V E N U S

I can only hurt you

When I woke up, she was not next to me, but I heard singing and the sound of pots moving around.

I followed the noise to the kitchen.

"Sit," she advised. Nodding towards a glass dining table.
She came by setting a plate in front of me with waffles, eggs and bacon.
Strawberries and syrup covering the top, whip cream piled high.

A memory tugged at my brain, it was of her making this for me before and I had enjoyed it so much I had showered her in kisses. Laid with her all day: cuddling, cracking jokes and watching snippets of a movie that we would never finish.

She sat across from me with a plate of her own anticipation shining in her eyes as she watched for the joy that would cross my face, but It didn't come.
I'm sure the food tasted good, I'm sure if I was normal again we'd fall into each other once more passionate and sweet like in the memory, but nothing on my tongue held a flavor. No flash of emotion swept through me.
I tasted nothing, and was merely eating because I still needed food to live, at least thats what I assumed.

"I wanted to apologize again I know accusing you made you mad, I just missed you, and it seemed like you didn't miss me at all."

"I don't," I advised.

"Huh," her sheepish smile broke, eyes growing wide and watery. Her lightly tanned skin losing color

"I can't miss you, I don't have that capability anymore."

"What are you talking about." Her doe eyes grew impossibly larger.

Something stirred inside of me, like a beat a rhythm bouncing through me, and I latched onto it.  I hadn't felt anything in so long and this, this felt electric.

The colors around her were convoluted purple, red, blue, murky green swirling into an agitated brown mess; they felt tangible.

I focused on the purple lifted my finger and the color reacted growing wide and large like her eyes. Until it was the only color I could see in her aura. Like magic, tears streamed down her face, her nose twitching as she sniffled.
Overcome with deep sadness she fell to the ground loud cries coming from her as she hugged her knees to her face, her hair falling over her like a shield.

I didn't attempt to hug her, comfort her.
That's what I would've done before, always comforting always there. But instead I was more intrigued that

I made her cry.

That electric feeling passed through me again. Spreading my lips into a wide smile as a mix between a laugh and a cry lept from deep within my own throat. 

Something wet and cool slid down my face, i wiped at the tiny thing, a tear.
I had felt that little droplet on my skin.

I can feel?

I lost focus, dropped the color and simultaneously I felt the emotion, the feeling leave me.

She too had stopped crying, and when her eyes met mine. I saw black grow in her core.

Fear.

Was it the empty smile on my face that had sparked it. Regardless I took advantage as the power pulled at me again and with a gentle tug of my finger I made it grow she cowered away her body visibly starting to shake. Her eyes didn't leave mine though, and the grin that was already spread across my face now had an emotion behind it again.

I can feel.

Her fear it made me tremble, I felt weak in the knees as something euphoric lit up my senses. I could feel her fear in a detached way. I knew it didn't belong to me. But I could feel the rush the adrenaline.

Slow heavy breaths slipping from me as my tongue swept over my lips, mouth slightly parted I wanted no needed to, eat.
I was frozen as I soaked in her fear, unlike her paralyses which was crippling threatening to undo her own reality.
Mine was out of anticipation of what I'd do next, what I should do next. The space between my lips grew wider I just needed to su—

"Help,"

Her soft cry had a memory slamming into my frontal lobe "help, please help I can't — I can't ." His voice was so soft and yet in my ears louder than anyone else's, but there was nothing I could do. I knew what happened when the screams became soft.

Just as quickly as the memory came it left and it took the power with it, blown out on a shallow exhale as I'd inadvertently released the grip I had on her emotion. Giving her back control.

Static.

She took an audible breath, as she stood
stepping away from me.

What had brought this on, this inkling of sensation, of feeling. Was it this things aura? Its strong emotions?

She left within the hour.
A duffel bag packed to the brim weighing on her shoulder.