Fuse

forty - two | jasper

K A N E   W A L K E R

We spent another two days in Turks and Caicos before we eventually had to leave. She was so different, it was almost like she was glowing. She has her sparkle back. She was happy for the first time in a long time and I'm grateful that I got to play a part in that.

"I wish we didn't have to leave." She frowns as we board the plane.

"I know, me too but we can always come back." I suggest and she nods, smiling as she sits down in the same seat as before.

The plane takes off and she reaches into her pocket for her phone, tapping the screen before sighing.

"What's wrong?"

She looks up at me. "My phone died and I wanted to text my mom." She frowns and I reach into my pocket and take out my phone, handing it to her. She looks almost in shock that I'm allowing her to use it and initially doesn't reach out to take it from me.

"Baby, take it." I tell her and her lips part slightly.

"You'll let me use it?" She asks timidly and I nod. What the fuck did Marshall do to her over these past few years? She gets paranoid about showing too much skin, he wouldn't let her have her own car, she wasn't allowed to see her family, she's worried about using my phone..

Why would he do that to her?

Hesitantly she takes it from me and she slowly taps the screen. "Oh it has a password." She mumbles as she goes to give it back to me.

"Just type in your birthday." I reply and hear her let out a small gasp as she freezes.

"My birthday?" She asks and I nod with a smile. She bites down on her lip as she taps in the numbers. "Who's that?"

I look over at the screen and feel myself sighing. "Me and my father." I tell her and she keeps her eyes focused on me as I glance down at my hands.

"How did he, you know.. how did he die?"

I keep my eyes focused on my hands, not wanting to seem weak in front of her. "Stroke, the day before my seventeenth birthday." I mumble and she frowns, putting the phone down and getting out of her seat. I look up at her and she sits on my lap, her petite hands either side of my face.

"Never ever shut off your emotions, especially in front of me. Okay?" She whispers as her thumbs caress my skin. "You can talk to me about anything, including your father. I want to know about him. What was his name? What was he like?"

I quickly wet my lips with my tongue and I notice her eyes flicking down to watch. "His name was Cole. He was much like me really. He loved boxing, the legal type obviously." I grin and she smiles back at me. "He was a tall man, one of the strongest men I knew, emotionally and physically. He loved my mother. He bought her flowers every single day."

A smile forms on my face as I remember specific moments. "He initially wanted me to get into soccer but I never found it interesting. There was always just something about boxing that fascinated me."

"After months of pleading with him he eventually gave in and took me down to a gym where I signed up for lessons after school. I met someone called Graham and he told me about the shell." Her eyes watch me closely as I ramble on.