Chapter 4

Wait, what?

It had been a long time since he had been the butt of a joke, but it still stung. Damn, it stung really bad. He sat up abruptly, angry, sad, fucking heartbroken—

Warm small hands were pulling him back down.

I don't want to fall Venus. Fuck, please don't make me fall.

He let her pull him back down. "You don't believe me. That's okay, I'll prove it."

"Mrs. Johnson," she began. "Your neighbor, full name Karen Paulina Johnson, age 53, family; late husband, four kids, ten grandkids, her middle son, Jeremy is serving his eight months before parole, the only people who know this other than Karen and her family, is you and your dad, Jeremy's lawyer."

It was the longest thing he heard her say, her voice, drove him wild. She was still sprouting other things he ignored the words turning instead to watch her mouth move.

Beautiful.

Her words didn't matter. He believed her. He would have believed her if she told him she flew and fought crime. Because it was Venus. She acted like she knew everything like she's as everything, like she could do everything.

Can you fix me? Please put my pieces together because my hands are shaking too much.

"You've stopped listening. Do you believe me?"

I do.

"What am I thinking right now?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm"

"Not because I can't read minds I just can't read yours."

He sat up again, maybe out of surprise or maybe to feel her hands on him as she pulled him back.

"Don't feel so special, it's not just you there are some people with some kinda mental barrier up. Some are stronger than others."

"How strong is mine?"

"I never know what you're thinking."

Good, ditto.

"And the weaker ones?"

"I can probe and it unravels, sometimes things just slip—" she stopped. "I'm confusing you let me start from the beginning. I can read minds; it's more like there are a thousand people talking all at once in a small room. I can hear the current thoughts that run through the mind as well as previous thoughts, memories, dreams, etcetera."

"Dreams?"

She sucked a deep breath before exhaling like she was Atlas holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. Was she? How far could she hear, was there even a range? Could she even turn it off? What was it like to see people's dreams?

He sprouted the questions he thought one after the other.

"There is a range; I can hear a few kilometers away from me. No, I can't turn it off I do things that dim it, however. It's not just dreams, nightmares too. Does that give you an idea?"

Nightmares? He wanted to hold her, he could barely handle his own nightmares and she goes through other people's nightmares? How awful.

Her next intake of breath was shaky and Jules closed the distance between their hands and held her's. His palm was sweaty in the cool weather.

"I'm okay," She whispered after a bit. "I'm okay."

"Good. Good." Why are you whispering though? It's doing weird things to me.

She turned her head to him abruptly and his heart raced. He forced words to come out of his mouth as her eyes ensnared him. "So...you can't hear what I'm thinking right now?"

She shook her head softly, his other hand, the one he wasn't using to hold her, trembled when he lifted it up from the ground. Her eyes never left his once to watch it's descent, until the said hand reached its the destination, her cheeks. She blinked, acting like it was normal. His hand was just returning home.

Can I be your normal? Can you be my home, I really want to come home.

His hand trailed up her cheek and her eyes fluttered. "I have a theory, the reason why I'm here away from my warm bed, the reason you are telling me all this is because it's silent with me. I'm silent." You're using me.

She nodded. "Don't worry it won't be for nothing if you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. I'll be your little helper, a living breathing encyclopedia—that helps with homework, projects and the works." Her voice waned. "Please, I'll do anything...just, just let me be with you."

His heart ran, tripped before crashing. Was this real? Was Venus really begging to be with him or was someone going to jump out and scream Punk'd? She placed her hand over his anchoring him unto her.

Don't let me go, it said.

Never, he whispered.

You can use me, Venus. Suck me dry just don't let me go.

She must have seen his resolve because she smiled, albeit nervously he realised. How bad was it for her to be this desperate to come to him? Because if she could really read minds she must have known by now that he was a train wreck, a shipwreck, a scene from a disaster movie, the type you stayed far enough that you were away but you could still gawk.

Venus released a breath he didn't know she had been holding and his heart ached for, she was that desperate. "There is one condition though."

He looked away from her lips to her eyes. "You have to promise you won't fall in love with me." She said it in the least egotistic way possible, she said it like she was just covering her bases.

He wanted to laugh.

Too late.

That ship had sailed and sunk.

"What if it's too late." Woah, dude did you just say that?

Venus sighed like although she expected it to happen she was still surprised by the outcome. She pulled his hand off her face cradling it in her hand instead. "Don't do that, Jules. I'll break your heart."

"It's already broken."

Pushing him down he didn't have enough time to react as she laid her head on his chest directly on his heart. "It seems to be working fine." She looked at him through her lashes, smiling she tapped him lightly over his heart and he groaned. 

"Don't do that, Venus."

A shiver passed through her body. "This is the first time I'm hearing you call my name."

He closed his eyes. "Would you like to return the favour?"

"Jules," she began softly, his breath caught and his toes curled. "You shouldn't love me. I know you're bad with goodbyes and I always say goodbye."

"Then anytime you say goodbye I'll say hello."

━━━━━

And my heart beats

Like the empires of the world unite, we are aliv

And the stars make love to the universe

You're my wildfire every single night

We are alive

Venus's voice reached him from behind the cart he was pushing. She didn't have the best singing voice, it was too low, too raspy but he didn't want her to stop

They spent the next few hours talking, talking about books, movies, music and art. She didn't speak too much but led the most intelligent conversations he wanted to stay there longer and listen to her talk about her love for coffee, books and art, but they eventually left to visit the supermarket at Venus's insistence. Even though she was barely dressed with no shoes she moved around the aisles with confidence

When she stretched to pick something above her head her dress rode up exposing even more skin. It looked like something you'd see in an art gallery in black and white, he wanted to draw her, paint her and put in the gallery himself. Which was crazy because the nicest thing he had drawn was a mutilated copy of sponge bob.

"Why are you staring at me like that? You're not gonna change mind, you're not even my type."

Jules took the bottle of olive oil from her hand and placed it in the cart, he held her gaze. "It's okay if I'm not your dream guy. I just want to be the guy you think of years from now, while you're staring at your morning coffee, wishing you hadn't poured so much milk in because now it's too creamy to resemble my dark brown eyes."

Venus was— she was speechless.

It was a good look on her. Her eyes wide, lips parted. He wanted to move, dance, at least wiggle his legs. That's how great he felt.

Jules noticed her gathering her words but it took a moment for her to speak. "Wow, Jules. I didn't expect that. That's beautiful."

He touched the tip of her hair, and shrugged. "I have a tumblr."

She laughed, but fell silent quickly at his look. "It's crazy. I feel close to bursting, I want to pour it all out. But I don't want to share our story with anyone else."

"You don't know me, Jules you can't fall for someone you don't know."

Oh, ye of little of faith.