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“I’m trying. I just ask that you’d do the same for me in the future.” I certainly had my own skeletons in my closet, rotting and still sloughing off their fetid skin.
“Of course.”
We were quiet for a few minutes before my curiosity reasserted itself.
“Is it okay if we circle back to the whole ‘what rat bastard would do that to a kid?’”
She chuckled ever so faintly at that, and I took it as a win. Goodness knew, we both could use one.
“I… I don't know entirely for sure.”
My mind was spinning, jumping from the tracks of what Ayla’s childhood must have been like, to what it meant that the Shrouded Shriek was hot on our tail, tracking down a target that he’d possibly had his sights on since our special healing hermit was an infant.
“Well, if it is the Shrouded Shriek or not, I’m here for you. You’re never going to have to stand in this all alone again. I swear on my own blood and the heads of my ancestors that I will help you break this curse.”
“You don’t think I'd have if it was possible?”
“I think that it is, you just haven’t found the answer yet. I will do whatever I can to help you find that solution.”
“You’re far too confident in my abilities.”
“Maybe you’re not confident enough.” I lifted one of my arms so that I could gently stroke her face. I wished I could just stay in that moment forever, stroking her soft skin and giving her all the comfort she deserved. “You’re incredible, Ayla. I’ve seen you stitch people back together with your mind and not even bat an eye. I realize that it can be so incredibly hard when you have to live your life in isolation. For years, you’ve had no cheerleaders, no friends for support. So let me be your cheerleader. Let me hold your hand and gas you up however much you need.
“This isn’t just empty flattery either, I want you to know that. I am inaweof you and everything you’ve done. Everything you’ve accomplished. You are an incredible force of nature, and that’s why I’m never letting you go, even if you keep trying to push me away with this curse business.”
Slow, fat tears began to spill from her eyes anew. They were different from her previous sniffles, I could tell, but I kissed each of her cheeks and gently wiped those salty tracks away.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We’ll work through this, I promise.”
She buried her face in my chest, and I felt the fabric of my uniform begin to get wet. “I don’t know how to do any of this.”
“That’s all right. We don’t do a thing you don’t want. Just let me be by your side.”
“What if… what if I really want to kiss you right now?”
A flash of heat went through me, my grip tightening ever so slightly. “If you want to kiss me, then you should.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Probably because I am.” I winked at that, and just as I hoped, a lovely little giggle came out of Ayla’s mouth. I understood that I wasn’t solving all of her problems with my little jokes, but I loved that I was able to break the tension and give her a break from the storm inside her own head. I’d give her whatever peace I could, offer whatever little crumbs of joy were there in a stressful situation.
"Well, when you're right, you're right," she said, and I answered her with my own sigh.
"You're not supposed toagree."
"If you don't want me to agree, then don't say things like that."
I didn't know what came over me given our sensitive situation, but I couldn't just let that cheekiness slide. It would set a dangerous precedent with someone as clever as Ayla.
So, I tickled her.
My hand that was spread wide across the small of her back went to her side, gently traveling along the side of her uniform. She jolted ever so slightly, and that was my cue to increase the pressure.
"You bastard," she hissed between stifled laughs. Once more, I was struck by her beauty. Her flush. The light in her eyes when she regarded me.
I may have been in love.
That thought struck me so thoroughly that I suddenly needed—not wanted butneeded—to kiss her again.
