Silas was patiently waiting for me to continue, which I did after taking another sip of my drink as my throat suddenly became as dry as the fucking Arizona dessert. " ok so my first question is going to be easy, were you born here? in Bitterbrook I mean" Silas took a long swig from what ever beverage he had ordered as he was doing this he never took his eyes off mine, he also seemed to be calculating what he should say next. which struck me as odd as it seemed to be an easy ass question to answer. " uh ya I guess you could say that, I practically watched this town grow." he then averted his eyes like he knew what I was gonna say next, and he didn't like it. "Silas how old are you? I mean not that it matters much I'm just curious. Clark kind of slipped up and told me that you were fey but she said that you never told her what kind, also I found a book in Clarks library on the fey species and I remember reading the their an extremely old society, most of them are considered gods because of their age..." I let my sentence trail off as I await for Silas's answer. " to answer your question I'm a little over 249 years old, I turn 250 in a little under two weeks, and to confirm what Clark said yes I'm of the fey species. but and if I disappoint you I'm sorry but as for what type of fey will stay my little secret for the time being. having that knowledge could be extremely dangerous for both of us."
to say that I was disappointed was an understatement but could I really blame Silas for trying to protect himself and others, I'm doing the same exact thing by keeping the rest of my abilities a secret, the knowledge could be detrimental. " know its my turn to ask a question but this one will have to be quick as I assume we both have to get back to work." I nodded in agreement and patiently sat in wait for his question. " why are you here Riley, out of all the places why are you in boring and way too quite town of Bitterbrook?" Silas's words were covered in intense fascination. with such a simple question I was shocked when my heart started to race and my hands started to sweat.
I focused my eyes to look at my plate as I thought about the best way to answer. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, thinking that it best to just keep it simple and to the point. "I needed to get away from my life, if you could even call it that. I just knew that I couldn't stay where I was, I needed an out. so one night during a week I was home, and a few days after my 19th birthday I just up an left. I got on a bus with nothing but $30 and a backpack full of the little belongings I owned. I didn't even look to see when the bus was going. after a few hours I ended up here and decided that its as good a place as any to start fresh." as I ended my response I felt my eyes start to get watery so I decided that it was time to leave, I never want anyone to see my weak side ever again. they always use it against you, at least in my experience they always did. "Rile.." Silas was about to say something more but I was having a hard time trying to push back down the memories of what was done to me in the mental institutions, so I abruptly got up and quickly said " I need to go, I'll see you around Silas." I didn't wait for a response, I just rushed out the door and started making my way back to the art shop.
on my way through the streets of Bitterbrook, with the harsh sun beating down on me, I did something I haven't done in years and let a signal tear slip out. I had to stop walking and take deep breath before any other tears escaped. as I was trying to regain control of my mind I felt something that felt like a cold cloud touch my shoulder. I glanced to my right to see Kit with a concerned look on his face. " you alright, bug" he asked pulling me into a strange hug, not strange because it was awkward but because when you think about touching a ghost you don't actually expect to feel them. but I felt him, he was cold in a comforting way. I could slightly feel the fabric of his clothes and the semi solidness of his body. I could feel his soft curls when I places my head on his shoulder. " its strange I can actually feel you." I say tightening my grip around his abdomen. " and I you, I haven't felt another person in over 344 years, its refreshing, but also brings up the question of why can I only feel you? but we'll leave that unanswered for now. you still haven't answered my question. are you alright Riley?" I couldn't answer him because I didn't know. all I could do was shake my head no and snuggle my head into the crook of his neck and let another tear escape.
Kit put a hand to my head and started to stroke my hair all the while whispering comforting nothings in to my ear. this helped calm me down completely, causing me to slightly pull out of our embrace and look up into his face. he has a small smile on his face but I could still see the look of concern in his eyes. our faces were mear inches apart. I whispered a thank you to Kit and in return he kissed my forehead and told be that he'd meet me at the shop, probably feeling like I needed to be alone for a bit. he gave me one last look before he disappeared into thin air. I reached a hand up to my forehead to where he had planted a gentle kiss, the area was cool but not uncomfortably so.