“Taliesin!” called a voice from far below.
Tally peered down, his heart skipping with joy when he saw it was Sam. He waved, but Sam was already running into the multi-storey car park.
Tally swung his legs happily as he waited for Sam to climb the stairs. There were a lot of them, so it would take a while. He jumped when the stairwell door slammed open far sooner than he expected. Sam ran out all breathless and flustered. His face bright red.
“How did you find me?” Tally asked, beyond delighted that Sam had come looking for him. This had to be a good sign. Hope bubbled through him, making him squirm.
Sam panted breathlessly for a moment before gesturing at the top floor of the car park they were standing on.
“It’s a well known spot,” he gasped.
Tally glanced around at the yellow signs with phone numbers on them and then down at the drop beneath his feet.
“Oh!” he exclaimed and stood up on the ledge he had been sitting on. “I was just admiring the view.”
Sam stared at him wide eyed. “Can you please get down from there?” he begged.
“Okay.” Tally grinned at him and hopped down. He watched bemusedly as Sam winced at first and then looked greatly relieved.
“If I wanted to go, I could just poof!” explained Tally, waving his hands around for emphasis. He couldn’t think how else to describe that he could take off this body, like taking off a set of clothes.
Sam was still wheezing. He must have run up those stairs frightfully fast. Tally walked over to him. He was going to wait patiently whilst Sam caught his breath, but suddenly Sam grabbed him and pulled him into a squishy bear hug. Tally giggled happily. Sam was nearly as wet as him. It was a very soggy embrace.
“Don’t ever do that!” gasped Sam. “I’m so sorry. He offered to take me back, I told him I was with someone. I shouldn’t have taken him upstairs like that,” babbled Sam between breaths.
The wave of happiness that hit Tally left him giddy. It filled him so much, he forgot how to talk.
So when Sam asked, “Can we go home now?” he could only nod. Two thousand years of waiting had finally been worth it.
Chapter 20
Assoonastheygot home, Sam ran to the bathroom to run Tally a hot bath. The young man had been out in the rain for hours and Sam did not want him to get sick. He added a heap of bubble mixture and lit some candles.
He was so very glad he had found Tally. The terror that had coursed through his veins as he pounded the streets had been like nothing he had ever experienced before. He hadn’t cared that he had abandoned his bar. He would apologize to Deirdre tomorrow. The only thought in his entire being had been a desperate need to find Tally.
When he had first thought of checking the car park, he had dismissed it as egotistical on his part. Of course Tally was going to be upset, but that devastated? But he hadn’t been able to shake the idea out of his head. If Tally had really escaped from hell, and Sam was still trying to come to terms with that, then his connection to this world was thin. Only him.
On the other hand, if he was delusional and had managed to pull Sam into half-believing his fantasies, then he was incredibly vulnerable. If he truly believed that his soul mate had rejected him, there was every chance he could be that upset.
There was also a certain completeness to it. Tally believed that Sam had thrown himself off a cliff for their love. It made horrific poetic sense for the story to go full circle and end that way. Poetic gestures definitely seemed to be Tally’s style.
With that thought, Sam had run to the car park and the sight of Tally sitting at the very top, his legs dangling over the edge, would haunt him forever.
He was far too immensely relieved that Tally had merely been admiring the view, to be angry about the fright Tally had given him. Tally was here, safe and well, and that was all that mattered.
Sam glanced down and saw the bath was ready. He called out, “Come get in the bath!”
Tally walked in, his eyes darting over the bubbles and the candles. He covered his mouth with his hands and shrieked in delight. Acting like it was something truly spectacular. He stripped off his clothes, threw them on the floor and jumped in, causing the water to slosh over the edge.
Sam winced, but then laughed.
“Join me,” said Tally, his eyes bright.
Sam held his gaze for a while, caught by Tally’s intensity. Reluctantly, he shook his head.
“We can’t both fit in there.”
Tally eyed him up and then the small bath before pouting. Sam suddenly wished he were a tiny little thing like Tally. It might possibly work then. Then his thoughts went down the path of wondering if he could afford to have a bigger tub installed. He made a mental note to Google prices later.
