Chapter Forty Eight
I am an impulsive person.
I always have been, even when I was a kid.
Take anime for example: people love it when protagonists who are oh-so obviously in love with each other dance a dance that doesn't even need to happen and get themselves into heaps of trouble thanks to their shyness and inability to communicate, and it takes literally an entire series before two people find happiness.
Me?
I've never had the patience or even the emotional resistance to deal with that sort of feeling so I've always, always been blunt about what I want, always been straightforward and honest, and I've always said what I feel without cutting corners. Unfortunately, because I do that and because I am so freaking impulsive, I often speak and act before I have a chance to really think.
That, my friends, is why I am such a fucking idiot.
The world tunneled as I stared at Woody's stunned green eyes, which hadn't blinked at me for over thirty seconds and counting, the sheer shock of my request taking hold of us both. I felt my ears and my cheeks and everything else heating up and tensed, horrified by what I'd just asked.
"I-I-I," I babbled, hands starting to shake in mortification. "I-I mean, um... no, uh, I... I know it sounds weird, but, um, I..."
Oh, God, why I couldn't I shut up?! I shrank down, feeling myself becoming smaller and smaller when the man finally blinked and seemed to shake himself free of his stupor. He stared at me for a second, then sighed through his nose and raised his hand, signing a clear, hard--
'No.'
I stared at the position of his fingers until he lowered his arm, then glanced at his eyes to see that they seemed a little upset and disappointed, although I couldn't place why... or, rather, I knew why, but... God, why couldn't things ever be easy?
I took a moment to gather my wits, to calm myself down, and once I did I looked at him firmly. Even though the request was stupid, I had my reasons for asking, impulsive or not, and at the very least I wanted him to understand them so things wouldn't be weird.
"I'm not hitting on you," I explained, and he blinked suspiciously; I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head in distress. "I asked because I've only ever kissed two people in my entire life, the first being a boyfriend I had a long time ago and the second being Sebastian."
Confusion made his nose wrinkle and he raised his hand, signing, 'I do not swing that way, and more than that... I am disappointed in you for suggesting something like this so soon after leaving Sebastian behind. It is---'
"That's not it!" I cried, and he paused mid-way through gesturing, meeting my eyes. I puffed my cheeks out in irritation for a second, then closed my eyes and reluctantly said, "I asked you to kiss me because I get the same... sparks, and tingles with Sebastian that I did with my first love, and I don't know if it's a thing that happens whenever you're kissed or if its because there really is love behind it. That's why I need you, or anybody, really, to kiss me! I need to know!"
Confusion made green eyes narrow; he seemed to be genuinely bamboozled by my logic.
'Why did...' he signed, then paused and wrinkled his nose before continuing, 'why did you ask me, of all people? There are many other available options, aren't there? So, why me?'
"Because, obviously, you aren't in love with me," I said, spreading my arms; he blinked, so I added, "you haven't known me long enough for it to be possible, and if you kiss me and I feel nothing... I'll have an actual answer on how Sebastian really feels. I can't... believe that he feels the way you say he does about me. Love isn't... it can't be! It does not, at all, make any sense!"
'And why not?' Woody signed, scowling at me for the first time since we'd met. 'I've known him for a hundred and twenty-seven years, and not once have I ever seen him break down and try to explain himself the way he did, especially not over someone being upset with him. His word is final, and he doesn't care how people feel about it since he believes he knows what's best for everyone.'
I don't know why, but I suddenly felt like I wanted to cry.
He was hearing, but not listening, and it hurt because I thought he would have understood.
"He tried to kill me and he tortured me for weeks!" I shouted at him; Woody's eyes went wide when my mouth quivered, but I fought my emotions back and stiffly croaked, "I told you this already... he overpowered me in every single way. He somehow paralyzed me, hoping I would suffocate the night I first met him, and then he forced his way into my home -- the home I spent years trying to perfect -- and took it from me! He said he'd kill me if I didn't give up and he would have, he had me by the throat... he would have."
I shivered violently upon remembering the moment I'd lost ownership to my own apartment, the way he'd looked at me, as if I were something vile, lower than an animal, filth... the feeling of his hand on my neck, the way he'd squeezed, strangling...
"And he hurt me," I shakily continued, absently touching my wrist. "He destroyed my home, upended nearly everything that I spent my entire life working towards, and took me prisoner... but the worst part of it all was that nobody knew! Nobody knew I existed, so if I died, if he killed me, I wouldn't have been missed, he would have gotten away with murder, and... and that thought... I couldn't, can't! I was more terrified when he walked into my life than I've ever been of anything! I'm afraid of him! I'm afraid of what he could and would do to me if he ever got mad!"
My voice quivered with every syllable, something that only ever happened when I got worked up. Woody didn't respond when I finally sat down on the bed he'd given me, knees knocking, almost hyperventilating... my hands trembled violently as they sat aimlessly on my thighs.
I stared at the floor, thinking back over every incident, one by one.
"I tried to walk into the sunlight, he wouldn't let me," I eventually managed to say, knowing how bad it was going to sound. "I tried to reason with him, I was treated with ruthlessness and hate. He backed me so far into a corner that I actually retaliated and tried to attack him with a silver pocket knife while his back was turned, only he knew and he beat the living shit out of me. He hurt me... again, and again, and again, and again, and worst of all, he tried to blood starve me."
Woody was stiff but he raised his hand and signed, 'he denied you the right to get blood?'
"Yes," I weakly confirmed, not bothering to raise my eyes. "I eventually snapped under all the pressure and lost my mind. I got so mad one night that I used my voice on him and sang him to sleep so I could get blood, but that same night Louise showed up on my doorstep and tried to rescue me. He wouldn't let me get blood, he was cruel, he wanted me to go blood starved."
He shook his head profusely and stepped forward, sitting down on the bed beside me so abruptly that it bounced me a little. A heavy hand came to rest on my shoulder and he used the other to turn me slightly, which made me jump.
I stared at his hard green eyes, then at his hand.
'He has changed,' he slowly and clearly gestured, purposely making sure I wouldn't misunderstand what he was trying to say. 'He may have started out doing terrible things, but it is an undeniable fact that he changed after meeting you, and from what I've personally seen he is still changing in ways that are fully noticeable to those of us who know him.'
"How?" I demanded, staring him down; then I looked away, shaking my head. "I'm so confused... when did things change? When did he start loving me? I can't place the moment when he went from wanting me dead to wanting me in his bed and I don't trust it! Especially since he's got some sort of other drama going on with his first love still being around somewhere!"
Woody looked at the wall, staring at it with a frustrated expression, then shook his head and firmly gestured, 'I do not care about the genesis of it all. I just know Sebastian is either in love or is in the process of falling in love with you. I can tell by the way he looks at you. In fact, anyone with eyes and half a brain can tell because it's visibly obvious.'
"Okay, then, how does he look at me?" I smartly quipped. "By all means, explain."
Woody, to my surprise, actually smirked and his green eyes twinkled as he signed, 'he looks at you like you're a sexy little Rubiks cube. He can't really figure you out, but he's having a lot of fun trying.'
I did a double take, trying to figure out if I had misread his finger movements, but thanks to his smile I knew I hadn't so I looked away, momentarily unsure about how to respond.
"I can't read his expression at all, then," I muttered. "All I see when we make eye contact is intensity, anger, and... lust, occasionally, but there's a very distinct lack of kindness. A lack of what I remember in a man's eyes looking at me, as if I'm the only person in the world. There's a softness in love that his eyes just don't have, especially when he looks at me."
A single finger slid beneath my chin and gently turned my face, forcing eye contact; Woody's expression was extremely gentle, but at the same time, he was looking at me in such a chiding way that it truly made me feel small. He pulled back with another soft smile, then signed, 'it is because he intentionally hides those feelings from you. He is a man who wears many masks, and he has not figured out whether he can trust you with so much of him just yet, so he hides it, but his feelings still show through his behavior. The way he looks at you when you're not paying attention... it's like he wants to reach out and hold you, but you're too far from him, and that makes him sad. Even though I only saw a little bit, his eyes were always on you, Aerin.'
"They were?" I asked, startled. "How so?"
Woody merely sighed and looked at me intently, searching my face, but for what I didn't know, nor did I want to really question it since I already had too many questions rocketing around my brain. The emotional whiplash was getting a little old to me and I just couldn't take anymore confusion.
Hr must have sensed what I was feeling, though, because after letting out a long, loud sigh, he gently cupped my chin in his weathered palm and leaned forward, using his grip to press his mouth against mine. I jumped, startled at the physical contact, but his sad green eyes didn't blink.
I felt his lips touching my own, soft, warm, moving in perfect rhythm, and the brush of his beard tickled my cheeks in a very pleasant way, but... there was no tingling.
No electricity.
No heart-thumping realization, no instinctive freaking out, no immediate emotional response.
No melting, or instant arousal, or shortness of breath.
His kiss was a kiss, but it didn't feel the same, didn't hold the sparks, or set the butterflies free to float around inside me. My heart didn't skip a beat the same way, my pulse remained calm, unaffected, steady. Woody pulled back after a moment and looked at me head-on, raising a single eyebrow before he let go of my chin and signed, 'did you get the answer you were looking for? Because I am never, ever doing that again.'
I blinked, dazed, then reluctantly nodded and swallowed my tumultuous confusion.
Sebastian loved me?
I found it hard to believe, but maybe... maybe Woody was right and he had intentionally hidden those feelings from me. He was far older than I was, which meant that it was entirely possible that he was skilled enough to mask things like his feelings from people he didn't know.
But... why then? Why were there so many inconsistencies with his behavior?
He'd said he was going to mate me, and that he was going to claim me, but he'd already had a huge opportunity to do just that the night I'd fallen into the ocean. He had turned me down, but... why? If he really wanted me the way everyone said he did, why had he turned me away?
Had it been because I was drunk? Because he hadn't been ready? I chewed on my lip, going off inside my own head and tuning everything out. I needed to figure him out, but I couldn't rationalize why he would behave the way he'd done... unless....
'it is because he intentionally hides those feelings from you. He has not figured out whether he can trust you with so much of him just yet, so he hides it.'
A possibility that I hadn't before thought of suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightning. I genuinely felt like I had been struck by an epiphany from God himself, an epiphany that almost sent me into shock.
Sebastian, over all, was in command at all times, of himself, of other people, and when he wasn't he lashed out and got beyond angry.
If I took that into account, the only thing that could give his behavior any sort of rational explanation was that he was was... afraid of me. Don't get me wrong, he obviously wasn't afraid of me, as a whole. I mean, come on, he could literally destroy me or do anything he wanted to me and I would never, ever be strong enough to stop him or fight back.
Perhaps he feared me and also, didn't fear me... the same way I was scared of him and yet not scared of him at the same time. Perhaps he was afraid of letting me into his heart, or even seeing his heart. Perhaps he thought there was a chance that I would... hurt him.
Or use his feelings against him.
Gain power over him?
Emotions did have power, and they were a terrible weapon... but that raised more questions.
I mean, for starters, if he was scared of letting me in, and didn't trust me, it meant he still thought I was untrustworthy, so how could he fall in love with me despite that? Was he the sort of person who could fall in love with someone he considered to be a monster?
Why the hell did he want me if he was afraid of letting me into his heart? I shook my head, rubbing my scalp as I tried to piece together the puzzle that was Sebastian, but in the end I couldn't figure anything out so I gave up trying to. I finally looked at Woody -- at the expectant green irises that drilled into my own -- and sighed.
"If he truly loves me," I said quietly, "I'm going to need to work through a lot of issues before I can accept his feelings. If, that is, we ever build up to a place where he can admit them to me."
It was all I could think of saying, but Woody beamed, brilliant white teeth gleaming dimly, and nodded before rising to his feet. He looked down at me with an attentive expression and signed, 'good. Now, I believe that you have a phone call to make, so let us never speak of this again.'
Confusion touched my heart. "Phone call?"
His eyebrow raised again as he signed, 'to Sebastian. You do not have his new gaming account information and it would not surprise me if he was waiting for you to call him right now so the two of you can start playing together.'
My cheeks heated up in embarrassment as I asked, "how do you even know about that?"
His resulting grin was a big one, and to my dismay he pulled his phone out and wiggled it.
'Richard texted me."
"He did?" I asked, surprised.
"Yep. I may not be a part of Sebastian's pack anymore,' Woody signed, and his smile turned a little sad, 'but I do wish him the best, and I want him to find actual happiness. I was saved by him long, long ago, and although I don't trust some of his newer pack mates or even agree with their behavior towards others, those feelings do not stretch to him. I was, in truth, quite thrilled when I saw how much he cares for you. He has spent many, many years alone and unhappy.'
I couldn't picture Sebastian being like that, but who was I to protest a comment on his behavior?
It was from before I'd met him, after all.
I sighed through my nose and grumpily asked, "so, you're on the 'Accept Bash and Bang' bandwagon, too, huh?"
He seemed startled for a second, then his face warped and he let out a voiceless wheeze that devolved into breathy laughter. He patted his thigh and covered his mouth, keeping it shut as his forehead and nose turned as red as his hair. He looked at me, obviously tickled, and grinned.
'I would not word it like that,' he shakily corrected, 'but I am indeed supportive of the idea that he should pursue you when you are in better sorts and a more stable state of mind. I am also hoping that you will eventually pursue him as well. I do not know if the two of you would make a good couple, but I can clearly see that you are a very charming and earnest creature. I think having you around to love him and be loved by him every day would do him a lot of good.'
I thought about that, deeply, then eventually murmured, "I guess so."
'Don't dwell on it too hard or too much,' Woody signed, giving me a soft smile. 'You have all the time in the world to get yourself back in order, and what's more, you deserve it after everything you went through. As I said, you're welcome to remain here for as long as you want.'
"Thank you..."
'You're quite welcome,' he gestured. 'Now, when you're ready, give him a call and get your gaming systems set up in the loft. I'll help you up the ladder if you need it.'
I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could he walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him. It shut with a click, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I looked at my phone, which was sitting on the nightstand where it had been ever since I'd dropped it there.
It hadn't even been a full night since I'd left... wouldn't it be weird to call him so soon?
I wondered at it for a second, but the frustration I was keeping bottled up finally exploded.
"Ughhhh! I'm done second guessing this shit," I groaned, messing up my hair in irritation. "From now on, I'm not going to think since it just stresses me the fuck out. If it gets me into trouble, that's future me's problem. Future me can deal with it, like always!"
Resolved to be an impulsive idiot once again, I leaned over and snatched the phone, turning it on and waiting as it started; I touched the contacts button and jumped when a holographic square zipped out of the screen and displayed the numbers available for calling.
I blinked, since every single person from Sebastian's pack had been added to the list, including Richard. There were even several names that I didn't recognize, although each of those had the words 'emergencies only' beside them in quotation marks. I swiped my fingers through the hologram to swish down the menu until I spotted Sebastian D'Agostino.
I took a deep breath, tapped the call button, and waited, holding it in as the hologram widened into a video screen that showed my own face in the corner and started chiming a fairly pleasant ringtone. I expected to be waiting for a long time or to at least have to call again but after the third ring the hologram flashed and expanded, revealing Sebastian's face.
He was frowning intensely, leaning back to stare at the screen, but then his eye twitched and his face smoothed out, amber eyes sliding to half mast as he regarded me through his lashes.
"I wasn't expecting to hear from you this soon," he flatly informed me, making me wince and feel a bit more awkward. "Is everything all right? Did you arrive at Woody's safely?"
I blinked, surprised by the nature of the inquiry, but then I had to swallow the lump that rose in my throat since it was literally impossible to miss the subtle concern lacing his tone.
I met his eyes evenly despite my discomfort, nodding a few times.
"I called because I don't know what the name of your gaming account is going to be," I said in a tone that sounded far less steady than I was hoping it would be. "I also... well, I talked to Louise tonight, and Woody... mostly about you, and what I need to do from here."
Sebastian didn't blink... instead, his eyes slid all the way back open.
I watched his cheeks and mouth tighten imperceptibly.
"And?"
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if this was a good idea, before looking at him without flinching. I made my choice, then and there: taking another deep breath, I gathered my courage and said, "and, when I'm better... as in, well enough to not need bandages or get headaches... I'm going to find a nightclub near me, and then I'm going to go dancing like I used to, back before... him."
The look in his eyes changed in a way I wasn't familiar with.
I blinked as he looked at me with... was that, hurt?
I didn't fully know because the moment I questioned it he clenched his jaw, and that momentary flash of what I thought was a wounded look vanished, quickly replaced by all-too-familiar anger.
"Do what you want," he growled, narrowing his eyes at me. "I obviously have nothi--"
"I want you to come!" I blurted, and he snapped his mouth shut, brows flying high; he blinked, looking genuinely surprised for a second, then slickly smoothed his face over into the usual deadpan expression I was so used to seeing.
I floundered, cheeks heating up, because I had absolutely no idea where it had come from, but I calmed myself by thinking rationally, telling myself it was a good opportunity to get out, get to know him, and it wouldn't need to happen right away, there was time to get my head clear and my heart clearer.
"You want me to come," he repeated, but it wasn't a question. "Dancing. With you."
It took me a moment to respond, but respond I did, with more courage than I thought I had.
"Yes," I said, taking yet another breath. "When I'm better, let's go dancing, just you and me."
"Why?" he grunted, eyeing me suspiciously. "You were quite eager to get away from me and my pack so what would possess you to invite me on a date the very same night that you left?"
Good question. I didn't really have an immediate answer for it.
"Um, b-because," I said, thinking quickly, "I'm hoping by the time we do go dancing we'll have made actual progress through gaming. There's a lot of fun stuff to do on Atlas Chronicles, and since you'll be a new player and starting off weaker than most of the game's population, it'll be interesting to be the one showing you around. Like, a weird trust exercise of sorts, maybe."
"A game is a game," Sebastian said flatly, but when I frowned he closed his eyes, clenched jaw wriggling back and forth in a manner that was growing increasingly familiar. "I just finished setting up the account and the subscription for this Atlas Chronicles game. I am not tired, and you are clearly wide awake, so if you are up for it... let us play for the first time. Tonight."
Surprise flooded through me, and I blinked.
"Uh, sure?" I said, still mildly flummoxed. "So, what's your username?"
"Big_Bad_Woof1552," he growled -- almost purred, really -- and I blinked at the slight, barely visible quirk lining his mouth. "Be sure to send me a friend request because I'll be on the moment I'm finished creating my avatar. Don't be late. Oh... and one more thing?"
"Yes?" I asked, swallowing as he leaned close, eyes taking up the whole square of the hologram.
"I," he said in a quiet, provocative tone, "accept your invitation to go dancing."
I shivered when he leaned back and regarded me with a cocky little quirk to his mouth; it wasn't quite a smile, I didn't think he had the emotional capacity for one, but it was the closest thing I'd ever seen be directed at me since I'd met him and it made me feel a little weird.
"Cool," I said simply, nodding. "I'll see you on AC shortly... oh, wait! Before you go! Take your time on your character's looks! You only get one avatar, and you can't edit the face after you've created it so you'll have to delete it and start over if you don't like the way you look later on!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Yeah," I admitted, wincing; a faint smile touched the corners of my mouth as I recalled discovering that annoying piece of fuckery after starting the game myself. "I ended up recreating my avatar like a hundred times when I first started since I got bored and dissatisfied with each of them. I tried most of the classes and races before I settled down for making myself. I've played me on there ever since and I actually enjoy it far more than a character who doesn't look like me."
He digested my words with little to no reaction, all he did was stare at me blankly.
"Understood," he said simply. "I will recreate myself on there, thoroughly and completely."
"Ah, and, beware," I added, catching his attention; I swallowed a sudden dryness in my throat that had nothing to due with thirst of any sort. "There's... violent and extremely explicit player-on-player behavior in this game. If you're not strong... you... well, you can get raped."
He twitched and his eyes popped open wider than I'd ever seen them go, period.
"Are you serious?" he asked in a very dark tone, immediately narrowing them. "They implemented such a disgusting, illegal thing onto an HVRMMO and got away with it?"
"Yep," I admitted, shaking my head. "When I first started, I didn't know that and I was playing a female character... it didn't end well. Let's just say, I always use magic and hand-to-hand combat regardless of the class because those two combinations of PVP combat are the only things that can prevent it from happening in a one on one fight with someone else."
He seemed to process that, but his face turned into a familiar evil mask of boiling hatred.
"So, when those men attacked you along the road and continuously made sexual remarks," he growled, looking pissed enough to murder somebody, "they meant them literally."
"Yep," I muttered, scowling at the memory. "They initially jumped me like that because they thought they had a chance to take me down. My character is small and has no muscle mass at all, so I've got very little physical offensive damage in game. They probably thought I was too weak to do anything, and since they weren't trying to actually kill me, I assume they were trying to K/O me long enough to tie me up and... well, yeah, I just wasn't feeling it. You saw."
"I did," he growled, eyes flashing to bright yellow for a moment; then he closed them and let out a snort, working his jaw from side to side. When he opened his eyes, they had returned to their former copper, and he looked at me intently. "It would seem that I will have to get strong quickly, because I am not one to tolerate such a thing, even on a video game."
I blinked, furrowing my brows.
Mostly because this was something that I thought about, a lot.
In retrospect, Sebastian was actually strong enough to have forced me into having sex with him if he'd really wanted to, but he hadn't... he'd even said he would wait until I was willing. Kyle had also said that he would never hurt anyone like that, too... maybe he wasn't such a bad guy.
Maybe I was over-analyzing things.
I really do need to start figuring him out, I thought, puzzled, but aloud I asked, "See you in fifteen?"
He gave a slow blink.
"I will try," he murmured, voice rasping against my ears like a cat's tongue. "It might take a little longer than that as I fully intend to take time on my character, as you suggested I should, but I will try. Until then, feel free to do as you wish. I am sending a friend request to you as we speak."
I frowned, confused, until I remembered that he had seen my username that day.
"All right, see you soon," I said, then paused and added, "also, one last thing?"
"Hn," was his articulate response.
"Thank you," I softly told him, and he paused, eyes flicking to look at me intently. "I needed space and a bit of freedom more than you realized, Sebastian. The fact that you put enough trust in me to let me leave speaks volumes, and I appreciate you for doing so. I... well, thank you."
His jaw clenched and he was suddenly refusing to meet my eyes.
I watched as he sat there, curly hair framing his bronze skin, mouth tight... obviously angry. I wondered for a moment if I had been stupid to say anything at all, but then he looked at me and I saw a flash of that shocking rawness, mixed with something else.
"Take... time, and... get well," he said slowly, carefully, clipped like before. "I... don't want... for you to be unhappy. I want you... back... by my side, but... not afraid. Not showing me eyes... that... look like they're... always... about to cry, or shatter, or... afraid."
"W-what?" I asked, shocked. "Wait... what?"
"I don't want you to be... afraid," he ground out, obviously struggling to communicate. "I... am not... a monster... and I treated you like one, because I... genuinely... wanted to believe that you were one, which was a mistake because Jasper... turned you. I knew he turned you, but I still..."
He stopped talking, face tightening up, and suddenly he looked pissed, eyes flashing yellow.
He let out an inhuman growl, low in the back of his throat and turned away from me again, visibly fuming and obviously not knowing what to do with that feeling. I felt the lump in my throat again, growing bigger with every second, but his eyes dimmed after a time and he huffed through his nose, casting a terse stare in my direction.
He rolled his jaw back and forth, grinding his teeth, all while looking at me.
I could see wheels turning behind those eyes of his.
"He made me... a vow when we were married," he suddenly said, and I twitched, since the word 'married' had not even crossed my mind even once when thinking of their weird smoke-and-mirror relationship. "He vowed to me that he would never turn anyone... and that if he did, it would be to keep his power and blood preserved should anything... happen to him."
The world tilted and a weird, glassy sheen slowly covered my vision.
I stared at Sebastian's face as a tingle touched the back of my brain, like an odd itch that made my hair stand on end. I blinked, and blinked again, ears ringing so much that it distorted my hearing. My sight blurred a little and what I was seeing went hazy for a few seconds.
Sebastian's mouth was moving, but I could no longer hear it since something about his words seemed oddly familiar, even though I couldn't really place why. I scrunched my face up, fighting to figure out what this feeling was, to figure out why I suddenly felt like it was important, but before I could the sensation vanished.
With a snap, my sight and hearing returned to normal. It was jarring and I immediately realized that I felt light-headed.
"Are you even listening?"
I looked at him to see his eyes flaming in my direction through the screen.
"Yes," I said absently. "I am."
"Look," Sebastian growled, running a hand through his hair, "what I'm saying is... you have worth to me... and I do not... think it was an accident... that I found you. I... fully intend... to have you on my arm, in my life, and in my bed. I want you... to be mine."
I jumped and raised my hands, halting him then and there.
"Slowly, pal, slowly. Let's work up to talking like that," I told him gently. "We'll go slow... let's start by playing video games together and talking about random stuff, okay? Let's just... have fun."
He looked at me for half a minute in silence, then reluctantly nodded.
"Fun it is then. For now."
And with that, he hung up.
I let out a sigh and touched my aching temple with a grimace.
What was that? I wondered, prodding a little bit. That feeling? Was it part of the aftermath of hitting my head or was it something else?
I had no idea, but that moment... that weird, singular moment, when he'd been talking about Jasper, I'd felt something. It was that itch you get when you're trying to remember something important, but it won't come to you... like it's just on the edge of your brain but out of reach.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, then decided not to think about it.
I had to get my gaming systems set up anyway.