Bedmates Soulmates

I_ Austyn fixed his eyes on her.

He pulled back his hand and changed the subject. 'Are you done with dinner?"

Deborah nodded mechanically, "Yes,"

She'd lost her appetite.

'Then let's go." Austyn signed the bill

'Where are we going? Deborah didn't recognise the street they were on. "Are we not going back to Jesse's place?

Austyn sat behind the wheel. 'I've found someplace else for you. Jesse's a single man and a doctor. He's busy and he doesn't know how to take care of you.' Deborah nodded.

"The new place is an apartment. It has a master bedroom and a smaller guest room, with a full bath, a living room and a kitchen. It's not very big, but i think it'll do for now! Okay"

Deborah was still in a daze.

Austyn glanced at her from the rearview mirror.

He noticed her pale face but said nothing.

The rest of the drive was in silence.

When the car slowed to a stop, Deborah finally plucked up her courage to ask, 'Can you tell me about her? Your wife?!

Must Be Someone Special

Austyn kept his eyes straight ahead. 'Why do you want to know?'

"You married her. She must be someone special."

she's thirty. A bit of a worrywart. Not much to look at, but her eyes are not too bad."

Austyn shrugged. 'She's twenty-one years old but acts like sl

Deborah couldn't tear her eyes away from Austyn's smile.

There was a twinkle in his eyes when he talked about that woman.

Back at the restaurant and in the car right now, he seemed to smile every time he mentioned his wife.

Deborah couldn't recall the last time Austyn smiled that way at her.

He wore a perpetual scowl and a permanent poker face when they were dating.

She once complained about it to him, but Austyn said it was just his nature to keep a straight face.

Plus, his work required him to appear intimidating

Had he changed his nature then?

Had he changed for that woman?

Deborah's nails dug into her palm.

She felt no pain

'Do you love her?

A hush descended over the car.

Austyn didn't speak.

He gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

Did he love Kira?

Yes, he did

He'd struggled with it, tried to fight against it, but feelings were the one thing he couldn't control.

Deborah looked out the window, hiding the bitter smile on her face.

'So you do love her. That's why yo

ed her, right? You promised to marry me back then, but I guess it was just words."

Wait For You To Come Back To Me

I'll Wait For You To Come Back To Me

'Deborah, you've been dead for so many years. At least it looked that way to me. How do you expect me to make good on that promise?"

"But I didn't want to be dead!" she shouted. "I wanted to come back so badly! I wanted to come back to you, but I couldn't! The thought of never seeing you again almost drove me to suicide, did you know that?'

Deborah covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "I was kept a prisoner for seven years. I couldn't leave the house. There was always someone

watching wherever I went. I had no one to talk to. I had no phone. I couldn't ask for help. I tried to escape, but I—":

'It's my fault. I shouldn't have expected you to wait for me for so many years. I know I'm being selfish, but I just can't help it!'

Deborah coughed.

She was wheezing.

She clutched at her chest.

"It's all my fault. Ish-shouldn't..I shouldn't have expected you to.. to wait. L.'

"Deborah?"

Austyn noticed her face getting paler.

She was having trouble breathing.

"Don't speak right now.' He pulled on her shoulders so she was sitting up straight. 'Where's your inhaler?"

Deborah's chest was rising and falling fast.

Her mouth was open but she had trouble sucking in air.

Her face was completely drained of colour.

'Deborah, the inhaler!!

Her fingers shook as she tried to lift her hand and point.

Austyn searched both pockets of her coat and found the blue inhaler.

"Here." He took the cop off and shook the inhaler hard, getting it ready to use.

Deborah thrust the mouthpiece into her mouth and pressed down on the inhaler.

She took a quick puff, followed by another.

She held the inhaler in place and loept breathing.

Her pulse slowly returned to normal.

She closed her eyes.

'Better?'

'Yes'

Deborah had had asthma since she was a Idd.

She would have an attack whenever she got worked up.

'I should get you to a hospital."

'No, I'm fine, really' Deborah opened her eyes and smiled. 'You found the inhaler in time. You always know what to do.

His first gift to her when they started dating had been a whole cardboard box of inhalers.

He asked her to keep one in her purse and another one in her pocket.

Then he placed one on her bathroom sink, one on her bedside table, and another one in the family medicine chest,

Ho'd used a stern voice to remind her to never let her inhaler out of sight.