Marks and Scars

The Human Thing

After thirty minutes of driving, we were back in the city. Jeremy made a sudden left turn, detouring around the outside of the Historic District. Slowly, I realized that I recognized the next three or four turns Jeremy had made as well. It was the way to the apartment that I shared with Cathleen and Tyler. It also dawned on me that I hadn't told Jeremy where I lived. I straightened up in my seat when Jeremy slowed down just before my street, narrowing my eyes.

No one could see Brandon Lane from the main road until they'd already passed it, even if they were looking for it. The street sign was blocked by a privacy fence on the neighboring property, and the street itself was overgrown with large oak and magnolia trees. The entrance was completely hidden from the untrained eye. But Jeremy swung a skilled right turn, straight into the trees, right onto Brandon Lane.

He drove to the end, pulling up against the left hand side of the road - right in front of the first building on the left of the cul de sac. My building.

I was staring at Jeremy, shaking my head, trying to figure out how to phrase the question. Even if he'd seen the address I was putting into Uber earlier that same morning, how did he know exactly how to get to my apartment. He didn't even use any GPS that I saw.

Jeremy was returning my stare, impassive. Eventually, I found the words.

"Have you been here before?" I finally asked, my tone sounding accusatory.

Jeremy furrowed his brow. "Oh yeah," he muttered, as though he were just realizing he made a mistake.

"Oh yeah" I repeated, "What does that mean?"

Jeremy ran his hand through his hair, cutting the engine. "I told you, I'd been searching for you and-"

"Searching," I repeated. "Searching is not the same thing as following me to my house, that's called stalking."

Jeremy frowned, shaking his head. "I didn't stalk you," he protested.

"Did you follow me to my house?" I demanded. "Did you sit outside my house and follow me to other places I went? Work? The grocery store? The gym?" I was inwardly horrified at the last thought. The only reason I was still able to convince myself to even go to the gym was that I was an antisocial hermit and that the few people I knew would never see me work out.

"Well..." Jeremy trailed off. Instead of answering, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the Jeep. He came around to my door and I watched apprehensively as he opened my door, waiting for me to get down. When I refused to move, he let out a breath.

"I followed you, a little bit, for a few days. Not much, I swear. I just had to be sure that it was really you before I approached you."

I didn't know how to feel about it. What else did he know about me? I knew hardly anything about him, other than a few key character points. I unbuckled and slowly climbed down from the Jeep, pulling my coat and bag out of the floorboard. For the time being, I decided to not think about it. I'd spotted Cathleen's car parked in the back, where residents parked, and knew that I'd have to endure her interrogation before I got any peace.

Jeremy followed me to the front door. I opened the door to the entryway - which was always unlocked. It opened up to an old, empty foyer. The familiar musty smell of the old house, and what was probably mildew, greeted me as I entered. On the left and right were the doors to the two downstairs apartments, and in front of us were carpeted stairs that led to the two upstairs apartments. I turned to my apartment, the door on the left, and struggled with the lock before I finally got it open. The front entrance was very rarely used - only for when we had guests. I entered, and Jeremy stood in the doorway. His hands hung down by his sides and he stared around at my apartment thoughtfully.

At least it seemed like he'd never seen the inside. It was a small two bedroom, one bath apartment, with a living room and small kitchen. Small. Simple. Perfect. But kind of cramped for three people.

I looked behind me into the living room and kitchen, noticing that Cathleen wasn't in sight. I thought I could hear her TV through her bedroom door. Tyler didn't seem to be home - I hadn't seen his car and the couch (his bed) was empty.

"Your roommate is in that room," Jeremy told me, walking through the doorway. I stepped back and he closed the front door behind him.

"One of them," I agreed. "Tyler isn't home."

Jeremy froze, standing just at the edge of the couch. "Tyler lives with you?"

I nodded, crossing the living room to the kitchen. I set my keys in the bowl on the bar. "Yeah, but it's just temporary." 

When I turned back around, Jeremy hadn't relaxed. He was standing in the middle of the living room, eyeing the sofa with something akin to revulsion. I frowned at him. Did that somehow make him jealous? 

 "He's Cathleen's brother, he's been staying here while he finds his own apartment and gets settled," I explained further. "Wouldn't you know this, anyway? Since you've been staking out our apartment?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, finally relaxing a little. "I was focused on you. I wasn't following your roommates."

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"Are you staying for a bit?" I asked hopefully. "You could stay for dinner even. I'm cooking." If he stuck around, Cathleen would probably go easy on the questions.

Without answering, Jeremy walked up to me, grabbed my shoulders, and pulled me gently against his chest. The gesture caught me off guard, but I relaxed into his arms as he laid his cheek against the top of my head, letting the bond's touch warm my skin.

"I have to go back to the island and settle a few things. Make arrangements," he murmured, his voice muffled by my hair.

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

"I'm taking some time off starting tomorrow. I need to settle a few things that I was handling beforehand. And arrange for someone to watch over things for a few weeks."

I narrowed my eyes, my muscles tensing as I leaned my head back, forcing him to look at me. "You're taking time off? Where are you going?" I had just found him, and he was going to leave me? He himself said he had supposedly been searching for me for years. So after finally finding me, he decided it would be the perfect time to take a vacation?

Jeremy forced me to rest my head against his chest again, gently. A low chuckle was vibrating in his chest. "I'm not leaving," he assured me softly. "I'm just not going to focus on work. I need someone to watch over things, so that I can focus my time on you."

"Oh..." I replied, my shoulders relaxing again.

"Since you won't do as the wolves do..." he continued thoughtfully, "I figured I'd do things the human way."

"The human way?"

"Mhmm, we can go on dates, get to know each other if you want. I can take you out to dinner. You can cook for me. I'll cook for you. I'll take you to a carnival, to a movie, to the aquarium." I snickered at this. "Anywhere you want to go. We can even eventually get around to sealing our bond."

At the mention of sealing the bond, my cheeks reddened and I fought to suppress the urges from earlier that morning. Jeremy chuckled above me, sensing my distress, and held me out at arms length, looking into my eyes. "I love how easily you get flustered," he teased.

I narrowed my eyes at him as my cheeks grew hotter and evil thoughts flitted through my mind.

I bet if I tried, I could get you all flustered too.

But Cathleen was just a few feet away in her bedroom, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

I just pulled on Jeremy's arms, making him hold me again. I could feel him smirking into my hair still. "I'll come back by early tomorrow morning," he told me. "Until then... give me your phone."

I pulled away, digging my phone out of my back pocket and handed it to him. He opened my contacts, added his phone number, and sent himself a text message. So he would have my number, I guessed. He waved the phone in front of my face. "Call me in case you need anything before tomorrow."

I smiled, taking my phone back. Jeremy leaned forward, planting a firm kiss against my forehead. "I'll see you soon," he promised with a small smile.

I stood in the kitchen, leaning against the bar. The ghost of my smile lingered even after he'd closed the front door behind him.

"Ahem!"

I jumped and my phone fell to the floor. Cathleen was leaning against her door frame, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.

"Hey," I offered, giving her a small wave.

"You didn't text me," she said flatly, her tone dripping with disapproval.

Oh yeah... "Um, I'm sorry," I said quickly. I bent down and scooped my phone up off of the floor. "I was distracted."

Cathleen harrumphed, as though to say "clearly."

"Oh come on," I prodded her. "I really am sorry. Won't you forgive me?"

"I was really worried about you," she continued. "It's not like you to not come home. Where did you go and-" her eyes narrowed suddenly "And what the hell happened to your face?!"

My mouth fell open as I struggled for an answer. She closed the distance between us quickly, her eyes trained on the scrapes on my face. I backed away. "Calm down, I just... I got in a bar fight with some chick," I said the first stupid thing that popped into my mind. "I told you, I was drunk. Wasted," I followed up weakly, after seeing the look on Cathleen's face.

Cathleen just shook her head. "Are you okay?" she asked, stressing the last word. "I meant for you to get some - just hook up with the guy. Not let him turn you full on biker chick!"

I scoffed. "Biker chick?"

"I'm serious," Cathleen went on. She paced around in front of me, walking from the couch back to the bar. "Have you been feeling okay lately? You're acting weird. Are you have nightmares? Does this have anything to do with what happened in Col-"

"Whoa!" I interrupted her loudly, holding my palm up. "We've been through this a dozen times. You are not my therapist, Cathleen. We're not talking about that."

Cathleen crossed her arms, frowning slightly. "Are you still going to therapy?" she asked me weakly.

"Yes," I hissed through my teeth. A lie.

Cathleen nodded once, as though this appeased her. "Fine...fine... I'll let it go. Just... don't ever scare me like that again."

I nodded once in agreement.

"At least it was just a fling. It's not like you're even going to see that guy again. What was he? A tourist?"

I tried to smile, but I know it looked more like a grimace. "Well..."