Blue on Blue

Chapter Fifteen

"Tyger, Tyger, burning bright. In the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry? When the stars threw down their spears and watered heaven with their tears, did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee?"

Mr. Barnstable twists the ends of his mustache between his fingers. He scans the room. "Who authored this work?" The clock ticks. "A-hem. Anyone?"

Mave raises her hand. "William Blake."

Mr. Barnstable nods, raising a finger in the air. "Yes, that is correct. William Blake."

Mave smiles her metal grin.

Mr. Barnstable holds up a book with Songs of Innocence and of Experience printed across the cover. He points to the right side of the room. "I want this side to read and critique 'The Lamb'." He points to the other side of the room. "And I want all of you to read and critique 'The Tyger'. We'll compare and contrast next time." He smiles his gapped tooth grin. "Got it?"

The class groans.

The bell rings.

Students flood the hallways.

Dr. Banes telling Maggie to stay away from Eli is like telling a magnet to stay away from iron. It's impossible. She has an uncontrollable pull toward him that is undeniable. From the moment she spotted him in the hospital, she felt it, like a riptide pulling her into its current.

At first, she thought it was her morbid curiosity that wouldn't allow her to get him off her mind. The sheer terror on his face when he was thrashing away on that hospital bed was both frightening and intriguing to her.

Then, she thought it was her basic instinct to survive that made her pursue him, no matter how hard he pushed her away. She was drawn to the secrets he held. They were the key to her safety and her sanity.

As Eli let her into his world, and she let him into hers, the unexpected happened - a bond grew. Every time they gave a part of themselves to each other - their trust, their secrets, their confidence, their touch - their bond grew stronger and her pull toward him grew greater.

Am I in love with him? She has asked herself that question many times throughout the last few weeks. She is without a doubt, attracted to him.

Her senses go into overdrive whenever he's near. When she's with him, she's more alert and more aware. Every ounce of her rivets with anticipation in response to him.

When he's not near, it's her memory of him that takes over - his dark deep-set eyes, his angled cheekbones, the cut of his chin, the slope of his shoulders, the contours of his hands, the feel of his touch, the warmth of his body, his earthy smell -- are all etched in her mind.

In her books, when protagonists fall in love, it is always accompanied by an intoxicating, drunk-on-love sort of feeling, giddy and new. But with Eli, she feels completely sober.

If she isn't in love with him, then what is she? In like? That doesn't seem to match the pull's intensity.

Soulmate? Is that what Eli is to her? Her soulmate? They are two souls caught in a Soul War. Is that why they share this bond?

Or is Dr. Banes right? Is their bond simply a consequence of a shared altered reality? Nothing more. Nothing less. They are living in a world of delusions and hallucinations. Their bond is based in psychosis. Like the altered world in which they live, their bond is not real. It is only a byproduct of symptoms. It means nothing at all.

"Earth to Maggie." Maggie lifts her eyes to the distant voice calling her name. Charlie is leaning against her locker, wide-eyed. "I said your name like five times."