If I Were Allowed To Love You

Twenty-Seven

Being in the library again brought back the old days from high school. People still stared at her now, but it was all in adoration. Melissa's gift was now global, and everyone loved her. They wanted to watch her miss, but she wouldn't. Never could. Even if she were to go blind, she'd always be able to strike her target.

Many of the same people from before worked at the library, and when they spotted her walk in with Ryan, they stared at the two with wide eyes and dropped jaws. She smiled up at Ryan as he patted her arm and walked behind the desk, ready to start the day. She walked further into the library, dropping her backpack at her feet as she sat at a computer and began to search through their catalogue for books on mythicals.

Ryan walked into the back office, hanging his jacket and bag on his desk chair, and Mark followed him in. "That's Melissa."

"I know."

"Your mates back."

"She's staying in town while her circus is in their off season."

"But she's back. And she came here with you."

"She has studying to do."

"Why aren't you more excited? Your mate is back!"

"And she's engaged to my brother's mate." Looking up into Mark's incredulous eyes, he said, "Don't be weird while she's here. She's happy with her fiancé, and I have no plans to get in the middle of their relationship."

"Are you hoping she's going to fall in love with you?"

"I'm not getting my hopes up, because the last time I did, her boyfriend proposed. And before that time, she left. So while I'll dream about it, I'm not holding my breath. All I want is for her to be happy, and if that's with someone else, then so be it. She's human, so what can I do?" Though he knew she wasn't human, he refused to say anything on the matter until he knew she was out about her mythical abilities. He knew how her father reacted to hearing the word 'mythical,' and he didn't want anything spreading over to him before she had the chance to explain.

"You're a good man, Ryan," Mark said as he exited the office. "Too good for your own good."

"Go sort the books," he demanded.

Exiting the back, he walked over to Melissa's table where multiple books were spread out around her with her laptop open. She kept her eyes on the book as she typed on her laptop, typing every word correctly with an error only every few lines. When she noticed Ryan standing beside her, she glanced up at him, to the chair, and back down at the book.

Taking a seat, he said, "You really know how to type."

"I did a lot of studying during my down time."

"Huh."

Halting her typing, she looked up at him and said, "What?"

"I don't know why, but I just assumed down time was you practicing until the next show."

Giggling, she said, "That's how we'd all go insane. We have eight hours of practice every day, and we sleep for eight to ten hours, so we need something to do with the remainder of our time."

"What would you all typically do?"

"Watch TV in our trailers. Play games, board or video. Go out and see tourist attractions, see movies, eat out. We'd spend a lot of time together, but I spent my weekdays studying while I took weekends off."

"What are you studying?"

"Well, I have an Associates in the Arts, Bachelors in Business, Major in English with a Minor in 1800's classics. And now I'm working on getting my Doctorate in Social Work."