Polarity of Us

by K. B. Ladnier

  I saw Evelyn at the front of the group of women, doing her best to lead them away. I was about to run after the hunters who had slipped through the wall of males and defend her, when a whimper next to me made me pause.

  I looked down at my sweet, little bear cub. She cowered behind my hind legs, shaking in terror at what was happening.

  I looked back up in time to catch Eve turning to swat at a hunter who caught up to her. Her eyes turned and she caught sight of me. She shook her head, telling me not to reveal myself.

  It made me angry that she would ask me to not help, but again Addy whimpered behind me. I looked at my little girl again, and I knew. I couldn’t leave her and risk her losing both of us. I lowered myself to the ground and pulled Addy into me to shield her from it all.

  With a heavy heart and tears filling my eyes, I watched as the hunters took out the last of the men, then the women; leaving my Eve for last. I watched with agony as she stilled, her eyes never left mine as she was shot simultaneously six times.

  And then she fell. Gone. Lost to me and to Addy.

  My heart shattered, and my world felt like it was ending as I laid there with Addy curled into my side.

  I felt my eyes glaze over a little as I stared down at Addy. I quickly blinked away the tears brought on by the memory before they could fall.

  “Maybe one day we can be free to run again. I promise you when that day comes, you can shift as often and as long as you’d like,” I said to her gently.

  She nodded sadly and started walking again, not having as much pep in her step as she did when we left the house. That crushed my heart just a bit more. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the hang of being both mom and dad to her.

  After dropping her off at the small school we had in the town center, I made my way back home. Occasionally, I’d get a wave from one of the parents walking back home after dropping their own children off. For the most part though, I was left alone. People in this town acted two ways with me. Either weary of me for a reason they couldn’t explain, or simply treated me like I was just a regular guy raising his daughter alone.

  Sometimes, the single moms even went out of their way to flirt with me. They never gave up even when I kindly declined their advances.

  As I was passing Miss Hudson’s home, she spotted me while walking out and called over a hello.

  “How are you, Miss Hudson?” I asked politely. I tried to put a smile on my face, but my conversation with Addy was wearing me down.

  “I’m well! My niece Hannah is in town with her friend for some time away from the city. I haven’t seen her since Christmas two years ago when I went to visit my sister in Pennsylvania,” she explained cheerfully.

  I had been right about the girl after all, but it was her niece’s friend that truly intrigued me. I wanted to get to the bottom of why I reacted the way I did to her.

  “That’s great. I’m glad you’re getting to see her,” I hesitated, not sure if I should mention I saw them last night. But it turned out, I didn’t have to.

  “I was actually going to call you this morning, but now that I’ve caught you, I need to ask a favor.”

  “Really? Well, what can I do for you?” My curiosity piqued. If it was one that involved me being a bit closer to this woman frazzling my mind, then I might just agree to anything Miss Hudson asked of me.

  “Well, Hannah and her friend Daisy are staying at Mr. Warren’s cabin next door to you, and the porch is in rough shape. Daisy fell through a rotted step last night. I wanted to ask if you could look at it. You’re such a skilled carpenter and I have no one else to ask,” her tone was pleading.

  Daisy.

  That was the woman with the long hair that had stared in my direction. It explained the shriek I’d heard, at least. A part of me wanted to say no, because I was actually a bit terrified to find out the reason for what I felt. But that other part that wanted to know who Daisy was, also wanted to say yes.

  Curiosity and the need to know won.

  “Sure. It’s not a problem. I’ve gotta finish up some lacquer on a table, but I’m free for a bit before I have to walk Addy back from school.”

  She clapped her hands once with enthusiasm. “Wonderful! Thank you, Bastian. How is Addy doing, by the way? I heard she got all A’s on her tests last week.”

  I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah, she did. She’s getting too big and too smart for her own good.”

  “That she is! You’ll have your hands full with that one when she’s a teen. Hannah was the same way.”

  I sighed, knowing she was more right than she knew. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  She patted my arm with a smile. “You’re doing good with her, Bastian. Don’t ever think you’re not,” she checked her watch. “I’ll let you get back to your day. About to get those girls up for some breakfast. Go on over whenever you’re free. And thank you again.”

  She had no idea how good it felt to hear those words. I felt like it was my biggest stress; not knowing if I was doing a good enough job. I wished her a good day and made my way back home, changing into some worn out clothes to work in before heading to my wood shed out back.

  Maybe there was something in the library that could help explain this. This town was big in folklore, so it was entirely possible I could find something there. It was worth trying at least.

  I immersed myself immediately into my project, doing my best not to feel the rising anxiety at meeting Daisy later. Working with wood always helped stave off some of the usual anxieties I felt, so maybe it would this time.

  Fat chance of that happening, though...

  Five

  Daisy

  Aunt Em practically dragged us out of bed the next morning, demanding that we get up before we wasted daylight.

  “You better have coffee for me or imma be mad, Aunt Em,” I growled sleepily at her.

  She laughed, handing me a mug before leaving the room shouting, “Ten minutes, ladies!” She came back and peeked into my room. “Oh! Before I forget, your car got picked up this morning. The mechanic will have it back to you two later, but I doubt you’ll really need it here,” then she disappeared again.

  Hopefully, the damage wasn’t too expensive. Those assholes better refund us for whatever we had to pay, since it was their fault the tire blew anyway.

  I looked at my cell phone to gauge the time and was shocked to see yet another message from Matthew glaring at me. I groaned and shoved my hand through my hair, not understanding why now of all times he suddenly wanted to talk to me again.

  I opened the message, seeing more words of begging.

  Matthew: Please talk to me, Daisy. We need to talk.

  I slapped my phone face down on the side table, then got up to go brush my teeth and get ready. Hannah was already in there, hair sticking up in every direction and a grumpy look on her face.

  It pleased me to no end that she finally didn’t look as put together as she normally did in the mornings. I was liking this place more and more.

  “I swear this woman is a rooster in human form. Waking us up at the ass crack of dawn. I need my damn beauty sleep!”

  I laughed at her, putting some toothpaste on my toothbrush and hip bumping her to share the tiny sink.

  “She is persistent,” I said through clenched teeth. “That’s not the worst of it, though. Guess who texted me again begging to talk.”

  Hannah spat toothpaste out and gaped at me. “Shut the front door! Seriously? Why is he suddenly all up in your business?”

  I shrugged, spitting and rinsing. “No clue. I didn’t respond. Just shoved my phone away hoping it would disappear.”

  “Yeah. Right. Like that wish will come true,” she snorted with sarcasm.

  “One can only hope,” I said, leaving the bathroom to throw on some clothes.

  After putting on my grey leggings, a yellow tunic shirt and my black, suede boots, I knocked back the rest of my coffee and went down the steps. Aunt Em and Hannah were waiting in the living room for me, re
ady to go.

  “Does this cafe have more coffee?” Was my first question as we all put on our coats and headed out.

  “Well, duh. It’s a cafe, Daisy,” Hannah replied with a laugh. She stopped suddenly as we made it down the steps, turning wide eyes on Aunt Em. “Where’s your car?” She asked her.

  “The cafe is only a ten-minute walk, Hannah. You’ll survive,” she answered before continuing to walk.

  I quickly followed her, turning to face Hannah. I started to walk backwards when I looked over my shoulder, noticing she was still just standing there. “It’s not that bad, Hannah. You could use a good walk.”

  She glared at me and started power walking after us, the heels of her snow boots clicking on the icy sidewalk. “That better not mean you think I’m out of shape, Daisy Mae!”

  I giggled and righted my walking direction, hurrying to catch up with Aunt Em in case Hannah retaliated. “I didn’t say it! You did!” I called over my shoulder at my fuming best friend.

  The cafe we ended up in was actually very cute and cozy. It surprised me how busy it was, but then I remembered Aunt Em saying there were more people living in town than it looked.

  I had the most delicious scrambled eggs, pancakes, and deep fried potatoes than I’d ever had in my life. Even their coffee was some of the best, leaving my stomach happy and full when we left. Aunt Em paid for the meal, saying this was her daily ritual since she didn’t cook that well.

  “What exactly do you do, Aunt Em?” I asked, never really knowing what she did for a career.

  “I substitute teach at the school sometimes when one of the teachers gets sick. It’s a small school with only one teacher for each grade, so I’ve taught all of them at least once. Mostly, I’m an online professor for a university. I have to drive a few cities over and be present for the proctored tests at the end of each semester, but for the most part I work from home.”

  I was surprised by this, not able to picture her as the professor type.

  She went on to tell us about how she taught two different classes. One for Art History and another for Creative Writing. It excited me that she was a bit of a writer herself, though she preferred teaching how to write with all your soul rather than put her own soul on paper for others to read.

  As we neared the cabin me and Hannah were staying in, I caught sight of a man walking around the porch looking down at the floor boards.

  “Who’s that?” I asked Aunt Em, not able to really see him from how far away we were, but able to at least make out that he was extremely tall.

  “Oh, that’s Bastian. He’s the neighbor I mentioned that could look at the porch for you. He’s a bit earlier than I expected him.”

  As we got closer, he stopped what he was doing and looked up. I was finally able to get a good look at him and almost stopped breathing.

  He was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen. It was a unique sort of handsome, though. His hair color was what that stood out most about him. It was pure white, shorter on the sides but longer up top and pushed back. I’d never seen a man with hair quite like that. I wondered if it was dyed that way or natural.

  His beard, however, was almost jet black. It was a stark contrast and had me concluding his hair was definitely dyed. It was a strange color to do, but it fit him perfectly. His lightly tan skin peaked out through the V-neck thermal he wore, which hugged his muscular body in all the right places as he leaned against the porch railing. He was at least six feet in height, towering high enough his head almost skimmed the top of the archway on the porch.

  He seemed to be assessing us as thoroughly as we were probably assessing him. Hannah nudged me with her elbow. I glanced over at her and she mouthed ‘holy shit!’ at me. I smiled at her. She took the words right out of my mouth.

  As we walked up the pathway, he took the steps down and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

  “Hey, Bastian. You’re early,” Aunt Em said to him warmly.

  “Yeah. I finished up with that table quicker than I anticipated. Figured why burn daylight?” He responded in a deep voice that sent shivers down my spine.

  His eyes flicked from Aunt Em to Hannah, then stopped on me a bit longer than they did on the other two.

  I swallowed thickly at how amazing his eyes were; crystal blue with a dark blue, almost black, thick ring around them.

  It was strange, but in just those few seconds that he looked at me, I felt like he saw into my soul. It turned my stomach inside out and spread a warmth through me I couldn’t explain.

  What the hell?

  “Girls, this is Bastian Urso. Bastian, this is my niece Hannah and her friend Daisy,” Aunt Em introduced us.

  He held out his hand politely and shook Hannah’s hand before shaking mine. I couldn’t help noticing how his handshake somehow seemed delicate and powerful all at once. His hands were rough and warm.

  Hands of a hard worker. I concluded to myself. I loved hands like that.

  “Nice to meet you, Bastian,” Hannah said in a tone I knew all too well. She was definitely flirting. She even added a little eyelash flutter to top it off.

  It took all my concentration to hold back the snort of an amusement that was dying to escape. I settled for subtly rolling my eyes.

  “You two as well,” he shoved one hand back in his pocket and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “I looked at the porch. The top is sturdy and doesn’t really need replacing. They’ll creak a lot, but it’s nothing to worry about. The steps will have to be replaced, though,” he explained.

  “Well, thank goodness for that,” Aunt Em said happily. “Will you be able to handle it, or should I find someone else? I know steps aren’t exactly your kind of work, but you did so well with all the furniture and the bannister here, I figured you could probably tackle anything.”

  He did those beautiful details on the stairwell? I was completely impressed. His work was almost as stunning as he was.

  “Oh, I can manage it fine,” he replied, running a hand through his silky white hair.

  I was a bit embarrassed to admit how badly I wanted to do that to him myself. It just looked so damn soft!

  “I’ll have to go grab some tools and extra wood that I have lying about. I’ll go get it and come back to fix them right up.”

  Aunt Em reached out and shook his hand. “Thank you, hun. Just let me know how much I’ll owe you. God knows, Mr. Warren would take forever and a year to pay you back. I’d be better at hounding him for the reimbursement,” she laughed.

  He smiled back at her. And God was it breathtaking.

  For some reason, I felt a sad vibe from him even as he smiled at Aunt Em. Like his smiles were few and far in between, and didn’t quite reach as wide as he was capable. I wondered what happened to make such a powerful looking man look so torn up inside.

  “You don’t have to do that. It’ll only take an hour or two tops. I have extra wood I’m not using so it’s no trouble,” he replied in a timid voice, running his hand through his hair and along the back of his neck. It must’ve been a nervous tick by how often he did it.

  “Well, if you won’t let me pay you then allow me and the girls to cook you and Addylin some dinner. Our way of saying thank you.”

  Hannah snorted. “You sure you wanna take that offer? Auntie Em can’t cook noodles without burning the water. It’s a fact.”

  Aunt Em smacked her arm, but smiled all the same. “You hush. That’s why I said you two would help.”

  Was I the only one that caught the girl’s name? Was that his girlfriend or wife?

  I internally chastised myself, not needing to bother myself with that trail of thought. I was emotionally checked out when it came to men. Dealing with Matthew’s incessant need to talk to me was enough. I didn’t know this guy, so whether he had a wife or girlfriend wasn’t my concern. No matter how good looking he was.

  “Thank you, but no thank you, Miss Hudson. Addy is too picky for you to have to deal with trying to make her dinner that isn’t microwaveabl
e,” he replied with a half chuckle.

  “True. That young lady of yours rarely eats what I manage to put together. Thank you for doing this, anyway,” said Aunt Em.

  “I’ll just go grab those tools and wood,” Bastian said as he began walking back to his cabin. “It was nice meeting you both,” he added to me and Hannah; his eyes yet again stopped on me a little longer than her.

  “See ya,” Hannah said wagging her fingers at him with a flirty smile.

  Aunt Em said she had to get back to start finalizing the midterms she was giving out to her students and left us to walk into our cabin.

  When we were inside, Hannah immediately started talking about Bastian.

  “Oh. My. God. He was so damn hot! Did you see how he looked at you?” She asked as she shoved off her jacket and boots, heading into the living room to plop down on the sofa.

  “He didn’t look at me in any way, Hannah,” I replied with a sigh. At least, I didn’t think he did.

  “Uh, you apparently weren’t looking hard enough. It was as if he thought the sun shined out of your ass,” she replied with a giggle, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.

  “He was not. You’re imagining things,” I headed to the stairs, wanting to give my dad a call. I prayed Matthew hadn’t tried getting my attention again with more texts. Maybe I could call my phone company and get him blocked.

  “Am not!” Hannah hollered back.

  As soon as I got to my room and picked up my phone, I saw I had two missed calls from Matthew.

  “Ugh! Why won’t you stop?” I asked out loud, getting tired of whatever game he was playing. Unfortunately, my phone began buzzing in my hand with an incoming call from the devil himself. It was like he knew I was asking myself this.

  I relented and pushed accept, sitting on the edge of my bed and ready to just get this over with.

  I knew it was a bad idea to answer, but I felt I needed this. I’d never really gotten closure, having immediately grabbed my clothes and bought a plane ticket out to Chicago for the morning after I caught him cheating. I had cried my eyes out at my dad’s, gorging on some chocolate cake and a whole bottle of Moscato as he tried in vain to comfort me. It wasn’t one of my finest moments, and it took a lot of convincing on my part to keep Dad from going over with his shot gun.