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I am his business? Did he really think that or was he just saying that so Bobby would leave. Why! Why was I developing a crush on this guy, this guardian? I had to stop this letting my heart beats go nuts whenever he spoke.

Bobby released me so forcefully I had to catch myself on the counter. Then he stalked out, turning on his heels, but not before turning to look at me once more. He didn’t even look angry, he looked like this wasn’t over, a challenge now that he had competition. Oh great.

“You ok?” Merrick asked, not coming any closer.

I breathed slow and long, my hands shaking. Why did everyone think they could manhandle me?

“Yes. He didn’t do anything really, he’s just persistent,” I said embarrassed and straightened imaginary wrinkles in my clothes.

“Ok. Well, maybe you should head to bed. If you’re ok I’ll go-”

I cut him off before he can finish. I knew he was gonna leave and I wanted him to stay for a minute. I needed to settle down.

“Why do guys do that? Why do they think they have to act like they own us? Does Danny act like that to his girlfriends?”

“No, Danny‘s a good kid. No, all men don’t treat women that way. Tell me if Bobby keeps messing with you. I’ll... Well, I’ll talk to his Keeper about it.”

“Why do guys have to be jerks with me? I don’t really get it. What did I do to make them think that I’d like that?”

“I don’t think...I don’t think you see yourself very well, Sherry. Your nice and...pretty. Men like that. One day you’ll meet someone not like Bobby, a nice guy, as you put it.” He smiled a little, surprising me.

It seemed as if he was trying to actually joke with me.

“A nice guy. Hmmm. Tell me when you find one that likes lame cooking and muddy brown out of control hair and a lack of style,” I said self consciously twirling a piece of hair.

“There’s plenty.” He looked down at the floor as he spoke.

“Thanks, Merrick. Did you hear...what Bobby said?”

“Uh...no...not really. I just got here at the last second,” Merrick lied.

“Ok. Well, thanks. Goodnight,” I said but didn’t call him on his lie.

He knew by now I could tell if he was lying but he still chose to lie anyway. He must have a reason.

“Goodnight, Sherry.”

I touched his arm as I walked out and said my thank you again, quickly, I just felt the need to reiterate the thank you. He sucked in a slow quiet breath, keeping his arms crossed but didn’t completely freak as our eyes locked for a mere millisecond. I closed my eyes and laughed under my breath at myself as I walked away.

I shouldn’t have done that.

Danny’s theory still carried no merit for me. Merrick couldn’t like me and hadn’t been watching me without Danny in the picture. I would just try to keep my distance, try to make it easier on him and definitely not touch him or brush against him in any way.

However, the next day as I rounded the corner to the kitchen, I saw Susan hugging him and crying, her gray wavy head on his shoulder. He didn’t seem tense at all. In fact, he was even hugging her back, rubbing her shoulder to comfort her. I wasn’t upset about Susan, though she was the closet thing to an ‘enemy’ I would have in this place, I was upset because he wasn’t hyperventilating, no shaking, no recoiling. It
was just me
he hated then! Gah!

He looked at me and I could only imagine my face, twisted in confusion. I turned to stomp off and start lunch. I decided to make lunch for all three of us. Danny, me and Merrick. I couldn’t let this go. What had I done to him?

Somehow, I had to make this better. People could not stay mad at me, especially for something I had no control over, being human. That was the only explanation I had and it made no sense at all.

I saw him walk in shortly after and stop in the walkway, propping his hands up in the door frame. I fought it but the corners of my mouth twitched with frustration. I only glanced his way and of course, he was staring at me. Probably trying to decide what the heck was wrong with me. I must seem crazy to him. I heard it then in my head, his voice.

Sherry. She felt bad and wants to apologize to you. She started crying and...hugged me. I’m sorry, I know you were angry with her. I’m not taking sides.

“I’m not angry with her. I don’t care about that,” I all but shouted.

The others in the kitchen look at me, and I realized to them I was having a conversation with myself. I shook my head. One more thing for these people to be disgusted about. Not only was I bossy, but looney. He tried again.

Sherry...

“It’s fine,” I mouthed this time, knowing he could at least read that on my lips.

I am so confused. I don’t know what you want me to do.

That was the last thing he said wordlessly before turning and leaving, shaking his head. I wanted to crawl under the table. Why was I such a spaz?

I managed to pull myself together long enough to finish the pasta I started. I felt like a masochist but I couldn’t help myself for going after him. No matter what his reaction might be, I had to know why. People can’t be mad at me.

I took a bowl to Danny, who pretty much confined himself to our room, unless Celeste was seen wondering around. I took a bowl to Merrick then, who I found in my hiding spot, the basketball court.

“Peace offering,” I said, extending the bowl to him, careful not to let our fingers touch on the side of the bowl.

“Thanks.” He took it but didn’t look up to my face.

“I don’t care that you were hugging Susan. Why would I? And I’m not angry with her. When you put different people together, they are going to clash a little. I just don’t understand why...” I sucked in a breath and bit my lip, deciding how to word it.

“Yes?”
“Why don’t you flinch or get so...bothered when anyone else touches you but me? Why am I so...so...bothersome? Repulsive? Please tell me so I can stop doing it and we can just be normal with each other.”

His twisted expression was somewhat a shock to me. I fully expected him to stare at the wall as usual when something was brought up that he wasn’t interested in answering. He put his bowl aside and got up on his knees, scooting closer to me on the floor, catching me off guard.

“Sherry. Is that what you’ve thought of me this whole time? That I was repulsed by you? I’d say more the opposite. I told you I can’t control these new human feelings... I’ve never touched a women before.”

“But you had no trouble touching Susan or Lillian,” I countered softly.

His eyes never left my gaze as I spoke. He was struggling again.

“I don’t- Sherry, I just like you. You’re so close to my charge and I feel connected to you, too. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

Lies, lies, lies.

“I told you I’m a human lie detector.”

“Can we just leave it at that? Please. I don’t want you to be angry with me and I don’t wanna hurt you.”

He hated me. He knew he couldn’t lie to me but he couldn’t very well tell me the truth, that he hated me.

“Merrick, I’m not a grudge holder, ok. It’s very hard to be mad at you, believe me. I’ve been trying for days now.” I gave him a crooked smile.

The look on his face was pained and desperate. I instinctively scooted to him until we were almost touching. I wanted to comfort him, somehow, but being afraid to touch him hindered that effort. He finally looked up at me, resolution on his face, the decision to fill me in completely had been made.

He reached for me.

I couldn’t stop the confused look on my face or my sudden intake of air. Just before his hand reached my face, there was a gust of wind and a voice. We both turned to see the Keeper, Piper, standing in the doorway, looking highly peeved.

“Merrick. I need you. Now,” she snapped.

Without a word, Merrick grabbed his bowl and left. My lungs were the ones having problems then. It wasn’t Matt’s body causing confusion, Merrick just knew how to look into my soul. He didn’t look at me, he looked into me.

I composed myself after a few breaths and ate my cold pasta and stayed for a while, wondering what in the heck had just happened.

Dish duty later with Merrick would be awkward to say the least. Of course, it was gonna be torture cause I couldn’t let things go. He was going to let me know the reason, let me down easy. What could it be? My bad smell? My hair too curly? I’m too opinionated, though that wouldn’t affect him touching me. Rough skin? Agh! Wretched boys! Did I mention I hated drama.

The sound of Polly’s scream were nails on a chalkboard that afternoon. I mean, she had waited a full eight seconds since the power had gone out to let out this wail of terror.

Eight seconds. Count them. That’s a long time. Merrick assured us that the generator was temporarily out of power from the storm, and needed to recharge. I certainly didn’t have candles nor a flashlight in my pocket so I just stopped where I was and sat down in the hall on the hard, freezing cold tile.

Being in a completely pitch black and silent enclosed space was unsettling. I could hear shuffling and whispering. I wanted to ask them why they were whispering. The darkness didn’t make the noise sound any different.

The little boy Calvin, was crying and I thought his mother would comfort him, but I kept hearing him. I could still hear Polly too, whimpering and Piper reassuring her.

The footsteps I heard were a little quick for someone to be walking that couldn’t see where they are going.

“Hey, who’s that running around?” I asked as I pulled my legs in closer so as not to trip whoever it was.

“It’s Merrick,” he answered, starling me with his closeness.

“So what’s the deal? Night vision?”

“Yes, actually.”

“Should’ve known,” I said with a chuckle.

Everyone could hear our conversation and I heard some of the others murmurs as well.

“We just see things on a different plane than you, that’s all.”

“Why don’t you guys share some of that power? I’d take the mind talking thing any day.”

“Being a human lie detector comes in pretty handy, I’d say?”

Was he flirting with me? Keepers knew how to flirt? No. I tried not to make a face, knowing then that he could see me in the dark and I thought back to the elevator when I got in his face thinking he couldn’t see me when I was yelling at him.

Sigh.

“Yes, but it’s just...intuition,” I answered. “It’s not a super power.”

“Do you know anyone who can shoot fire from their fingertips?” A small yet carrying voice careened through the hallways.

Everyone chuckled at Calvin’s question, as we heard him yell it from his room. He had apparently been listening and it seemed to calm him down as he was no longer crying.

“Nope. Sorry,” Merrick answered loudly for him to hear.

“That would totally be my power, if I could pick one. Totally,” Calvin yelled back.

The humming of fluorescents and sighs of relief could be heard as the lights flickered back to life. Blinking I realized Merrick was sitting almost right next to me. Or was he? When my eyes adjusted and I looked, he was gone completely.

A few days later, Lillian and I folded sheets for thirty minutes straight. The amount of sheets a group of people can use in a few days time was ridiculous but I followed orders like a good little soldier.

Bobby had come in to the laundry area to find the broom and decided to give us a hand. He kinda sorta apologized about the other night, so I wordlessly let him stay.

Lillian was far from interested in sheets because boy was she proud of Michael. He was chosen in her eyes. She continued her story, started earlier about how they met, that they’d been married a little shy of a year, their jobs before this all happened. How she dreamed of having kids that looked liked him one day, two boys and one girl.

It really was sweet to watch and listen to but it was hard to concentrate with Bobby accidentally ‘bumping’ into me every few minutes. It’s not like it was a close space.

He even asked if he could get one of my massages he’d heard so much about. In other words, he overheard Danny mention it to someone and ran with this wild line. He was handsome but just not for me. For some reason, I couldn’t seem to care if Bobby was upset with me or not and I wasn’t usually like that.

I thought I had made myself clear the other night. He hadn’t even tried to explain himself and his odd possessive behavior nor said how and why he thought Merrick was interested in me more than just his charges sister. His apology was “Sorry about the other night. I was tired.” That was it. End of apology and on with the annoying pick up lines.

I subtly tried to leave them both behind as I turned to leave, stating a thanks for their help and I’d see them later. I was apparently not very good at the brush-off technique because he continued to follow me down the hall back to the kitchen. When we arrived, Merrick was there. He did a subtle double take and went back to his stirring.

“So. It was fun doing laundry with you. Maybe tomorrow you can need my help again?” Bobby said and laughed whole heartedly and loudly at his own joke.

Oooh, mistake Bobby.

“Sheets are done for a few days I’m afraid, but thanks anyway.”

“Well, you can help me sweep tomorrow if you want. I wouldn’t stop ya.”

“Ok, we’ll see. I need to get making Danny and I some supper, so...”

“Need some help, girly?” he said looking between me and Merrick.

“Nope.” I am beginning to see a lot of Matt’s traits in him and if I hear girly one more time... “I got it. Thanks anyway. See ya.”

There were only a few ways to nicely tell someone to get lost and I was running out of them quickly. Waiting to see if he’d actually leave was an eternity, but he did turn and walk out the door, slowly with a waggle of his fingers.

I grabbed myself a cup of crappy coffee, no one could make coffee right in this place, with no creamer to boot.

I walked over, pulling myself up on the counter next to where Merrick was standing and stirring, but not too close. We were alone in the kitchen and my curiosity of Piper’s interruption in the basketball court had been milling.

“So, you in trouble for something?” I started the interrogation.