After a few hours, I have to get ready for my night shift at the diner. I throw on my black, dress pants and white, button-up shirt, and then I toss my hair up into a bun.
Just before I leave, I glance over at Rory sitting on the couch. "Do you just live here now?" I ask, jokingly.
He laughs. "I'm waiting on Jade. She will be here soon."
I nod. "Tell her I said hey. I'll be back when my shift is over."
After I clock in, I hit the floor and begin to take orders. "Hello, my name is Salem, and I will be your waitress for the evening. Do you know what you would like to drink?" I say, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. I've already said the phrase twenty-something times tonight. The bills have to get paid somehow though.
A man with dirty blonde hair, who looks to be around forty stares up at me, and I can tell that he is undressing me with his eyes. "I'll take a tall glass of you, Baby," he says in a flirty voice as he leans over.
There it is- The most disgusting and ridiculous thing a customer has ever freaking said to me. And the worst part? I have to laugh about it. He laughs with me, even though I can tell it's not a joke. "Is Pepsi fine?" I ask him, smiling, as I try to veer away from the dumb comment.
He nods. "Yea, that's fine."
I nod. "Alright, I'll be back to take your order in a bit." I quickly make my way back to the kitchen. "Is that burger done yet?" I call back to the cook.
"Couple more minutes," he replies.
"Alright," I say, beginning to untie my apron. "I'm taking a quick bathroom break. Kate, cover my tables. I'll just be a minute."
Kate nods at me. "Gotcha, Girl."
I hang my apron over one of the hooks and rush to go pee. When I'm done, I wash my hands, and then I head to the supply room to grab another bag of ketchup packets real quick.
"Where are those packets?" I mumble to myself, scanning my eyes over the shelves. When I hear the door open behind me, I turn to see who enters.
"I made him leave," Colvin says in an angry voice. His face is red.
"What are you doing here?" I snap, shocked. "And what are you talking about?"
He continues to walk closer to me, and I back up. "That asshole that was about to jump across the table and rip your top off? He's gone."
"Wh-what?" I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air. "Why would you do that? He was a paying customer! He was probably going to tip good, too! I don't do this job because I like being eyed like a piece of meat. I do it because I have bills to pay, Colvin."
"He's lucky that he left in one piece!" He barks, scowling.
"Leave! This is my job. I don't care if you think that you have some kind of claim over me or not, but you can't be doing this at my workplace!"
"Does that happen a lot?" Colvin asks, glaring at me. "You being hit on?"
I nod. "Yes, and I'm nice to them, so it gets me more tips. Now, leave."
He smiles, and I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Fine, Love. I'll leave." He pauses, and I am about to shove past him and just forget about the ketchup. "But you're coming with me."
"Wh-" I begin to ask him what he means, but out of no where, the sound of wind rips through the supply room and product begins to shoot off the shelf, flying past me. I scream, dodging a bag of potatoes. As soon as I evade to the left, I feel Colvin's arms wrap around me. "Let me go!" I shout over the whirring sound.
He smiles down at me. "Never," and with that, the floor falls away, and we are sucked into a bottomless, black, hole.
I squeeze my eyes shut and scream, but within seconds, I feel hard ground under my feet. "Rory told me that you remembered part of your life as Isobel," Colvin says the moment the world around us falls quiet.
I open my eyes, and look around at the luxe living room that we are now in, wiggling out of his arms. "What in the hell just happened?" I shout.
"I opened a portal to my realm. Now we are here," he says, simply. "Now, tell me. Have you remembered anything else?"
"I was in the middle of my shift!" I shout, furiously.
"You're done with that job. I'm not letting you be degraded and objectified by a bunch of pathetic human men," he says, firmly.
I roll my eyes. "And why do you think that you have the right to make that decision for me?"
Suddenly, I am pressed against a wall, and Colvin's face is just inches from mine. "Because," he says, speaking in a low growl. "I am a damn king, and you are going to be my queen. You are mine only. You have been since the moment you drew your first breath as Thara."
Something about his words trigger something deep inside of my mind, and I am suddenly consumed by darkness for the second time today.
***
"Do you think you could handle all of it?" Colvin asks, laying beside me.
I glance over, smiling, and I realize that I am a passenger again. I also notice that Colvin is just as shirtless as I am. He slowly drags his finger tips across the sensitive skin of my bare stomach, leading them up to my breasts as he circles my aching nipples. Our eyes meet, and I feel the body that I am in begin to fill with an overwhelming mixture of passion and love.
"Handle what?" I ask. I don't think I'll ever get use to speaking through a body that I have no control over.
Torches mounted to stone walls flicker around us, casting odd shadows onto our naked bodies. Colvin pulls a thick, wool, blanket higher over us and then brings me closer to him, sending a shock of pleasure throughout my body from the sensation of skin to skin contact. "Handle the responsibilities of being queen. Making decisions and helping me call orders for the fire realm."
My hand finds it's way to his chest, and I begin to explore his body with light, sensual caresses. He lets out a soft groan and smiles as I reply, "I feel like I could handle anything with you, Colvin. I'd do anything to be beside you for the rest of time."
I watch as his smile grows, and he leans in, kissing me softly. My head begins to spin as I taste his lips. I've never seen this side of him before or been kissed so passionately in my life. It's an all consuming kind of kiss. The kind that silences the world for a moment. He hesitantly pulls away after a minute, but just barely. My eyes open to see Colvin staring back at me, and my heart beat quickens as he gently rubs his nose against mine. "Thara, I never knew that it was possible for me to love anything or anyone until you came into my life. You've brought so much light and happiness into my existence." I feel his hand cup the side of my cheek as he begins to gently position himself between my legs. "I love you with everything that I am. I will never give up on us."
My body goes rigid as I feel him begin to probe my dripping sex, and utter a response in a shaky breath. "I love you, too, Colvin. I love you so much."
***
"Stop!" I shout, flying up from the sofa that I am laying on.
I see Colvin jerk back, startled. He is sitting on the floor beside the couch. "Stop what? What did you remember?"
I stare at him, wildly. "God, we were about to have sex, and I had no control over Thara's body!" I exclaim.
He frowns. "So you scream stop?"
"Uhm, yes!" I interject.
"Well, that's a real confidence booster," he mumbles, looking away, awkwardly.
"What do you expect?" I ask, scoffing. "I see the memories, and I feel the emotions, but I'm still me. I'm just in a memory of a different life. Colvin, I don't think you understand that I'm not actually Thara! We have the same soul. We are made of the same energy, but I am a different person in this life!"
As I say the last part, he winches. It's silent for a moment, and then he glances up to me. His eyes aren't filled with rage or passion this time, though. They're just sad. I feel a tinge of guilt, seeing such a strong and confident person broken by my words. "I know," he replies. "Salem, I know that you aren't who Thara was. Your soul was still made for mine, though. There is no one else beyond any star that I could ever travel past that I could love more than you. You are the one that doesn't understand. You don't understand that I have literally ripped apart every realm that I have entered just to find you again. I found you again once before, and you died as a child. I tried to make a deal with the reapers to save you, but they would not do it. I've lost you twice now." He shakes his head and leans down to me. "If I lose you again, it'll be the death of me."
I stare up at him, baffled. "Wh-what do you mean by my soul was made for yours?"
He lets out a short, breathy laugh and then brushes a lock of hair from my cheek. "Everyone has someone who was split from the same soul as them- the same energy. We come from the same being, Salem. I will never hold you to the expectation of being Thara. If you don't feel like you could be queen like she did, that's fine. If you don't want the responsibility of it all, I will accept that. You are not leaving me this time, though."
Without the memory that I just experienced, I would probably have argued with him, but oddly, the feeling of hot, aching, passion that filled my chest in the flashback begins to slowly seep into my body. It starts from the darkest corners of my mind, working it's way throughout the rest of my body, and as I continue to wordlessly stare up at Colvin, I realize that I am seeing him through new eyes. "I think I feel something," I mumble, surprising myself.
He takes my hand, pulling me to his chest, as he looks down at me, confused. "What do you mean?"
"I-I think," I stutter, becoming overwhelmed by the feeling of his firm chest scraping against my breasts. "I think that I'm remembering something again."
A smile spreads across his face. "You're awakening."
My eyes grow wide, and I remember Rory's comment about my 'awakening.'
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"It means that your soul is feeling what mine feels for you. It's not all there yet, but slowly, you are piecing it together."
I nod, dazed by all of the emotion stirring inside of me. "I feel it," I mumble, completely lost.
Colvin's face nears mine. "Do you know what may help it come a little faster?" He asks, his deep voice coming out barely above a whisper.
I don't need to ask. I already know what he means by his words. I feel it. It's something deep inside of me, urging me forward.
I swiftly place my hand onto the back of his head, tangling my fingers into his hair as I pull his lips down to mine. He lets out a low, sexy, groan against my lips and then picks me up by my ass, laying me down onto the sofa as he kisses me, hungrily.
I feel my body begin to light up, burning with the need to have him closer. The whirlwind of emotion in my chest consumes me, shifting into a cosmic explosion, and I kiss him even more deeply.
He was right. My soul belongs to his.