Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Tw o
Emberli
“Y ou’re getting a tattoo?” My mom’s shock is expected when I flip the screen around to show her the tattoo parlor Thayne and I are parked outside of.
I had been in touch with my family since they left, it was bittersweet but mom told me she was happy that I was, and she’d asked me too many questions about Thayne and I. Ones I didn’t know the answer to.
It had been a few weeks since the baby shower and I had finally mustered up the courage to book a tattoo appointment. I’d only wanted something small yet meaningful and figured I’d do it before I entered my third trimester.
“Yep.” I breathe out. “Slightly nervous.”
“I’m so excited for you.” I told my parents about the list vaguely a few weeks ago and now, I’m about to tick off a third before-baby endeavor. I was both excited and nervous at the same time. Things felt like they were finally coming together for me. I was doing all these things for me, something I hadn’t done in a long time and it felt great .
“You have to send me a picture when it’s done.” My mom grins before her gaze flicks up to my dad, who appears on the screen.
“Hey Em. You doing okay?”
“I’m doing really well, dad.” I say honestly. “How are you guys?”
“We’re fine.” He chuckles, knowing me too well. “Stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it. How’s Ebs? How’s Buck?”
“They’re fine too.”
“You’re not just saying that?”
“No. Everything is great here. Perhaps you and Thayne could visit one time for dinner.”
“That sounds great mom.”
“So is anyone going with you?” My mom is a smart person, which is why I know that she knows Thayne is sitting beside me. Her suggestive raised eyebrow tells me this.
“Yes.” I tell her, keeping my phone close to my face.
She grinds wider. “Hi Thayne!”
I roll my eyes and turn my camera just as Thayne waves. “Hi Mrs Taylor.”
“Oh please, call me Georgia!”
“I’ve got to go guys, it’s nearly my time.” I say, eager to end the phone call before my mom does something to make this either insanely embarrassing or awkward.
“Have fun Em!”
“But not too much fun!” Dad says desperately before my mom hangs up.
“You ready?” Thayne asks and I let out a deep sigh, one that I feel levitates the heaviness in my body.
“Yep. Let’s do this.”
“I can’t do this.” Thayne chuckles, his hand connecting with my lower back as he pushes me forward into the tattoo parlor.
I’m absolutely terrified yet having Thayne here is reassuring .
“You can do this.” He assures me. “But if you don’t want to. We can walk out now.”
I nibble at the inside of my lip as I contemplate his offer.
“I’m nervous.” I correct myself and he nods.
“That’s standard. It’s completely up to you what we do next. Okay?”
Nodding, I take a further step into the room where a head pops up from the reception desk.
“Hey Thayne! Hey Emberli!” I have no clue how the smiley female knows my name, but I figure it has something to do with small town talk.
“Hey Astrid. We’ve got an appointment in five minutes.”
Instantly, Astrid’s mood puts me at ease and she claps her hands excitedly. “I know! I’m so excited to work with you guys. Don’t worry. I’m gonna take care of you.”
She’s gotta have the most cheerful and western accent I’ve heard yet as she gestures for us to follow her into the next room where a man is sitting with his shoulders slumped forward and his back turned to us, drawing something up on his iPad.
“This is Brax. Brax!”
Brax turns at the mention of his name before nodding his head at the both of us.
It must be a male thing to greet someone with a nod of the head, because Thayne does exactly the same back to him.
“So are you guys still wanting the same idea as you sent in the email? I’ve got a few rough sketches if you want to take a look.” Astrid suggests.
“Hey. You sure you wanna do this?” I feel Thayne’s hand squeeze the back of my neck gently and when I look up, his eyes are softened with nothing but concern behind them.
“Yeah. I’m just… nervous.” I blurt out.
“That’s perfectly normal, chick. But honestly. This won’t take more than five minutes. It won’t even hurt. Just a small scratch and burn.” Astri d
“Small scratch and burn.” I confirm. “Got it.”
“I’ll go first if it makes you feel better.”
I whip my head around to Thayne. “You’re getting one too?”
“Yeah. I figured why not.” He doesn’t say much else, but his words hold more meaning for me than he could ever know. He perches on the tattoo chair where he lets Astrid do her thing, she whizzes around the floor in her chair as she chats away to herself and to Thayne, who seems to have a hard time catching up with her.
“First time?” I glance down to Brax, who’s eyes curiously scan any of my visible skin for ink.
“Yeah.” I breathe out.
“Where are you getting it done?”
“My shoulder.”
“Ah. You’ll be fine. Everyone makes a big deal out of it but it’s nothing.” Says the man who’s clothed in them from his neck downwards.
Right. If it hurts as bad as people said, people wouldn’t get them done, Right?
“Small scratch and burn!” Astrid chirps and Brax’s lips turn into a smile before he looks at me. “Small scratch and burn.”
“You want Astrid to do it or I can do it? I’ve got free time.”
“If you don’t mind. I’d rather just get it over with.”
Brax chuckles at this before nodding his head over to the free tattoo chair.
“Take a seat. I’ll be five.”
The five minutes Brax takes to get everything ready is excruciatingly long and I feel like it could possibly go on forever until he sits beside me, screwing the cartridge into place.
Oh God. It’s happening. It’s really happening.
“So how far along are you?” Brax asks, making small talk as he sets up his iPad beside me.
“Just over six months.”
Has it really been over a month since I strolled into Shadow Peaks? Wow .
“And you’re liking it here so far?”
“Yeah. I love it here. It feels…”
“Like home?”
“Yeah.” Brax seems to take the words straight out of my mouth and he nods.
“Yeah I know the feeling.”
“You okay?” Thayne asks me from across the room. I let out a deep breath and nod.
“We can stop any time you want to.” Brax tells me. “You just let me know, and we’ll stop.”
“Okay. I’m ready.”
The buzzing sound of the machine only gets closer until I feel it vibrating against my skin. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
It was like Astrid had said, a small scratch and burn. It’s over within five minutes and I’m sitting admiring the beauty of it in the mirror once it’s done.
“Thank you so much.” I thank Brax, who snaps a few photos of it on his phone before shrugging. “Ah it’s nothing. You took it like a champ.”
“That’s because she is a champ.” Thayne says, hovering over me. “Let’s see.”
I move my hair off of my shoulder and his eyes harden. I panic for a moment that he absolutely hates it until his fingers brush over the clingfilm, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as his lips parted.
“It’s the coordinates to this town.” I told him.
“I know what it is.” He gulps.
I’ve never felt a moment so tense yet so pure and I want to capture it forever.
“I wanted to remember the place that brought my spark back.”
“It’s beautiful, Emberli. So beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it.” There are pools of emotion in those captivating eyes of his, emotion he doesn’t usually show .
Where was the broody, always grumpy Thayne I was so used to?
Not that I missed it. Despite my attraction to the reserved side of him, I was enjoying this side a lot more.
Thayne gets me. And I like to think that I get him too.
“Show me yours.” I swallow.
Thayne rolls his sleeve up to reveal three familiar music notes. The exact notes that are in the exact formation of the cover of my notebook.
My heart thrashes in my chest as my fingers trace over his wrist.
It’s mesmerising and I can’t help but admire it. Admire him.
“Thayne, this is perfect.” My voice barely surfaces as a whisper and he grins.
“Come on. Let’s go home.”
Home.
God. Home sounds perfect.
MOM: That was nice of Thayne for coming with you.
EMBERLI: It was.
MOM: He’s handsome…
EMBERLI: Mom. I know what you’re doing.