Water Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter Twenty-Two - Tai

Darien watched her eat with wide eyes. Normally, Tai would feel unsettled by that, but she couldn't care less at the moment. Her sudden appetite impressed even her, and she felt like she could keep eating despite already having chowed on two pieces of toast, two pancakes, and a bowl of cereal. Ever since she woke up the next morning, she felt like a whole new person. Technically she was. She was like the dragons.

No matter how much she kept insisting she was fine, Darien still worried. He kept thinking it at least, but he wouldn't vocalize his concerns. Every other second, he wondered if she was eating too much, or if she needed to go back to sleep. There was so much she wanted to tell him, and so much she had learned about herself in those few short days he had been gone. How much did he already know, though? If he was still prying into her thoughts, he was doing a good job of not responding to them.

"Want any more?" he asked as he offered her another pancake off the stack. She shook her head, still working on the remnants on her plate, and he took it instead. He was finally eating something. Where she had woken up feeling energetic and excited, he seemed quite the opposite and like he needed about a week's worth of sleep.

"You're sure you're feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. How are you feeling?"

"I feel great."

"You look awful," she said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes and took a bite. "I'm just a little tired, but it's not a big deal."

"Thank you," she said quietly. "For helping me. Even if you didn't have to. You probably shouldn't have."

"You know, you keep saying that and I don't get why," he said in-between bites. "I thought this was all my fault, and I owed it to you." He raised an eyebrow at her pointedly before continuing with his food.

Tai chewed on her lower lip. "About that," she said softly. "I'm still not liking this situation Darien, but I can't keep lying to myself about it either. That whole night was so unbelievable and so..." She blushed slightly as the memory of it all came to her once more. "...oddly magical. All I know is I wanted it because I was scared I'd never get the opportunity again. I mean, this gorgeous guy..." She stopped herself and watched as his lips quirked into a smile. "What I'm trying to say is it's not all your fault it happened. I did kiss you even if I don't feel the same way. I've been thinking about it a lot, and you could have still said no, but I shouldn't have tried to use you. To play you. I know you love me, or at least that you think you do. I still don't feel the same way."

"I know you don't." His brow furrowed and he sighed. "Tai, look, this isn't what either of us wanted. It's been just about a week so we're still feeling fresh wounds. We have lots of time. We have our whole lives."

"That's the thing, though. I can't live my whole life here if it's going to feel like this. I don't have any kind of control here. I feel trapped and suffocated inside of these walls." Why did she feel so guilty when she saw how crushed he was? She gazed down at her plate. "I don't know how to handle this. I just wanted to say it isn't all your fault, so don't feel so guilty all the time."

"Part of me will for a while," he said. "Give me until the end of the summer. If you're still miserable, I'll think of some way to get you home again." He set his breakfast aside. "I don't know how I would do it. It'd be hard, but I'd try if it was what you wanted."

She couldn't help but smile at his determination to please her. It was endearing, but it only added to the problem. "That's sweet of you to at least say you'll try. I should be realistic, though. I'm not going to be allowed to go back and we both know it. We went over that earlier. So, while it's great that you want to do all of these impossible, amazing, gestures for me, don't worry about it. I'll figure something else out."

"Whatever you want," he insisted. "Give me until the end of the summer, that's all I'm asking."

Tai chewed on her lower lip for a moment "I don't have much of a choice now do I? I'm kind of at your mercy."

Then Darien did something surprising, he moved away from her and slowly got out of bed. He took his dirty plate with him as he made his way out of the room. His body was tense and when he glared at her on his way to the door, she saw how angry he was. She didn't understand why. Really Tai? Mercy? Puh-lease. What kind of a person do you think I am?

Right before he left, he said out loud, "You want control? Then you can decide if you're going to stay or go. You're my wife, not my prisoner."