Erin The Fire Goddess: The Beginning (8 page)

I
'm not sure how long I lay there for. Fifteen minutes? Thirty? An hour? Too long, in my opinion. It had let my mind run over things that had happened today.
Where was Jessica now?

I didn
't hear my mum return. I was too deep in my own thoughts. I jumped when she touched my arm. She smiled at the confused look in my face.
Why hadn't it hurt when I moved?
Actually, I didn't feel any pain. I looked across my body to examine my bruises, which were deep purple when I'd gotten into the bath. Now they were a yellowy brown colour.

“
It's the medicine in the bath.” She answered my unspoken question, as she laid what looked like some clothes on top of the closed toilet seat and opened a large bath sheet and hung it over the radiator. “I've brought you some pyjamas and I've called Kasey-Ray and told her where we are and that we'll collect her tomorrow evening.” She turned back to me thoughtfully. “When you've finished, just get out and get dressed. I'll be in the other room. I'll have a mug of hot chocolate waiting for you.”

Without waiting for a reply, she smiled at my opened mouth expression, and left the room.

Reaching for the soap, I started to wash myself. I couldn't believe I felt no pain. When I was finished, I climbed out of the bath and wrapped myself in the towel. It was so warm and soft.

I walked across to where the clothes lay, to examine them more closely with a feeling of dread. I hoped my mum hadn
't brought my favourite pyjamas, which were too short in the legs and full of holes.  The sense of relief filled me when I realised she hadn't, as I picked up a pair of pink satin pyjama's, which I hadn't seen before, let alone worn.

I slowly dressed and brushed my hair, without looking in the mirror. Then I sat on the closed toilet lid, chewing my finger nails
. I sat there for at least five minutes, trying to build up the courage to go into the next room.

Taking a deep breath
, I stood up and took the five steps from the toilet to the door and placed my hand on the door handle.

I could hear different conversations, but I couldn
't make out what was being said. I think my dad must have told a joke because I heard Paul and James laugh in unison.

With another deep breath I turned the handle and opened the door.

Everyone turned to look at me, which made me feel self-conscious. I was used to people staring, but not with smiles on their faces.

The fire was lit. It smelled wonderful and the sound was so relaxing. On the floor were the twins and Kelly. The twins seemed to be hanging on every word my dad said, from the seat next to my mum
on an old two seater sofa. My mum and Kelly were talking about.......... cooking, I think.

Sitting alone in the armchair that Sean and I had sat in, facing the fire, was Justin. He wasn
't smiling. In fact, he looked depressed, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

In the middle, faci
ng directly to the fire, was a three seater sofa. On one end, making me gasp as I took in how even more beautiful he was, with the colours of the fire reflecting off his face.

How could one person get better looking every time I saw them?

He was smiling a huge smile, which made his eyes dance and my heart flutter. He patted the seat next to him and held out his hand. I hesitated for a moment, not completely sure what to do. Everyone else had gone back to their conversations. So taking a deep breath, to slow my racing heart, I took the eleven steps over to where he sat.

He pulled me down next to him and gently
put his arm around my shoulders, before he reached over to grab a mug of hot chocolate from the table next to him and handed it to me.

Then without warning, he pulled me close and kissed my forehead. Instead of releasing me, he kept me pressed against him
as I drank my hot chocolate. I was aware of the feeling of him burying his head into my damp hair.
What was going on here?
I wanted to shout.

“
You smell nice.” He murmured into my hair.

I didn
't reply. I was too confused with what was happening, so I just sat and drank my hot chocolate.

When I was finished
, he took the empty mug from my hands and placed it back on the table, then he reached back with his free hand and placed it on mine. Without realising, he had moved the hand that was furthest away from him, and placed it around his waist, like I was embracing him. I wasn't complaining. I was confused.

“
Tired?” He asked, moving his head to look into my eyes.

I quickly shook my head, not wanting to admit that I was shattered.

My eyes glanced across his shirt, to see if it was still open. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I sighed, I knew I must be dreaming and eventually I would wake up. Then I felt his fingers gently stroking my left cheek. My body started to relax, my eyes grew heavy and I fought with them to stay open. I knew that if they closed and I opened them again I would be in my own bed and none of this would have happened.

I couldn
't fight it anymore and eventually my eyes closed.

***

I woke to the sound of birds singing and the smell of bacon cooking. My eyes were still closed, but it felt like I was in my own bed, cuddled up to my duvet, which was pressed against my bedroom wall.

Damn, I knew it was a dream
.

Then my duvet seemed to shake and a quiet laugh escaped from it. My eyes flew open and I saw that my face was nestled against a man
's chest. I jumped and nearly fell off where ever I was lying, but his arm caught me protectively.

“
Hi sleepy!” Sean smiled widely as he leaned down to kiss my head.

We were still on the sofa. He lay against the back, propped up on one arm with my whole body pressed against his.

“Hi.” I smiled shyly, putting my hand over my mouth, so he wouldn't smell my morning breath.

“
Hungry sweetheart?” I heard my dad ask from behind me.

I wanted to turn around and reply, but I didn
't want to move. My dad sensed this and appeared behind the back of the sofa, just next to Sean's head.

“
Uh-huh!” I replied, still keeping my hand tightly over my mouth.

“
Okay, I'll go tell your mum that you're awake and hungry.”

Then he disappeared, leaving my heart racing, as Sean lowered his head to the pillow we were sharing.

“You sleep well?” He gazed into my eyes with pure adoration.
What the heck was going on here?

I nodded, and he smiled sweetly at me.

We lay like that for a long time. Neither of us saying a word or looking away. It was my mum who broke my gaze, by leaning over the sofa to inform me that breakfast was ready. All the time Sean continued to watch my face. It was like he was studying it. Cramming all the information he could get from my face for some big test.

He only broke his gaze when I tried to move. Then he adjusted his body, so he could help me up.

As he helped me to a standing position, I felt his hand slide, slowly and gently, down my back, instantly sending shivers up and down my spine.

“
Did you bring my toiletry bag over?” I called to either of my parents.

“
Your dad's just left to go get it and pick you up some fresh clothes.” My mum called from the kitchen. “He'll be back by the time you finish your breakfast.”

“
Okay!” I sighed. I really did want to brush my teeth before I ate.

Still, I could go and see if there was any toothpaste in the bathroom that I could put on my finger and run around my mouth.

I walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind me, sighing when I realised there was no lock on the door.

After I
'd finished using the toilet, I walked over to the sink, to look for the toothpaste. Just as I started, I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom cabinet.

“
Mum?” I called in my normal voice. “Mum?” I called again, louder and more urgently. I was about to call her again when she burst through the door.

She stood with her back to the closed door, watching me carefully, as I looked away from her and back to my reflection in the mirror.

Slowly I raised my hand to my left cheek and stroked it. I looked back at my mum with questions in my eyes, and then turned back to my reflection.

My birth
-mark was still there, but it seemed to have shrunk and faded.

“
What's happening?” I asked with tears welling up in my eyes. I wasn't sure why I was crying. I'd always wished it would disappear, but I had never expected it.

Turning to face my mum, she looked like she was trying to find the right words.

“Tell me!” I almost screamed at her, taking a step towards her, and it hurt and confused me, when she stepped back. “Mum?”

She went to turn and reach for the door handle and this infuriated me. What was she hiding?

Before I could reach out to grab hold of her, she was gone.

“
Mum!” I shouted angrily, as I went to follow her.

By the time I
'd left the bathroom, my mum was standing behind Sean. I wasn't sure where the others were. Then I heard my mum speak quietly to Sean, like she was hoping I wouldn't hear.

“
Sean, do something.”

“
Do something?” I yelled.  “What the hell is going on? Why are you acting like you are scared of me? I don't understand. I don’t even know why Sean is here!" I screamed as I pointed at him. “I want to know what's happening? Why....” My voice trailed off as I went to reach up to touch my left cheek and I saw that flames were covering my arms.

I screamed and started waving my arms frantically;
causing me fall to the ground, as I noticed the rest of my body was on fire too.

I didn
't feel like I was on fire. I just felt scared.

Out of the corner of my eye and through my screaming, I saw Sean quickly approach me and reach his hand to my face.

Why wasn't he catching fire?

“
I don't want to die.” I cried hysterically.

He didn
't look scared. He just looked concerned. He touched my left cheek and started stroking. This calmed me slightly, and before I had a chance to do, feel or say anything, he had pulled me into his arms and stayed there with me on the floor, rocking me back and forth, whilst resting his face on top of my head and stroking my left cheek.

I was unsure how long we stayed like that before I stopped crying and pulled away from him to look at my arms. I couldn
't see any traces of them having been on fire. I started to touch his chest and check his arms, and he was still as perfect as ever.

Tears started to fill my eyes again.

“What's going on?” I looked up to his face and pleaded with him. “Am I losing my mind?” The last word caught in my throat, as tears trickled down my face.

He shook his head and before I could look back down he placed a finger under my chin and stared into my eyes, intently.

“No, you're not losing your mind.”

“
What's happening to me?” My face crumpled and I moved my head down and buried it into his chest.

“
You're my fire goddess.” He whispered in a serious tone.

I pulled away and stared at him in disbelief.

He didn't look like he was joking. I was ready to start shouting at him, when he put his fingers to my lips, stopping me from speaking.

Eventually, when he knew I wasn
't going to say another word, he moved his hand and eyes to my left cheek and stared thoughtfully at my birth-mark. Without saying a word, he cupped my face in his hands and leaned his face closer to kiss my birth-mark. By the time he pulled away, my eyes were closed. He waited until I opened them before he spoke.

“
I can't explain it fully.” He placed a finger to my lips again, stopping my attempt to talk. “But this is what I do know." He removed his finger from my lips and placed it back on my birth-mark, "when you manage to completely control this!"” His other hand stroked my arms as his other finger gently lifted off my birth-mark and then placed it back again. “Then this will disappear.”

I shook my head and moved away from him, as I scrambled to my feet before he could stop me from talking.

“So the fire is real?” I started to pace the room. By now, my mum had left. Sean nodded as he slowly got to his feet and went to reach out for me. “Don’t!” I growled, stepping out of his reach. “What are you doing here?” I pointed at him as he flinched. This hurt him, but I didn't stop. “You could have any girl in Galladale, probably any girl out of Galladale too, but instead you decide to hang around with a monster! I just don't get it.” It was my turn to put my finger to his lips. “What's even going on here?” Removing my finger to point from him to me.