𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙽𝙳 || Original Story

thirty-three | touch

Kate brewed another round of tea and we sat in the comfortable quietude of the late evening together, the ticking of the clock- which I never bothered to look at- sounding almost like a whisper.

I felt better for having been honest with her and better for not bottling up my emotions.

Kate was sipping her tea and rhythmically tapping her fingernails against the side of her mug. Despite looking worn out from the eventful evening at the fête, she was still so beautiful. Her dress was simply stunning, the sunflower print making me smile inwardly, and ending my day sitting by her side- having hugged her and having exposed the truth about my inner torments to a listening ear- made me the luckiest man in the world in this very moment.

In the silence, I recollected dancing with Bryony. I thought about how eccentric and crazy she was, but also how gentle and kind she appeared to be. I'd only met her once prior to the fête,

When we danced together, it seemed she felt at ease, as if she could speak without restraint because she knew I was a good listener.

"Jack's great at helping me with sorting stuff out," she said. "But it's just nice to talk to someone who doesn't really know the ins-and-outs of my life."

"Like a th-therapist?" I replied.

She laughed. "Yeah. You're my therapist now and I do hope that you're not expecting payment for your time."

It also seemed that she'd found some trust and solace within me and was able to tell me, when the subject somehow arose, about one of her two sisters. Her name was Erica and she had been battling an illness for a gruellingly long time; it was just eating away at her whole body until she could no longer do things for herself. She was only twenty when she died.

Bryony also joked about Floyd when I mentioned him whilst on the topic of siblings.

"Ooh!" She exclaimed. "Is he as handsome as you are?"

"He l-likes to think he's more s-so than I am," I said, awkwardly smiling.

"Well, you're a dashing man, so I think I'd be a little too overwhelmed if your brother's right."

I couldn't tell if Bryony was intentionally trying to flatter me, but whatever it was, it was incredibly embarrassing. Nevertheless, she laughed and smiled on as we danced a little longer and I realised that she was yet another positive influence on me. She was bright, bold and maybe one day her positive energy would rub off on me and I'd be as confident as her.

In the midst of my train of thoughts, I felt a sudden warmth on my hand and immediately tensed at the sensation. I glanced down to see Kate's fingers brushing gently against the skin of the back of my hand. I then looked through my peripheral vision to see if she had reacted to my response, but all I saw was that her eyes were closed and that a soft, content smile had formed upon her lips.

I decided not to say anything. Instead, I just enjoyed the moment and treasured it.

As one would probably assume, given my familial situation, affection didn't come easily in my life. It was fleeting. So it was no surprise that I was initially startled when Kate touched my hand.

However, I quickly grew accustomed to her touch and soon found myself returning the gesture. My fingers curled around her hand and I grinned awkwardly as she opened her eyes and gazed at me in surprise.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't apologise," she replied. "It's nice... Your hand feels cold, though."

I smiled. "Th-That's typical."

"Are you naturally cold-blooded or something?"

"I'm not s-sure. But I'm c-certain that I'm not a l-lizard."

"That's exactly what a lizard in disguise would say," she giggled, laughing harder as she leaned her head on my shoulder after seeing the mock expression of offence I was pulling.

"I'm only joking," she added. "You might feel cold on the outside, but I know for a fact that you're warm-hearted."

"You're s-sure?"

"I'm sure."

"P-Positive?"

She let out a laugh and sighed. "I couldn't be more positive."

It was evident that Kate had taken my laughing and silliness as a good sign. She looked up, her gaze meeting mine, and unmoving for a moment. Her eyes stared deep into my own and there was a smile on her faintly-red lips.

"Are you feeling better now, Edgar?" She then asked as she sat up.

I nodded. "Yes. Th-Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me, you know. I help you because I care about you."

And, truth be told, I cared about her as well. Immensely and unequivocally. Kate had done so much for me already and I was in debt to her, owing her more than just my life. There was so much I wanted to give her, tell her, and show her, but I didn't know what. I didn't know when.

All I knew was that things were changing and looking up.

Things were getting better...