Hearts, Scars & Horseshoes

Chapter 65 - Toby

At some point as the sun went down and the mosquitoes came out for fresh blood we ventured into Perrin's house. The group of us sprawled out across the couches, some movie drawing on in the background, none of us interested. Perrin and Aiden had disappeared and reappeared throughout the night, their hair growing more and more disheveled each time. Lars and Dylan playing two handed euchre across the coffee table and Mark and Tori cuddled closer than normal for two people who had met only hours ago.

I pushed myself off the couch, taking my empty cup of pop with me as I went in search of Faith. It didn't take me long to find her, as I turned and headed for the kitchen she was there, leaning against the counter on her elbows. Her blond hair was smooth and shiny under the over head lights that dimly lit the kitchen, her mouth turned up in a smile when her eyes met mine. Every time I saw her smile, even more so when it was directed at me, Elijah's heart started to pound in my chest. In such a short amount of time, her smile was something I never wanted to go without. It was beautiful, genuine, heart stopping. And I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of it.

"I thought I lost you." My voice low as I settled into the same position, my arm pressed alongside hers.

"Nope, still here." Her smile widened, her gray eyes sparkling in the light.

God, she was beautiful.

Whenever I was around Faith, I had the urge to touch her, be close to her. Simple things like how our arms were pressed against one another, or how earlier when she first got here and threw herself into me, I couldn't let her go, not all the way at least. I wanted to feel her fingers laced between mine, the soft silky feeling of her hair, the warmth of her skin. There was comfort there I hadn't known I was missing. But more than that, it felt like she was the part of me that had been missing. She made me make sense.

So I leaned over and kissed her.

When we pulled apart, her eyes were dancing between mine, that smile still spread across her face where it belonged.

"Hi." Her voice was light, airy, I chuckled to myself, more pleased than I probably should have been.

"Hey." She caught her lower lip between her teeth, her cheeks flushed. "So what are you doing back here all alone?"

Her attention returned to where everyone else was, still engrossed in whatever they had been doing.

"Thinking, I guess."

I felt the shift in her mood before she answered.  That was something I was catching on to fast. Elijah's heart picked up pace in my chest, my throat tightening just a fraction as I prepared myself for the topic I assumed was ahead.

"Want to talk about it?" I offered.

She never declined.

I studied her profile, the way the light overhead casted shadows across her face, the slender curve of her nose.

"I can't stop thinking about all things he's going to miss out on." Her voice cracked, I could see the tears swell into her eyes. Apart of me always felt guilty when she talked about Elijah, because even though I wished Elijah was alive so Faith didn't have to grieve him, I also didn't want my old heart back. "All things he won't experience."

I never knew what to say when she started talking about Elijah. But I didn't want her to stop either. It was selfish but the more I learned about Elijah, the less foreign his heart felt inside my body.

"Did I tell you he had a massive crush on Tori?" She asked, her voice lighter as she reminisced.

I shook my head, "no."

"He did and he wasn't shy about it." She laughed quietly, her eyes on the granite counter we were still propped on. "Tori always handled it really well. He always used to tell her when they were older three years won't seem so weird and she better be ready."

His heart was slamming around in my chest making me hyper aware of it. "Does she ever talk about him?"

Faith looked at me, the sadness that so often lingered in the back was front and center, her eyes wet with tears.

"No one talks about him." Her voice bitter.

I wrapped my arm around, pulling her to me. I mentally told Elijah's heart to calm itself down, begged it to not give me away as she nestled into my chest. I tried to breathe normal, like all I was doing was trying to comfort her.

My eyes met Lars's for a moment, his expression unclear as he stared at me. He shook his head slightly before returning his attention back to his euchre game. Dylan said something that made Aiden smirk and Perrin stare at the ground as they entered the living room once again. And then the thing I'd been waiting for ever since Mark had rushed up to me once Faith and Tori had arrived and asked 'dude is she single?' happened. I had to hand it to the guy, he had game. Who knew the asshole front he had with us vanished when he started crushing on a girl. He'd been unusually subdued and quiet the entire night.

"Mark just kissed Tori." I whispered to Faith.

Her head shot up from where it was laying on my chest, she caught the tail end of their first kiss. Even from across the kitchen you could see Tori's face lit up with a huge smile.

"How do we feel about that?" I asked.

I wasn't entirely sure but I think it's different for girls than guys. If Mark wanted to start dating a girl, I could care less. I mean I'd be happy for him but really it's not my business. But I could remember overhearing Stella on the phone with her girlfriends asking them if she should date so and so or their opinion on some guy she was hanging out with. And from the little I knew about Tori, I figured Faith had an opinion on the current event happening in Perrin's living room.

"Is he jerk?" She asked, her eyes still focused in their direction.

I shrugged. I mean he was Mark. "He's never brought a girl around to hang with us."

They leaned in towards each other again, apparently not settling for just one kiss. I looked down at Faith, her back still to me.

Her blond hair shook back and forth, before she spun around to face me again. "I don't want to watch them kiss."

"Me neither."

I felt her lace her fingers with mine as she looked up at me from where she stood. "Let's go for a walk."

I started to nod my head but she hadn't waited for my response. It made me smile. Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe she knew but I was pretty sure I'd follow her anywhere.

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What is this? It didn't take me two + weeks to force out an update! I'm giving myself a pat on the back. Now the question is, can I continue?