Love, Lies & Blood Ties - Whitby Shadows Series Book 2

Chapter Four

I expected things to be odd after that hug but when he returned with the food, it was nothing but business as usual. We joked and laughed and shared the obscene amount of food he'd ordered as we watched The Witcher on Netflix.

"Wouldn't it be so cool to live forever?" I said, purely musing as I chomped down on some prawn toast.

"I don't think it's all it's cracked up to be," he replied, shoving an entire chicken ball in his mouth at once. "There are drawbacks."

"I don't see any."

"Imagine having to see everyone you love die, over and over again. It would be soul breaking."

"That's no different to a mortal life, Luke."

"Of course it is. It's on a grander scale to start with. The friends you'd make over the years, they all grow old, but you don't. You can never settle anywhere for more than a decade without questions being asked of why you're not aging. It's essentially the life of a nomad."

"Some people like that though. Not having a fixed place to live."

He nodded. "Sure. But it's not for everyone. There's a big difference between choosing to live like that and being forced to live like that."

"That's fair. I don't know if I could do it or not."

We fell into silence and carried on watching the episode. After I couldn't take another mouthful, I made the fatal mistake of laying on my side just as the next episode started. My eyelids instantly grew heavy and the harder I tried to fight them, the heavier they became. I decided to give in, just for a second. Or several.

The constant shrill ring of my phone roused me from my food coma. As I grunted with the effort of throwing my arm out in a lame attempt to try and grab it, I heard Luke's voice.

"What? Ok, stay there. We're on our way."

I forced my eyes open to see Luke coming towards the bed. Next thing I knew, his hands were on my body, gently shaking me awake.

"Cat, you need to wake up. Caitlyn, wake up."

I rolled over onto my back and groaned. "Tired."

"I know but we need to go. Your dad has had a fall."

That pierced right through my grogginess like a spear. I sat bolt upright, nearly colliding my forehead with Luke's. "What? Is he ok?"

"I don't know. Joanna is with him. He's alive at least."

I scrambled off the bed, almost falling over as my legs tried to coordinate themselves. I felt like a new-born foal. "Knew I should have gone home tonight."

Luke reached out and stopped me from falling over and hitting the doorframe. "Cat, now isn't the time to play the blame game."

My eyes welled up with water. "At least if I'd been at home I would have been there, maybe stopped it."

"How? You'd have most likely been in your apartment and known nothing of it."

I had no response. He was right. I glanced down at the floor as I furiously blinked away my tears. With nothing to distract my mind, I couldn't help but focus on his hands on my waist. The heat from his touch radiated through my body like a thermal wave. I found myself staring at his forearms, mesmerised by not only their thickness, but the clear definition of each muscle.

Before I knew what I was doing, I raised a hand and started moving it towards his left forearm. I wanted to touch what my eyes were so hypnotised by.

"Cat," he whispered, dropping his hands from my waist.