I pulled free and sat up.
"I'm sorry." I whispered. Kaden shook his head sadly.
"You did all you could." He replied. "But I have an idea you my not like on how to get the shoes back."
"Why do I feel like I'm REALLY not going to like it?" I asked skeptically. Kaden laughed and sat up straighter, stretching, the twinkle back in his eyes.
"I think Brie is almost done making a mess in the kitchen, shall we go eat?" I'll tell you more over dinner." He said.
"Yeah sure. But bathroom break first. I'll meet you in there." I waved him off as I stood up, all of my muscles complaining at once. "Damn I miss the anesthetic already." I mumbled to myself, hearing Kaden chuckle behind me as I tottered towards the bathroom.
I grimaced at my reflection. Somewhere buried under the grime was a human being. I grabbed a washcloth from under Brie's sink and scrubbed at my exposed skin. The bites I had sustained had made marked progress towards healing, and the blood was already receding from the white of my eyes. My head no longer hurt, so I had a feeling Kaden had been tinkering around with our healing during sleep, just as much as he was taking fro us to help himself. I felt a tinge of anger, but then shook my head, realizing I should be a little more grateful, and probably should be a little nicer to the guy.
In the kitchen, Kaden and Brie were bustling around each other in perfect sync, laughing and singing scattered lyrics. Their good mood was nearly infectious, and I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips before the the anxiety could beat it back down. I sighed and sat on a stool at the counter.
"Come on, don't be like that!" Kaden called, stepping quickly to the stool and grasping my by the arms. The hoodie sleeves were still pushed up past my elbows from washing up, and as soon as his skin met mine, the anxiety died. I giggled as he pulled me from the stool and spun me around the room, grabbing Brie as we went by until our legs got tangled and everyone fell to the floor, laughing breathlessly.
"The food's getting cold." Brie admonished lightly, and Kaden groaned in mock exasperation. When we were all seated at the counter with our plates in front of us, I turned to Kaden, the anxiety storm building in my chest.
"Ok, what's your plan?" I asked nervously. He looked at me with concern and my brain automatically started conjuring dire life or death scenarios.
"Hey, it's nothing like that! It's ok, really." He reached out and brushed my hand with his fingers and the anxiety bubble in my chest burst, allowing me to breathe deeply again. The food smelled good so I took a few bites. Kaden nodded approval and also dug in.
"Don't think I haven't noticed how much better you've gotten at that, mister." I jabbed my fork at him. "You're just manipulating me into not caring right now, so I can't be properly mad." Kaden chuckled again and I stabbed my food grumpily, but the bad mood faded in seconds.
"I have not spent so much time around the same humans before. WE usually don't, you know. I'm finding out all sorts of neat things about the effect on all of us. The more I link up with you two, the easier it is to hear you, locate you, even exchange energies." Kaden excitedly babbled.
"I.e. feed from us." I pointed out glibly. The anxiety was still being held at bay, so I couldn't get as mad as usual. "Hey, how long is this going to last?" I asked. Kaden shrugged and laughed.
"I don't know! Isn't it amazing? However, if you left the room or put more space between us, I think the effects would fade. But I also want to try something a little later if one of you lovely ladies would be willing. Rue, you would be a better candidate because you've been there before, and I'm more familiarwith your mind at this point. However, Brie would be a more WILLING participant..." Kaden looked thoughtful.
"Try what?" I was feeling suspicious again. "Hey wait, you said been there before..." The panic was struggling to take back control. Kaden reached for my hand again, but I pulled back slightly. Kaden's face showed a moment of disappointment, and I heard his voice in my head saying 'I thought we'd moved passed all the distrust.' I yelped and jumped off the stool, away from the counter.
"Dude-permission!" I scolded. Kaden, however, clapped delightedly and turned to look at Brie, who looked back and forth between us, bewildered. A few seconds passed and he sighed in disappointment.
"Well, you heard me at least, maybe that's because of the damage I helped rebuild in your mind." He mused.
"THIS is why I can't trust you." I reprimanded him harshly and sat down again at the counter. Kaden grabbed my hand and I looked at him with anger, but he looked into my eyes seriously.
"I'm sorry." Kaden insisted sincerely. The thought also reverberated in my head. He quickly let go and turned to explain to Brie what was going on.
"I'm just so excited. I'm tempted to hang around you even after all of this is over to see what new developments arise." Kaden's enthusiasm caught on to Brie and they chatted excitedly for a few minutes, but my appetite had died.
"Guys, I hate to interrupt... But what about the shoes..."