“Leave it to you to find comfort in still being different. Not that I mind. I love your uniqueness, beautiful.”
Swoon.
“Okay, leave that with me for now. I will do some research and talk to some others and see if there is anything we can come up with, but seeing as how you are dating my son, I am very thankful you can control it Harleigh, even if it does make you unique.” He smiles at me, and it actually makes me laugh.
“See, Bry, I’m not the only one thankful for my being weird,” I tease before turning serious again. “What does this all mean? How do I know what I can and can’t do? How do we find out?” I’m almost afraid of the answer. I don’t want to be a lab rat or test dummy.
“For now, it means you go on with your days, and if anything weird comes up or happens, you make a note of it and tell Brian and myself.” I sigh in relief. “Brian, have you noticed anything different about Harleigh as opposed to other humans you know?” David asks him, and what he says next floors me.
“Just one thing. There’s a student here. He’s half demon and his family owns the school. He’s powerful, but he can’t possess Harleigh, and it’s starting to really piss him off.” He looks at me a little shy, worried that I will be upset that he kept it from me, but I get it.
It’s not like he could tell me this before I knew what I know now. I squeeze his hand to reassure him that I’m not angry or upset.
I am confused though.
Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pissed off at Colten.
What a dick! He’s been trying to possess me this entire time. What the fuck?!
“He’s a demon? And he tried to possess me?” I speak slowly as I let the words really sink into my mind.
“Yeah, and he hasn’t been successful. It’s not normal for that to happen. Even for an amateur demon, possession is a basic instinct. Angels are protected against it, but everyone else is fair game…except you, apparently.” Well, okay then. Just chalk up another point in the weird column. Yay me!
“That’s interesting.” David pulls me back out of my thoughts. “Anything else?” he asks, and Brian shakes his head no.
I really hope that means this conversation is coming to an end because I need to lay down and absorb all of this, and I need to do that with Brian beside me. We have a lot to talk about, and not all of it is about this new world I just learned I’m a part of.
“There is one thing,” I say and look over nervously at Brian. I really hope this doesn’t hurt his feelings. “Now that you mention Colten, I realize I feel drawn to him. Not in the same way I am Brian, but I feel connected to him in a way. It’s not love or even like, but it’s there. It’s like I can sense whenever he’s near. It’s hard to explain and doesn’t make any sense, but yeah.”
David looks thoughtful for a moment. “Are you attracted to him?”
I was hoping to avoid that question, but the night is already weird as shit, so what the hell.
“Yes, but not like I am Brian. Brian is funny and sweet, and caring and loving. I am attracted to all of those things inside him. Colten, I’m attracted to his darkness. He scares the shit out of me, but his darkness calls to me.” I look at Brian to make sure he understands that I don’t want anything to do with Colten, not the way I do him, but his face is unreadable as he looks to his Dad for answers.
“Peculiar, but not unheard of. Succubi are a form of demon, but you have the ultimate choice to choose good or evil. Seeing how much you care for my son, I feel it’s safe to say you are a good hearted person. Being drawn to his darkness could mean a number of things, but I will look into it more. Everything right now has an element of the unknown as we don’t know who or what your father is. It could mean nothing, or it could mean a great deal.” He looks from me to Bry, an unsure look passing across his face.
“What is it, Dad? What is the worst-case scenario here?” Bry asks him.
It’s a good question, and I’m glad he thought to ask it because I wouldn’t have had the guts.
“It could mean she is destined to be with him. Soulmates.”
No. I refuse to accept that. If I am going to be with anyone, its Bry, and I tell them as much.
“She’s my soulmate, Dad. I feel it deep inside of me. We are meant to be together.” He looks at me. “I can’t explain it, but when I’m with her, I feel this is where I am meant to be. Who I am meant to love and share my life with.”
David nods, choosing his next words carefully.
“And she clearly feels the same, but sometimes souls get split into more than one piece. I’m not sure how it happens, but there are cases where someone’s soul, when created and separated from their other half, fractures and they are drawn to whoever shares the other pieces. It doesn’t mean you aren’t meant to be. There is a definite energy between you two that tells all of us above that you are, that’s why you aren’t in trouble for being with her like most would be. However, it might mean in order for Harleigh to be truly happy, that you have to share her. That is the worst case scenario I can think of, and only time will tell.”
I turn to Bry with tears in my eyes. “I don’t want anyone but you, Bry. I love you. I can’t imagine loving someone else the way I love you. Not ever.”
He softly wipes the trail of tears on my cheeks with his thumbs before responding in such a loving voice, it instantly calms me.
“Whatever happens, I will never think less of what we have, Harleigh. You are my heart. My future is with you. If worst case scenario happens, I would rather share you to make you feel whole, than lose you entirely. But like dad said, that is the worst case scenario. For now, we’ll just keep on doing what we’re doing, because fuck, beautiful, I love you so much. I promised I wasn’t going anywhere and I’m not. Ever.” He leans in and kisses the tears on my cheek before softly planting his lips on mine.
“Ok. Harleigh, it was a pleasure to meet you, and I am very sorry that this was all dumped on you today, but I need to be going. I will be back soon though, and I’ll have Brian give you my number in case of emergencies.” He turns to Brian. “Walk me out, Son?”
Brian nods.
“I’ll be back, beautiful.” He kisses me once more and helps me off his lap, back onto the couch, and I nod at him.
Brian
Dad never asks me to walk him out, so he must have something else to tell me that he didn’t want Harleigh to hear.
Closing the door behind us, I look at him. “What’s going on, Dad? What couldn’t you tell me in front of her?”
“It’s nothing bad so wipe that concerned look off your face,” he tells me. “Did you mean what you just said to her, Brian? About sharing her if you need to in order to make her happy?”
I nod my head. Yeah, I meant it.
Does it suck? Sure. I never imagined I would fall in love and then possibly have to share that love, but the pain of not being with her would be unbearable.
“Good, because what you two share is what your mother and I have. It’s a love that will never dim or go away. It’s extremely special, and you have to hold onto it.” He places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes in a supporting gesture that surprises me.
Aside from Mom, he doesn’t show affection to people, including me.
