When I was human again, I toweled off and slid into my ripped jeans. I’d worked up an appetite. I jogged down the stairs hoping Olivia was on the menu.
4
Olivia
When I went downstairs, I saw Silas and Aunt Annie sitting across from each other at the kitchen island. His hand was on the counter while she was busy getting materials from the first aid kit to tend to his wounds. His massive hands were battered, even with the residual blood wiped off. They looked completely scarred up, more so than I’d ever noticed and there were some raw wounds scattered across his sun kissed forearms. Those hands, which had held me to keep something as small as a piece of glass from hurting me, now looked beyond repair. I’d always been aware of his hands, how simultaneously strong and gentle they were. His knuckles were busted in two different places, although the bleeding had stopped, they still looked sore. Sadness washed over me as once again it dawned on me that his pain was my fault. I wasn’t naive, I knew that this wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time Silas would get hurt or hurt someone else, but I just never wanted to be the reason he got hurt again.
“Silas does she know what she is getting involved in? Your life is so complicated,” Aunt Annie asked as she tended to his wounds.
“There is nothing to get. I couldn’t leave her there. That life, Annie, it would have destroyed her. You’ve seen her, she isn’t built for it. Besides, I can keep her safe.”
At that moment, Silas looked up and saw me and quickly plastered on a smile. Although his smile was beautiful, it didn’t seem to come naturally to him. You could tell that Silas wasn’t a man who often had reason to smile—it was new to him. He was making an effort for me and I noticed it.
“Hello!” He patted the seat beside him with one massive paw. I looked down at the table taking inventory of his simple sandwich and glass of scotch. I stared at the ice bobbing around in the strong drink.
“Want a sandwich? You don’t have to have PB and J, like me. Aunt Annie can make whatever you want. She’s the reason I pack on the pounds.” He chuckled and patted his stomach and all I could think was that there wasn’t an ounce of extra weight on that man. He was a solid brick wall of muscle, a body that was a weapon if you stood in its path. My mind couldn’t help but flash back to seeing him in all his naked glory earlier. Standing there in his kitchen, all I could think about was the eight pack that Silas had hidden underneath that grey cotton t-shirt. I liked seeing him like this though—here in his element. Sitting in the kitchen, wearing jeans with bare feet, eating something so mundane. It seemed out of character and yet, was completely natural. His relaxed state and good nature were contagious, I already felt more relaxed and at home in Silas’s house than I ever had in Paul’s run down bar that doubled as our hideaway.
“Peanut butter and jelly? I would’ve never pegged you for the type. Don’t men like you usually just eat meat off the bone so that when you’re done you have something to pick out of your teeth?”
Aunt Annie roared with a boisterous laugh that ended in short bursts of snorting.
“Oh, Silas, I like her. This one will keep you on your toes.” She turned to me and barked another short laugh. “I can whip up anything you want as long as it’s not something fancy. What’s your poison?”
“I don’t want you to go to any trouble. I’m really not that hungry. Besides, what you served me earlier was more than enough.” Silas must eat like a beast too. There was more food in their fridge than Paul and I consumed in a month.
“Eat,” he said one word. Then Silas picked up half the sandwich and brought it to my mouth. He smiled encouragingly and I took a bite. They weren’t taking no for an answer so I gave up my fight. The golden bread was fresh, it was obviously homemade, the peanut butter smooth and perfectly salted and the sweet raspberry jelly was delicious. I closed my eyes savoring the burst of flavors that exploded in my mouth. Silas leaned close to me, lifting his hand and removing a bit of jelly at the corner of my mouth. He contemplated the bit of jam for a moment before bringing it to his tongue which he swirled around his finger as he savored it in his mouth.
I could feel the redness rise in my cheeks. Silas moved closer whispering softly in my ear.