Their Light

Chapter 10

Hadley

My goal was to wander around the house for the rest of the morning and avoid everyone, but I felt myself being pulled outside. The wind was cool, but the sun exuded a warm glow.

I reclined on the porch swing I had spotted upon my first arrival. Rocking back and forth, I tried to sort through everything I had learned. Something did not sit right with me about this society. There was also the seven soul mates thing, but I really just wanted to forget about that.

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I tilted my head back and rested it against the seat. The wind whispered over my face like a comforting caress. My life had become so much more complicated. I heard someone approaching and opened my eyes.

Joe sat a few feet away from me, tilting his head. I stopped the bench, and he immediately jumped on. I laughed as it rocked violently back and forth for a second. He curled up beside me, laying his head against my leg. I appreciated the warmth he radiated. I rested a hand on his back, lazily petting him as I pushed the swing back into action. We sat like that for a while.

I must have dozed off at some point because the next thing I knew I was blinking my eyes open groggily. I was still on the swing, curled up next to Joe. A fuzzy blue blanket was now stretched over me. Pulling it close, I snuggled into it, enjoying the soft material. Glancing around at the porch, I stiffened, spotting someone on the steps leading to the front door. A large someone. Zeke.

He was looking out into the front yard, but he must have heard me move because he turned and met my gaze. I felt a little embarrassment coming from him. Feeling brave, I scooted to the edge of the bench, nudging Joe to move to the middle.

"Want to sit with us?" I asked him. Zeke looked surprised, but nodded and made his way over to us. He carefully sat on the edge of the bench. It creaked under his weight. Joe regarded him warily before deciding sleep was more important. He was enjoying the blanket as well, nudging himself under it more.

"Did you?" I held up the blanket in question. He nodded, and the embarrassment grew. "Why?"

"You started shivering." His reply was short but sincere.

"Thank you." He dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Why were you out here?"

"Protection." Protecting the house? That didn't seem likely.

"Protecting me?" He nodded. Man, getting any syllables out of this guy was like pulling teeth. We sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. I played with the edge of the blanket, hoping he would start a conversation, but with no such luck.

"You don't talk much," I stated, because honestly it was the only thing that came to my mind. I couldn't take the silence any longer.

I realized I really knew little about Zeke, the jolly green giant. I didn't really know any of them. He didn't say anything back. He didn't even look my way.

"I usually talk too much. I tend to ramble when I get nervous and lose my filter. I understand I'm not everyone's cup of tea and that even thinking of a relationship like this is too much. I don't even understand how it would work-."

"It is not you," he cut me off in a rough voice.

"Okay, but I would totally understand if it was." He glared at me but remained silent. Something was definitely bugging him, though. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit."

He turned and looked at me, but I met his stare straight on. He was lying. I hated when people lied. The stale feeling of it made me want to vomit. If he was looking for weakness, I would not let him find any. I was being honest with him, so he could return the favor. If he couldn't manage that, he could get off my swing.