6

Noah Kingston

  I know my brothers are bringing her to the house to meet Mom today. I couldn’t wait for this day to be over so I could see her again. The only time I was truly calm and at ease was when she was in my classroom. I wish she could just be in every class I teach. But the poor thing is very distracted by me. That is so cute. She has no idea what is going on. I don’t think she understands what’s happening or who she is. I can’t figure out why though. How does she not know?

As soon as she walked into my classroom, I knew exactly who she was. My brothers figured it out pretty quickly after seeing my reaction. They are doing a good job watching over her for me. They understand how important she is. I am trying so hard to not make it obvious in front of the other students. I have to force myself to tear my eyes away from her beautiful face. But having her there calms me. I had to find a way to have more of that. The teacher’s assistant position was perfect. She is brilliant. She could probably teach the class herself.

Mom couldn’t wait to meet her. She is hoping to get some information from her that will explain why she doesn’t understand who she is. The twins met her momand didn’t sense anything from her. So, it must be from her Dads side of the family. We will have to get him to come over too. If Hope doesn’t know, I don’t want to rush into telling her. It could be a huge problem to try to explain why her parents didn’t tell her. I suppose it’s possible she’s adopted. That could explain it. I should suggest that to Mom. She can get to the bottom of it, I hope.

I am rushing home because I know she’s there. In my home, in my space. I can’t imagine anything better right now. I can already sense her presence when I walk up to the front door. I walk inside and I notice her heartrate pickup. She can sense me too. That’s good. Her scent is all around my house. Perfect. This is where it should be. Wherever I am is where she should be.

  I sense her in the kitchen. Her beauty is unmatched. It takes my breath away every time I see her. Her gorgeous curls tumbling down over her shoulders. And those hazel eyes, with flecks of green and yellow. She’s right here in front of me now. The little hitch in her breath tells me how much I affect her too. I wish I could take her hand in mine. But I can’t. I can’t touch her at all yet. It would trigger something that she isn’t prepared for yet. We have to warn her first. Prepare her. I can’t even tell her what she means to me. It is true torture to simply treat her like anyone else. She is so much more. Keeping my feelings secret is very difficult. I’m afraid it’s written all over my face.

   She is shy around me. Her instinct is to look away. But our connection usually keeps her eyes locked with mine. I can’t continue doing that either. It is triggering the pull. The more time we spend looking into each other’s eyes will begin solidifying the connection. I need her to agree to that before It becomes permanent. But right now, I can’t stand how she just put her head down and looked away from me. “Don’t look away, I want to see you.” She looks back up. “Beautiful.” I let slip. Her cheeks blush pink. I love that.

  I take a small step back to give her some space. She takes a small step forward. Okay, I guess she doesn’t need space. “Did Mom feed you?” “Yes, she did. Thank you. It was delicious.” She says quietly. “Good, you need a lot of food right now.” “Why is that?” she asks confused. I can’t believe I let that slip. I need to be more careful. I just want what’s best for her.  “Um, growing girl you know?” I say with a little laugh. I hope she buys it. She smiles. So sweet. I could look at that smile all day.

  “So, I think dinner is in about an hour. We can talk for a while if you want.” I suggest, gesturing toward the living room where the others are. “Oh! I thought that was dinner.” She says surprised. I let out a little chuckle. If only she knew how much we eat around here. “Oh no, that was just a snack to get you ready for the real thing. Us guys can eat a lot.” “I see, well, I hope your mom owns stock in a grocery store.” She says and then looks away and blushes again.  So adorable.

We move into the living room and sit with my mom and brothers. “So, Hope, Noah tells me you are his best student.” Mom says, trying to end the awkward silence. Hope looks surprised. I think it’s because she didn’t know my first name. I see her little smile as she glances at me. I’m sure she already knew she was my best student, that shouldn’t have been a surprise. “Thank you, that is very nice of him.” She answers. I notice that cute little pink tinge on her cheeks again. She is so shy. I love it.

  “I assume you are surprised that Noah is Zade and Zanders brother. I guess they failed to mention that.” She said, looking at the twins with her eyebrow raised.  They looked at her with guilty expressions. “Don’t blame them, I asked them not to. I didn’t want her to avoid the twins because of me.” I admitted. “Why would I avoid them because of you?” she asked me straight out. “Well, I know I overwhelm you a little.”  She thought about that for a moment before answering. “I suppose you’re right. I may have refused to come over.” That’s what I was afraid of.

  I knew we needed to get down to business and ask her a bunch of questions. But I didn’t want to scare her. I asked the others to go slowly and not freak her out. Hope surprised me and asked me a question first. “How old are you Mr. Kingston?” I want her to use my first name, but maybe she doesn’t feel comfortable with it yet. “I’m 23. I graduated early. This is my first year teaching.” I explain. She nods. “When will you be 18 Hope?” Mom asks. “In a month.” She replies. That’s soon. We have a lot of work to do before then.

   “We should have your Mom and Dad over for dinner some time. Maybe this weekend. I’m sure they would like some friends in town. We know a lot of people we could introduce them to.” Mom suggests. “That would be so nice Delilah. Thank you so much.” “How about this Saturday?” I jump in to add. The sooner the better. “Oh, I will have to ask them if they are busy. Mom sometimes has to work on the weekends.”

  “Is your dad coming for dinner tonight?” Hope asks a little nervously. “No, he’s no longer with us. My Dad died when I was 5 and Mom was still pregnant with the twins.” I tell her. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have, I mean, that was an inconsiderate question.” She stammers. “No, Hope, it’s okay, we don’t mind. Ask anything you like. Please feel comfortable to talk to us about whatever is on your mind.” I reassure her. She visibly relaxes. I wish I could just be straight forward and ask her all the things we need to know. But I have to be patient. This is so awkward. She must feel like she’s under a microscope with all of us just looking at her.

  “Would you like to see the backyard? It’s really beautiful out there.” I suggest. “I would love to, yes.” I stand and she follows. Mom and the boys stay inside and give us some privacy. She looks all around at the beautiful trees and landscape. “Wow, it’s gorgeous out here. Like your own personal forest. I love it.” She walks further out into the trees. I’m sure she is drawn to them. I feel the same way. We walk silently through the lush foliage. She takes everything in with her eyes wide open. She goes over to the stream and kneels to put her hand in the cool water. Her smile widens. She’s so beautiful.

   I can smell her scent and sense her happiness as we walk silently through my family’s forest. Our ancestors have been here and owned this land for hundreds of years. We take good care of it because it means so much to us. I’m so pleased at her reaction to it. One day, I hope, this will all be hers too. We get to the spot where there is a small waterfall. We sit near it. “I know you are confused about me. Just know that I care about your welfare very much.” I tell her.  “Is that all, just my welfare?” she asks. I’m not sure how to answer that. I can’t tell her that I already love her. And I certainly can’t tell her why that is. So, I decide to keep it simple. “No, that’s not all I care about.” I look her in the eyes, and she stays silent. Taking in what I’m saying and what I’m not. She’s intuitive. She can deduce what I’m implying.

  “We should head back. Mom probably wants to serve dinner.” I almost take her hand to help her up. I pull back just before I touch her. I can see the disappointment on her face. I feel it too. The pull to take her in my arms. But I’m going to fight it as long as I possibly can.