The Countdown

Worrying

I sat outside the bathrooms while Victor was inside and Gabriel had run off to grab a bag we'd forgotten. I'm not completely sure how he even knew there was a bag missing amongst the sea of purchases. People passed by, not noticing me as they went about their busy lives.

How weird it was, that people lived lives all around me and this was probably going to be our only encounter, one that I don't think either of us will likely remember. A couple with matching marks on their biceps were talking over a shared sodapop. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, as the conversation didn't carry over the noise of the mall but they looked happy.

Would I be that happy? All of the guys were great, even Gabriel as he lead me through the bajillion stores to try on clothes and sample chocolates every time we passed a candy shop. The worst part about the glitch in the countdown to finding my soul mate was the fact that to choose between them would be like choosing between twins who to save and who to let die.

Not that these guys were twins, not by a long shot. They were all so different, which admittedly should make it that much easier to choose but it didn't. I'd been locked away from people for so long, that all of these personalities was like a glass of fresh water. I couldn't imagine choosing between these guys because they all seemed to compliment me so well.

These perfect guys, perfect different, wonderful guys; they all seemed to bring me life. Each of them brought out a side of me I wasn't aware I had. To give up any of them, even the thought was like giving up a part of myself I was only just discovering.

Impossible.

Unimaginable.

Unfair.

Part of me thought of Owen, he was the first so he should be my choice right? But then Gabriel and Luke come to mind, Owen and his smile... I swallowed back the emotion that seemed to rush over me every time I dare think about choosing between them.

No the worst part wasn't the choosing, it was the clock on my wrist. The one that hinted I had about four hours before I met another soulmate, before I was introduced to another part of myself. I wasn't sure how many times I could go through this: go through meeting another soulmate.

And what about them? What do they get? A broken, barely there girl with nothing but an inexperienced heart to offer. A heart that evidently couldn't even be all theirs, because it's splitting even as I sit here on a bench in a mall.

"Hey Princess, ready to go get food and head home?"

I looked up at Victor's eyes of fire and found myself nodding to something I didn't completely understand. What was home? Would I be allowed to stay with Luke even after we visit the matchers? Or would he kick me out? He wasn't the type but at the same time the mere thought of turning down all but one sent me down spirals.

"Okay, there's Gabe. What do you want to eat?" he asked and offered me his arm.

I took it thankfully and looked over to where Gabriel was walking over with a huge grin on his lips, "I saw a sale, and a fucking Olive Garden. I'll buy you Olive Garden if we can go to the sale?"

Victor answered for us both, "No more stores."

Gabriel pouted, "Then I get the girl," he said cheerfully and shoved the bag he'd left to go find into Victor's arms.

Gabriel wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek with a loud smack, easily moving my thoughts away from the future and into the present.

"Come on gorgeous, Victor's buying lunch!"

IM SO SORRY THAT TOOK SO LONG FOR SUCH A LOUSY UPDATE BUT I NEEDED TO WRITE THAT SO THAT I COULD GET BACK IN THE GROOVE OF THIS STORY ---- SORRY AGAIN IM TERRIBLE