Chapter 5—Rory’s Return

Outside my house, I noticed that my dad’s truck was gone. This was unusual because the only time he wasn’t home was when he was at work, and he definitely wasn’t at work this time of night. I walked through the front door, taking off my coat, scarf, boots, and gloves. There was a fire burning in the fireplace that was very warming and created an inviting atmosphere. The house was eerily silent except for a few sniffles that I heard coming from the hall.

“Mom?” I said as I walked slowly down the hall towards her bedroom.

“What?” her hoarse voice responded agitatedly, echoing off the walls.

“Are you getting sick?” I asked while opening her bedroom door. She was sitting on her bed with piles of tissues surrounding her. Her eyes were red and swollen. It was obvious that she had been crying.

“No,” she replied with shortness, wanting me to leave her alone.

“Well, you are either sick, or you’ve been crying. Now, I can tell that you have been crying, so what’s wrong?”

My mom didn’t answer me at first, and she stayed quiet for a minute or two without looking at me. She had always ignored the person talking to her whenever she didn’t want to answer their questions or wanted them to go away. I was about the only person stubborn enough to stay and annoy her until she said something. If she didn’t want to speak, then she should’ve just said so because ignoring someone was just plain rude to me. I would have been more than happy with a response like, ‘I don’t want to talk about it right now,’ but she would never say this, even when she would finally crack. I stood in the doorway. The awkward silence was agonizing as I stayed waiting for her to respond; acknowledge my existence. When she finally realized that I wasn’t going to leave her alone until she said something, she rolled her eyes, and, with a short huff, she began, “Your father and I got into a fight, and he left to cool off somewhere.”

“Do you know where he went?” I questioned, slightly concerned.

“No.”

“Do you know when he will be coming back?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to go looking for him?” I asked, trying to help because I was pretty sure I knew where he was.

“No,” she replied as her voice broke.

“What were you two fighting about anyway?” I asked curiously as I started to walk into her room. I didn’t see how they could have possibly been fighting about anything because they would hardly speak to one another as it was. A fight was very unusual in my house between my parents.

“Sarai, I’m not going to discuss this with you. Could you just leave me alone and put out the fire in the living room? I’m going to bed,” she replied shortly. I really wish everyone would just leave me alone. Why does this child think that everything is her business? Just a nosey brat, I heard my mother’s inner monologue.

It took every nerve that I had not to snap back at her with a smart-ass remark. “Alright,” I said turning around and balling my fists. As I walked out and shut her door behind me, I heard a louder sniffle come from behind me. She must have started crying again.

When I extinguished the fire from the fireplace, I turned off all the lights in the kitchen and living room and made sure the house was locked up before going to my room.

My mother never really cared much for giving nor receiving a shoulder to cry on. I never knew how to help comfort her because she always shut me out. Well, she didn’t only shut me out, she made sure and shut everyone out when it came to her emotions. I’m not sure if she only did this because she wanted to deal with them on her own so she could look stronger than she actually was or if she just didn’t want anyone to know her true feelings. I could dig around in her mind, tell her things that she wanted to hear, but I didn’t want her to question how I knew such things all the time. Plus I would get lost in that mind of hers; she is too complex of a person to really do this with. Let’s put it this way, the only people who I have trouble doing this to usually have mental health problems. I also didn’t want her to become defensive toward me. We may not see eye to eye, but she is still my mother.

As I was mulling this over, I got ready for bed, by dressing in my pajamas. When I turned on the TV, I heard a knocking sound at my window. I looked and saw Rory’s face staring back at me.

Opening the window, I helped him climb in before asking, “How long have you been out there?” It probably wasn’t a good idea to let a complete stranger into my room at night, but I don’t feel like he is very dangerous.

“Not very long,” he replied with his charmingly perfect smile as he removed his snow-covered coat and beanie.

My face started to feel hot as I began to feel overwhelmingly embarrassed. “Did you see me undress?”

He gave me a sly smile in response and grabbed my hands, leading me to the bed. Rory sat down and I next to him. I felt unusually comfortable and safe around him. Every time he touched me, there was some type of electric shock feeling that spread throughout my whole body, causing goosebumps to form on my skin and my hair to stand on end. There was also something else that I found peculiar; there was this sensation in my gut that made me want to pull him closer. My heart started to race, I became extremely nervous, and my mouth became dry as I looked into his astonishing eyes.

Clearing my throat, I began, “So how did you know where I live?”

“I didn’t,” he stated with a smile while adding, “I followed you.”

“Then, how did you know where I was? You couldn’t have been following me all day.”

“You don’t realize how long I’ve been searching for you, Sarai.”

I looked at him, confusion painted my face as I waited for him to elaborate.

He laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Next, he grabbed my arm and said, “Lay down with me, my love.”

Something told me that it was safe to lay down next to him. It couldn’t hurt, right? Maybe he would answer some of my questions without giving me riddles to solve. As I lay down next to him, his arm wrapped around me, and he pulled me closer so that my head was resting on his chest. My heart started beating faster as I listened to his calm heartbeat. Being this close to a person and having them touch me made me nervous and excited because it’s something that I thought I could never experience.

Even though I didn’t want this to end, there were still questions that I needed answered.

Propping myself up, I looked at him, wanting to stare into his eyes, but he had them closed as if he were savoring the moment. I examined his face; he had high cheekbones and a medium-sized nose that fit with the rest of his face. It wasn’t too big nor too small for his face. There was a little scar that ran above his right eyebrow and down into it. It looked as though it was busted open one point in time when he was in some sort of fight. A few minutes went passed as I studied his face, and so I decided to speak. “How is it that you make everything—everyone—quiet when you are around me?”

Without opening his eyes, he stated indifferently, “I create a barrier around myself and extend it to include you. It makes it easier to pick up on what, or who, you want to listen to.”

“Wait…You’re telepathic too?” I questioned with surprise.

“Of course, my love.”

I smiled when he called me his love. “Why do you call me that?”

“Call you what?”

“‘My love.’”

“Because you are,” he started, opening his eyes and looking at me. “Why? Does it make you feel uncomfortable?” His eyes had a sudden sadness to them.

“It probably should, but oddly, it doesn’t…I was just wondering.”

He let out a brief sigh of relief.

“How do you know that I am your love though? How do you know that I do not have a boyfriend?”

Rory smiled in return. “Are you suggesting that I have competition?” ge questioned in a teasing manner.

“Maybe I do.” I smiled at him, hoping to make him wonder for a minute.

“I know that you don’t have a boyfriend because your mind is like an open book, which is something that we need to work on.” He paused for a moment, deciding on what or how to word something. “It’s not easy for people like us to have a relationship with ‘normal people’…Plus, I did peek into your mind just a little.”

“Well…Now I know how Ruth feels with me around…”

With a smile still plastered on his face, he replied, “I didn’t do it to find out anything extremely private. Though we really do need to work on creating a lock for your mind. Anyone like me would be able to gather any information on you…or worse find you…” With this last statement, Rory’s eyes became sad again as he looked down. He looked like he was thinking deeply about something.

“How do you create a barrier around yourself? And why do you say that you have been searching for me?” I asked. I didn’t care about what he may or may not have found in my mind. I have nothing extremely secretive to hide. Though it was a bit aggravating knowing that someone just looked into my mind.

“The barrier, I will need to teach you soon. As for everything else, Sarai, I cannot get into all the details right now,” he said, brushing some of my hair behind my ear with his fingers. “When I was six years old, I started having dreams. Dreams with a beautiful girl with blonde hair and the most vibrant jade green eyes I had ever seen. After several dreams, I found out that her name was Sarai. When I was older, I abruptly found out that the dreams were something more; they were memories.”

“Memories?” I repeated in confusion.

“Yep…You haven’t had any?”

“No…Only nightmares with my shadow man.”

His face changed when I called my pursuer ‘my shadow man.’ “It’s different every time…” he stated more to himself than to me, but I couldn’t help but join in.

“What do you mean it’s different every time?” I felt like everything he was saying became more and more cryptic. Anything I questioned him about only led to more questions.

He looked at me with hope in his eyes and a certain kindness that I could not fathom. “It is nothing to concern yourself with right now,” Rory said, grabbing me closer. “Let’s just enjoy the moment we have together right now.”

I could not help but follow his suggestion as he placed his right hand under my chin, leading my lips towards his. No matter what I thought, I just knew this was right; this was supposed to happen. Rory now laid over me on my bed, his hands feeling every inch of my skin as our tongues danced to and fro together. My fingers were playing with his hair and moved down under his shirt as I started feeling his back. The sudden urge came to me that I needed to bring him closer. I became out of breath. His fingertips touching my skin sensually caused electricity to go through my body and my heart started racing so fast it felt like it was about to give out. My stomach felt like it was doing flips as I pulled him closer.

Rory’s hand strayed from my waist, up under my shirt as he moved his hand slowly, caressing my curves to my breasts. He cupped them and began kissing my neck as I let out a soft moan. I felt him become aroused as my moan escaped my lips.

By this point, I really did not care what we were doing nor if it was a bad idea. All I desired at this moment was for him to stay close to me. Why shouldn’t I trust him? He makes my heart race, makes me feel nervous, while also feeling safe. Who cares that I just met him? It didn’t make any sense, but I feel like I’ve known him all my life.

That was the night that I had decided I was going to give in to my urges and allow him to indulge in his. However, that is not what happened.

He moved both of his hands back down my torso and grabbed my ass which made another moan escape. As I laid under him enjoying his touch, he suddenly pulled himself away and stared deeply into my eyes. Both of us just looked contentedly into each other’s eyes as we tried to catch our breath.

Laying his head on my chest, he stated, “You have no idea how long I waited for this day my love…” He paused to catch his breath. “I’ve been searching for you for years and now…” He raised his head to look at me. “Now, I’m finally with you.” Rory complemented his confession with a long tender kiss on my lips.

He moved to lay on his back. Now we were lying side-by-side, tangled up with each other on my bed, gazing deeply into each other’s eyes. Any question I had for him vanished I was more than content with only his presence so close to me. As I examined his eyes, I could see some sort of desire, a longing, and an immense amount of unconditional love radiating from him as he watched me.

“I’m here now…You don’t have to search nor wait any longer,” I replied, wanting him to keep kissing me, feeling me, and I wanted to feel him. I removed my shirt as I laid back in bed, waiting for him to do as he pleased.

His eyes conveyed shock and excitement by my response. I could tell he was internally arguing with himself.

We didn’t do anything that night, no matter how badly I teased him. We only laid wrapped up with each other, talking for the rest of the evening.

“Why do I get this feeling whenever you touch me?” I asked. “I’ve never felt it before when anyone touched me.”

Rory smiled. “Because where I come from, that’s how you know you have met your soulmate. Only soulmates have this type of effect on each other.

***

I woke up later that night, cuddled up with Rory. My head was resting on his chest. I looked up at him and began to smile as he rested peacefully with me in his arms. I laid wrapped up in his arm, extremely happy for the first time in my life. Looking around my room, I noticed something was glowing.

An orange light was radiating from my purse causing it to reflect off the wall. It couldn’t be, I thought to myself and getting out of bed, grabbing my shirt, and putting it on. I walked over to my purse and grabbed the locket. The red, unidentifiable jewel was now immersed in a bright, glowing orange light. “What the hell are you?” I murmured to myself.

Rory stirred in his sleep after I said this, and I tried to be quieter while he slept, but he had already woken up. “What is that?” he questioned, jumping out of bed, hurrying over to me.

“I’m not sure…” I replied. “Someone I know gave it to me.”

He grabbed it out of my hand slowly, inspecting it very closely. “Who gave this to you?” he asked, staring at me with worry.

“A guy that I used to go to school with. Asher.”

At the mention of his name, a flood of emotions had overcome Rory, but the one that he conveyed the most was anger.

“I’m too late…” he stated, grabbing his clothes and putting them on with the locket gripped tightly in his hand.

“What do you mean, you’re too late?” I asked. “Where are you going? Rory, what’s wrong?” Tears started to form in my eyes. I was afraid that he was leaving me with no explanation. Just as this thought crossed my mind, Rory’s head snapped to look at me incredulously.

He walked towards me and kissed me before speaking. “I’m not going to leave you for good, my love. There is something I need to go do, and then I will be back. Don’t cry my love,” he stated softly while wiping a tear from my face. “You need to get rest now, and I will be back before you wake up.”

“But why did you say that you were too late? Do you know Asher?”

“Yes…I do know Asher,” he said with a coldness in his voice. “Please stay away from him…He is not someone you can trust.”

“Why not?” I asked, confused and a little aggravated. “I’ve known him since high school—a lot longer than you, I may add.”

Rory looked as though I had just knocked the wind out of him. Pain surfaced in his eyes for a second before he continued. “Do you know anything about him?” he inquired challengingly.

There was nothing I could say because the fact was that Asher never shared one detail about his life with me, even if asked. Even when I was looking into Ruth’s mind, he never spoke of his life to her. “But how do you know him?” I questioned in turn.

When Rory didn’t speak, I continued, “Please tell me why you said you were too late?” I pleaded with desperation tinting my voice.

Rory let out a deep breath, as if he were gearing up for a long story as he caressed my cheek. “I know him from a long time ago. He was my best friend at one point.” He paused for a moment as he seemed to be struggling with something inside him. There was some type of inner turmoil working against him as he looked to be debating on whether or not to tell me the truth. “Sarai, I can’t get into all of this right now. I need to get rid of this locket and only after that can I tell you everything that you need to know.”

“But why do you need to get rid of it? Why does it shine like that?”

“I trust you showed it to Ruth, and it didn’t react to her as it does to you, correct?”

“Yeah…”

“That’s because it is designed only to react to you. It comes from a place where I used to live, where Asher lives, and where Silas, your ‘shadow man,’ as you call him, is from. The necklace was designed specifically for you, thousands of years ago; only you can use it.

The reason I told you that my dreams were memories is that it’s true. We have lived several lifetimes together, but you have always died not long after you turned twenty-one.”

It felt as though my heart had dropped. “But I will turn twenty-one in less than three months.”

Desperation spread across his face. “I need to get rid of this now. I cannot lose you again!”

“Rory, wait! What does Silas want with me?”

“You are the only one that he desires because you can pose as the greatest salvation or the greatest threat to him after you turn twenty-one. The reason he presents himself to you through your dreams is to keep an eye on you and collect information. He cannot get you this time; this time, I’ll make sure and protect you…I cannot fail you again…”

Terror ran through my body, and I could feel the blood rush out of my face. I must’ve gone white as Rory became worried, holding me, saying my name, and kissing my forehead. I also must have fallen to my knees as my heart began to beat irregularly again and my breathing became erratic. I was having another panic attack.

Rory was hugging me, trying to say something when he suddenly jumped into my head because I couldn’t comprehend anything that he was saying. He started showing me calming images and projecting soothing emotions. I was completely immersed in euphoria until I finally came to my senses.

“How did you do that?” I questioned moments later, bewildered.

He only smiled at me, picked me up, and then laid me on the bed. “It’s a pretty useful trick that I will teach you very soon. There’s a lot of work that we must start on, dealing with your abilities, but for now, you need to rest.”

“Don’t leave me alone, Rory…Please…” I begged as my eyes grew heavy with exhaustion.

His face softened at my request. “Of course my love.” He leaned over me to kiss me. “I shall be here by the time you wake up.”

I was about to say something else, to tell him not to go anywhere, to tell him that I wanted to help him, but I had grown very tired from all of these emotions that had passed. It had also occurred to me that maybe Rory was making me feel this way, but whatever the case, I couldn’t fight it. I soon fell asleep without giving another thought to what he had said.