Read Online The Mechanics of Being Human by S. E. Campbell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: S. E. Campbell
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course you can, Fawn." Her mom's eyes brimmed with tears. "You haven't been with us for long, but I've come to think of you as my daughter. We didn't even meet you before you got hurt, so it's like you got adopted into our world."
After she nodded, her mom stood up and wound around the table. She seized Fawn by the shoulders and forced her into a hug. Her cool face met warm belly. She snuck her arms around her mom's wide waist and buried her face in her pajamas. The smell of sweet perfume overwhelmed her again. Today the woman smelled like the ocean, even though she could not recall smelling it in person. Then again, she couldn't remember much of anything. A chair screeched on linoleum as her dad stumbled over too.
"My turn," her dad said.
Fawn pulled away from her mom and stood up. She opened her arms wide and wrapped her arms around her dad. Hugging him was a completely different experience than hugging her mom. Fawn was thin, like him, so there was only hard bones and no softness. The scent of musky cologne permeated her nostrils just before the man stepped away.
"Thank you, for being honest with me." Fawn looked from her mom to her dad. "I think it'll be easier for me to fill the holes in my memory this way."
Fawn saw her mom's eyes become wide and consumed with guilt just before she turned away.
Chapter Seven
Fawn stood in the kitchen with her can of oil as she swayed nervously from side to side. The information she'd learned last night was still a tsunami in her mind. Nothing worked as a distraction from her thoughts, either. Turning on the TV was pointless. The shows were nothing but mindless babble to her, since she could relate to none of the protagonists' experiences. Her dad was at work and her mom was sleeping late.
As she chugged the remains of her black goop then sighed, somebody knocked on her front door. She glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Her dad's words from last night crept into her mind, "You knowing about Jax was only going to put you in danger." Images of five men standing at her front door, arms crossed, filled her mind. Should she open the door? Was she going to be blown to bits because Jax found her last night? She frowned at her feet, then crept over to the front door and stared out the peephole.
Instead of there being five men, there was only Gavin lingering outside. He held a massive pile of books in his arms and his hair, like usual, appeared mussed. He wore a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt with a surfer on it. What is he doing here? Shouldn't he be in school? Eagerly, she opened the door and cocked her head.
"Took you a long time," Gavin grunted. "Mind helping me with some of these? My arms are going to break off."
She grabbed the stack of books at the bottom and took them from him. She held the entire stack and paused. There were a lot of books, but they didn't feel heavy at all. The only problem was she couldn't see over them. She worried she might run into a wall and damage the fragile pages.
"Whoa." Gavin put his hand on her shoulder. "Fawn, I didn't mean you had to take them all . Are you all right? Here."
He took half the pile and grimaced at her. They could both see each other from over the stack of books now. The sight of Gavin's dimpled smile was enough to push away even the pressing unhappiness from the night before. She'd to fight down the urge to step in closer to inhale his amazing scent.
"You're a real muscle woman." Gavin shook his head. "What do you weigh, a hundred and twenty pounds? Those books weigh as much as you do. It makes me feel like a real sissy, not being able to carry them."
"They aren't too heavy." She shrugged. "Where do you want them? Your apartment?"
"Yep. Because I always make an extra stop to say 'hi' while carrying heavy stuff when my apartment is right across the hall." Gavin winked at her teasingly. "These books are for you, silly. I remembered how you said you were nervous about taking the
After she nodded, her mom stood up and wound around the table. She seized Fawn by the shoulders and forced her into a hug. Her cool face met warm belly. She snuck her arms around her mom's wide waist and buried her face in her pajamas. The smell of sweet perfume overwhelmed her again. Today the woman smelled like the ocean, even though she could not recall smelling it in person. Then again, she couldn't remember much of anything. A chair screeched on linoleum as her dad stumbled over too.
"My turn," her dad said.
Fawn pulled away from her mom and stood up. She opened her arms wide and wrapped her arms around her dad. Hugging him was a completely different experience than hugging her mom. Fawn was thin, like him, so there was only hard bones and no softness. The scent of musky cologne permeated her nostrils just before the man stepped away.
"Thank you, for being honest with me." Fawn looked from her mom to her dad. "I think it'll be easier for me to fill the holes in my memory this way."
Fawn saw her mom's eyes become wide and consumed with guilt just before she turned away.
Chapter Seven
Fawn stood in the kitchen with her can of oil as she swayed nervously from side to side. The information she'd learned last night was still a tsunami in her mind. Nothing worked as a distraction from her thoughts, either. Turning on the TV was pointless. The shows were nothing but mindless babble to her, since she could relate to none of the protagonists' experiences. Her dad was at work and her mom was sleeping late.
As she chugged the remains of her black goop then sighed, somebody knocked on her front door. She glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Her dad's words from last night crept into her mind, "You knowing about Jax was only going to put you in danger." Images of five men standing at her front door, arms crossed, filled her mind. Should she open the door? Was she going to be blown to bits because Jax found her last night? She frowned at her feet, then crept over to the front door and stared out the peephole.
Instead of there being five men, there was only Gavin lingering outside. He held a massive pile of books in his arms and his hair, like usual, appeared mussed. He wore a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt with a surfer on it. What is he doing here? Shouldn't he be in school? Eagerly, she opened the door and cocked her head.
"Took you a long time," Gavin grunted. "Mind helping me with some of these? My arms are going to break off."
She grabbed the stack of books at the bottom and took them from him. She held the entire stack and paused. There were a lot of books, but they didn't feel heavy at all. The only problem was she couldn't see over them. She worried she might run into a wall and damage the fragile pages.
"Whoa." Gavin put his hand on her shoulder. "Fawn, I didn't mean you had to take them all . Are you all right? Here."
He took half the pile and grimaced at her. They could both see each other from over the stack of books now. The sight of Gavin's dimpled smile was enough to push away even the pressing unhappiness from the night before. She'd to fight down the urge to step in closer to inhale his amazing scent.
"You're a real muscle woman." Gavin shook his head. "What do you weigh, a hundred and twenty pounds? Those books weigh as much as you do. It makes me feel like a real sissy, not being able to carry them."
"They aren't too heavy." She shrugged. "Where do you want them? Your apartment?"
"Yep. Because I always make an extra stop to say 'hi' while carrying heavy stuff when my apartment is right across the hall." Gavin winked at her teasingly. "These books are for you, silly. I remembered how you said you were nervous about taking the
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