Chris
Juliet sat facing me in the bed. I had a full view of her perky breasts that were, at that moment, two sizes bigger. It was difficult not to take a peek or indulge myself—forced to hold out as long as I could. "You could've gone with me to Canada…You or Louis could have gone with me. I asked you to take me, and you didn't. You put me into another man's arms… again." I turned away from her, planting my feet on the floor. She was going on and on while I was desperately trying to fight with her, but all I wanted to do was kiss her.
"I pushed you into your husband's arms, not some new addition… So what… You can do what you want, and we're supposed to stay faithful?"
"Didn't you sleep with Sita?" I shook my head. "But you did go to meet with her… That's why I left, isn't it… And then what?"
"You're avoiding the question. Why can't I even talk to my ex, but you can sleep with someone else."
"Because I'm jealous! You know that. And what has she got to do with this?"
"Everything… She is why you're angry… Now answer the question?"
"You want Sita back in your life?"
"Don't change the subject; answer me!"
"You can have as many women as you want… You'll probably go home at any moment and have to marry a hundred riphath girls prettier than me. With bigger breasts," she glanced down at her chest, "Where the hell is my top?" I picked it up off the floor and held it out to her. It was all ripped up. Her mouth fell open, "What am I supposed to wear?" I walked to the cupboard in the corner. I was disappointed in myself. I would give her something to cover herself up with. Opening the doors, she pushed past me. I did take a peek. "That's mine…! This is all mine…! Every time something went missing, it was you?" She started taking things out and putting them back into the closet. She grabbed her favorite top I stole first; I loved her in it—drove me crazy the way it fell off one shoulder… I wouldn't tell her that. She put it on, and I almost lost control… reaching out… just to take it off again. "What?" she asked. I bit the inside of my mouth, staring at her. Stupidly, I shook my head from side to side. "You don't even want to make our relationship official in any way! I don't even know what we are? Sita has more claims on you at this stage. At least she's your x-wife."
"But I'm not sleeping with her, remember."
"Then what happened? You going to tell me she didn't kiss you?" I stayed quiet. Juliet's jaw flexed, nostrils flaring… "You didn't have your hands on her at any stage in any way?" My eyes cast down to the ground. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. She just had a setback the previous night, and I talked about the one thing she hated most on Earth; well, maybe the second-most.
"I didn't sleep with Michael… I was pregnant, remember."
My head snapped up, "Really!! We did a lot of stuff that didn't involve… that… Everything else is still cheating!"
"Yeah, well… I owed him for the drugs he gave me."
I choked out a laugh with indignation mixed in there. My eyes were wide, and my mouth open, "He what? I'll kill him… I've been looking for an excuse to squash him and suck him dry."
"No!" she yelled.
I spun around before I crossed the threshold to call Warden into existence. "Why not?"
She was grasping at straws; it made me so happy to see her fumble for an actual excuse. Although, it wasn't an excuse she was searching for… I saw something else in her eyes; she did feel something for him. She was just not saying. And she didn't know how to say the next part either. "I owe him… again."
That time, the words stung, like he had some kind of right to her, and we had no say in the matter. I walked over to her and shook her, "You won't go anywhere near him ever again, do you understand me? I'm also jealous."
"What is wrong with a few BJs and hand jobs… It's not like you were the first in everything."
I shook her again—a little harder this time, "Not the right answer! Try again."
She laughed lightly, "This is all your fault anyway," her laugh disappeared as quickly as it came.
"What? How do you figure that?"
"You didn't…" tears pooled in the corner of her eyes, "Go with me… You told me to make right with Louis, and then you didn't come… You could've come at any time… I was a one-minute trip away." Her voice was tiny—flooded with emotion, "Why didn't you come? I'm hurt… don't you understand that! I told you I won't wait anymore. If you don't want to be with me… I'm sure I can find someone who wants to be. If you want to be with… Sita… then go! Be… freaking free."
"You're waiting for Marcus."
She scoffed and walked past me, "Your head is so far up your ass you know nothing of what's going on… I'm not waiting for anyone… You ignored me for months. You asked! Asked Michael to hide my phone… You pushed me away… You lied to me… Treated me like a child… There is no pill for stupid people."
"You're lying to yourself about Marcus… Where are you going?"
"I need to pee! Do you mind?"
I made room so she could pass me and walk outside, "To the back."
"Where the hell are we…?" She opened the little wooden door. "Why am I peeing in a long drop?"
"We needed to give you space so you didn't stress again. Marcus and I had to sort out the whole Sita ordeal… Who's head is up their ass now. Louis had to finish Charlene's freaking house. He did everything you see alone, Juliet… Your sister needed a house. We needed a place to train. Do you think we wanted to leave you there?"
"Eeeek!" she screamed, running outside, stumbling out with her pants around her ankles. I burst out laughing. Juliet was up lightning fast, frantically picking up her pants all the way. A snake came slithering out.
Manifesting, I teleport her out of there, "That's an Aspic Viper… It's venomous." I held her in front of me, her back pressed against me. I was breathing in the scent of her hair, my arms feeling the curve of her breasts. My lips glided over the soft flesh on her exposed shoulder, "Jul—" I couldn't even finish her name. Her mouth was on mine before I could beg at her feet. Arms wrapped around my neck, hands in my hair. I picked her up on her waist and put her on my hips the way she liked it. She was like a vise grip, hungry, kissing me everywhere as I carried her back into the cabin; my neck, my ears, fueling my own desires, finding my lips again and again. "F— Juliet! Never let me go…." Some tears rolled down her cheeks; she didn't let me get in one more word. My hands ran over her like I'd never kissed every part of her body.
"Do you think it's healthy that every time we sleep together, we have angry sex?" I asked when it was over way too quickly… She climbed on top of me, kissing me and letting them trail all over my chest, biting my nipples, closing my mouth with her hand. When I was quiet, she stroked me until I was ready again. I put my hand on her cheek when she sat upright on top of me, pushing her lips into the palm of my hand. "Juliet… I have to leave again," her head slumped down. I rake my fingers through her hair, opening her face.
A few frustrated noises escaped her. She breathed in a deep breath and sighed heavily, "You weren't there for the freaking birth of our son!" She slid up my length and thrust roughly down on me; I closed my eyes and moaned hesitantly, trying to hold it together. "And now you sleep with me, and you're going to leave again… Where are you going?" Another hard grind as her hips moved over me. I grabbed her behind her neck and pulled her down, letting her hair fall over our faces as I whispered into her ear. Her body stiffened around me; she wanted to freak out. I lifted my knees, keeping myself deep inside her, pushing her hips down with my hands. "I will come back," she kept her head at my ear, "And… Marcus and Samuel almost killed Sita. I almost killed her… She didn't have a good time… Marcus also saw her naked."
"Seriously, Chris. Not helping! With me on top of you?"
"I don't mind angry sex." It got a giggle out of the little girl, making me moan.
***
Juliet
I had only slept with Chris once and then with Louis. My total sexual experiences were wrapped up into two nights of passion. Chris and I had sex twice in a matter of half an hour, and I couldn't get enough of letting go… indulging in feelings. Chris was treating me like a person again, and it closed a lot of wounds for me.
"I saw the letter you got for your birthday. Michael asked you to marry him. Are you going to do it?"
"I'm never going to see him again. It was… a moment of weakness and a cat. I figured a way to say goodbye or something… Why do you care… is three your limit?"
Chris sat at the edge of the bed, naked; his one hand rubbed the other, "So why did you say this was a stuff up, and now you want to add another addition."
"For heaven's sake, Michael isn't another addition. And I said that for Louis… It doesn't seem like he can handle any of this… It doesn't seem like you can either." I gestured to the cabin and watched him. Chris was in a serious attitude, his mind fishing for something, "Marcus… well, I don't know what he's thinking about all of this… It feels like at any moment, you are all going to stand before me and ask me to choose."
Chris got up, turning to the bed. He got on, standing on his knees. He pulled me up, taking my upper arms in his hands. We were both at eye level. "That is not what's going on. I didn't go to see you because you are too obsessed with me. I hurt you because you love me so much… You do nothing halfway, and accommodating that is difficult…."
"I… don't know how to love you any other way."
"I don't want you to change… I'm scared you'll fall apart… because, yes, I could leave at any moment… Do you even try to understand what Louis is going through?" I yanked my arms in his hands, trying to get out; I didn't want to talk about Louis! Chris wouldn't let me go; he shook me slightly, "He knows every little thing about everyone… And he knows things he's worried about… things he won't even tell Marcus or me." I relaxed a little—they were also not talking. Louis was keeping things from everyone! "Since the Embassy, we've not been allowed to talk to each other… Marcus is terrified he'll have to take you and Louis to En-gannim. We're all walking on eggshells because we might never see each other again…" Urgh, the pit in my stomach hollowed out into an abyss of never-ending unfulfillment. "We can't do anything because Marcus is trying to keep his grandfather away until you change so he can be there for both of you." So me changing into a raging lunatic was why Marcus was staying. No! "S— Juliet, there are so many things going on… You having fifty husbands couldn't make me bat an eye…."
Chris took a breath.
"I just… want you to have someone you're honest with. If you could be with me… I don't care about Michael… What you've turned into the last few months isn't my Juliet, who stalked me for years. Now… tell me the truth, what's going on?"
I haven't spoken to anyone in months, only Charlene, although I couldn't tell her every detail... I was breathless, nervous, trying to find the words, "I'm… in love with Michael… I don't want to choose… I want all of you… and I love all of you. Yes! I want to marry him. If he was here, I would do it."
Chris got a cheeky smile, always so sincere with the dimples and his plump cheeks. He pulled me into his arms, "We have to know these things… because… if he is suddenly family, we need to protect him… What else…?"
"I ate a person on the farm… while he was still alive." Chris pushed me away so he could see my face and frowned. "And Michael did something to control me." I took a breath and gestured to my mouth, "A plate, tech, or something… and I can't remember… And now he's not here… He delivered Caleb all by himself. He took care of me and protected me. Went searching for me for hours while I was getting drunk… He asked me to marry him, and I said yes… but… I'm never going to see him again… I can't live like this anymore… I only have a year left, and all I do is pretend… I'm back… at the compound…."
Chris hugged me even tighter, "Don't ever change, please… I love you so much like this." He stroked my hair, "Everything will be okay… I can't promise when, but at one point in the thousand years, we will be alive… we will be happy… okay?" He tilted up my chin and covered my mouth with his.
After a few nights of good sleep, tons of sex, and a lot of talking, Chris and I finally had time to reconnect. We were at a good place; however, one morning, he was quiet, deep in thought, making us breakfast outside. We ate in silence, and my hackles came up, preparing for whatever he would say. I washed the dishes and sat down in my chair, ready to read while he kept himself busy; I thought our honeymoon was over, and he was getting bored. One page in, he stood in front of me. I closed my eyes, unwilling to look at him. "Juliet," he sat down in his chair and took my hand, "I'm the only riphath on Earth."
I opened my eyes and turned to him; it was not what I was expecting, "I kinda knew that…"
"Not… anymore," he hesitated. It took me a few seconds to figure out he meant Caleb. My tongue played nervously over my teeth, my mind fighting where this was going. "At the cages, Qadir said I was leaving—."
"They won't leave Caleb with me, will they?" My body shivered; I tried to hold back the tears. I wrapped my arms around myself.
Chris opened them and pulled me into his arms onto his lap, "No, Juliet, I don't think they will… Silvanus said something, and I… came to the conclusion it's why they've not come for me yet… He said until Caleb is weaned… And because we don't know anything about my planet, I don't know when it will be." Chris held me tightly, and his body shook with mine.
For the next two weeks, I had my cabin in the woods and got lost in the solitude and nature, waking up and being with Chris and Caleb. After our talk, we decided to bring him to the cabin where we were a little family for the first time. One that would never last; the fear gnawed at me, but we also decided not to talk about it or think about it so we could enjoy the time we had left. In the back of my mind, though… I waited and waited for the moment he would leave… when Caleb would go away. Chris kept getting things from somewhere and Warden wouldn't say. The last present was a white fur blanket for Caleb made from the warmest, softest fur I had ever felt, smooth and expertly woven into a sleep sack for a baby.
A few days later, Samuel came to visit for the day. He brought cages, and we ate something new and delicious. It was fun to hunt with Chris and play with our alien food while my uncle watched over Caleb. Before Sam left, he handed me a box wrapped so beautifully in something foreign and definitely from another planet. The paper was alive and moving—animated and glowing—magical. When I opened it, I frowned. I took out a basic leather swatch. It appeared to be a thin, long, soft bookmark. I liked reading. It was darkly colored in browns and blacks, embossed with strange lettering on it. Weird pictures and symbols. None of it was recognizable. I got up to show Chris, who was playing with Caleb. He took it from me. The lettering illuminated the material from within to a radiant glow, from the first words at the top, and went once over everything till the animation reached the bottom, making a round seal appear in the corner. It looked like wax… an emblem pressed onto it, or that's what we thought it could be. Around the emblem, there was writing in bright red letters. Chris lifted it up and examined the corner where the mark appeared.
"What is it?"
His head lifted, gazing out over the view in front of him, contemplating and then smiling, "Remember this… If anything ever happened to me… That birthday before the car. I had a present for you."
"You did… What was it?"
"Well… I still have it… It's in a bank safety deposit box… I didn't want Sita to find it… take it or whatever."
"What's the code for the safety deposit box?"
"I'll whisper it to you later tonight."
"Wow, Mr. Rheed, you're really getting good at this romance thing."
He eyeballed me, "I hate it when you call me that."
Chris handed the swatch back to me; in the moment, both our hands were on the leather, it lit up again. This time, with a different color. More scribblings and pictures appeared… in the background of everything else. "What the heck was that? Why does it feel like I just sold myself to you."
I studied the pretty flowers and leaves in the background of the other writings. Chris was thinking but also playing with Caleb on his legs. He was sitting like I always sat with him. Chris didn't like that he and Caleb weren't as bonded as I was with him; he blamed me for the months we couldn't sleep in the same room, take turns, and raise our baby like a typical family. I did regret a lot of things.
I had the swatch in my hand and touched Caleb's face with my other. The same leafy squiggles that covered the swatch ran off the leather onto his little cheek, going into his little shirt and flowing down his skin. I took Chris's hand quickly and made him touch it, too. Chris's waxy patch also traveled to Caleb. We both glanced at each other. Chris jumped up, and we took Caleb inside to inspect his body; there it was… glowing on his little butt—a tiny tattoo like mine. "Not slavery contract… Birth Certificate… How lucky the riphaths are, having painless supernatural procedures."
"This was sent to you… You have to keep this safe."
"Yeah, I think it's one of those things we should give to Marcus," Chris nodded, "Or to my father, I'm just going to lose it.
"You're both wrong." Chris and I jerked around, startled. "Take the swatch and put it over your arm." Warden was in the doorway… Chris took it from me and did what Warden said. The same thing happened; all the markings that lit up when I touched it ran from the swatch to form a band tattoo around my left upper arm. "Chris, you do the same." I took it and did it for Chris. The same thing happened with all the original markings they wrapped around his right arm.
I took his right hand with my left, "Parents." We pushed our shoulders together.