His, Eternally [18+]

Chapter Thirty-Five: Balance

Indie's Point of View:

It was almost my birthday. October twenty-ninth, tomorrow. I would be nineteen, which felt odd. Not to sound like an edge-lord, but I absolutely hated birthdays. The overbearing attention from everyone was always too much to handle. I remember vividly as a child my mother, Janis, holding birthday parties for me. I would be blowing out candles, my hair tight in pigtails with face paint on, usually a butterfly of some assortment of colors, — hearing the thoughts of my so called "friends". Oh, and don't get me started on the thoughts of the soccer, wine-drunken moms of my friends. They constantly were thinking judgmental things towards my mother, as well as my father. 'This house is a goddamn pigs-pen,' or 'how do James and Janis work so much, yet live in a log-cabin of a house?' Even thinking about what I heard made me red with anger. It was nearly impossible to enjoy myself, especially because blocking out all of the thoughts and voices in my head was a skill I had not yet fully acquired.

I twisted the notch on my shower, screwing in the drain as the air clouded with steam from the hot water. I added bubbles to the bath, the smell of vanilla coming to my nose. I then added some lavender epsom salt, to soothe my muscles. I stripped my body bare of all clothes, the cold air hitting my skin. I shivered, stepping into the hot water. It burned my skin at first, before my body adjusted. I sank in the tub, letting it envelop me. The water washed over my skin, making me sink in deeper. I scrubbed my body and my hair, lazily shaving my legs. I hissed as I nicked my knee, blood rising to the surface of my skin.

I turned on some Amy Winehouse, washing the soap off of my skin as I lay in the tub. I was broken out of my trance as I heard a loud knock at my door, making me groan.

"Go away." I scrunched my brows, adjusting the volume on my phone so that the sound of Amy's voice drowned out the knocking. I heard the door creak open, making my heart drop. I got out of the bath, wrapping a towel tightly around my body. The water dropped onto the floor, as I carefully navigated myself out of the bathroom so that I wouldn't slip. I opened my drawer slowly, grabbing out a small one-shot handgun. I absolutely hated guns, but James had given me one for utter emergencies. I cocked the gun, holding it shakily in my hands. My legs felt weak, who the fuck could it be — and why were they in my house?

I attempted to calm my breathing, my index finger on the trigger of the gun. "Indie, it's just me." I whipped my body around, gasping as I saw Thaddeus. This fucker. My heart was racing a mile per minute, my knees feeling like jell-o. How would I have known that it wasn't some batshit crazy kidnapper? His eyes darted to the gun, glimmering with amusement. I quickly dropped the gun down, placing it on my bedside table. I couldn't believe that I actually had the courage to whip a gun out. I mean, not to toot my own horn in this mildly fucked-up situation, but damn. I was proud of myself.

His eyes dropped to my towel-clad body, taking me in. He growled loudly, making my legs shake. I felt the vibration of the noise he was emitting through the tile floor, making my eyes widen. I clutched the towel tighter around my body, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Mm, pulchra, parva. Nempe visus est." I raised a brow at his words, my entire body feeling hot from his stare. He took a step closer to me, and as much as I wanted to back away — for I couldn't let myself give in like this, no matter how sexy he was — I couldn't. His hand reached out to hold my face, making me instinctively lean into his touch. I could feel his body heat, the cold air around me suddenly dissipating from his presence.

"What are you doing here?" I breathed out, closing my eyes as he cupped my face.

"You didn't tell me that your birthday was tomorrow, Indie." He reaches out behind him, presenting a bouquet of daisies and red roses. They were beautiful. Despite all of the shit Thaddeus and I had already endured, I couldn't help but smile at his kind gesture. He handed me the neatly wrapped bunch of flowers, as I took in their scent. They were stunning.
"What's so secretive about a birthday?" He twirled a lock of my hair around his fingers as I shrugged.

"The attention, I think. Some bad memories of birthday parties as a child I think remind me of how troubled I felt... so out of the ordinary. Mothers of my friends would constantly be thinking spiteful things of my parents. So, I think that's why I partially resent my birthday." I answered, being completely honest with him. I wanted him to know what it was like, being able to read thoughts as I was able to — and I wanted to know what it was like to be him; a shifter.

"Let me make it special. Spend the day with me." My heart soared at his words, leaving my belly filled with butterflies.

"And what do you have planned?" His eyes were steadily fixed on my face. I knew he was trying to avoid looking at my scantily clad figure, something I didn't understand. He looked at me with so much lust and adoration, which was hard for me to wrap my head around. He was so beautiful, his body and face chiseled and cut to perfection by the gods. Sometimes I wondered if he only looked at me the way he did due to the mate pull, or if he genuinely like me.

"Penny for your thoughts?" His deep voice broke the silence.

"I just get worried that you don't actually like me. I don't know, honestly. If there wasn't this mate pull, would you still be attracted to me? Both psychologically and physically." I sounded weak, I knew it, but I craved reassurance from him. I couldn't keep wondering things, deteriorating my own mind by questioning my own self-worth. He grabbed my face with both of his warm hands, gently forcing me to look into his eyes.

"You are the most magnificent woman I have ever come across, in all of my twenty-six years. This is not just the mate pull. I am so head-over-heels with you, Indie. There are no words to describe. My humanity..." He drew out, caressing a thumb down my face. "Is at the surface, when I am around you. You bring out the best in me. I want to know you, I want to know everything about you. I crave your attention, your touch. You are so special — more special than what I could ever put into words. You're strong, outspoken, hardheaded. You balance me."

I leaned up on my tip-toes, crashing my lips into his. He growled, yet again, grasping my face as I felt his soft lips touch mine, passionately. In that moment, I had completely forgotten that I was in a towel. Dumb, stupid move, Indie.

His hands moved from my face, tracing my neck and my collarbone. Shivers ran up my skin, my body trembling from want. God, I sounded like a middle-school boy right now. I felt my towel loosen around my top half, making me bring my arms down immediately to adjust it. He chuckled, his lips emitting no words as he took my scarlet face in with his eyes. 

"Tomorrow. I'll be here at 9 with coffee." He have a last lingering squeeze on my waist.

I was whipped.