Mad Ember

12: Together

The songs I add before a chapter hint to the feelings and messages that will rise within it. It gives my characters a real voice. It brings them to life. All songs will be provided! :) And the playlist is on spotify!

S O N G F O R C H A P T E R : "Stop and Stare (Acoustic)"
B Y : Corey Gray

"Every glance is killing me
Time to make one last appeal
For the life I live"

I couldn't believe it. Here he was, right in front of me. The man that has been plaguing my mind since I first encountered him.

Corban.

I blinked, he is right in front of me. Not in my mind or dreams. Here. Right now. In front of me. Breathe Ember, don't forget to breathe. I just stare at him. How can he look so different? He has a stubble now, and his eyes seem so much more profound, his hair is longer as well. It's not super shaggy, but long enough that small curls are starting to appear. He looks... tired.

I can't find the right words. I know they are there, I want to say something, but it's like I physically can't. I can actually feel the energy buzzing around us. Was this the bond? He takes a quick step forward, and I take a slow step backwards. He looks down, then back up at me.

It's weird, we haven't been this close in so long, but it feels as if we are oceans apart. So much can be said, but no words are spoken. I know I need to say something. It almost feels like a compulsion. This will be the first time we actually talk face to face. I know Corban is a stranger, but for some odd reason, he doesn't feel like one. It feels like I am with an old friend, someone I have always known, but fell out of touch with.

I completely forget the reason I was running through the woods in the first place until Dog barks and scrambles out of Corban's arms and into my own. I notice that he doesn't have the locket in his mouth, and I once again start to panic, forgetting that Corban is standing right in front of me. "Whe-" My voice trails off when I see Corban's hand right in front of my face, the locket resting peacefully in his palm.

"I believe that this is yours." He says cautiously like he is afraid that he is going to spook me. I can't hide my relief as I see it. I quickly take it from his hands and attempt to ignore the warm tendrils that shoot up my hand from where our hands touched.

"Thank you." I whisper and open it looking at the pictures. I hold it close and clutch it in my hands scared to let it go. I look back up at Corban, taking a hesitant step forward. "Really, thank you." He nods, putting his hands in his pockets. I look at the ground as the realness of this situation truly starts to sink in. I tightened my fists and put them behind my back, so it wasn't obvious. I sigh when I feel the familiar sting, Corban looks at me as if he is trying to figure me out.

"Of course, Ember." Dog barks at my feet then curls up on top of them. I look up at Corban, a thousand thoughts running through my mind, a thousand things that I want to say and ask but I'm not sure how. It's weird hearing someone in your mind for so long then actually seeing them in person. How does a person respond to a situation like this?

I feel as if I am reading Corban like a book. He is not hiding anything from me. I can tell that for some reason he is relieved to see me. It's in his eyes and the way that he keeps looking away then back to make sure I am still right here. At this moment, I truly realized how much of a stranger he is to me.

"I know I want to say something to you, but I don't know what... or how." His confession is soft like he was afraid to admit it. It was obvious that he is usually in a position where he knows exactly what to do or say. My brows slightly crease as I ponder over what he said, and I can't stop the words that escape my lips.