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“Austin chose to have me tattoo the lion and cub on his chest for easy reach. When he laid his hand on the tattoo, he’d be able to feel our dad’s laughter like it was a warm blanket surrounding him.”
Maybe one day she would ask Isaac to give her a small memorial tattoo for her dad. She’d thought of it before but hadn’t followed through because of that stupid distance thing. She’d have Isaac put it in the same spot on her wrist as the tattoos the Williams women and Isabella had, but unlike their compasses, she’d get a sword.
Isaac rubbed his thumb on hers, where their hands were linked, and she knew he was preparing what he’d say next.
“My dad wasn’t one of those bigger-than-life kind of guys who can walk into a room and take it over,” Isaac said, picking up his story. His voice sounded raspier than it had before.
“Physically, he was tall like me, only broader, but he was quiet. Although he had no problem talking to his clients when he needed to and he wasn’t a pushover. When Dad said something, people listened. He loved his work, and his staff adored him. But the most important thing to him was his family.” Isaac chuckled. “My mom was always going on about how our dad spoiled us. He was strict about some things, like being respectful and getting good grades, but things like bedtime, allotted time on video games, and eating junk food? Dad didn’t care. He always said seeing us happy was more important than any of those things.”
Kate shivered, noticing the cold in the room as she grew tired. Isaac pulled her in closer with the arm that was wrapped around her and used his magic to warm her up. Yawning as she relaxed into his heat, she was determined to stay awake to hear the rest of his story.
“Dad was only forty-eight when he died of a heart attack. Austin and I were with him at the shop when it happened. It hit us both equally hard, but I think Austin thought the memorial tattoo would help him cope with his grief. When I looked back on things years later, I could see that Austin had been a little too spoiled, and once he got something in his mind, he wasn’t willing to give it up, just like the tattoo. I gave him the tattoo in one sitting and everything seemed fine at first. When I embedded the memory into the tattoo, I felt a bit of pushback from his magic, but nothing crazy…”
Isaac took a deep breath and unlinked his fingers from hers. He ran his lips over the back of her hand and then just held it against his chest, right over the owl’s left wing.
“About a month after I gave Austin the tattoo, he quit college. Said he just wasn’t feeling it and he’d go back the following semester. I didn’t see him more than every couple of weeks because I had my own place, and he was still living with our mom. The next time I saw him after he quit school, he looked tired. There were bags under his eyes, and he’d lost weight. He was a pretty lanky guy to begin with, so the weight loss was pretty obvious. He was moody, and my mom said there were days he wouldn’t even come out of his bedroom.”
Kate wished there was something she could say to diminish some of Isaac’s pain. But even magic couldn’t take away emotional pain. She knew what was coming and wanted to get him to spit it out, though at the same time, she wanted to prevent him from going any further. Sometimes talking about tragedy helped and sometimes it made it feel fresh again and she wasn’t sure what would happen for him.
“I began stopping by the house several times a week just to check on him, but I hadn’t seen him in two days when my mom phoned the shop in a panic. I flashed to a room in the back of the house just as EMTs were coming in the front door. Austin was already gone by the time my mom found him. He had OD’d.
“Later that night, still in shock, my mom showed me the note Austin had left. It was only a few lines written on a piece of lined paper, saying that Dad’s laughter had told him to kill himself so they could be together. Mom started grilling me about the tattoo. She had seen it, but Austin never told her it was a memorial tattoo. My mom crumbled right in front of my eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks and sobs racked her entire body in a way that I’ll never forget.”
Isaac paused and his eyes were glassy when he tilted his head to look at Kate. “I thought she was finally realizing what had happened, but she was blaming herself. She confessed that when I was four, she was miserable. Dad doted on me, and he had his work, but she was unhappy in her job and she said that Dad just brushed it off, not taking her feelings seriously enough. She said had an affair and got pregnant with Austin. Since Austin looked a lot like my mom, she never told Dad the truth. I think Dad’s laughter in the tattoo slowly drove Austin into a deep depression and maybe the magic even told Austin the truth about his dad. I’ll never know.”
Kate ached for him, but there wasn’t a damn thing she could do. Using her magic, she dried her tears, not wanting Isaac to see them because this wasn’t about her. She crawled on top of him, lining her body up with his so they were touching from knees to chest. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he pulled the blankets up around them both, wrapping his arms around her.
She didn’t say anything, just hoped he could feel her love for him through her skin.
* * *
“Go Fish.” Isaac watched the grin spread across Kate’s face. She only had one card in her hand and there was only one left to pick from.
When she matched the cards, she threw the pair on the bed. “I win. I win. I win,” she said, making the bed bounce.
“Again,” he groaned. He wouldn’t throw a game, even Go Fish, so she could win—she’d hate it—but he enjoyed watching her when she did win.
Playing cards helped pass the time. They’d started out with poker and conjured pennies to use as chips, figuring they were tiny and would fit under the bed. For a change of pace, they’d switched to Gin Rummy and then Go Fish.
They’d been in the room for eight days, and it was becoming harder not to worry. Neither of them brought it up often, as if by silent agreement, they didn’t want to talk about their worry. Sometimes Isaac would catch Kate with a frown on her face and lost in thought, but she always said it was nothing and he said the same to her, trying to play off his worry.
There had been times when they’d had no choice but to conjure a few more things. The room had been small from the get-go and now it was crowded, but they tried to keep things as tidy as possible. Deciding to sacrifice more floor space, they had conjured a shelving unit to take advantage of some vertical space.
It hadn’t taken long for the garbage to start to stink, so they’d conjured a compost bin—the type for indoors with a lid that sealed shut. It didn’t perfectly keep the smells at bay, but it was better than before. They’d needed to conjure another portable toilet too. With the bed, the nightstand, the shelving unit, the compost bin, a garbage can, and the screen with the portable toilets, there was almost no floor space left, but the shelves had helped.
The only saving grace was that they could use their magic to clean their clothes, the sheets, and cooking utensils. They could magically clean their bodies as well, but it wasn’t as good as the fresh feeling of using soap and water. But even limiting what they could conjure, they were thankful for their magic. Isaac had used his to heal Kate’s tattoo.
He had finished her tattoo two days ago and it looked amazing. She had been beautiful before, but now he couldn’t take his eyes off her when she was naked. Unfortunately, that was only when they were both huddled under the covers for warmth.
With his design gracing her delicate skin, he would find himself tracing the pattern on her upper arm and shoulder when they were in bed. And when he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, he could feel their magic combine. The pops of turquoise in the tattoo were his favorite, and he decided the new nickname was going to stick, but so far he’d only used it when they made love.
“Another game or do you want to sketch?” Kate asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“Let’s sketch. I just want to fill up our water bottles first. You thirsty?”
“No, I’m good.”
Isaac tried to read the expression on Kate’s face to see if she was telling the truth. “Kate, you need to drink. You can’t get dehydrated because you don’t want to use the toilet.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he sounded like a parent scolding a toddler, but he didn’t care. She had to take care of herself because not only did he want her to be healthy, he couldn’t imagine adding a health issue to their situation when they couldn’t get medical attention.
