Catalyst (24 page)

             
"Well, we can find you a room. You can take a shower, too. Have you eaten? Do Lighters…..eat?" Sherry asked him.

             
"We do," Daniel answered. "
Our bodies are
as
human
as yours
."

             
"Ok. Are you hungry? Would you like something?"

             
"I don't want to trouble you-"

             
Sherry touched his hand and he stopped.

             
"You fed me, remember? I
t's the least I can do. Besides," she stood, "it's kind of
my thing here. I have some pea soup
ready
. Not the most desirable thing
,
but-"

             
"That would be acceptable
. Thank you, Sherry."

             
She smiled and went to the kitchen. The girl practically lived in there.

             
I turned back to Daniel and almost gasped at his closeness. He'd inched forward some more. He seemed concerned and edgy.

             
"What's the matter?" I asked.

             
"I just…can not comprehend that I am here."

             
"
Well
,
you are."

             
"You did not answer my question," he said quietly.

             
"What question?"

             
"Why do you wish for me to stay?"

             
"Because it'
s not safe out there for you now."

             
"I can fend for myself."

             
I looked at his side and grimaced as I replied, "You sure about that?"

             
"This," he palmed his side, "was merely a miscalculation."

             
"A pretty big miscalculation. You could have died."

             
"But I did not."

             
"But you could have!" I yelled. He didn’t recoil
at my tone
. In fact, he inched closer.

             
"
You are very upset," he observed.

             
"I am."

             
"But why? You act as though you are invested in my welfare."

             
"I am…I…don't want to see you get hurt."

             
He inched further still. I realized he was
now
kneeling on the floor in front of me. I should stop him. I shouldn't let him get any closer. But there I sat.

             
"Lillian,"
he said my name in a soft growl, "m
y chest hurts."

             
"It does? Where? What-"

             
"My human heart," he answered. "It beats uncontrollably."

             
Ohhhh…d
ang
. I gas
p
e
d slightly as he took my hand and put it over his shirt front.

             
"Why?" he asked. "Why is it doing that?"

             
I gulped and said, "I don’t know.
They beat fast for lots of reasons."

             
He moved closer, his free arm going beside
me on the couch. He inhaled deeply. 

             
"You still smell of…Jasmine." I could only nod. "
All human females do
not
smell that way," he mused.

             
"No," I agreed. "I put it on."

             
"So you smell this way on purpose."

             
"Yes,
I guess so."
I decided to change the subject.
"Aren't you curious about what L
ily did to you?"

             
"Very. She's…precious looking. My body instantly wanted to protect her."

             
"Yeah," I said and smiled. "Everybody is like that with her."

             
"Is everyone like that with
you?"

             
"No, why?"

             
"Because that's exactly how I feel about you," he said,
his voice an awe filled whisper, "e
xcept worse. My need to make sure you are safe is doubled over more than once in comparison." His hand moved and
I
let him touch
my cheek. I shut my eyes and felt his sigh against my face. I opened my eyes and he looked like a half-drugged man. "You are the light in a dark place. You are
the water to my drought. You
are everything I never knew
existed and everything I wanted all at the same time."

             
"Oh…"

             
"This body…my body,
very much wants to…
put my mouth to yours
."

             
I was shocked into silence. I'd never had someone say those kinds of things with such conviction before. Oh…he was leaning forward. I couldn't let him kiss me. No…no…

             
"No," I whispered and when I spoke, my lip touched his with the barest brush. He was that close.

             
"Lillian," he groaned. His eyes opened and he watched me. "Please."

             
"I can't let you," I told him. "I'm with Cain." He seemed confused. "We are…together. I love him. You only kiss a person that you
're with… like that.
"

             
"I've seen many people kiss that were not in love."

             
"Yes, but not while they are with someone else."

             
"
But Cain isn't here right now
with you," he reasoned and I realized that he really didn't understand. He wasn't tr
ying to talk me into it. He
was
just
genuinely clueless.

             
"But I love him. And I'd never betray him."

             
There was a pause. A pause that I knew was full of understanding.

             
"So…your heart beats this fast…for him," he said finally.

             
"Yes."

             
"And not for this body, mine.
"

             
"It doesn't matter about your body, Daniel. It's about you, who you are. That body is yours now. You decide what you do with it and what to feel. I'm sorry. It's not that I don't…like you. It's just that Cain is very important to me
and I was with him first
. I don't want you to leav
e.
I want you to stay here and be safe but, you can't kiss me."

             
"I can not p
ut my lips on yours," he hedged with a slight grimace,
"
e
ver."

             
I shook my head as an answer. He looked crushed and confused. He wanted to kiss me, didn't even know what kissing was really, and he was confused at the rejection and
the
want to
do it
. I felt about as useful as a
teacher with no class.

             
I tried for another way to explain.

             
"
For humans, we find one person who we want to be with in every way. Cain is that person for me. And he trusts me," I added
.

             
"I t
hink I understand." His grimace intensified
and
he
sat back on his heels
though he kept my hand trapped to his chest
. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

             
"You didn't," I assured. "I'm fine. And I want to be your friend.
We can figure out all this stuff together, alright?"

             
"If you suggest it so."

             
"Can I…can I have my hand back now?" I asked softly.

             
"Oh," he said and
looked down,
"I'm sorry." He took my hand from his chest and held it in his hands.
He turned it over and over in observation.
"Your skin is very delicate."

             
"Most girls are," I said easily.

             
"I don't believe you. I think you are soft and sweet smelling because you are you," he said but it was gentle, like he was just making an observation
and nothing else
. Sherr
y came back then with a bowl
tucked in her hands and he released my hand as he
stood abruptly.

             
"Thank you."

             
"No problem," she said and eyed me
kind of funny. Had she seen his little love display?

             
"So," he eyed the bowl in his hands, "this is pea soup."

             
"It is," she answered. "It's pretty good
, but it's also
all we've got so…"

             
"No, I am most appreciative. Thank you for allowing me to stay and feeding me. I will try ardently not to be a burden. I will address your Merrick when he returns and guarantee him that I will do all I can to help your cause and your people."

             
"Thank you, Daniel." He continued to stand there, as if awaiting instructions. "At ease," she said and started to laugh at her joke
,
but he actually spread his legs in an easy stance and one ha
n
d went behind his back. She balked. "No, Daniel. W
e are not your superiors here. T
hat's not how we do things. If you want to eat, eat. When you want to sleep, sleep. If you want to leave, leave. We won't stop you and we won’t keep you here against your will. You are your own now; you're free."

             
"I don't know what that means, either."

             
Though Sherry didn’t know what he was talking about with the 'either' she still got the gist. There was lots that Daniel didn't understand.

             
"Well, we'll make sure you understand then. I'll make it my mission."

             
"I am your mission?"

             
"Absolutely. So, go on and eat. Then we'll get you settled into a room."

             
"Ok," he replied and
walked slowly to the stairs. H
e sat on the edge and glanced at
her as he took a sip of soup fro
m his spoon. His eyes flashed a little and the corner of his mouth lifted in a wanna-be smile. Then he plowed through it.

             
Sherry turned to me and put her hands on her hips. Her short self looked flustered and every bit the mother hen she was pegged to be.
"He kissed you?" she hissed.

             
Yikes
…

Lousy situation

Chapter 18 - Merrick

             
"Well, we may as well hunker down for the night," Miguel said
,
but didn't move to do so.

             
"Screw that, man
," Josh replied.
"
I'm not tired.
And I think I can lift little M
iss Keeper here up in
to this air conditioning shaft." H
e threw some chunks of wood and a sheet of metal to the side
. "R
ight here.
"
He
stood
up on a
cinder block and held his out for her. "Come on, Kay. You'll fit perfect
ly
."