The Link 2 - The Hunted

Chapter 26 - Teegan

Leaving the car was an enjoyable exercise. There was always one more touch, one more kiss, and a lot more shared laughter. Caleb lengthened it all by insisting on opening my door. I waited, knowing it meant even more kisses. I didn't care who saw. The rest of the world wasn't as important as it was a few days ago.

Caleb waited until I was on the porch. I could feel him watching my rear, so I gave it a bit more movement than it normally had. His appreciation was well worth the effort. I entered the house with a smile on my lips.

"Long day?" Mom asked. She was in the family room, sitting where she could watch the front door. There was indifference in her face, but I knew that meant less than happy. It was then that I remembered I had walled off the world or the parts that weren't named Caleb. I dropped blocks, and my family flooded back in. Mom smiled.

"Sorry," I said, unable to lesson my smile, "I needed some privacy."

"And why would you need that?" Mom asked. My smile grew, and Mom's eyes widened. I was thinking of lying or ignoring the question, but my happiness was flowing through the link. I knew she could feel it.

"My bond with Caleb kind of changed," I replied. Remembering him naked and sweating over me made my face flush. I could feel him experiencing my thoughts, triggering his thoughts of our encounter. We ran out of condoms before we were through. I almost laughed, remembering trying to fit one of the smaller ones on him. It was if I was strangling a mouse.

"What do you mean changed?" Mom said, scooting her legs over to give me room on the couch. She guessed what had happened and wanted to talk about it. She didn't know the half of it.

"He knows I'm talking with you," I said. Caleb smiled through the bond, sending me virtual kisses that were almost as good as the real ones. I was addicted.

"Of course, he just dropped you off didn't he?"

"No, I mean he knows the words I'm saying," I said, "Just like I know he's driving down Goshen road right now."

"He knows what I'm saying?" Mom asked. I nodded, and I watched her surprise grow. It was so natural to me, yet Mom was adjusting her next words as if he was standing next to me. "Is that a good thing?"

"Very good," I answered and stifled a laugh as Caleb agreed, reminding me of some of our more intimate moments. He was like a kid in a candy store, and I was his chocolate. Caleb sent me an image of a Reese's, which did make me laugh. Mom was considering my sanity. "We've joined completely." I said, trying to cover my ill-timed chuckle.

"Physically?"

"Yes," I said, "and so much more." Mom pursed her lips. I knew she wanted to talk, but feared it extending to Caleb. Our closeness as a family had just taken a hit.

"Can you shut it off?" Mom asked. I almost questioned why she would want me to do that. It seemed senseless. Caleb was concerned about my relationship with my mother, not wanting to be the cause of any growing rift. In his thoughts, we should give our family some time to get used to it. He asked me to try, but not to stay away long if it worked.

Stopping the flow between Caleb and I was like pushing my finger into a running faucet. The music flowed around it, streaming faster at the edges the harder I forced it to shut. Eventually, my block sealed as more of it grew to fill the gap. With it went my smile.

"Yes," I replied. It was almost painful like I'd lost an arm or something. "It's hard to do, worse than Daddy."

"He's gone now?"

"I love him," I said as if that answered everything. My eyes found the floor, wondering if the bond had fused us together, beyond what nature intended. Was my mind my own anymore? Did I care?

"I like Caleb," Mom said, "and so does your father. I just fear you're moving too fast." My eyes began to fill. Half of me was missing, lopped away like my hopes for the future.

"It's too late," I said as a tear ran lonely down my cheek. "There is no slow anymore. The bond has seen to that." My mind was in full withdrawal from a most powerful drug. I looked up, and Mom gasped. She moved quickly to me.

"Let him come back," Mom said in full panic. Her hand forcibly tilted my head back and her other wiped at my upper lip. The hand came back coated in blood. I released the block I had been so strongly holding. Caleb flooded into me, relieving the horrible pressure, allowing the blessed drug to take hold of me again. I took a deep elated breath. I was nothing; we were everything.

"What's happened to you, my baby?" Mom blubbered, her tears flowing like something was still wrong. I smiled to ease her fears as she wiped more blood away from my face with her hand.

"I can't hold him out for long," I admitted. "And I never want to again." Caleb's relief was as strong as mine. He had pulled off to the side of the road when he almost lost control of the vehicle during our brief parting. All I could think of was that he could have died. "I'm so much stronger," I added then corrected, "We are so much stronger." We were barely infants without the link.

"I'll get a towel," Mom said, making sure I leaned back on the couch. There was no effort in holding the link with Caleb. It was an effortless joy. Breaking the link took everything I had. It would probably kill me to hold him out for an extended period of time. It didn't matter. I wasn't jumping off that cliff ever again. Caleb wrapped his soul around me and pulled me tight. Security was a blanket tucked in with love.

Mom returned with a wet towel. Her mascara was smeared where she had wiped her eyes. Caleb expressed his concern through our bond. Not how it affected us, but how it was going to affect the ones we loved. They couldn't possibly understand that our link was no longer an option. Mom began dabbing my face carefully, slowly changing the towel from white to red. I must have broken every blood vessel in my nose.

"I'm frightened," Mom admitted.

"My mind isn't meant to work alone," I said, my smile growing. Caleb thoughts were mixing with mine so clearly, things that were hard to understand were tossed back and forth instantly, quantified, verified, and conclusions were drawn. "I am meant to share, and now I found out who I want to share it all with. It's so beautifully clear." Mom would never fully understand.

"Are we losing you?"

"No," I said, laughing with Caleb, "though you're gaining Caleb." I opened something deep, and music flowed gently between Caleb and my mom. I watched her eyes widen as a little of what Caleb and I had became more apparent.

"There's so much love," Mom said, her smile growing as the drug pointed out the obvious. It was silly, but I closed what I greedily didn't want to share. I could feel Caleb snicker at my desire to have him to myself. An image of my butt being spanked softly made me blush.

"Be it good or bad," I said, "we're stuck with each other. The link is pulling us like a magnet and neither of has the desire to fight it." I smiled at my Mom, "It was such a lovely afternoon."

"You've grown up too fast," Mom said, her tears now for something lost. She caressed my hair with a weak smile. "I'm going to miss the girl."

"I love you, Mom," I whispered. Caleb's smile was infinitely larger than Mom's.