The Tree in the Back Yard

Five

(A/N: I don't really have much access to the internet now, so the chapters are going to be short for a bit. Sorry.)

After that, I didn't see him, because I didn't go outside. I was stubborn and upset, I barely came out of my room. It wasn't his fault, not really, but I couldn't help but leave him alone for the time being.

That was when the odd things started happening around the house.

Call it cliche, but it was true. Doors opened and shut by themselves, the toilet paper in my bathroom was rolled all the way down to the cardboard, the thermostat changed on it's own, the smoke detector began going off in the middle of the night, and other things.

Honestly, I didn't think much of it. I hardly cared. I didn't even really care when the glass on the front of the oven exploded. That was the strangest thing that had happened to us at that point, but it didn't really phase me until things started happening in my room as well.

I heard tapping on my window at three in the morning. I rolled over, still half asleep, and pulled up the blinds. Seeing nothing, I passed it off as a dream and snuggled back into my blankets.

The tapping didn't stop.

It didn't stop until five in the morning.

Then it was annoying. I wasn't just scared, but pissed off as well. I decided to go outside and talk to Robin again.

Somehow I felt he had something to do with this stuff, at least with the tapping. If he didn't, at least I would have something to do.

I got up after another night of tapping in a foul mood. I put on a blue T-shirt and jeans and trudged outside in my bare feet. I wouldn't be walking through the woods today, so I didn't care.

He was there of course, looking as stupidly giddy as ever. He bowed as I approached, as if I were royalty. "Milady, I have missed your prescence."

I raised my eyebrows and frowned, showing him I wasn't in the mood. "Hi, Robin."

He grinned at me. "I knew you'd be back; nobody can stay inside all summer."

"I could," I argued, my lack of sleep making my temper worse than normal. "If there weren't something outside my window every night, tapping on it."

He didn't look guilty in the slightest, he didn't even seem to care. "Emily," he said gently. "I really have missed you. You may be able to stay inside however long you want, but I can't. I'm glad you decided to come out again."

My frown faded slowly from my lips. I couldn't keep it up, not when he was so hard to be grumpy at. "I guess I am too. I'm sorry I ran off."

"I'm sorry I pried so much, I have nothing really going on for me. I was really curious. You don't have to tell me anything. You don't owe me anything." He sat down by the tree. I sat down next to him, sighing.

"I wish I wasn't so touchy," I admitted. "I wish I was brave enough to tell you about me, but I guess I'm not." My face heated, but not from embarrassment. It always happens when I'm about to cry. I blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. I had no reason to cry now.

"I shouldn't have asked," he said, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"No, no, it's fine," I assured him and reached over to pat his shoulder.

He immediatly jumped up, scrambling away from my advancing fingers until he was a couple yards away. I looked up at him, shock and hurt in my eyes.

"Sorry!" he panted. "You just startled me. Just... give me a second." He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples.

After a few moments, a surprisingly cold wind blew across my face and I shivered.

"Okay," he finally breathed. "I'm okay now." Then he sat back down next to me.

Tentatively, making sure he knew what I was doing, I reached my hand out again to touch his shoulder.

My fingers were met with the fabric of his shirt and the hardness of muscle underneath. But the shirt was so soft, incredibly soft, it reminded me of the wind, or a cloud, as odd as it may sound. 

He sighed, almost like in relief, and I retracted my hand, putting it back in my lap. I looked up at him through my eyelashes and curtain of hair, before asking: "Do you not like to be touched?"

He grimaced. "You could say that."

"Can I ask why?"

He sighed again, running his hands through his hair. "Like you, I have things I'm not brave enough to tell about."

He got up and went around the tree, just out of my vision. "Robin," I called, getting up and following.

But when I looked around the forest, I couldn't see him.

He had vanished.