By early noon the next day, Ariel, Xavier and I arrived at the state of Indiana. Vincent and Seth both patiently awaited us outside the wide gates of the airport, chatting animatedly among each other as we stepped outside into the chilly breeze. As if he sensed our presence, Vincent had stopped the conversation amid his talking and turned around to greet us as we approached him from behind.
Xavier had tried to convince Ariel and I to stay at his house, generously offering to take us to trips to the city where we could furniture shop until our apartment is ready to move into, but we had to decline since we already planned to stay at Seth's apartment, and it also felt invasive because it was his pack's home.
Then we departed there, with promises of seeing each other the next day. As soon as we had arrived at Seth's apartment, Ariel and I tossed everything aside and rushed to the room we were to share during our stay. Too jet lagged from the constant travels to do anything else, we had changed into cozy pyjamas and within minutes hopped onto the large king-sized bed, losing both our consciousness within seconds as we fell into a deep, much-needed slumber.
Later that night I woke up with a rumbling stomach. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Ariel to be deep asleep, soft snores escaping her parted lips. Gently, I pulled the covers off of my body and my feet fell to the floor. I hopped off the bed and trodged towards the door, entering the small hallway and reaching for a door I faintly remembered to be the bathroom.
True to my gut instinct, it was.
I washed my face with cold water, suddenly feeling refreshed, and exited the bathroom to stalk towards the open living-room.
Faintly, I heard the sound of cheerful whistling. Straining my ear to detect the source better, I followed to where it led me - Seth's open bedroom door. I knocked once out of respect to his privacy, but he didn't answer, and instead continued humming and whistling joyfully. I walked inside the bedroom, my eyes searching along the place.
"Seth?" I called out.
"In here!"
I followed the source of his voice, which led to the bathroom. Pushing the open door further apart, I sneaked a glance inside to see Seth kneeling on the floor by his filled bathtub, his hands working at something.
"Scrubba dub dub, there's a Kitty in my tub," he sang in a joyful tone.
Stepping further inside I glanced over his shoulder with great curiosity, unaware that he'd adopted a cat. When my eyes landed on the creature in the tub, I let out an involuntary shriek, jumping a couple steps away.
"Seth! What the Hell is that?!"
He looked over his shoulder at me, his eyebrows lowering into a frown. Standing upright, he reached out for a towel and began wrapping it around the animal, drying its fur.
"Kitty," he answered.
"Are you kidding me? That's no cat! That's a freaking possum!"
"Yeah," he said in a duh tone. "Whose name is Kitty."
My eyes widened as large as saucers, inable to believe the man standing in front of me as he continued to scrub the possum with the towel, drying it of the bath water.
"When I found him I thought he was a cat. He responded to my 'here, kitty kitty', so I decided that suited him as a name." He explained so nonchalantly as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
I glanced between him and the possum in disbelief. "You're mad," I whispered, frightened by the creature screeching as it moved around the towel in Seth's arms.
"Hey," Seth glared at me. "I'm a hero. I saved its life."
Sighing in defeat, I retreated towards the door. "Whatever you say, buddy. But you better keep your Kitty inside your bedroom quarters because if Ariel runs into this thing she will burn the building down to its core."
Seth grumbled, his fingers gently patting at the possum's head.
I rolled my eyes and left the bathroom, making my way towards the kitchen where I began to prep myself a quick sandwich to have before returning to bed.
*
The next day, Seth offered to drive Ariel and I around the city to visit some furniture shops. We left early in the morning, having a quick breakfast in one of the most popular local cafe's. I had a crossaint with an iced vanilla latte, and it tasted heavenly.
"Seriously," I sighed as I set my drink back down on our shared table. "This drink.. heavenly." I voiced my thoughts.
"Right! This could be our new Yaya's." Ariel beamed, her excitement for this move still evident. I nodded my head eagerly, agreeing.
"Hey, Sam!" Seth abruptly exclaimed, causing us to flinch in our seats in surprise. He stared behind our shoulders as he waved, a wide grin on his lips. We glanced over our shoulders, and saw Sam and Scarlett both standing by the ordering counter, their gazes now fixed on us. When they recognized us, a wide smile appeared on their faces.
They grabbed their drinks and approached us, a couple shopping bags in their hands.
"Hey!" I greeted them cheerfully.
"Hey, you guys! It's so great running into you." Scarlett beamed, her eyes squinting adorably.
"Were you guys shopping?" Ariel asked.
Scarlett nodded excitingly.
"You guys should join us, we can direct you to some of the best shops around." Sam suggested.
"That would be really great," I said appreciatively.
Soon enough we had grabbed our drinks and were on our way out the cafe's doors, strolling down the streets.
"It's so great that you guys moved here, we'll have a lot of fun!" Scarlett beamed as she walked beside me. Her spirit was so optimistic and bubbly it was impossible not to feel better in her presence.
I smiled widely, nodding along to her words. "I have no doubt that we will."
Seth, Sam and Ariel were a couple steps ahead of us, chatting among themselves as they pointed at different shops and contemplated walking in.
"How are you with Vincent?" I found myself suddenly blurting out. A mere second later when I realized how embarrassing asking someone I barely knew about her private life was, a deep blush crept up my cheeks. I was about to apologize for my bluntness when I was surprised by Scarlett's wide smile.
"We're doing amazing! It's insane, really, when you think that we met merely about a month ago, but I feel as if I've known him since forever." She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, her gaze filled with awe.
Reluctantly, I let out a sigh of relief.
"It's so great to hear someone else talk about how bizarre all of this is. Sometimes I feel like something is really wrong with me," I chuckled as I shook my head in disbelief.
"I know what you mean. This whole mate bond is one that is very difficult to grasp onto, no sane person could make sense of these feelings unless they actually experienced them."
We slowed our steps as Ariel was drawn to one particular shop. She walked inside and then was followed by Seth and Sam. Scarlett and I lingered behind.
Her gaze inspected me, my hands subconsciously fumbling by my sides, my nerves and emotions in overdrive.
"Believe me, I know how scary this is. Before Vincent, I had never even had a boyfriend." Scarlett smiled, but my eyes widened.
"Then meeting him must have been very intense." I can't imagine how scared she must have felt, getting involved in all of this with no previous experience in the field.
Scarlett nodded. "It was, but it was also one of the best things to happen to me," she confessed. "It's almost like a fairytale, everything seems too good to be true - only it actually is true."
I chuckled, enjoying listening to her outlook.
"And Vincent was very considerate as to never make me feel uncomfortable in anyway." She continued on, a hint of gratefulness in her tone. "He was very sweet and gentle, and maybe even a bit old-fashioned."
I frowned, confused. "Vincent? Old-fashioned? Now how would that be?" I teased, remembering his playful and teasing attitude during the time I'd known him.
"He took forever to finally kiss me," Scarlett giggled, and my heart sunk momentarily, connecting her words to my own personal experience. "We dated for a while, and he had more than enough chances to try. But it wasn't until he asked me to be his girlfriend and then swore his vows to me as my mate, that he asked if he could finally kiss me - and actually waited until the word 'yes' left my lips to go ahead and do it." Scarlett laughed again - but this time in disbelief.
"Wow," I breathed, equally as surprised by his behavior. I hadn't expected Vincent to be like that, honestly.
"They're all like that, you know." Scarlett glanced at me from the corner of her eye, and a warm blush crept up my neck. "They're old-fashioned in that sense."
As if she could already hear my thoughts; I had wondered if maybe the reason Xavier hadn't tried anything was because he wasn't truly attracted to me the way I understood soulmates to be. I had seen the way Vincent couldn't keep away from Scarlett for too long, constantly holding her hands or wrapping his arm around her waist in a protective manner, but Xavier sometimes seemed too distant in comparison. He always gave me enough space, which frankly I was thankful for, but I wouldn't lie and say I hadn't hoped he'd get a little closer.
"I never really thought much about it," I confessed, my voice an octave lower than earlier, unsure if I was right to speak the words. "I'm not... i mean I don't..." I trailed off, unsure of how to word my worries. "I don't deal too well with... physical affection." My face felt on fire by this point, my gaze secured on the concrete floor.
"Why is that?" Scarlett asked in a low voice, before rushing, "if you don't mind me asking, of course. You don't have to answer that."
I smiled, my eyes meeting her embarrassed gaze. "It's alright." I assured her, my mind drifting far. "I just didn't have the best experience with my ex."
Recalling how the gentle, loving touches had turned into violent, painful ones had my heart clenching tightly in my chest as I stood in the middle of the city with tightened fists.
"Oh," Scarlett whispered, her gaze falling onto me. "I'm sorry to hear that. But," she trailed off, and I lifted my head to meet her eyes. "There you have your answer." She gave me a soft smile.
I pondered over her words, confused by what they could mean.
Then it suddenly hit me, and I gasped loudly. Xavier must have kept this little distance between us for this particular reason. He knew of my past, and he knew of how certain shadows still lingered in my life.
Could that truly be why?
I searched in Scarlett's eyes for answers to my unspoken questions, and they sparkled back with joy.
"Trust me, if it was up to him, he wouldn't spend a second away from you." She promised, a ghost of a smile on her lips.
I bit the inside of my cheek, holding back the response that was on the tip of my tongue. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have let him.