You're My Home (completed)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Goodbyes are never easy, especially when they concern your soul mate who you've cared about since before they existed. In Collin's mind, ever since he could remember he felt like his destiny was linked with someone else's. When he thought about it, he imagined the other destiny to have a sort of female design. It wasn't something he could explain in words, but when Rachel came into the world weighing six pounds, four ounces, Collin heard her crying. He was destinations away from her and away from earth, yet he heard her. He'd rushed to the hospital and materialized in front of a small white, cube-like box. He'd stared at her small feet, her pudgy legs, her belly, and finally met her eyes. The breath swooshed out of him. Many say the eyes are the window to the soul. In that moment, it couldn't have been truer.

Pieces of Collin's life suddenly made sense. He was to be her guardian. Collin had blindly assumed that was all he would be, until that fateful day at Rachel's school dance, of course. God had given him more than he'd ever asked for.

But Rachel didn't say the words. How could she not say them?

Collin raked a hand through his hair. He'd been praying all morning. If Rachel was set on not saying what he needed, he'd leave. He didn't have time to stick around and wait for her. There was a deadline. There had always been a deadline. If she couldn't say it today...

Collin sighed. She'd find an envelope in her truck containing every penny he earned during the weeks here. He'd also included the title and all the information for his motorcycle, so she could sell it. It wasn't how he wanted to leave things, but at least maybe the money could be a blessing to her and she could put it toward something useful. Honestly, Collin didn't care if she spent it on shoes, as long as it made her smile. Knowing Rachel, she was more likely to spend it at Hot Topic or on black nail polish rather than shoes.

Collin was outside sitting on the small deck. He pushed himself up, his body dragging out each motion. Stepping inside the trailer, he bent to Rachel's level. She was sleeping on the couch, a blanket snugly wrapped around her. She stirred when his knuckles brushed her cheek. Her face relaxed when she saw it was him.

"It's time," Collin said.

Rachel sat up instinctively, and her hand was lost in the largeness of his. Her eyes were sleepy, but alert enough to process what was happening.

Collin led her out the open door to the front yard. He stood in the exact place she'd first seen him. An orange glow illuminated the sky as the sun started to rise. Birds were awake and singing their morning songs. Rachel recalled the feathery wings outstretched along his taut back. She remembered her panic and his other worldly beauty.

Collin looked down at their hands clasped together. Rachel watched his face, feeling as if wrinkles were forming on her head from the intensity of her frown.

"I want to say it..." she breathed. "I just wish I had more time so I could adjust. This is all happening so quickly and there's no take backs. If I say those words, you're stuck with me. You'll have to be human."

Collin met her gaze when she'd said 'you're stuck with me'. "You think I'd mind being stuck with you the rest of my life?" His thumb rubbed along her jaw. "Think again, darlin'."

Rachel nodded frantically and swallowed, the air escaping her lungs too quickly. She needed more of it. Her throat felt like it was closing in. She squeezed her eyes shut, but then was terrified Collin would be gone when she opened them. So, she kept her eyes resolutely open, afraid to even blink.

"I can't be responsible for your disappointment," she squeaked, needing to swallow again and needing more oxygen than the universe would allow.

Collin clenched his teeth, clearly wanting to protest. Instead, he helped her forget her worries the best way he knew.

His mouth was warm and demanding as it glided with hers, moving slowly and deliberately. Rachel hadn't been expecting it, so it took her lips a second to catch up. His kisses were eager and yet still controlled. When she did catch up, she pushed her fingers into his hair and gripped him to the point of pain. He groaned, and all his steady control burst into a hungry need to become one.

Collin's arms pressed her to him, fastening every inch of her body to his. It was like they were being forged together. Two items on their own were useful, but together they were something to be reckoned with...like the blade of a sword and the hilt that allows it to be wielded. After several blissful, mindless moments, Collin pulled back. Rachel did not let him let go.

"What do you want?" she asked, their foreheads pressed to one another. The question came out more as a desperate cry than an actual question. "Why would you put a ring on my finger and then leave?"

Collin's voice was sweet and low when he answered, "I want you, Rachel. And I gave you a ring because I'm hoping I won't have to leave."

The tears came out then, her body visibly shaken. "Do you have any idea how much pressure this is putting on me?"

"Stop running."

"I don't know how."

Collin was the one shaking now. He inched back so he could look at her. "I can feel it," he said, his eyes terrified. He tried holding Rachel's hand, but the firm grip he meant to have was only a mere touch. He'd been there before. Soon he wouldn't be able to feel her at all.

"Rachel, please!"

She was breathing heavily, staring at him as if he was a ghost. Her arms came around his neck, and she breathed the words into his hair. "Don't go! I love you. I choose you. I want you."

An almost tangible shift in the air made Collin's stomach settle, and his pulse slowly returned to normal. The strangely cool breeze wafted over him and over the woman in his embrace. Her hair was a tangle in his fists as he tried to hold her closer. He felt like he'd been set on solid ground after years of being out to sea. There was a weightlessness about it that was hard to explain. Collin pushed aside the unfamiliar sensations and buried his face his Rachel's hair. Whatever was happening to him, they would deal with it together.

Rachel's tears wet his shirt. Collin couldn't tell if it was out of sadness or joy. But he guessed it didn't matter. They'd agreed to this journey, and they would see it through. Forever.