Chapter 21
Beck
Lavender pierces my senses, but I must be mistaken. Maybe it’s the plant from upstairs that I’m scenting in my melancholy haze.
Since Friday’s phone call, I’ve not moved from this chair. I’ve hardly slept or eaten.
It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.
I shift into a slightly more comfortable position and pull the soft pillow more snuggly against me, a poor substitute for the feel of Nori in my arms, but it does quell the strongestache for her.
Loneliness has always been a familiar companion, yet, it feels different now. I feel empty, a cavern now sits where my heart once was.
But I deserve this.
I abandoned Nori when we were young, and now it’s only fair that she gets to abandon me. That’s been the pattern of my life. The ones I love never want to keep me.
My ears ring in the quiet, and I almost imagine I hear Nori’s footsteps outside, but I quickly shove that thought down.
Time has blurred together, sunlight the only markers telling me of its passage as I remain in what was supposed to be Nori’s reading corner.
At some point over the past few days, I heard the guys outside and I realized it must be Saturday, but thankfully they left without any further questions. I know I have duties to return to for Starry Hill, but never has a Monday looked so bleak. I can’t even muster the energy to go to Lucille’s, scared of the pity she’ll have in her eyes when she sees me.
A sharp gasp alerts me to someone’s presence but I don’t turn around to see who it is. My dragon doesn’t react either, still burrowed away deep where I can’t sense him.
“Shinsu,” the voice says quietly as a hand lands on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Slowly, recognition dawns and I lift my head to see Nori’s tear-filled eyes. “Nori?”
“Hi, my love,” she whispers and with shaking fingers brushes hair out of my face.
I frown, not knowing if this is a hallucination or reality. “You’re here?”
Nori swallows and nods with a trembling smile. “Yes. I’m so sorry for not coming earlier.”
“How did you get here?” I ask, my voice hoarse after days of disuse.
“Viggo brought me,” Nori says cautiously.
At this admission, my dragon peeks his jealous head out the tiniest fraction. It’s a relief to know I haven’t lost him forever, but I’m still nervous that this is all a dream and Nori isn’t really here. I can’t afford to hope.
Nori lowers onto her knees in front of me and cups my face so gently it’s like a butterfly landing on skin. “Shinsu, when’s the last time you’ve slept or eaten?”
“I don’t know.” My brain still feels hazy and nothing makes sense.
A lonely tear rolls down Nori’s cheek. “Have you gone for a swim to settle your dragon lately?”
“No.” Instinctively, I reach forward and wipe the warm tear away.
Nori folds her fingers around mine and presses my palm to her cheek. “Let’s get you fed first and then in the water. I’ll explain everything after.”
“I’m sorry if I stink,” I croak.
Huffing the tiniest laugh, Nori says, “I don’t care, my love.”
I swallow hard. “Are you really back? You didn’t… abandon me?”
Nori’s composure cracks. She shakes her head furiously, her mouth rumpling, her words an emphatic declaration. “Never. Not in this lifetime or any that follow. I love you, Shinsu. You’re my forever. My happily ever after.”
