109 - Road Trippin' II
109 - Road Trippin' II
Nick
Her side is cold, so she’s left the bed for quite a while. Where is she? The room is dark, but that’s no major issue for us. My sleepiness slowly retreats as my eyes roam the area to locate her. I don’t see her, but a faint whimpering from the armchair before the big window forces me on my feet.
I stride toward the sound, my mate instincts driving me in a wild rally. She’s there, in the loveseat she fell in love with right upon our entrance, and appears asleep. Maybe she’s having a nightmare because she seems uneasy, but then her whimpers grow louder and her body thrashes so hard that she may fall off.
No, this is far from a simple bad dream. My pendant comes to life as its heat rises. This warns me I must do something quickly. Quite uncertain about how all this magic deactivation stuff works, I do the only thing that appears logical to me; I unfasten the buttons of my shirt that she’s wearing as a nightgown with caution not to hurt her as her moves are growing more distressed. I sleep with just my underwear on, so it requires less time till I can ensure the maximum skin contact possible.
Once we’re both topless, I sit next to her and bring her to face me with caution. Her eyes remain closed, yet she responds to my presence (or so I choose to think to comfort myself). Some long minutes pass before anything happens. I’m trying to stabilize her in my arms, but she’s still too restless, like struggling to get herself out of some invisible bondage. Just as I begin to doubt my choice of actions, a weird light comes out of my pendant, where it’s hidden somewhere between our connected chests, and engulfs us both. Its temperature rises to the point it now burns me, but I know better than to stop its course of energy.
Her breathing doesn't relax, but her movement slightly calms down. What worries me now is that she’s sweating too much. Whatever is happening on her side is very intense and causes her equal physical strain to an actual fight. Her skin feels cold being so drenched. I hate this helplessness. How I wish I could offer her some more help.
In the short time we spent together, I once overheard Linda teach Nel how to channel her energy in case of an attack. My male logical brain can’t fully comprehend this, but I am eager to try my best. During our trip, Nel has reminded me many times that she’s not yet over our past and made it pretty clear that she only let me be with her because she needs me. She says I stabilize her, so there has to be something I can do now, too.
Let’s see…
I remember an old movie where the protagonist used positive thinking to fight against an attack. And yes, I refuse to be the least bit embarrassed that I consider emulating a cartoon character in a movie I watched with Matt’s daughters at a critical moment like this. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?
Hmmm, to transmit this energy to her, I suppose she must be in this too. Maybe a joyful memory? It could do… Too bad most of our memories leave a sour aftertaste. If not for the past couple of days that we’re on the road together, I guess our happy memoirs would be narrowed down to a handful in total.
Okay, Nicholas… Now, concentrate. This will either be the coolest thing I’ve ever done or the most stupid. We’ll have to judge that by the result. For the time being, I must totally phase out all other thoughts and focus on some stolen short moment with her, emphasizing on all minor details that made her shine. This way, if she receives the energy, then it should empower her to fight back whatever black hole she’s currently in.
Deep breath. Let the memory absorb you…
”It says here that there’s a big supermarket at the entrance of the next town.”
”A supermarket?”
”Yes… you know… the place where you buy things from…”
There’s something so enthralling about how she gets excited by irrelevant small details. Truth is that I too have imagined us grocery-shopping together, seeking a typical everyday routine, but the timing right now is funny. However, we usually have distinct views and opinions, even when we share reactions, so it’s better to sit back and let her lead the way, as I learned during these days.
”So are we stopping, or what?” she asks again.
”Whatever would we need to buy from there?” I reply with pure curiosity.
Her eyes darken and her cheeks flash pinkish. Not a good sign. She’s getting angry, but why?
”I’m hungry, okay?” her voice turning grumpy, and her gaze turning outside once more, with the cutest pout possible.
”Then let’s go eat. There surely is a restaurant or at least a diner of some type in the town.”
”I don’t want a proper meal. I prefer a snack.”
”I’m pretty sure a diner could offer some snacks too,” I answer back, still not getting the point of this conversation. We’re on the road and will be for several more days, so why do some normal shopping and carry even more stuff with us? The car is almost full as it is.
”Can you please stop for a moment? I’m not feeling very well,” she says in a different, weaker tone.
What’s wrong all of a sudden? I take a worried look at her way and do as she asked. As soon as the car halts, she opens the door and jumps out with all her normal energy, and starts walking next to the car.
”Fine… Then, you go find that diner. I’ll go find the supermarket, and we can meet afterwards to find somewhere to sleep,” she tells me over her shoulder, as she moves further away.
I watch with keen fascination, while she doesn’t even look if I’m following her. Is she so certain I’ll go after her, or does she really not give a damn? Anyhow, I restart the engine and take off toward the supermarket, which I find about a mile away from our earlier position.
Not much longer, she arrives too. She sees me, but doesn’t talk to me, or stop next to me. She passes by me and goes straight inside, which leaves me chasing her, chuckling like a schoolboy. I don’t remember feeling as lighthearted as now in a long while with all this serious Alpha shit in my mind 24/7.
She still pretends I’m not there and stomps through the different sections. She keeps on picking random objects from the shelves. In the beginning, it appears she’s just sulking and trying to make me follow her till I get bored and apologize to her, but then it becomes clear. She’s heading somewhere in particular. Her steps get more hurried and excited as she approaches the… chocolates and cookies?
”Excuse me? Was all this show a means to buy cookies without me reprimanding you for the extra sugar?” I say incredulously, altogether unable to keep my laughter silent anymore.
She sways her hips, choosing all her favorites and filling an entire basket. All this while, she’s trying her best to keep a straight face, but I recognize the playful gleam in her eyes. It’s all a game to her. Ever since we left Eastport, she’s changing behaviors every hour, alternating between her various personas with no effort whatsoever. Apparently, it’s something that she enjoys a lot and it comes too natural to her. Once again, I am the boring old guy who follows her with puppy eyes, falling for her even more if that’s possible.
With a couple of long strides, I take control of the situation again. Before she can react, I’ve already taken the basket off her hand, and grasped her from behind in a way that my teeth are grazing her left ear.
”No need for substitutes, though, when you have the real thing here. Just wait until we get to that room… You won’t be needing chocolate to regulate your hormones tonight…”
Back in real-time, the sweet smell of her arousal affirms my plan. She’s still sweating hard and her hands are unnaturally cold, but this slight change confirms she picked up my intention. I smirk, realizing how she actually enjoyed that moment in our memory as much as I did.
Before I have more space to wonder about my next moves, she suddenly goes limp in my arms. Despite her exhausted appearance, her characteristics smoothen. With a sigh of relief, I collect her in my arms and move her back to the bed.
A small smile forms on her lips at the light bump when I deposit her on the sheets. I try to be as delicate as possible, but I guess it’s impossible not to wake her up, nonetheless.
“The supermarket? Really?” is all she says before she sinks again into a deep slumber.
__________
It’s been two days since that weird incident, and we haven’t exchanged a single word about it. The next morning, she awoke in a sour mood and dismissed all conversation. We packed the few items we had taken out of our bags in complete silence, same as the breakfast we had in the room. She didn’t even accompany me in my morning run, despite the scenic landscape around us and the intense excitement she had expressed the previous day. She stayed perched up in that same spot where I found her, buried deep in that stupid book she’s always reading lately. Whatever happened to her that night caused her to close up again.
Before leaving the Whitemountain area, she asked to pass from the mountain road that led to the slopes facing the resort. She spent hours there. One could mistake her moves for hiking, but I know she was searching for something. I followed her in silence, as she wasn’t willing to share her thoughts with me anymore. I won’t pretend to understand her actions or what she was looking for, though. She wandered through the trees, touching the soil, removing some first leaves fallen to the ground. This was yet another version of her I had never met before; determined, but lost.
“If we keep this pace and route, we can be in Southville in a couple of days. Should we go for it, or do you prefer to delay it some more?” I ask, in an attempt to launch any type of interaction.
She doesn’t react.
“Nel, I’m waiting for an answer here…”
“Sorry, Nick… I was absentminded. What was it you asked again?”
“Which way to go? We’re not far now. Should we go straight ahead?”
She shrugs, but doesn’t answer… once more…
“You’re getting lost again. Why don’t you talk to me, dammit? What is wrong? How am I supposed to help you if you tell me nothing?” I say, unable to withhold my anger any more.
She turns to glare at me with a fascinated accusation written all over her.
“Can you blame me for that? Do you even have to ask? How much free time do you have? Because if I get started on the reasons why I don’t trust you, it would take quite a while.”
I push hard on the brakes, taken aback by her sudden hostility. I thought we were past this. Sure, we didn’t have the time to talk things through, but I guessed our common trip meant we will do so at some point. A weird ache deep in my chest makes it tough to breathe. Having the one who marked me show such malice against me, borderlines torture for a wolf. Neal howls in agony, but I can’t let this derail our plans. No matter how much effort it takes to overcome this, I’m willing to correct my mistakes. Only when I calm down do I realize that the pain isn’t only due to the bond. My pendant is burning me once again and her aura has turned pitch black, but it lasts for just a split moment before something changes in her glance.
“I… Oh Goddess, Nick, I don’t know what came over me. That was so out of line. The more we approach, the worse it all becomes; my nervousness, my temper, the dark thoughts… In fact, I wish we would never return to Southville at all. Let’s linger some more. I am not ready to face them yet…”