Krimson Mind: The Krimson Cycle Vol. 1

Chapter Nineteen - Krimson

As soon as James pulled his Neon into the driveway, I rushed out to meet him. There was a thick, heavy sadness that surrounded him like a wet, woolen blanket. He had tears in his eyes, though I could see that he was desperately trying to hold them back.

As I got closer to him, his sadness seemed to get stronger. At least if felt that way to me. After only a few steps I found myself nearly overwhelmed. I had to shut the door to our bond, or I would be absolutely useless to him. As soon as I shut that mental door between us, he looked at me. He knew what I had just done and why I had to do it. There was understanding in his eyes, under all the grief. I started to hate myself just a little. I didn't want to hurt him, even by accident. Yet here I was, closing him out.

"I... understand." He managed to whisper.

I wanted to take him into my arms and hold him, to chase his sorrows away. To help him forget the hurt that his own flesh and blood had put on him. However, I knew that I'd have time for that now. Because he was mine. I fought off a wave of jealousy, and even managed to keep myself from letting off a cry of triumph. He was finally mine alone, and nothing would ever hurt him again. Not if I had anything to say about it. Those were selfish thoughts, and I knew it. But in that moment, I didn't care. It was up to me to protect him now.

I grabbed his bags out of the car, and led him into the house and up to my room. Now our room. He was as silent as a graveyard as he followed me. I placed his bags at the foot of the bed, and he took me into his arms in a fierce hug. I held him back as tightly as he held me.

"My God, Krimson! What have I done?" He sobbed into my shoulder. His voice was a chocked whisper. "I abandoned them. I abandoned her." He was talking about his sister.

"You did what you felt was right." I said holding onto him tightly. "And your mother did what she felt was right. I'm not saying that what she did was right, just that Kari thought it was right." I told him softly, wishing that I wasn't tripping over my words. It occurred to me that I was used to causing others hurt, pain, and loss. Not helping them recover from it. After all, nobody had helped me after the things I've done just to survive this long.

He didn't answer. He just cried and let it all out. He let out his anger at his mother's bigotry, his sadness at her demands of him, and the fact that he was forced to leave his sister behind. Almost an hour passed, before he stopped crying and regained control of himself. I could see that he was still really upset, despite the lack of tears.

"Come with me." I said.

"Where?" James asked softly.

"We are going to work out." I told him, with a grin. "It's what I always do when I'm upset. It helps me think."

We both got changed and went downstairs. We found Max in the living room. He was deeply meditating. He was also floating about five feet above the living room carpet. As soon as we entered the room, He unfolded his legs and touched down gently on the carpet.

"I'm sorry for your loss, James." Max said quietly. "And I want you to know; that I think you did the right thing."

"Thanks." James replied quietly.

"We are going to kick the crap out of Igor. Do you want to join us?" I asked Max.

"Certainly. I could use a good workout." He said with a smile.

So the three of us went into the basement.

As soon as we all got downstairs into the basement dojo, I grabbed a katana from the rack on the wall. I spun around and faced them both. They seemed genuinely surprised that I was so eager for a fight.