himself as he looked over at the package. “It’s a present,” he answered.

  Kate stepped forward and pushed her hands underneath his arms. She smiled up at him and stepped back, pulling him until they sat on the couch. She looked at Rico from underneath her lashes. He looked handsome, as usual. His raven hair shone brilliant colors from the fading sunlight that streamed through the wide windows. His full lips curved upwards into a small, shy smile. Kate watched as his icy blue eyes clouded over, filled with emotion.

  Rico held out the small package. It was wrapped in brown paper, and a navy ribbon was tied around it, the ends curled. Kate smiled, knowing that Adriana wrapped it for Rico, and took the gift. “I hope you like it,” Rico said as he bit his lower lip nervously.

  Kate smiled up at Rico and untied the ribbon carefully, placing it on the couch next to her. She flipped the package over and tore the brown paper along the tape line - she couldn’t show Rico the rip-the-wrapping-paper-like-on-Christmas-morning girl; she had to be civilized. Inside the perfectly unwrapped paper sat a black box. Kate paused before lifting the lid and looked into Rico’s eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him softly, her hand resting on his cheek. When she pulled back, she released a breath of air.

  When Kate lifted the box’s lid, she gasped. “Rico!” she exclaimed quietly. “It’s beautiful.” Kate lowered her hand into the box and pulled out Rico’s necklace. She held the small black stone in her hands, cradling it. Rico took it from her, and clasped it around her neck. The silver chain was long, and the necklace pressed against Kate’s chest, the stone resting near her heart. She looked down at it, wanting to watch the light escape once more, wanting to feel the pieces of Rico that were still healing.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Rico said as he leaned forward and kissed Kate’s forehead.

  Kate reached out and held on to the back of his neck as he began to pull away. She shook her head and pulled him until his full lips were against hers. Rico smiled against her mouth and kissed her back. His lips were rough against hers, almost a question. She answered by kissing him harder, leaning into him so that their bodies pressed together. Rico’s hands were tangled in Kate’s hair, pulling gently on her chestnut curls. Kate’s hands rested on Rico’s neck, her thumbs pressed against his jaw. He began to run his hands down her spine, sending shocks of electricity to her fingertips, and after a few seconds Kate pulled away, gasping.

  “Hold on,” she said. “I’m sort of out of breath.”

  “That good, am I?” Rico asked playfully.

  Kate pushed him lightly and stood up. She pulled her hair into a bun and fanned herself. Rico smiled up at her. “You know, for you being so cold, I’m still hot. How does that work?”

  Rico shrugged and tilted his head to the side. “Your body heat rises when we kiss. I guess that I balance that. This time, however, you went crazy. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you’d been kissing a human but I’m sure it wouldn’t be like that.”

  “I’ll let you know,” Kate said jokingly. She laughed at Rico’s scrunched up face and leaned over, ready to kiss him a bit more. However, Kate’s father had another fit of coughing. Kate grimaced.

  Rico sighed. “I’ll go and let you take care of your father,” he said. He stood up and kissed Kate on the top of her head before he let himself out.

  Kate stood still for a moment, trying to focus on her father, trying to get her head back into what was happening in the real world. When she was ready, she turned and walked toward her parent’s room. She tried, unsuccessfully, to take care of her father until her mother came home.

  That night, Blaire slept in the guest room across the hall from Kate. Kate sat up half the night, worrying about her father, afraid for her mother, who was probably sitting up just like she was. At around two a.m., Blaire snuck in to Kate’s room and slept with her until dawn.

  After a few days of Kate’s father being ill, a routine was established. Blaire would leave in the mornings after taking care of Aaron, and Kate would take over until her mother came home in the evenings. The aura in the house changed from ease and contentment to high stress and complexity. After three days of this, Blaire threatened to call the hospital, but Aaron wouldn’t allow it. He was certain that he would be better in two days’ time, and Blaire gave him the benefit of the doubt because she loved him so much.

  Saturday morning, Kate’s father stepped out of the room looking much better. He wore faded jean shorts and a white and brown striped collared shirt. His hair was slightly disheveled, like he had just woken up, but his complexion was rosy and his eyes were bright.

  Aaron quietly took a seat between Kate and Blaire and sipped on his coffee. “I feel so much better,” he said as he set the mug down on the wooden table. Kate watched as he leaned toward her mother and kissed her on the cheek, trying to ease the tension that was circulating around the room like smoke.

  Blaire smiled, her anxiety visibly dissolving. Her shoulders relaxed and she let go of the air that she had been holding in. “I’m glad you’re better, honey. I was so worried,” she said as she reached for his open hand.

  “I’m sorry for scaring both of you,” Aaron said.

  “It’s okay,” Blaire and Kate said in unison. They looked at each other and smiled after saying it. Both were tempted to jinx the other, but both felt it to be too soon to joke or laugh. Aaron still needed rest.

  “Dad?” Kate asked.

  Aaron looked over at his daughter. “Yes, honey?” he asked.

  “Please promise to let us take you to the hospital the next time you’re sick. It was hard around here with you so sic
k. Mom and I were on edge the whole time. I almost thought that you were dying, Dad.” Kate looked over at him seriously.

  Aaron flinched but nodded. “I’m all better now, honey. There’s no need to worry any longer,” he said, effectively finishing the conversation without really answering Kate’s request. He turned away and looked over at his coffee. He pulled it toward him and rested his hands around the warm mug.

  “Are you going to work Monday?” Blaire asked as she reached for a slice of warm toast. She spread butter along the edges, watching it slide to the softer middle.

  Aaron frowned, thinking. “I’m not certain. We’ll see how the rest of the weekend goes, and I’ll decide tomorrow evening whether I’ll be able to go in to work.”

  “Do you think you’ll be handed a new case this week?” Blaire probed. She had spoken to Kate about the fact that her father had been taken off of the case that he had worked so hard on, mentioning once or twice the unfairness of it all.

  “I don’t know, Blaire,” Aaron said angrily. His voice was loud, commanding. Blaire flinched but said nothing. She looked down at her mug and just nodded.

  Kate let her jaw drop open slightly. Her father never acted like this. He must not be feeling as good as he thought; he never would have said something like that to Blaire if he had been feeling as good as he claimed.

  “I’m sorry,” he