Spooky

Chapter 35

{Author's Note: Updates will probably be less frequent from here forward; we've caught up to my queue, since I was pushing to get to that lighter oasis in time for the holidays ! We're back to darker content, having passed the eye of the storm (so to speak) with that last chapter. But I promise the book itself won't end on a depressing note...
Though, we are halfway there.
Enjoy! As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you've liked this book so far :).}

-Scourge's POV-

Sunday, Shadow and I left the dorm room in favor of his house, carting all of his things and mine there on my motorcycle. It took some doing, but luckily, Rouge is a damn genius and helped us to stack it all in a way where we wouldn't die. Unloading it all took a bit of work, sure, but once we were all settled in and curled up together on the couch, I said to myself, The work was more than worth it.

And that's held true; it's Wednesday now, and every single day I spend almost all of my time with him. Sometimes he needs to be alone, and that's been absolutely fine; I can't deny that it worries me, but I'm not going to force him to spend time with me or anything. Lately, Shadow hasn't really been doing well. This Friday is the horrible anniversary of the loss of his mother, and it seems like a dark cloud is draped across his shoulders, a heavy weight burdening him. I feel like I haven't been able to help him properly, but to be honest, I've never really dealt with this before. The most I can do is just...be with him, as we're doing today. We're reclining on the couch, television on in the background, tuned to some random science fiction show. Shadow's head rests on my chest, eyes half-closed, arms wrapped around me. I'm petting him, gently, and normally he'd be purring, but today I just don't think he has it in him. I hate seeing hm like this... "Shadow," I murmur, pressing my muzzle to his forehead.

"Hm?" I feel the vibration of his hum reverberate through his chest, and he shifts his head a little.

"Is there something I can do to cheer you up?" I ask softly, moving my petting-hand to scratch behind his ears.

He hums again, as if thinking deeply, then sighs. "I wish. But I just... I don't think anything will help." Despondent, he shifts position, and I kiss his forehead sweetly. To my surprise I feel him smile a little, and he presses a kiss of his own to one of my scars. I suppress a shiver, a little surprised; most people don't like to even acknowledge my scars, but he doesn't mind them at all. He treats them as he would any other feature, in a way not even my family can manage to do. They've never felt so normal. "It's alright," his voice interrupts my wandering thoughts, and I refocus, "I'll be fine."

"I know," I mumble, ears flattening to the side of my head. "I just wish I weren't so useless here—"

"Don't," he interrupts, tightening his grip on me a little. "You aren't useless, I promise." He tilts his head up, nuzzling against my chin. "The fact that you're here is more helpful than you realize."

"I just wish I could somehow take the pain away," I reply, and he moves around a little, scooting a bit further up.

He props himself up, looking down at me with an almost sad look in his eyes. "It just doesn't work that way." Shadow replies. "You can't do that as just one person, but you really," he wavers a little, struggling to maintain his composure, reddening a little, "you really do help, just by being you." He leans down, gently kissing me, and I pull him closer; when we break away, he lies down, nose-to-nose with me.

I tilt my head forward a bit, pressing my forehead to his with a smile. "If you need me, I'm here," I say. "I'm always here."

"Yeah, I know." He smiles gently.