Thea's Return (Book 2 in the Original SOCIETY Series) ✔

☙8❧

"You can't avoid him forever, Thea," my aunt pointed out, stroking my hair slowly.

I had my head in her lap, staring off at nothing as I took a deep breath. I knew she was right. 

I'd been avoiding Maddox the past few days because of what he confessed to me in the kitchen. It was so out of the blue that I wasn't sure how to comprehend it. I didn't know how to respond.

He acted as though he hadn't told me his feelings---the ones that I didn't know he had towards me---but every time I saw him, my eyes widened as I stiffened and booked it out of the room. Every time. 

Sometimes he'd knock on my door and almost beg me to talk to him, that he didn't mean to tell me what he did. That he shouldn't have when I was feeling so vulnerable about Auric. 

But i still wouldn't open the door. 

My eyes closed at the tender, comforting touch of my aunt's fingers against my hair. It felt so nice, just like my mother used to do when I was a little girl. 

Keeping my eyes shut, I sighed out that I loved Maddox... but that I could never feel that way about him. Not the way he felt for me. 

"Is it because of Auric?" my aunt asked.

I sat up, frowning as I shook my head. 

"I don't know... maybe. But to be honest... it's more that I've gotten so close to Maddox. We share a bond that is different than others; we understand one another easily but the thought of being with him more intimately terrifies me."

"Why?"

I bit my lip, shrugging a shoulder.

"Because it's weird."

Aunt Penny laughed, shaking her head that I was not wrong to think that way. Nor was Maddox wrong to have feelings for me when he has this bond that I spoke of. She explained that for him, Maddox still acknowledged out bond, but that the human part of him---not the advanced---couldn't help but fall into that emotion he never experienced before when he had his link.

"From a young age, Maddox was taught to respect and care for his link. But most of the time---with the exception of his father---advanced children never fall in love. It is not really... programmed... so to speak. We are just accepting that our link is a part of us."

Frowning, I inquired about herself and Thatcher. 

She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes slightly. 

"Hm... well Thatcher and I had a strong bond. We were fond of one another, yes, and even were intimate at the appropriate age. But again... that emotion 'love' was never something we were taught. It was not expected to come naturally to us." 

She shrugged a shoulder with a smile, "Of course... with us now it is love. Something we learned... just as Maddox did."

Aunt Penny caressed the back of her fingers against my cheek. 

"Don't be so hard on him, Sweetheart. For an advanced human as himself to have been able to express his feelings as he did---probably because of this bond you two share---is a big step. And it probably hurts his pride that he risked your friendship."

I never thought of it that way. 

Perhaps Maddox thought I'd react a little differently because of how close we were. Perhaps he didn't expect me to just shut him out as I've been doing. And now I felt so guilty about it.

Why did I always end up being the one who felt guilt?

Running my fingers through my hair, I closed my eyes as I let out a sigh. When I opened my eyes again, Aunt Penny was giving me a small smile.