Out of Darkness

Ticking Down

I leave Mr. Lee and the boys in the living room entertaining Miss Sorensen and retreat to one of the back bedrooms. Sean's right. I haven't been taking care of myself, and if we are going to go forward with this insane idea, I need to be in top form. I loosen my tie and strip down to my undershirt and boxers. I lay back on the bed and try to force myself to sleep. It's not working. I try a few deep breathing exercises with no results.

How am I supposed to sleep when all I see when I close my eyes is her?

I wipe my hand across my face, trying to drive all thoughts of Miss Sorensen, no-Sang, from my mind. It's useless. The more I try to clear her from my consciousness the greater her presence envelops me. Even now, I can smell her.

The door cracks open and the blurry outline of Sean peeks in.

"You asleep, Owen?"

I shake my head and sit up, putting on my glasses. "No. I can't seem to turn off right now." The bed dips as he lowers himself next to me. "Sean, my every attention is focused on her."

He snorts and I turn to look at him. "You and me both, brother," he runs his fingers through his hair and sighs. "You know, she's really amazing. She handled much more physical activity than I expected. She managed 45 push-ups! I know that there are fully qualified Academy girls who can't do that. She's too thin and injured, but strong too. Wiry, I guess. It kills me to think of what she's gone through that's conditioned her so well, but she's going to be spectacular once we get her free of all of this." He flops backwards so that he's laying crosswise on the bed. I join him and lace my hands behind my head.

"I suspect that Miss Sorensen is far more resilient than we give her credit for. But she's socially stunted. She's living out different phases of adolescence with each of the guys." He nods and follows my stream of thoughts.

"With Luke and Gabriel she's figuring out how to be playful and learning about joking with her peers. With Kota, she is able to indulge in her intellect, which I suspect is going to eventually give him a run for his money, if not straight out surpass him. With North and Silas, she seems to find comfort and safety, though Luke is also filling that role with her. He's changing too, becoming more serious. Victor and Gabriel are bringing out her girlishness. They're helping her discover her femininity, and they treat her like a princess. Nathan is empowering her. He's teaching her how to feel strong on her own, that she can rely on herself as much as the rest of us."

"And us?" I ask. Sometimes I don't give Sean enough credit for his perceptiveness.

"Honestly, I think we fill a lot of those roles. You are an almost instant comfort to her, Owen. She told Gabriel that she could recognize us by our smells before she even woke in the hospital. I think that somewhere deep down, she recognizes you as one of the people who were there when we pulled her out of that prison. She sees you as safety and comfort, and she trusts you without hesitation. Also, as much as I hate it, she reacts to you in a carnal way. From that first moment, when the heart rate monitor spiked, I could see the connection between you two. I think that you are awakening the young woman in her, Owen."

He sounds so dejected. "I don't think that I'm the only one, Sean," I tell him. "I walked in moments before you both started devouring one another. I don't think she's ready for any of that yet, but she's definitely noticing you as a man, not just her doctor. I think you also bring her a level of comfort when she feels out of her depth. You have never made her feel stupid for not knowing something, and you definitely haven't made her cry like I did."

We sit in silence for a minute before Sean starts to laugh. Soon, I can't help but join in.

"Did we just have one of those Bro moments, Owen? You know, when we talk about girls and lament at our shortcomings?" He wipes at the tears from the outburst. "Oh man! It's so normal! Gabriel would be proud of us. I think we just did one of those milestone right-of-passage things that he's always going on about!" I shake my head and let out a last chuckle.