| dedication: spraythesun - for Ori's inspiration |
NINETEEN
I should have said no.
But with his hand in mind and leading the way, it wiped out any words of protest dangling on my tongue.
Two of the men disappeared as soon as I had glanced over my shoulder. They didn't leave a trace behind them, making me wonder what kind of men they were in the first place. Did Link hire them? And for what reason? The questions were brewing in my mind for a while before I decided that the only way to retrieve those answers were to ask the guy right in front of me. I shook of the whole idea in an instant.
I finally managed to string a sentence together, after regaining some of my confidence. "Were we going?" I asked him, not expecting an answer.
Link crossed the road suddenly and took the sudden turn into a much darker side road, and much more isolated. Crazy thoughts attacked me from every side but I knew Link couldn't be that dangerous. Yet, being alone with him scared me enough to think the worst.
He still had a hold of my hand and I felt the soft brush of his thumb over my fingers. I inhaled sharply at the tender touch, reminding myself that this was Link and that the flutter of my heart was out of bounds.
He came to a halt at a door. Before he entered he turned his body so he was facing me, his back to the door. He held my eyes for a few seconds, and I stood there trying to decipher him as whole. Understanding Link seemed impossible since he hid behind his stoic face every time. He had given me a few teases of what was hiding behind the brick wall and I was curious, really was.
"Keep me company." He told me, his voice barely a whisper when it reached my ears.
I could only nod.
He turned and opened the door, and instantly, a cheery female voice rang through the air. "Link!"
He dropped my hand, and I had to ignore the pang of disappointment that shot through me. The cheery female voice belonged to a petite Afro-Caribbean woman. Her massive curly hair was held back with a colourful hairband. Her sleeves were fully tattooed, the designs looking as complicated as Link from where I stood. I watched him reach over the counter and plant a small kiss on the cheek of the short woman.
"Dearie, you're late!" She smacked him lightly on the arm.
Link just smiled at her, giving her no reason for the hold up. I had an inkling that I was partly the reason. He looked over at me and motioned me to come towards him. Ever so slowly, I took the steps to where he stood and gave the petite woman a small smile in greeting.
She eyed me curiously before asking Link a question, her eyes still on me. "Friend?" she asked.
Link again didn't answer even though curiosity burned me as to how he'd answer that. Was I his friend? Frenemy?
"Frazer?" Link asked the woman instead, as he looked around the room. I did too, finally realising where I was. With all the complex designs on the walls, the chairs, the continual sound of whizzing and the faint stench of beer and cigarettes, it should have been clear instantly.
Link brought me to a tattoo studio I realised just as a lean man with dishevelled dark hair appeared from behind the curtains and Link went to him, already taking off his jacket that Link. He stood in the middle of the room in a t-shirt with one whole sleeve tattooed and the left arm only partly done.
I swallowed my gasp in, surprised to see how tattooed he was and how it made him instantly attractive. Frazer, the lean guy, listened to whatever Link was saying and then told him to take a seat.
"You staying?" the petite woman asked me, snatching my attention from Link's arms to her.
Before I could answer, Link spoke from his chair. "Ori, sit here."
The woman shrugged at me. I walked over to where he was sat, whilst Frazer pulled up a chair for me to sit in. It should have been now that I told him no but somehow, being here fascinated me more than anything. I glanced at the whole place again. I never imagined myself walking inside a place like this. Frazer leaned over Link, asking him a few questions and muttering about the same designs and whatever Link had planned for the rest of his arm. Once everything was confirmed, he excused himself for a moment, leaving me with Link alone.
"When did you get all of this done?" I asked him, pointing at his tattoos.
He looked down at his sleeves. "I've been getting it done for a week now." Link told me.
I frowned, surprised at how long it took.
"But I've been getting everything done in short hours, that's why it's taken a week. Today I'm getting everything done."
"And how long will it take today?" I asked him, moving slightly in my seat.
"Not long." He assured me. I nodded and we both fell in an awkward silence. I wanted to ask more questions, related to his tattoos but I felt like I would be prying and he'd give me short, curt answers and make me feel stupid all over.
"You can ask me shit." He said out loud.
My eyes widened, wondering if he could hear my thoughts. Nevertheless, I fired away the burning questions. "Did you cry?" I asked him.
He furrowed his eyebrows at the question. "What do you mean?"
I pointed all over his body, directing towards his arms particularly. "You know, getting inked?"
Link let out a small laugh, taking me by surprise. It sounded genuine, like he actually found it funny. I hid my smile, not ready to admit that I liked his laugh.
"No," he answered the question. "I did not cry. It hurts but doesn't kill."
I nodded in understanding. I tried to imagine the kind of pain he'd have to go through but quickly stopped. I wasn't a fan of pain. In fact, I tend to stray away from anything that could cause me physical pain.
Frazer came then and he took a seat besides Link. He wiped the spot clean with some cream and placed a tracing paper looking paper on his arm. Link glanced down at his arm quickly before he looked back to me, letting Frazer do his own thing.
My eyes fell on his arm again, and I spotted a set of medium sized wings covering a sword. "What does that mean?" I asked him, pointed at the design. Link wasn't exactly sure what I was pointed at so I leaned forwards and traced one wing. "It's pretty."
Link looked down at where I was pointed. "Oh that one," a ghost of a smile played on his face. "My friend who you met. Cain? He was helping us at Palmers." I nodded when I knew who he was talking about. His friend who scared me by giving me one look and the one who hardly spoke. "Cain and I were talking about some deep shit when we came to describing our feelings but we came to realise that somehow, something was protecting us. We're the sword, and the wings is the protection."
"Why are you a sword?" I asked him.
"Been in a battle and so has Cain."
"And what is protecting you?"
Link's eyes shined at my question and I could see the internal battle he was facing then. "Someone." He answered me. I knew not to press further so I quickly moved my finger to the next design, this one a pair of small hands with the letter S in the middle of them both.
"What's this?" It seemed out of place with the rest of the little details, this one seeming more innocent.
Link followed my finger again. "Skye," he started to say. "My godson."
"You have a godson?" I asked him with disbelief.
He nodded as his whole face lit up at the mere thought of his godson. He seemed proud of it. "He's Lucian's son and he's 5 weeks tomorrow. He was premature, born 2 months early with a few problems but he is a healthy boy. Magnificent one at that. Got his little hand traced by Frazer and inked on my skin. I'll show it to him one day." When he spoke about his godson like that, I could see the utter admiration he had for the little baby and it warmed my heart instantly. Somewhere behind the wall, Link had a soft spot for babies.
"He sounds like a warrior already." I told Link, smiling at the hands imprinted on his skin. Link jutted downwards with his chin and I slowly moved my finger down, finding the word 'warrior' written beautifully across his bicep.
"Warrior," Link said the word. "For him."
I smiled, spending a few seconds appreciating the simple word and the meaning behind it.
I carried on exploring the length of the arm and found a vintage black clock mechanism with shadows around it. The top was fading into utter blackness and coming out of it were several birds, each bird holding a rose in its beak.
"Wow," I breathed out, taking in the breathtaking detail on every single bird and every single rose and how real it looked. I glanced up at Link, waiting for his explanation.
"The clock is time, pretty self-explanatory. And the birds coming out of it means life. Life is going on, as time is. And every rose is everything life has to offer but in a single flower. Beautiful but dangerous."
I looked at the birds again. "Life is beautiful and dangerous." I whispered.
"So appreciate it." Link whispered back.
I moved on, and spotted a black tail. I followed it until I came to the head of jaguar, his mouth open and snarling.
"Don't tell this is something to remind you to be vicious and evil." I told him, with a slight roll of my eyes.
Link just grinned at me, not giving me an answer. He jutted his chin again for me to move on.
But I pulled back, letting my hand drop from his arm and sat back with crossed arms. "Don't you think it's crazy how this will all stay on you for life?"
It was Frazer who answered my question. "This day and age, you have laser removal babe."
He was still bent over Link's arm, the needle in his hand as he followed the design. "You just." He picked up a piece of tissue and wiped away at the blood on his arm. "Carry on." I told him.
I turned back to Link. "You're telling me this doesn't kill when you are practically bleeding?"
Link shook his head, pulling his lips back into his mouth. He was trying to hide the smile but it was clear that he found everything that I was saying amusing. "Can't hardly feel it."
I scoffed. "Lies you tell."
The petite woman came over to us and she looked over Frazer's shoulders to see how it was going. "You liking it?" she asked Link.
Link nodded.
"Calpe, please get me some more wipes." Frazer asked the petite woman - Calpe - and she quickly reached behind her to the shelf and handed Frazer a handful of wipes.
She then turned to me, a sudden glint appearing in her eyes. "You going to get one dearie?" She asked me.
The question took me so much by surprise that I momentarily froze all over. "You what?" I sputtered out, making all three of them laugh.
Straightening in the chair, I pulled my feet back and stared at Calpe with wide eyes. "I think not." I told her quickly.
The whole idea of getting something tattooed on me was crazy and I could already see Versa screaming at me for my moment of insanity.
Calpe walked off laughing and Frazer went back to work.
"Imagine getting a tattoo." I said out loud to myself. "Utter madness."
"It's life-changing," Link told me.
"Of course it is! You're practically drawing with pen!"
"It's meaningful." Link fired back.
"Yeah, it really is. But so is a photo album or a scrapbook!"
"You can't carry those with you."
That shut me up. I leaned forward again, randomly pointing at a design. "What's the meaning behind this?"
It was an anchor embedded in a bed of roses.
"Reminds me of someone, who needed an anchor."
"Were you the anchor?"
He shook his head. "Reminds me to have an anchor and without it, you'd be afloat with nothing holding you base."
I studied him carefully, and the choice of his words. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing." I told him. "Having no anchor."
"It is a bad thing." Link counter replied.
"How so?"
"Without an anchor, you have nowhere to return. Where would your home be? Your safe haven? Someplace secure."
I saw where he was heading. "What is your anchor?" I asked him.
He looked down at the tattooed anchor before giving me an answer. "Haven't found it yet. You see its empty right? If I find something, it's going right in the middle of it." Link enlightened me. I wondered how he was doing then, without having a home, a safe haven or someplace secure. He seemed like he was doing fine just without it but internally he could be swirling out of control
"And who was that someone who had no anchor?" I asked him slowly.
Link looked away. "I don't think you want to know." He said softly.
And just then it clicked that it was his little sister. She was known for spirally out of control then and there and she often found herself in a huge dump. Link was always at hand, ready to bail her out at any given moment.
I pulled back again, shifting on my seat slightly.
Link averted his gaze back on me. "Bored?" he questioned.
I shook my head at him. "I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Getting a tattoo." I admitted out loud, the crazy thought running around in my head since Calpe mentioned it finally bursting out. I wanted something meaningful, unique and beautiful inked on me. Something only I could tell the story about and watch how everyone pondered on its meaning.
Link looked at me with both eyebrows raised.
"Wasn't it just you who was going on about getting tattooed being utter madness." He couldn't help but imitate me and I did well to ignore his surprisingly good attempt.
"Yeah," I admitted. "But now I changed my mind."
"In a blink of an eye?"
"Yep." I tapped Frazer on the shoulder. "Can I draw something and then can you get it on me?"
Frazer pushed his hair out of his face. "How big?"
I showed him the size with my fingers and he nodded at me. "Yeah it can be done. But I'll get Calpe to do it for you."
He jerked his head over his shoulder and I saw a blank notebook and a pen on the desk. "Draw a few things on there."
I grabbed the notebook and pen and sat back down on my seat. It took me a few minutes to come up with something and by then Calpe had everything prepared. I went over to the other side of the room and told Calpe where I wanted to get it done. Where I wanted it, I had to strip down a few layers. I took of my coat and realised that I was only wearing a shirt, and nothing else except my bra.
"Have you got something to cover me a bit?" I asked Calpe in a small voice, hoping both men at the other side of the room couldn't hear my request.
She nodded at me and reached for something beneath the cabinet. She handed me a thin blanket and thanked her, grateful. I quickly stripped down so I was only in my bra and just as quick covered myself with the blanket. I laid down on the chair, giving her my arm. She cleaned the inside of my arm and placed the tracing paper on it.
"This will hurt," Calpe warned me as she put the needle on my skin. The instant pain took me by surprise and I inhale the scream that threatened to come out of me.
From across the room, Link was staring at me as if I lost my mind. "You do know that you can't come back from this." He said from his seat.
I wanted to reply but I was focused on my breathing, trying to minimise the pain.
"Leave her alone Link!" Calpe chuckled. I felt her cool breath tickle my bare skin and it kind of acted as a relief for the pain.
It was done in thirty-five minutes. Calpe held a mirror up so I could see the design. It was a crescent moon with stars scattered around it. Inside the moon, there were patterns. Calpe put some aloe vera cream on it and ran me by a few things, keeping it clean and washing it with warm water.
"When the scabs start coming off, don't worry." Calpe told me.
I thanked her after assuring her that I knew all the procedures. I looked over at Link. "You done?"
He shook his head.
It wasn't until after two hours when Link was done. All the while, I sat there enjoying stories Calpe shared of her youth time. Then Frazier would tell a few when he'd be on his break. I felt the need to share a funny memory of mine and everyone laughed at my silly moment. When it came to Link, he passed, although he promised to tell us another time.
During moment of silences, I would be admiring my new tattoo. I still hadn't shared the meaning behind the tattoo even though I could tell Link really wanted to know. I felt selfish for not sharing but I told myself, when the moment was right, I'd tell him.
The two hours went by quicker than I thought and before I knew it, I was heading home with a brand new tattoo.
Link walked me home, the journey back home filled with both of our chattering. We were so out of it, that we voluntarily held hands. Link had reached for mine and for the first time, I didn't try to pull away, but instead, curled my fingers around his.
And then he told me a story. How he met Cain and his other friend Quinn.
"They're half-brothers. They were fighting when I first came across them and I had to intervene or else they would have killed each other."
"No way!" I breathed out incredulously.
"Yes way," Link replied. "So they were fighting over the silliest thing, something about their dad. Can't remember what on earth it was. Bare in mind, this was years ago. Pre-teens. Back then, Quinn never wanted to be seen with Cain and that hurt Cain a lot. I became friends with them when I both told them; brothers don't fight, and if they do, they fight for each other. I grew tight with Cain but not so much with Quinn. He ended up being the typical play boy in college and messed around with plenty of girls. Until this girl, bat shit crazy girl Avery came around and literally turned me him inside out."
A massive smile played on my cheeks. "Girl power." I muttered.
"Not the best part. My guy Cain has to go and fall for Avery's best friend Serena who is bat shit crazy herself."
I couldn't hold in my laugh anymore. "They sound so cool. Almost as if they're written straight out of a book."
Link smiled back at me. "They're good people. All of them."
"I would love to meet them one day," I mused out loud.
We finally came to my house. For the first time in a long time, the inbuilt dread of seeing my house didn't surface. I turned to Link. "Thank you for today."
"You're most welcome." He replied back.
I let go of his hand - albeit reluctantly. It frightened me how much I enjoyed his company and how much I hated letting go of him. "I'll see you later?" It came out more like a question than anything.
Link took a few seconds to answer me. And when he did, he only nodded.
I lifted my hand up in a small wave and walked the last steps to my house. I couldn't help but glance back over my shoulder and saw that Link was still standing there, waiting for me to get inside. I held my hand on the doorknob and before I twisted it, I turned on my heel.
I walked back to where Link was standing, ignoring the confusion crossing his face.
"I have to ask even though it already ruined me."
Link still seemed confused. "Go on," he pressed carefully, drawling out the words.
"Why did you do that to my room?"
Link's usual stoic expression returned and I hated the icy wave that washed over him. Gone was the open, chatty Link. Gone was the only person I felt connected with to a whole new level.
"I didn't."
I wasn't entirely sure what to do with that new information. Either he was playing with me... or someone else that wasn't Link knew my scariest secret.
****
> This was a long chapter, longest by far (nearly 4k words) I'm trying to make up for the previous short chapter!
> I was meant to update last night (Saturday) but my laptop just started updating and I couldn't wait for it ;( Sorry!
> About Ori's tattoo. I saw my friend Amber's tattoo and it was so cute and I thought 'hey ori should have something like that!' so thank you Amber ily.