Chapter 8
Winnie ran the chemical sponge over the edge of the book in her hand, narrowing her gaze on Jahla next to her, before hesitating.
She had questions, but she assumed that even if she asked, she wouldn’t get an answer that made sense.
Because nothing made sense, yet no one seemed to notice that it didn’t except her.
Or maybe they did and just hadn’t brought it up while she was around.
Great, now she was wondering if they were possibly saying things to each other and just not to her, because she was…well, herself… ? Either way, this would be the perfect time to ask without possibly causing issues, since the others were off eating.
“What is it, Winnie?” Jahla sighed.
Blinking, she flinched slightly on finding the woman now staring right back at her. “Ah, well, you wouldn’t care to explain how Ollie is healing so fast, would you?”
Because Ollie was healing super-fast—too fast. After being the poster child for domestic bruises in the past, due to her parents being highly religious nut jobs, Winnie knew all too well how long it usually took for ones that dark to heal.
Too damn long, that was for sure. Yet, Ollie’s were already yellow and it had only been five days.
Jahla grimaced, but stayed silent, averting her gaze slightly.
“I take it from your expression that you can’t.”
She shrugged. “Not…really? I mean, he’s always healed pretty fast.”
Winnie would admit, based on a few past incidents, Jahla wasn’t wrong. Which just made her seriously wonder how she hadn’t questioned it before now, with her previous medical background. Well, attempted medical background. Two years in pre-med did not a doctor make.
“You realize that is pretty shocking with how his body fails to correctly absorb iron, and to a lesser extent, B12, right?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Winnie. His body is going to do what it’s going to do.”
Winnie sighed. “Fine, I’ll drop it, but just be aware that I find it questionable.”
Ollie smiled as he spotted Noble sitting to the left of the kitchen table, his chair pulled out a bit away from it. “They told me you came up to feed Red.”
His boyfriend’s face pinched a bit. “Ah…not exactly.”
“I mean, I figured you came to ask him something, as he doesn’t usually eat at this time anyway. Though I think everyone else thought you came up here to tempt me into sex,” Ollie said with a hesitant little giggle, heat spreading across his cheeks.
The man chuckled and reached a hand out for him. “Maybe in a bit I will. Come here.”
Giggling, he hurried over, and let Noble pull him sideways onto his lap.
“So rather than tempting you, it’s more that I wanted to talk to you about something.”
His stomach dropped instantly at the words. Was this it? Was he finally too much? Though…it would be a bit odd to be broken up with while sitting in the man’s lap…
“Wh-what do you want to talk about?” Ollie winced as he stuttered.
Noble gave him a light kiss on the forehead, while gripping his hands, which he’d unconsciously wound together. “Relax, Baby. I won’t say it’s exactly good news, but I promise you, it has nothing to do with us or our relationship.”
Swallowing, he took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. “I’m…calm.”
“I’m not sure if there is a right or wrong way to go about this, so I’m just going to explain as best I can. Also, Red decided it was best that I be the one to say it, even though I don't fully agree with that assessment. But it’s about what happened on Sunday.”
Ollie frowned. “What about it…aside from it being horrible all around?”
“About you feeling as if there were emotions that weren’t your own calling to you.”
Right…Ollie had assumed Red knew something more about that. At the time, he’d wanted to know, but based on Noble’s grim expression, he maybe didn’t want to anymore.
“And?”
“We believe, based on past occurrences and Red’s sources, that they were in fact not your emotions, which is why they felt so wrong.”
His heart had already started to pick up its pace at the implications, and Ollie felt a possible meltdown or even a panic attack rapidly coming on. “Ha—I think I need you to just tell me everything in one go, preferably before I freak out.”
“Okay. While it’s likely they fed off your real emotions at the time and built on them, we believe that the entity that is The Living Flame was present in your mind at that moment.
While I wouldn’t say they were in complete control, when you gave in, their emotions mixed with yours, causing you to lose full mental awareness of your own actions. ”
Darkness started to encroach on the edges of his vision, as his new reality filtered into his brain.
The Living Flame, a being that likely could be considered all-powerful, had been IN his mind—in his little old mind!
And maybe they still were, because the emotions were still there.
They were still fucking there! Feelings that didn’t feel like they were his own were still there! Aha—still there!
Oh, God...was The Living Flame in his mind even now?! Had they never left? Was Ollie now sharing his body with something else? Was he even in control, or did he just think he was?!
“Ollie, breathe!” Noble snapped, both of the man’s hands now clasping his face.
Ollie let out a wheezing gasp, and the darkness drew back when he did, even as his own ragged breathing sent his head spinning.
The man pressed his forehead against his. “Just take one deep, slow breath at a time, Ollie. You’re okay. It’s okay. I promise.”
“It’s—wheeze—not!”
“It is, I promise.”
He whimpered as tears flooded his eyes rapidly and trailed down his cheeks. “No.”
“Shh, Baby, it’s okay. I got you. Just breathe, it’s okay.”
“It’s n-not.”
“I promise you, it is.”
“N-no—wheeze—you don’t under-understand.”
“What don’t I understand?”
“Th-they’re…” His breath stuttered. “They’re still here!”
Noble’s eyes widened at Ollie’s words, his whole body tensing as he pulled back to stare down at the witch. The man’s teary gray-blue eyes were wide and frightened behind his large, rounded glasses, and Ollie was pretty much bordering on hyperventilating still, as he wheezed along.
“Why do think that?”
“T-the emotions—wheeze—are st-still there!” Ollie sobbed. “I can feel them when I—wheeze—think about what happened!”
It wasn't exactly a good thing, yet…first things first… “Baby, you need to slow your breathing before you pass out.”
“I-I—” Ollie cut off as his head lolled forward and jerked, as if he’d been about to faint then and there.
The witch gave his head a little shake before he finally started to slow his breathing, taking one deep breath after another.
“That’s it, Baby. In and out. You’re doing good. Just focus on breathing, I got you. No matter what, I got you.”
Seconds ticked by, and when Ollie had finally calmed down enough, as he brushed some tears away, Noble carefully said, “Okay, now, let’s try to figure this out, hmm?”
Ollie nodded with a sniffle.
“You said they are still there, but are they calling to you?”
“T-they—” Ollie’s words cut off and he blinked. “They…” The little librarian frowned as he trailed off.
“Are they calling to you?” Noble asked again.
“They…” Ollie worried his bottom lip, before finally saying, “They aren’t.”
A wave of relief hit him. It was one thing for the emotions to remain, and another for them to still be tempting Ollie to give in. “That’s good. It means they aren’t there.”
“B-but then…why do I…” His baby trailed off with a whimper.
“I doubt any entity can be present in someone and not leave something behind. I’m guessing, in this case, it was those emotions.”
“I-I don’t want t-them.”
Caressing the side of Ollie’s face, he brushed away a few tears at the same time.
“I know. But I’m not sure if there is a way to get rid of them.
It was part of that moment, and now, it's part of you. But because we are almost certain The Living Flame was present, I’m afraid I now have to warn you that it happening once increases the likelihood of it happening again. ”
“No, no, no. NO!” Ollie whined, shaking his head, his eyes closed as more tears slipped free.
“Shh, I know.” He gently pressed a kiss on each of his eyelids, then trailed down his almost healed cheek, before gently kissing the witch on the lips.
As he often did, Ollie tried to chase after his mouth when Noble pulled back, the man whining, “More.”
“What are you asking for, Baby?”
His small, pointed, freckled nose was red from crying, and the man sniffled while staring up at him with his big gray-blue eyes for a moment before fluttering his lashes and saying, “You.”
Noble chuckled. “Me, huh?”
“Yesh, comfort me, please?” The man gave him a watery smile that hit him hard in the chest. God, Ollie was fucking cute.
Noble’s heart almost broke when the smile dropped as Ollie nervously blurted, “Though, you probably aren’t interested with my face still like this. So, of course, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I’d understand. Like—”
He cut the man off with a kiss. Deepening it, the witch’s moans vibrated against his lips.
As he broke away again, Noble rasped, “Ollie, while seeing you bruised and hurt infuriates me on every level, I find you breathtaking regardless.”
While the yellow bruises that littered the right side of Ollie’s diamond-shaped face, and trailed along his squarish yet soft jaw and around his neck, bothered Noble, they did nothing to hide Ollie’s beauty.
“You do?” Ollie bit his lip, the uncertainty in his voice showing clearly in his eyes as well.
“Mmm, down to your last freckle.” The man giggled as he gave him a peck on the tip of his nose.
Unsnapping the man’s black embroidered, eye-covered overalls, Ollie gasped as he lifted him up and quickly tugged them off his body, taking his briefs with them.
Luckily, the bottom of Ollie’s pants were wide enough to easily slide over his boots, even if he had to tug a bit more to get the man’s briefs off.