Lesson 103- Always say thank you when someone gives you a present.

I wake up stiff, sore and disoriented. I feel like I did the world’s most intense workout then went on an absolute bender. I feel hungover and honestly like complete crap. I force my eyes open and they land straight on Torin who immediately straightens up in his seat.
“Tori? How long was I asleep for?” I ask drowsily. He glances at the clock.
“About fifteen hours.” He responds and my eyes go wide. I sit up quickly then immediately regret it because I am super lightheaded.
“Woah.” I slide backwards a little. Torin jumps to his feet and adjusts my pillows to help me sit up. As he fusses over me, I notice he’s in the same clothing he was earlier, although they’re dry now, they’re in kind of rough shape.
“Have you been here this whole time?” I ask, a little incredulously. Torin shrugs.
“You didn’t want to be alone.” He answers simply. I suddenly want to cry. I was angry with him before, for not ever really intending to return my phone. But really I know he was trying to spare my feelings. He might not be good at the whole honesty part of friendship, but no one could say that he isn’t dedicated or that he doesn’t put in the work.
“Thank you for staying with me Tori. Even if I was asleep, I really do appreciate it.” I tell him gratefully. Torin suddenly kneels by my bed and grabs my hand. I’m shocked and don’t quite know how to react.
“Tori?” I prompt. He clings to my hand and drops his head onto the bed beside me. Now I’m actually worried. I gently push his hair back from his face.
“Torin, what’s wrong?” I try again. He sighs.
“You could have died. You SHOULD have died. The pain, the binding spell… Laura told me that anything longer than a few seconds and your heart should have given out. I have no idea how you’re still breathing, but I am so incredibly grateful that you are.” He hesitates before continuing.
“If you had died… It would have been my fault. I was the one who insisted on the binding spell.” He practically whispers the words. I want to argue, but I guess he isn’t completely wrong. Still it wouldn’t be ENTIRELY his fault.
“I did agree to it.” I remind him. He scoffs.
“It’s not like I gave you any choice.” He answers. I don’t have a response for that. He’s right, he didn’t give me any real choice, and he’s right that if I died as a result of the spell he would have been responsible. Laura too since she cast the spell.
“Well… I didn’t die. So there’s that. I guess you’ll just have to factor this into your decision making process when you’re trying to decide if you should let me go or not.” I conclude. Torin clutches my hand even tighter, it actually hurts a little.
“Right now I’m thinking I should never let you out of my sight again. You were supposed to be safe here. I promised you would be safe.” He sounds absolutely devastated.
“I know you’re doing your best to protect me, Tori. Without you I definitely would have been taken by whoever these psychos work for ages ago.” I try to reassure him. I’m not convinced that it’s working. Now I feel like I want more reassurance. Out of habit, I reach for the coin I keep tucked in my bra, except it’s not there. I gasp in shock. How could I lose it? I haven’t been able to let it out of my sight since Jane gave it to me, and all of a sudden it’s just gone? And I didn’t even notice?
“What’s wrong?” Torin asks, immediately focussed on me, forgetting his own concerns.
“My coin. It’s gone.” I tell him, freaking out a little. He raises an eyebrow.
“Really? I thought it was spelled so you couldn’t lose it. That is very strange. When did you have it last?” He asks calmly. I try to think. I had it before the crazy guy tried to kidnap me, I know that for sure. I could have dropped it during all the fighting, but it was in my bra again, it should have been fairly secure. When did I take my bra off? Well… I didn’t. Laura did. She helped me get into dry pyjamas.
“I was on the recliner.” I answer, not bothering to explain the thought process behind my answer. Torin dutifully begins searching around the recliner. He finds the coin tucked down the side of it.
“Here you go.” He hands the coin back to me. I freeze.
“Uh… It’s… I mean it’s definitely my coin… But it’s changed. The design on it is gone. The coin is just… Completely blank.” I tell him, baffled. Torin peers at it in my hands and nods.
“You’re right. That is strange. We already knew it had a spell in it. I would guess that the spell is gone now. You must have used it up somehow.” He concludes.
“But, I didn’t do anything!” I object. He shrugs.
“I’m no expert on spells. You should ask Laura.” He reasons.
“Fair. Is she here?” I ask. Torin nods.
“Yes, she’s been waiting for you to wake up.” He frowns.
“She threatened to remove the binding spell and drive you to a hospital if you didn’t wake before morning.” He admits. He seems torn between being upset and impressed at her threat. I laugh.
“That isn’t quite how I want to get the spell broken. But for future reference, if I’m dying and need a hospital I fully expect you to have her remove the spell.” I tell him with a smile. Torin nods seriously.
“Alright.” He agrees.
“If Laura has been waiting here, you should have told her right away when I woke up.” I prompt Torin. He returns to his preferred blank poker face.
“I didn’t want to. I wanted to talk to you myself first.” He says grumpily. I pat him on the arm appreciatively.
“It’s sweet of you to worry. But I would really like to ask Laura about my coin. Could you get her please?” I request. He reluctantly nods. He doesn’t even leave the room. He just opens the door, leans out and calls her name.
“Laura.” He speaks just loudly enough for her to hear him. Laura comes rushing in.
“You’re awake! How are you? Can you breathe okay? Do you hurt anywhere? How’s your head? Can you stand up yet?” She asks all in a rush.
“I’m okay, yes I can breathe, yes I hurt, like everywhere, my head included. I haven’t tried standing but I barely managed to sit up so I’m not that brave yet.” I answer. I think I remembered all her questions. Laura sighs in relief then bursts into tears. Torin takes a step back, alarmed.
“‘Laura come sit with me.” I tell her softly. She collapses onto the bed beside me and wraps her arms around my waist. Torin goes to sit in the recliner, letting me deal with her sobbing.
“You… You went to sleep, you were so quiet, and you weren’t breathing well. I… I thought I had killed you.” She bawls. I have to fight the urge to smile. Oddly, Laura and Torin have a lot in common. They’re both very caring people who worry after others a lot, and they’re both the type of people to take responsibility for others. The biggest difference is that while Laura comes across as friendly and approachable, Torin appears intimidating and difficult to talk to.
“I’ll be okay. Actually, I wanted to ask you something.” I’m not sure if asking her about the coin while she’s crying is being rude or not, but the distraction might cheer her up a little. I show her the coin and explain my confusion.
“Can I hold it?” She asks. I easily hand it over, something I found incredibly difficult before. She perks up.
“Oh, that explains it. Torin is right that the spell has been used up. But now that it has, I can tell what the spell was. It was a protection spell. Designed to guard against magic. It was old and degraded, so it couldn’t protect you entirely, and a binding spell using your blood is very powerful, it never had a chance of breaking it. But it protected you from some of the pain, just enough to keep you alive I would guess.” She explains. I stare.
“Wow, I have got to remember to thank Jane again.” I announce. Torin nods.
“Me too.” He grumbles. My head is still pounding and I’m hit by another wave of dizziness. Laura wants me to eat something, but I suspect I’ll vomit if I try. In the end I let her force me to drink a glass of water, then I lie back down and settle in for another nap. Hopefully this one isn’t fifteen hours.