touch (29 page)

“We can make a deal,” he suggested.

“But I thought you said we didn’t need to use deals,” I
said, confused.

“You are correct.  But this one is important.  For your
safety.  I want you to stay in the house while I’m gone.  You may not open a
window, a door, nothing.”

“Morik, we don’t need to make a deal for that.  I promise.”

He shook his head before I finished speaking.  “You must
name a price.”

“How about my popcorn?”

“Your obedience in this is worth far more.”

“Like how much?  I’m not a deal pro like you,” I smiled at
him trying to lighten the mood.

“Priceless, really.”

I snorted at that.  “Don’t these deals need to feel fair to
both of us?”  He agreed with a slight incline of his head.  “A new coat for
everyone in my family,” I said thinking we could use them.  He shook his head
and I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully.  “Priceless?”

He nodded watching me think.

“I can’t go that high for something I would have been
determined to do on my own.”  But obviously, I needed something that could
measure up to my ‘obedience’ in his eyes.  The thought of anything extravagant
made me feel annoyed and wasteful.  Fine.  Something big, yet practical.

“A car!” I blurted.  “For Aunt Grace.  Not new though. 
Something nice with good gas mileage.”  He didn’t respond either way,
considering the deal.  “Seriously, I wouldn’t have gone outside,” I
reiterated.  Still he hesitated.  “And you can cover the first year’s oil
changes.”

“Any maintenance for the life of the vehicle,” he countered.

“Not new, right?  A beater?”

“Not new,” he agreed.

“Deal.”

He pulled me into a tight hug and whispered, “I’ll be right
back.”  Then he disappeared with my arms wrapped around nothing.

A second later, I heard a knock on the front door.  “Tess?”
my Grandma called from outside.  I took half a step toward the door and froze. 
My promise stopped me.  It’d meant so much to him that he would willingly buy
Aunt Grace a car.  He said he’d be right back…

Ahgred wasn’t interested in Gran, but he could use her to
get to me.  The thought of him using her now sickened me.

“I’m sorry, Gran,” I called wanting to cry.  “I can’t let
you in until Morik comes back.”

“What?” she cried.  “He’s supposed to be watching you.  Wait
until your mother hears this.”

He said he would be right back.  The seconds ticked by.  I
took another step toward the door.  He said not to open the door, nothing about
looking outside.  Creeping to the door, I parted the curtain and almost
screamed.  Ahgred himself stood outside his green eyes glowing.  He saw the
movement and focused on me.

“Tess,” he hummed in his own voice.  “Open the door.  I will
give you the world.”

I dropped the curtain and backed away from the door.  “No
thanks,” I whispered.

Behind me, something tapped the kitchen window.  I spun and
saw Morik’s worried face.  He put a finger to his lips and motioned to the
French doors, indicating I should let him in.  I walked calming toward him. 
The window, not the door.  Through the glass, we stood eye to eye.

“Can you look like anyone?” I asked.

Morik’s eyes narrowed and then a grin split his features. 
“Do you prefer another to Morik?” he asked.  It didn’t sound like Morik just
looked like him.

“No,” I assured him automatically.  “Can you sound like
Morik at the same time you look like him?” I wondered studying his face through
the window looking for some discernible difference.

Ahgred grunted a quick snarl before changing into his own
shape.

“I won’t let you in, Ahgred,” I said quietly waiting for his
next move.  “Nor will I go outside.”

He stared at me for several long moments and then faded into
the darkness.

I looked at the clock.  Just before ten.  I wandered back to
the kitchen and took a sip of my soda, waiting and wondering what could have
delayed Morik.

Five minutes passed between when he left and when he
returned.  He reappeared in the same spot, his eyes already focused on me,
eyeing me from head to toe.  Under his arm, he cradled the plastic container of
Aunt Grace’s mix.

“You got it!” I exclaimed, moving to him and snagging the
container.  “What happened?”

His eyes shifted to the window and then over his shoulder to
the door as he answered, “I thought I would be safe to enter your room, but
your mom and Stephen were in there…”

“What?!”

His eyes darted back to me and he spared me a quick smile. 
“My timing couldn’t have been worse.  I scared your mother.  With them in
there, I knew I could safely appear in the living room and quickly did so. 
However, I heard your mother excuse herself and knew I needed to wait to
explain my presence.”

“Tell me they weren’t on my bed,” I pleaded imagining the
worst.

“I interrupted a kiss during a tour, I believe.”

“A tour?  Give me a break.  He owns the house.  It was an
excuse to take a minute to make out.”  I popped the lid on the container and
tossed a tasty morsel into my mouth.  It helped ease the painful possibility of
what could have been if not for Morik’s timing.

“Did anything happen here while I was gone?”  He stopped
studying the doors and windows and focused on me.  I offered him a piece from
the tub.

When he had it in his mouth, I answered, “Sure.  First, I
told Gran she had to wait on the stoop in the cold until you returned and then,
when you knocked on the window, I asked you if you could look like anyone
else.”  He made a choking noise on the popcorn.  Before he swallowed, I quickly
added, “She likes red,” and smiled at him.  His eyes stayed liquid silver and
he gave me a small smile in return.

“Come on.  Let’s watch a movie and then see how long it
takes me to fall asleep.”

*    *    *    *

I became aware of the light in the room, but refused to open
my eyes holding to my oath to sleep in.  After a few moments listening to
Morik’s steady breathing, I grew curious.  Unlike the last few mornings, I lay
in my own space.  A bigger bed made a difference.

He lay next to me with his eyes closed, actually sleeping. 
Carefully, so I wouldn’t wake him, I rolled to my side and studied him.  He
looked so human… until I spotted his horns peeking through his hair.  The sharp
tip of it rested against the pillow.  I wondered how many pillows died because
of them.  The tips of his ears hid under his long hair.

I checked the time, a little after eight, to make sure it
wasn’t too early to wake him and then reached out to run my fingers through his
hair.  I liked the feel of it.  But that wasn’t my true purpose.  I wanted to
find his ear.  My fingers found the tip of the one closest to me.

“Good morning,” he said in a deep, rough voice keeping his
eyes closed.

“Morning,” I whispered trying to keep my smile from it.  I
didn’t remove my hand.  My fingertip traced along the outer shell to the tip,
then followed that ridge to the place where the top of his ear joined his
head.  I repeated the move reversing direction.  At the tip, I ran my fingers
to the underside.

His eyes popped open, black voids.  I couldn’t actually tell
if he looked at me, but assumed I had his attention.  A fine tremor shook him
for a moment as I continued.

“Let’s get you home before we upset your mother,” he said. 
It sounded a bit choked.

A moment later, I lay on my bed, a smile still lingering on
my lips.  He shook his head at me and disappeared.

Muffled through the closed door, the phone rang, and I heard
someone say, “That girl is driving me crazy!”

Curious, I got out of bed and drifted to the living room.

“Oh, Tess!  I didn’t know he brought you back.  Beatriz has
been calling.  She called yesterday and we forgot to tell you to return her
call before you left.  She was worried when you disappeared Friday night.”  The
phone continued to ring during her explanation.  “Oh, just answer it,” Gran
said waving me away.

I picked up the kitchen phone knowing there’d be no
privacy.  “Hello?”

“Tess, what happened to you?  You never said anything… just
disappeared.  We were so worried!” Beatriz exclaimed in an annoyed tone.

Containing my groan, I said, “I know.  I’m sorry for scaring
you.  Morik found me and we decided to leave.  You’re right.  I should have
said good-bye.”  I’d completely forgotten how we’d left the party.

A moment of silence carried over the line and I opened my
mouth to apologize again.

“Brad told me what he did,” she said softly as if worried
someone might overhear.  “He thinks that’s why you left.  Don’t get me wrong, I
like Morik.  But it’d be cool if you liked my brother.”

I closed my eyes and felt the lingering pull of our
friendship from the vision with Brad.  Oh, I knew she wouldn’t mind me liking
him at all.  “Brad is great, and what he did wasn’t the reason I left.  I hope
he finds someone great, but it won’t be me.  I like Morik.”

“Yeah,” she said sadly.  Then she perked up, “What are you
doing today?  Do you two want to come over?”

I looked over at Gran who sat in the living room knitting
with a pile of yarn at her feet.  Aunt Danielle opened an eye to look at me a large
knowing smile on her face.  “I don’t know what we’re doing today.  I just woke
up.  Let me talk to my mom and I’ll give you a call back.”

She groaned.  “It takes forever for you to call back,” she
accused, and I knew she’d forgiven me for disappearing.

I laughed, said good-bye, and she unwillingly let me go.

Morik still hadn’t reappeared and I began to wonder where
he’d gone to.  But more importantly, “Gran, where are Mom and Aunt Grace?”

“Grace is sleeping in and your mom is still at Stephen’s.”

Admittedly, the news that mom went to stay the night at
Stephen’s took me by surprise, and I stared at Gran a moment.  She returned my
look, watching for my reaction.  There was none to give.

“Beatriz wanted to know if I could come over today.  Do we
have any plans here?”

Gran said we didn’t and told me to make whatever plans I
wanted, assuring me she’d pass it along to Mom.  Now, I just needed to figure
out what Morik had planned.  I debated calling him, but decided to leave him
alone.  He would show up when he was ready.

After showering, dressing, and doing a load of laundry, I
heard a car in the driveway.  I moved to the kitchen window, but couldn’t see
much because of a sudden gust of blowing snow.  A car door closed.  Immediately
following that, a knock on the door sounded.  I smiled and rushed to get it. 
Only one person could move that fast.

He stood in the swirling snow a small smile on his face when
I reached to tug him through the open door.

“Where were you?” I asked taking his things.

“I had to get something for your Aunt,” he replied, his gaze
finding Aunt Grace in the living room.

Having woken up late, she had wet hair from her recent
shower and still sipped her coffee on the couch while watching a talk show. 
She looked up when he said ‘Aunt’.

“Me?” she asked, a startled expression on her face when she
saw his eyes on her.

“Yes, you.”  He strode toward her, in stocking feet, and
dropped keys in her hand.  “That belongs to the car outside, Tessa’s price for
a very important promise.”

All eyes turned toward me.  “I promised to stay inside last
night when he came back for the snack mix.”  I shrugged as if it weren’t a very
interesting topic.  “What kind of car did you find?”

“Let your Aunt look.  It’s her surprise.”

Aunt Grace popped off the couch and hurriedly tugged on her
things.  Her bare feet slid into her runners.  The door loudly clicked shut in
her rush.

I moved to the door to peek out the window.  A shiny, cherry
red car sat in the driveway with my Aunt draped over the hood, obviously in
love.  I watched her rush to let herself into the driver’s side door and
listened to the muffled sound of an engine start.  She eased the car forward,
veering toward the left of our two-car garage.

“It looks kinda new…” I commented stepping away.

A moment later, Aunt Grace flew into the house like a
lunatic and launched herself straight at him.  “I love you!” she cried wrapping
her arms around his neck.  He stood stiffly in her embrace while I stared at
them both in amazement.  Though Aunt Grace had never shown the open hostility Mom
had, she hadn’t made an effort to interact with him like Aunt Danielle or Gran either.

“What was it?” I asked her.

She rattled off something that I didn’t understand, but the
year caught my attention.  The current year.  “That’s new, Morik!” I accused.

“Technically not.  The car has a prior owner, making it
used.”

“But I said a beater!”

“Hey!” Aunt Grace scolded, removing her arms.  Morik looked
relieved.  “You did good,” she told him as if her enthusiastic hug hadn’t
already confirmed that.

“If she chooses to beat it, she may,” Morik offered
helpfully.

“Best Christmas ever,” my aunt murmured to herself as she
shuffled back to her bedroom with a silly grin on her face.

*    *    *    *

Mom came home looking slightly dazed before Morik and I
decided what to do for the day.

“Saw the car, huh?”  I lounged on the overstuffed chair with
my feet dangling over the edge waiting for Morik to come up with a better idea
than Beatriz’s house.

“Hmmm?” she said absently.

I frowned at her, watching her hang up her jacket and kick
off her shoes.  The motions were right, but the attitude all wrong.  I called
her name.  Twice.  She answered with another noncommittal noise as if her
hearing had suddenly stopped functioning overnight.

“Gran!”  I called getting up and going to Mom.  Gran came up
from the basement, a basket of laundry in her arms.

“Tess, you don’t need to yell,” Gran scolded as I called
Mom’s given name in her face.