10. Nolan
Chapter 10
Nolan
H er teats were jiggling as she sucked in staggered breaths from her seated position, but she rolled away from me. I wasn’t sure why. It really disappointed me we couldn’t share touches anymore. I wanted more.
“Am I doing things wrong? Your scent grew stronger when I touched you. Just like the vines. Even more when I licked you.” I wanted to make her smile and laugh again, like when she calls me an idiot.
“I can’t do this. I told you,” Lisette whispered. “You’re just a monster.”
I frown and stand up. “I’m going to weed over there, then.”
She nodded and stood up. “I’ll be over there.” With her words, she turned around and puttered around the stand. A few minutes later, she walks into the house and comes back with her laptop. Lisette pulled her cell phone out and chatted on the phone. She glanced at me a few times before ending the phone call. She stomped towards me and blocked the sunlight.
“I’ve got to head to town and talk to some witches.”
I looked up at her and squinted. “Can I go?”
“Not with you looking like that. Work on being more human first. Anyway, I have to go.”
“Are you sure you will be fine? What if the male comes back?”
Any spirit in her eyes seemed to drain with the reminder of what he did. I shoved a hand in the dirt and pulled all the energy from the dirt itself. The ball in my hand changed from rich fertile soil to dry, light, and cracked. Lisette stepped backward. “What…I…never mind,” she whispered, fear leaked from her. I frowned at her retreating steps.
She walked around the house until she reached her car. The way her farm was set up, there was a driveway circle by the pumpkin patch, but she always parked on the other side. “What about glamour magic?”
She frowned. “They will know. I’m not good at it like others.”
“I can’t make myself more human in a few minutes, but that doesn’t stop him from hurting you.”
“He was human. I doubt I will see him.” She opened her car door.
“And he thinks you’re dead.”
Lisette blew out a breath and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Guess I got to prove him wrong.”
I leaned closer to her, and her breath hitched again. “Do not taunt him.” I straightened up. “If you need me to fix him, I can do that with ease.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How?”
“I have my ways.” Like fire. Fire was natural and clean. Fire could get rid of this menace.
“You’re an idiot when it comes to erections, but you have a plan to get rid of a human?” she asked.
I give her a smile and she rolls her eyes. Her keys shove into the ignition. “Got to go. Weed something or whatever.”
“As you wish.” I stepped back from the car and she zoomed off.
As my lips set in a thin line, I did what she asked. I watch the booth, sell her wares and weed the garden. The magic coursed around me wildly because I worried about her. There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t return, and what if I couldn’t get to her soon enough? I remembered her sad face before he showed up.
I really like her laugh, especially when she calls me an idiot.
Lisette
The door chimed above me. “Hello, friends! I called about a doctor's note,” I said with fake enthusiasm. I’d been covering my sadness for years. They wouldn’t know that I was afraid Nolan was right. What if Julian came back? What if he saw me in town?
There was a laugh as Niles popped his head out. Vivian and Niles owned this magic shop. Niles’s gray hair was a mess as he walked out. “Oh, what kind of doctor's note?” he asked.
I pursed my lips. Niles was okay, but I preferred talking to Vivian. “Vivian should know.”
“She had to run an errand super quick.”
I sighed and slid onto a stool by the counter. People loved to loiter here, gossip and drink tea. “Secret?”
“Yes.”
My fingers moved in circles on the counter as I looked down. “I was dead for…I don’t know how long.”
Niles stilled as he was messing with his computer. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Someone found me and saved me.” I shouldn’t have admitted that.
“You know?—”
Another gamble. “Wild magic. You know they don’t fully follow our laws.”
Niles pursed his lips and nodded. “You are correct.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “So I was in a coma or something. So I need a note that would explain being so out of it that I couldn’t call in. I don’t know what you do with your little magic, but do it. Uh, please?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’ll whip something up.” He pushed tea in front of me. “That will be good for whatever ails ya.”
“I think I’m fine now.”
“Drink. I‘ll have this done in a few minutes.”
I nodded and sipped my tea. An awkward silence filled the air between us, and I hated it. But I also hated small talk. Where was Vivian when I needed her? “I’ve been getting a lot of people checking out the pumpkins this season. It’s been good. People love u-pick pumpkin patches. And I have the little bits of veggies left from my garden. I was taking a walk the other day and saw an abandoned apple orchard. A small one and I bet Nolan thinks I’m an idiot because I didn’t see them earlier this year.”
Niles’ head popped up. “Nolan? Vivian didn’t mention another boyfriend.”
My cheeks turned red. “Uh, not a boyfriend. He…helped me.”
Niles blinked. “You mentioned wild magic.” He nodded and went back to his work, which meant he assumed Nolan was a satyr or dryad. Dryad would work. Hopefully, no one would know that I might have created a monster.
“Well, anyway, it’s been good.”
“Good, that you’re away from that monster. Fucking humans.”
“Niles! You can’t say that about humans!” I hissed.
Niles looked at me dead in the eyes. “You are a magnificent human being. No one deserves to be treated the way he treated you.”
I lowered my head and swirled my finger around the handle of the mug. “It was only words.”
“Words scar just as deep as physical abuse.”
I hummed and sipped on my tea. A moment later, he slapped papers in front of me: perfectly fake and magical doctor's notes.
“There. That’s twenty-five.”
“More expensive than last time,” I said as I pulled out my card.
“Tough case.”
“Just as much as a co-pay.”
He chuckled. “I have a nicer demeanor than a doctor.”
Passing him his card, I replied, “Not really.”
“Vivian loves my demeanor.”
“Vivian complains all the time about you.”
He smiled. “If you stick around, she may be back soon. If you need to talk about what happened,” he replied.
The thought of telling him what happened tempted me, but there was a chance that his sad face would deepen if he found out Julian hurt me. I don’t think he tried to kill me. I think.
I drank the rest of my tea and shook my head. “I’m heading home. Probably need to get a good night’s rest.”
I rushed back to my car, but when I got home, I didn’t see Nolan at all. I looked for him around and inside the house, but he was gone. A sliver of disappointment unfurled inside me because he didn’t say bye.