Sentilia

When I woke up, I panicked for a second. My eyes flew open. At first, I didn’t remember where I was; I didn’t even remember falling asleep. But there was no mistaking where I was. I could feel his body shaping the back of mine, his hand on my stomach, and his mouth of the back of my neck; I could feel his breath sway my hair. My blood was boiling in my veins. His heavy arm surrounded my fragile feeling body. The chills and the goose bumps only increased when he breathed out my name. I couldn’t even breathe. I was frozen in place and I felt like I could never move again. Ever.

The first rays of sunlight were sneaking up to the window, and I was beginning to feel like this was my new reality. Was this not a dream after all?

What was I thinking? Of course it was a dream. The proof was in the chills running along my body.

I waited for almost an hour, feeling better than I’ve ever felt in my life. Eventually I turned around, because I couldn’t wait to see his face again.

He moved slightly and opened his eyes. He smiled when he saw me and I smiled back. I realized he had been sleeping when he had whispered my name. He took my hand, laid it gently on his cheek, and then kissed it lightly. The peck had left a scorching mark where his lips had touched my skin.

I hesitated before speaking, because I didn’t want to ruin to moment. But I had to ask. “What happened last night?”

“After we almost kissed?” he smiled half-heartedly. “Yes...” I had already gotten my answer. “You fainted. Again. And I put you to bed. I decided to take up on your offer, but I just couldn’t stay on my side of the bed.” He gave me an honest smile this time and kissed my palm again: “I hope that’s ok.” Then his face changed: “I mean, nothing happened if that’s what you’re asking.”

I didn’t answer; I couldn’t speak. I just chuckled and laid my hand back on his cheek.

“We have a big day today; we’d better get it started.” He got out of bed and stood up, and when he turned towards me I noticed he didn’t have a shirt, and I could see his perfectly chiseled body. I looked away instinctively but my eyes kept glancing back furtively. I heard him laughing and I shut my eyes to try and regain my focus.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a car. I was fully dressed, in my own clothes, and my hair was up in a ponytail.

It was Kleio that was sitting in the car beside me.

“So, how do you like the place?” he said.

I was caught off guard, and was confused for a minute, but after a moment I regained control. All these emotions, all this nonsense... how could my brain be generating all of this? I’d never even had these types of dreams before. And they were getting sharper, more detailed, and longer. A lot longer.

“I love it, it’s very...different.” I couldn’t keep my mind off Elis; where was he? He had left me in this car with Kleio. I guess he had more important “doctor” things to do than give me a guided tour of the city. I didn’t ask Kleio where he was, though I was dying to know. This dream had gone from perfection to ordinary in the blink of an eye.

We came to a stop in front of a small blue house, proceeded by a big grass lawn, covered in violet and yellow flowers.

“Those flowers are gorgeous,” I said.

“Yeah, they’re tulips, I think. This is Maia’s house; she wanted to see you as soon as possible, today. We’re not going to stay very long. When we’re finished, we’re going to the beach.” He smiled in encouragement.

“Okay... that’ll be nice.” It sounded almost like a question. I gave him a polite smile. I hadn’t forgotten my first painful trip to the beach.

We got to the front door; it was solid black, and had a golden handle. It was an unusual one, but I liked it. Maia was opening the door as I was examining it.

“Hi guys. Come in, come in!” She patted my shoulder and closed the door behind me. “I’m so happy to see you on your feet again,” she let out a giggle that made her look so young somehow, “how do you like the city? I hope the boys have made you feel at home.” The house looked very similar to Elis’ office from inside, warm and inviting, although all I could see from here was a staircase and part of the living room.

“It’s great! And the guys have been very nice.” I gave Kleio a little nudge with my elbow. His answering smile was blinding.

“Good, good, I knew I could count on them. I would have kept you here but I knew it would be boring for you to spend your time with my old self.” She laughed half-heartedly.

Kleio was about to step into the kitchen when Maia grabbed his arm and said: “Wait...um...” she turned towards me, not letting him go, “Max, I really want you to meet someone, but you must feel awful in these clothes. You’ve had them on since you’ve been here.” She eyed Kleio furtively. “I’ll call Hayden, my niece. Go upstairs; she’ll be waiting for you. You can take your shower and she’ll lend you some clean clothes.”

She called Hayden; Kleio was asking her to also get me a swimsuit. Hayden appeared at the top of the staircase. When I saw her, I did a double take. She was my mother’s carbon copy. Only she was smaller, and had dark brown eyes. She smiled at me, and Maia started pushing me up the first few stairs. I slowly climbed them until I reached Hayden. She was waiting for me with a towel in one hand, and a few light colored pieces of clothing in the other.

“Hey, Maxine, I’m Hayden. It’s nice to finally meet you,” I returned her smile, “if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the bathroom. I’ve got some clothes for you to change into; these should fit you.” Her happy voice was cute.

“Thanks...′finally meet you’?” I asked, perplexed.

She froze for a second. “Um...Yeah...Maia told me about you when she came back from the beach the other day.”

“Oh,” I frowned, “of course.” I had only been here a couple of days, ‘finally’ seemed like a strong word.

“Right here,” we were in front of the small bathroom, “so you know how a shower works, right? Guess so. Here.” She chortled, shoved the clothes in my hands and threw the towel at me before closing the door shut.

“Okay...” I took my shower slowly, pondering what Hayden had said. Everything about this place, everything about the people here seemed off; it all felt like an act. But then again, I guess that’s what it would feel to me, considering every smell, every sight, every gesture, everything here was completely unfamiliar.

I got out of the shower, and put Hayden’s clothes on. Although she looked really smaller and thinner than me, they fit perfectly. I had first put on a coral swimsuit, as Kleio had ordered, and then a faded pink blouse over it. She had even given me a pair of awkward white sandals, to go with the white too-short shorts. I towel-dried my hair and put back my own shoes before heading downstairs.

As I got back to the main entrance of the house, I heard voices to my right, so I passed the threshold, to a cozy dinning room. Maia, Hayden and Kleio were all sitting around the table, laughing.

“Maxine, sweetie, come and join us. Do you drink coffee?” I nodded and she spoke in a louder voice towards the kitchen, “bring a cup for Maxine, too.”

I couldn’t see who was in the kitchen, but for a moment I thought it was Elis. The blood came rushing to my cheeks.

“Okay...but can someone come and get the milk and sugar; I don’t have enough hands!” It was a silvery female voice. Though I was disappointed, my curiosity jumped to the ceiling.

“Sure, I’m coming Cassie,” said Maia. She got up and crossed over to the kitchen.

I sat down on the chair beside Kleio, and he put his arm around my shoulders. I flinched but did not pull away. I wasn’t sure how to react, because I wasn’t sure what this meant. I sat straight on my chair, and the resulting position was a bit awkward. Hayden was watching us very closely, and when I caught her eye, she looked down. As she did, I noticed through the glass table that the chairs were made out of some kind of smooth black material.

“What are these chairs made of?” I was trying to distract from the arm Kleio still had around me.

“Leather, sweetie.” It was Kleio who answered. Sweetie? I rolled my eyes.

“What’s leather?”

“Um...well,” his brow furrowed and he paused, I heard Hayden chuckle under her breath, “it’s cow skin, technically speaking.”

“WHAT?” Hayden and Kleio jumped. As if to add to my shock, Maia came out simultaneously, saying: “Maxine, this is Elis’s sister, Cassiopeia.”

She was beautiful, of course. She was probably around 18 years of age; she had similar full lips, and the same crocked nose as her brother. Long blackened eyelashes surrounded her hazel eyes. She had quite a muscular shape, for a girl, and the tips of her shiny blonde hair brushed her shoulders.

“Hello Maxine, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She smiled widely.

“The pleasure is mine.” I hesitantly answered. She seemed very nice. I wondered idly if she would have acted differently had she known how I spent last night.

She sat down beside Maia, after putting a fuming cup of coffee in front of me, and then she saw Kleio’s arm around me.

I was slightly intimidated by her, so I tried to move away from his arm. It only made him tighten his grip. Her sudden scowl made me wonder if she had feelings for Kleio.

“Let go of her Kleio, can’t you tell you’re making her uncomfortable.” Hayden said, laughing, and then Kleio reluctantly let go of me. Cassiopeia’s face changed back to a friendly smile, but it faded every time she turned towards Kleio.

There was a long silence before he said: “Well, now that you’re all freshened up, let’s go.”

He left to go start the car. I got up, and I smiled politely at Maia, Hayden, and Elis’s sister. Maia briefly told me that I was welcomed here, and I could come back anytime. I thanked her before leaving the room.

Just as I was going to leave, Cassiopeia came up behind me and whispered: “I’m sorry, Maxine, I have something to ask you. I know you’ve been staying with my brother for the last two days. This is going to sound bizarre to you... But, please, could you tell me how he’s doing. I haven’t talked to him for so long. And... I trust you not to tell him I asked.” She was pleading. I understood that something between them was going on, and because I wasn’t implicated in any of it, it was probably easier for her to ask me about him than anyone else.

Before being able to answer her question, a fuzzy memory popped up in my head. The pink room in his office; it must have been hers, before. I’m guessing they had lived there? It was clearly too big of a house to be just an office.

“It’s your room, right, in his office building?”

“He kept it?” She looked confused. “I thought...” She smiled.

“To answer your question, he’s fine. I think he could use someone to talk to. He’s always brooding.” The truth of my own words took me by surprise. I thought about asking what happened between them, but I wanted her to feel like she could talk to me, ask me anything with no strings attached, no explanation required.

“Well, I know he won’t change his mind about talking to me... it’s a long story, but tell him I say hi, please.” She smiled sadly, I nodded, and she walked back to the other room.

I made my way, thoughtful, back to the car.

“What took you so long?”

“I was saying goodbye to the girls.” I was fighting a smile.

“Wow, you really get along quickly with strangers!” he said, snorting.