She Belongs To No One

Purpose

Cole's POV

After the plane crash, what? Seraphina sure is acting strange, maybe a little more strange than usual, but as an idea dawns on me, I understand.

"Oh, I get it." I sit beside her, and this time I do take her hand. As a friend. "You are wondering why you survived. You think it is unusual that you are the only one who did and that you do not even have a scratch."

Her eyes meet mine. "That is it."

"And you feel guilty about it. That is why you are getting these weird ideas about being an alien and all." I touch her cheek. "But you should not feel guilty about surviving or living. No one should. Seraphina, there is a reason you survived."

She looks away. "That is what I thought. That is what scares me."

"Why?"

"Because I do not know the reason!" she snaps at me.

I stare at her, stunned by her response.

"Sorry," Seraphina lowers her voice as she rubs her arm. "I did not mean to..."

"It is okay." I drop her hand and open my water bottle. "I am here to support you in any way I can. And listen, I know it is scary that you will always have to wonder why you survived from now on, wondering if you should have, wondering what greater purpose you might have and worrying that you might not fulfill it. But for me, I am just glad you are alive. I was so scared when I thought you were gone."

Her eyes widen. "You were?"

I nod. "Of course I was. And I am sure your parents, well, Harlan and Maeve, felt the same, and all the people who care about you. Who cares whether you have a greater purpose or not? If you do, we will find it. If you do not, that is fine. Maybe your purpose is just to keep being in our lives. That may not mean much to you, but that makes a great deal of difference to us."

For a moment, she is silent, still. Then she reaches out and squeezes my hand.

"I am sorry for making you worry, Cole." She sighs. "And for snapping at you."

"It is fine," I assure her, ready to forgive her for anything. After all, she has gone through a lot. "You do not have to apologize. You must be tired."

Seraphina pulls her hand away, burrowing under the sheets. "Things have just been so crazy lately."

"I know."

"No, you do not."

"You can talk to me." I reiterate my earlier offer.

She shakes her head, pulling the sheet up to her chin. "I do not want any more depressing talk. How about you tell me something nice, something that happened while I was gone?"

I shake mine in turn. "Nothing happened, really."

"What did you do?"

"The usual. Oh, I stopped by to visit your pets by the way."

"Really?" Her face lights up. "How were they?"

I set the bottle down on the nightstand and move closer to her.

"Well, Cheshire tried to scratch me as usual," I tell her. "After all this time, she still does not trust me. Then again, she does not trust anyone except you."

"She is feisty."

"Feisty?" I snort. "She makes the other cats from My Cat From Hell seem like spayed newborn kittens."

Seraphina chuckles and I smile at hearing the sound.

"What about the others?"

"Speedy did not care that I was there," I go on. "He was just sitting on his perch. And your fishes were just in their aquarium, swimming around."

"Yup. Sounds like them."

"It is your dogs who miss you. When I went to your apartment, Ellie and Royce seemed disappointed that I was not you. If they could talk, they would have asked me where you were. And they were glad to be fed the treats I brought, but afterwards, they looked sad."

Seraphina frowns. "I miss them, too."

"See, there is your purpose." I put my hand on hers again. "You are the world to them."

"Yeah, I guess. I should get home to them soon. They must be so lonely."

"Oh, do not worry. The service is doing a great job of things. I know for a fact that the girl that comes by spends ages just playing with them. My neighbor saw her at the park with your dogs. She said they were having the time of their lives."

"Bless her."

"Yeah." I nod. "Nothing like old Mrs. Aster. Remember when she wanted to watch them when you went out of town last?"

"Your old landlady? The one with a thousand and one rules and superstitions?"

"That is her."

"What was that superstition she had again about glasses?" she asks.

"A broken glass on a Friday brings seven years of bad luck. That is why all her glasses are plastic and she insists all her tenants have the same."

"Unbelievable." Seraphina shakes her head. "Still, her husband left her."

"Well, he is not the only one who left her. Most of her tenants do."

"So did you. And now, you have a neighbor who has a crush on you."

I frown. "Sally does not have a crush on me."

"Yes, she does."

I roll my eyes. We have been through this so many times before I have lost count.

"How would you know?"

"I told you. I can tell when a person has a crush on someone."

And yet, she cannot tell I am in love with her. Or maybe she is just pretending not to know. Or is choosing not to.

I squeeze her hand. "You are tired. You should sleep."

"You are changing the subject," she argues, but she yawns, telling me that I am right. She is exhausted.

"Because it is old."

I get up, but she grabs my hand. I turn my head, finding a plea in her eyes again.

"Please stay. Hold my hand until I fall asleep?"