The Art Of Listening

Chapter 5

Ian stood and walked out, that is when the first tear fell, I just made friends and now I am driving them away. One by one, they all left, except Justin. He knelt in front of me, eyes shining. "Don't worry, Artie. They will be back. They don't have good control over their emotions and don't want to wreck your house. They aren't leaving you, just running it off." I looked into his eyes and saw the honesty there. He gently wiped a tear off of my cheek, "You really are a horrible rodeo clown." I giggled. "Can I hug you?" He asked softly and I nodded. He gently wrapped his arms around me and I returned it. 

When he pulled back, I smiled at him, "You broke my hug cherry, Justin." He mouth dropped open and his eyes about popped out of his head, that was the same moment the rest of the guys came in. "HE did what?" Ian roared and I fell to the floor laughing and wheezed in pain, squeezing my eyes closed. Gentle arms pulled me up and set me on the couch and I opened my eyes to see a pair of concerned hazel eyes checking me over. I gave him a small smile, "I forgot, it hurts to laugh." Blaine chuckled and sat next to me. Looked at Ian, "To answer your question, Justin popped my hug cherry, which means, He gave me my first hug." All of them looked lost, "You mean first hug in this town?" Adam asked and I shook my head, "Nope, no one has ever hugged me before Justin." They all looked incredibly sad. 

Trevor smiled, "Well, as soon as those ribs heal, you better be ready to have the stuffing hugged outta you, because this group loves to hug!" I chuckled at the look of horror on all the guys faces as they looked at Trevor. "Dude, that didn't sound right. We don't just go around hugging each other, but what he means is, we would love to give you all the hugs you wanted, Artie." Blaine said, making me laugh. Trevor nodded, "Ok, enough mush. Artie, take us through your ideas for the house. We will start outside and work our way in." 

After showing them what I wanted done, we broke for lunch and since I didn't have any food in the house, we all headed to Lucy's diner and Trevor prayed that Laura wasn't working. We sat around a table and laughed as we ate and I could feel my heart begin to heal. After lunch, Blaine and Ian went back to the house with me while the rest of the guys went to the hardware store for supplies. Blaine was the electrician and Ian was good with plumbing. While they were going through and checking things out, I started moving furniture around, making my nest, so to speak. I had just picked up a fluffy chair when a voice behind me boomed, "What in the hell are you doing, Artie?" I spun around and the chair hit Ian right in the face. I dropped it and rushed over to him. He was laying on the floor. I knelt next to him and gently picked up his head and placed in my lap, checking for bumps.

"Oh God, Ian. I am so so so sorry. Please don't be hurt." My fingers were gliding through his silky red hair and he groaned and popped his eyes open. "Lass, you are gonna put me to sleep doing that. You didn't hurt me that bad." He gave me a smile and placed a tiny kiss to his forehead. "Are you sure you are ok?" My ribs protested to my movement, but I ignored them as I got up off of the floor. "You could have asked one of to move that around, you shouldn't be doing that with your injuries." He scolded and I huffed, "It's just some bruises, I have had worse." As the words left my mouth I cringed and he growled. I looked at him and cocked my head to the side, "Why in the world to men growl all of the time?" He shook his head, "No reason." Then he was gone. I was so confused. 

By the time evening fell, the boys had left and I was more than ready for a shower. I had just turned off the water when there was a knock at the door. I sighed and wrapped a towel around me and headed to the door. The air was nearly sucked from my lungs at the sight of the man standing there. He was tall, very large muscles, piercing blue eyes, jet black hair and a killer smile. "Evening, Ma'am. I am a friend of the General. I believe he mentioned me?" I shook myself. "He mentioned bringing friends, but I kinda thought he meant more ghosts. My name is Artemis." He grinned, "It's very nice to meet you, I am Jax. Maybe you should get dressed and we could have a chat?" I was confused for a moment until it hit me, I was standing there in nothing but a towel.

"Um, yeah. Come on in, have a seat. I will be right back." I could hear him chuckling as I tore off up the stairs. I threw on clothes quickly before stumbling back to the living room. Jax was sitting on the couch but stood when I entered the room. "So, what did the General tell you about me?" He smiles at me, "Well, he said that you were special and I am inclined to agree. What do you see when you look at me?" I looked into his eyes and saw so many emotions, so many raw feelings that it almost hurt my heart. "I see a lot of things, Jax. You are a very complicated person, full of complex emotions. It's almost overwhelming. To be honest, I could get lost in there."  He smiled and touched my cheek with a cool hand. "He told me what happened, I hope you don't mind. The General and I are very close." I shook my head, "If he can trust you, then so can I. Lord knows he has more experience with people than do." 

"Well, dear girl, I have been around a couple hundred years, so I should hope so." The General's warm voice floated through the room and I couldn't help but smile. "I am glad you are here, General. I almost thought I was dreaming last night." He and Jax both laughed. "Now, Jax here  has been a friend of mine going on about a hundred years." I gasped and looked at Jax, "You don't look like a ghost." This made them laugh even harder. "No, Artemis, I am not a ghost, I am a vampire." I nodded, "Oh ok, cool. So not only do I talk to ghosts but now vampires are real. I am losing my mind." 

Jax stood and began to pace, "You are perfectly sane, Artemis. You see, The general and I think that you have a unique connection to the supernatural world. I have a theory on what you may be, but I need a witch friend of mine to find out for sure. Would it be ok if I called her?" I nodded, "How old are you, Jax?" He smiled, "Around two hundred, give or take." He pulls out his cellphone and makes a call. "Are you doing ok, Artemis? I could help but watch you today, with your friends. They seem rather taken with you." I nodded, "I'm fine. You know so much has changed since I came here and it has only been two days. Back in Cambridge, I had no friends except Brad and I wouldn't call him a friend. Then, I come here and it's like instant friends. People here seem to genuinely care about each other." 

Jax speaks from behind me, "It's because of you. If my theory is correct, that is. Lorilee is on her way, she only lives about ten minutes from here." I furrow my brows and something clicks in my brain. "Are you saying that this town is full of supernatural beings?" Jax grins, "You are correct. I knew it." Before I could ask him anything else, the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen walks into the living room. She smiles at Jax and then looks at me. She is tall, at least six foot tall, willowy build, like a ballerina, with long silver hair almost glowing silver eyes. "Hello, child. You must be Artemis. I am Lorilee." I look in her eyes and see love, and peace, but behind it is a pain that almost brings me to my knees.