Erin The Fire Goddess: The Beginning

by Lavinia Urban

As we walked into the kitchen, my Dad was standing looking out of the window, with a cup in his hands.

  “Hi sweetie,” He smiled my favourite smile.

  “Hey Dad!” I slowly walked towards him and gave him a hug. He hugged me back so tightly I thought I was going to burst. Realising this, he quickly released me and stepped back to examine me.

  “Sorry sweetie, I don't know my own strength half the time.” He smiled at me weakly. “You should eat something.”

  I hadn't actually realised how hungry I was until he said that and my stomach growled in reply, making me laugh.

  My Dad turned to grab two plates of full English breakfast and placed them on the kitchen table, in front of Sean and me. “Where's Mum?” I enquired with my mouth full of egg and bacon.

  “Gone for a walk.” My Dad replied as he sat down at the table with his cup in his hands.

  We sat in silence for a while as Sean and I continued to eat.

  “I'm sorry your Mum and I didn't explain things sooner.” I continued to eat as I listened to what my Dad had to say. “You see we had hoped it would skip a generation, but you started to show sign's early on.”

  My hand gripped my knife tightly, as Sean placed his hand on top of mine and stroked it gently.

  My Dad didn't seem to notice this, or refused to acknowledge my discomfort.

  “From birth we knew you were special. Your birthmark was always hotter than the rest of your body, and when you were upset, it would burn fiercely.”

  He stood up from his seat and walked towards the kitchen sink to stare out the window thoughtfully for a moment or two.

  When he turned back his face was suddenly very serious.

  “Your Mum and I were also born with unique gifts, like you and Sean.” He nodded to each of us as he said our names. “I possess the ability to make thunder.” He looked back out the window, “and your Mum can make lightening.” He turned back to face us again and walked towards the table. “You see alone we are dangerous and powerless to control our abilities. But together..."

  "Together, we are powerful and have the most calming effect on the other.” My Mum finished my Dad's sentence as she came to stand next to him and smiled at me apologetically mouthing ‘sorry to’ me.

  I stood up from my seat and walked quickly over to her, giving her a hug just as she started to cry.

  "I'm so, so, so sorry." She continued to repeat over and over again.

  I held her there for a long time, not sure what to say, and before I knew it, she was in my Dad's arms as he pointed to the kitchen counter where my toiletry bag and a pile of clothes sat.

  I stood examining myself, in a tall mirror, in one of the bedrooms, in the cottage. My Dad had brought me over a pair of pale blue, cropped trouser, a white vest, and a pair of black sandals.

  I pulled my favourite silver headband from the toiletry bag and gently slid it onto my head. Normally I would have spent ages adjusting my hair, so it would cover my birthmark, but for the first time, I pushed the headband back so my hair was off my face.

  I smiled at my reflection. I don't think I'd ever felt this happy or self-assured before in my life.

  I still had a million and one questions, but I'd been assured that Dr Hammersmith would explain everything later today. He was coming at 7pm. It was only 10:30am now, so I had the rest of the day to, hopefully, get to know Sean better.

  After I neatly folded my pyjamas and placed them on one of the single beds, I checked and re-checked my appearance before heading out of the room.

  I walked through the back door and out into the garden, which was surrounded by lots of trees. To me, it was more like a forest where a picturesque cottage sat in the middle with the sun shining straight down making everything glisten. My Dad was playing football with Sean, Paul, James, Kelly and Justin, whilst my Mum was pottering around in the flowerbeds.

  I sat down on an old wooden bench underneath the kitchen window, with my head slightly tilted up towards the sun, whilst keeping one eye on the game.

  Justin stood between two trees that were being used as make shift goal posts. The twins and Kelly were on one team, and my Dad and Sean on the other. I wasn't sure who was winning; I was just happy to watch.

  They continued playing for another thirty minutes, when my Dad started complaining that he was too old and tired to keep up with the youngsters. Probably because he was only used to playing with my sister and me I knew I wasn't any good. A two year old had better ball control than me.

  "I'm going to go home to take a shower and change my clothes.” I heard Sean tell the others as my Dad sat next to me on the bench.

  "You're getting old." I playfully teased my Dad, as Sean walked over to where we both sat.

  "I'm a teenager at heart.” My Dad smiled back at me, and then turned to face Sean, who was standing in front of us.

  "I'm heading home for a bit." He pointed over his shoulder, as if he were pointing to a house that wasn't there. “You fancy coming?” he asked me as he held his hand out.

  I looked at my Dad to see if it was okay.

  "Sure, go ahead." He smiled as I reached up to take Sean's hand. “Just make sure you're back for dinner at 5pm."

  We walked, hand in hand, towards the trees, at the edge of the clearing, where Justin still stood between the makeshift goal posts. I had no idea where Sean's house was or how far, it was just nice to take a walk alone with him.

  All my life I'd dreamt that I would have a boyfriend. I still wasn't sure if Sean was my boyfriend or not. I hoped so. To be honest, I didn't feel I would ever get a boyfriend, but right now, whether or not he was, I felt I had hit the jackpot. I wasn't sure what would happen from now on, but I would be happy to spend my life in his arms, kissing his lips, and him stroking my cheek. I wish I was more spontaneous to make a move to kiss him. I felt nervous and swallowed hard as I remembered his warm lips pressing against mine. Without realising, my hand had reached up to touch my lips. Quickly, I pulled my hand down as we reached a fence to a field that was full of baby's breath.

  "Wow!” I gasped, "It's beautiful.”

  Without realising, Sean had released my hand and was standing with his back to me, leaning against the fence.

  "Are we allowed to walk through here?” I asked nervously, as I started to climb the stile, he had used to get into the field. He waited on the other side, ready to catch me if I fell.

  “I know the owner's very well.” He smiled with a shrug, as I stepped past him, to start walking through the flowers with my arms stretched out on either side, my palms facing forward to catch the flowers as they brushed my fingertips.

  I hadn't realised I was walking alone until I looked up, already a third of the way across the field. I looked around in panic searching for Sean. He was still leaning with his back against the fence watching me. I started to walk back towards him and stopped when I saw him start to hurry towards me. He wasn't smiling and I wasn't sure if I'd done something wrong. I looked at him confused and wanted to apologise for whatever I'd done. I felt sick with nerves, by the time he reached me, and he didn't stop moving.

  He grabbed my face and started to kiss me fiercely. At first I just stood there, frozen. Then I started to kiss him back more urgently. One of my hands ran my fingers through his hair, as my other started to slowly run up and down his back.

  To my embarrassment, I groaned as he pulled my head back by my hair and starting kissing my neck. My hand slipped to his bum and I heard and felt him laughing. His were lips vibrating on my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

  He laughed again, as he felt me tremble, then pulled away to look at me with a smile I was falling in love with. I chastised myself for thinking that last thought. It was too soon for me to be feeling this way. Wasn't it? I hardly knew him. He was surely going to break my heart. Hadn't I heard he used to have a different girl every week? What was this? Day one or day two? I decided yesterday didn't really count.

  "Come on, let's go.” He started pulling me through the field. I fe
lt like I was floating more than walking.

  We walked for a while. Not talking, as he led me to the end of the field and this time through a gate. We carried on walking, hand in hand, until we reached a row of houses.

  "This is us.” He pointed to the end house. “Not much, but its home and has been my whole life.”

  "It's lovely.” I smiled, squeezing his hand, as he led me through the front door and into a spacious living room.

  "My parents are at work. Just make yourself at home." He waved his hand around the room as he released my hand and gave me a quick kiss, “I'm going to take a quick shower. Won't be long.” He said as he headed up the stairs.

  I stood there for a few moments, looking at where he'd gone. Then I headed to the huge sofa and sat down, switching the TV on to the music channels.

  I wasn't really paying attention to the TV as my eyes scanned the room, focusing on pictures on the far wall. I got up and walked slowly over to have a closer look.

  They were all family pictures, spreading over decades. Lots of school pictures, pictures of Sean and Kelly holding various trophies, and a picture of… I think it was Kelly, ice skating, another of her riding a horse, and a picture of Sean in a football kit sitting on his team mate's shoulders, lifting a trophy.

  In between them all was a giant picture of Sean and Kelly with their parents, one of those you get done in a professional studio.

  My eyes fell on a picture, to the right of the large one. It was a picture of an old couple, maybe Sean's grandparents, but that wasn't what pulled me to the picture. I reached up to touch the face of the woman in the picture, at the same time touching my own cheek. I gasped and stepped back. The woman in the picture had a birthmark just like mine.

  "My great grandparents." Sean spoke quietly, breaking my trance.

  "But she’s…” My voice trailed off, as I looked back at the picture.

  “She was like you." He said, stepping closer.

  He was wearing only a pair of jeans and was towel drying his hair, but he threw the towel on a chair, along with the top he was holding.

  He stepped behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

  "And my great grandfather,” He pointed to the man in the picture, “was like me.” I didn’t understand. There had been someone else like me? Just like Sean? How was that possible?

  Sensing my confusion he turned me to face him. His muscly chest was still damp and perfect in every way.

  "I don't know much." He started to tell me as I moved my hands up to place them on his chest. “But I was told that my great grandfather could make it rain and manipulate water. I wasn't told any of this until I started to show the signs." He told me as an afterthought. I used my eyes to tell him to go on “It started half way through the last year of high school. Up to that point I thought I was happy.” He pulled me onto the sofa, as he continued to talk. “I played every sport going and girls." He looked into my eyes, as he lay on his back, with me lying on top, with my chin resting on top of my hands, on his chest. “Well you know.” He reached out to stroke my cheek, reassuringly. "But I started to sweat a lot, more than usual. I mean, I could run around a field and my clothes would be soaking. My parents even took me to the doctors, but they weren't sure why this was happening either, and it didn't even smell like sweat. ”One day my parents took us to visit our grandparents, and it was there we found out what was wrong with me.” He looked down at me, to see if I was bored yet, and I nodded at him to continue. “Well, I was in the garden with Kelly, when we heard something smash. We looked up to see Poppa shaking in shock, as he looked right at me. Apparently his Dad, my great grandfather was the exact same.” He looked thoughtfully back to the picture, hanging on the wall. "He went on to tell me that eventually I would find my soul mate.” He looked at me seriously, as he placed a finger on my left cheek “And that she would have the same mark as my great Nan." He gave me a quirky smile. He even looked slightly embarrassed.

  "And that would be me, I suppose?” He laughed, and then nodded.

  "To be honest, I thought it was a load of Mumbo jumbo.” He laughed. “He kept telling me that as soon as I saw her everything would change and no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to keep away from her." He sighed then and rested his head back to look at the ceiling.

  He didn't say anything for a while, as I ran my fingers around his chest, tracing the lines of water that were now drying up. Then he looked back at me, his face serious again.

  "Then I saw you that day… murdering that orange." We both laughed. Then he stopped, turning serious once again, "You took my breath away.”

  I pondered this for a moment, continuing to trace the lines of water on his chest.

  "Are you happy?" I suddenly asked thoughtfully, and before I knew it, he had pulled me further up his body, so our lips were nearly touching.

  "I am now.” He smiled, raising his head to kiss me.

  We eventually came up for air, as he reached his hand to stroke my cheek.

  "Fancy a drink?”

  I nodded as he pulled me up and led me to the kitchen.

  The kitchen was lovely, all oak cabinets with a breakfast bar and an oak table, which held a bowl of fruit in the centre. On one wall there were sliding doors that led into a conservatory and beyond that was the garden, which looked the size of a football pitch.

  Whilst Sean went to pull out two glasses, I sat down at the breakfast bar.

  Whilst I sat looking outside, Sean pulled out a carton of pure orange juice from the fridge.

  "Orange okay?" I turned to look at him as he raised the carton.

  "Yes, that fine!” I smiled, as I looked down at my hands, then back up to him, as he handed me my glass. “What do your parents do?” I asked as I moved the glass around in my hands before taking a drink.

  "You know Peak Physique?” He asked as he took a mouthful of orange juice, and then turned to put the carton back in the fridge.

  "That's the gym on Main Street, right?” He nodded as he leant on the other side of the breakfast bar, in front of me.

  "My parents own that.” He smiled at the shock in my face. “My Mum does all the accountancy side and deals with the memberships. My Dad does everything else, and me and Kelly help out after school and weekends.” He finished his drink and went to put it in the dishwasher.

  "Wow!” I was lost for words, I finished my drink. He shrugged and laughed as he took my glass. “Explains why you're so sporty.” Which made him laugh more.

  "Having a gym does have its advantages. I get free membership for a start.” He went back to leaning in front of me. This time he reached out to hold my hands. Probably to stop me from fidgeting, as now I didn't have a glass to play with. “I'll give you a tour if you like?” I nodded at this offer.

  Sure, visiting a gym wasn't something I would normally do, or ever have done, and if he'd asked Kasey-Ray, she would have probably bitten his arm off in acceptance.

  "My Dad would like to open another gym." He told me thoughtfully. “And he would like me to run one of them."

  "What would you like to do?” I asked with interest.

  He didn't answer me straight away. He moved round to where I sat and put his arms around me.

  "I'm still undecided!” He leaned down to kiss me nearly distracting me from what we were talking about. "I'm studying sport's science. Something I applied for before I realised what I was.” We both laughed at this. It did sound odd. “I still do like sports and keeping fit, but my heart isn't in it like it used to be.” He looked past me, like his mind was wondering off to another world.

  "Where is your heart?” My voice trembled, both at the thought of his heart and the fact I was having such an intimate conversation with this gorgeous boy. To me he was more of a man than a boy; he acted a lot older than all the 17 year old boys I'd seen.

  He turned back and smiled at me for a while, and then he raised his hand and stroked my cheek.

  "I don't know.” He shook his head and looked away again. �
��All my life I wanted to follow in my Dad's footsteps. But when things changed, I was left feeling incomplete, like something was missing, like I had a bigger purpose in life. Does that sound wrong?” He turned to look at me for reassurance.

  "No,” I barely got out. He leaned down to kiss me again.

  "Only one thing has become clearer though!" I looked at him puzzled, making him smile and kiss me. “I don't feel like there's something missing anymore.” He laughed this time as I still looked at him in bewilderment, unsure by what he meant. “I found you!” He said each word clearly as he slowly started kissing me again, this time more passionately, and when he pulled away something caught his eye.

  "Damn, we better get going.” I followed his gaze and realised he was looking at the clock. "We'll take my car.” He told me as I watched him longingly, as he pulled his t-shirt on. He laughed as he caught me looking, making me turn deep red as I looked away.

  "Don't be embarrassed." He had stopped laughing as he pulled me off the stool and into his arms. “I like it when you look at me like that.” My head was buried in his chest, not wanting to show my face. "It's nice to know that you feel the same way for me, as I feel for you.”

  I felt like I was dying here from embarrassment, then he comes out with a comment like that. I didn't think it was funny to joke like that. There was no way on earth that he could feel for me as I felt for him.

  He bent his head down as he cupped my chin and slightly stepped away so I couldn't bury my face.

  "Don't you believe me?” He sounded hurt. I slowly shook my head as I bit my lip, guilty for causing the pain in those beautiful eyes. “Then I'll just have to prove it to you.” He kissed me again, pulling me close to his body. “Come on we better go.” He said as he still had a tight hold of me, and he kept me there for a few more minutes, as he rested his head on the top of mine. Then he leant down and kissed me again, but this time when he pulled away he took my hand and walked me outside, grabbing his car keys on the way.

  Chapter 9