Lesson 37- Don’t interrupt when someone else is speaking, wait your turn.

“This is for your own good, I know it doesn’t seem like it but-” Catcher is cut off by the sound of Torin’s office door slamming open. Before he can do so much as blink, Torin grabs him by the collar and yanks him backwards, throwing him against a wall with a heavy thud. Ow, that looks like it hurt! Torin loops an arm behind my back and pulls me away from the doorway and the edge of the barrier that I can’t cross. Catcher looks baffled and maybe a little out of it, did he hit his head just now? He tries to take a half step towards me.
“Torin, she was-” He starts but is cut off by Torin glaring at him and letting out what I can only describe as a low growl. Catcher backs off but he’s giving me worried glances.
“She is MINE.” Torin snaps at Catcher then without another word, drags me back into his office. He slams the door behind us and locks it. I collapse into a chair and struggle to regain my breath. Between the panic and the effort of resisting Catcher, I’m breathless. Torin kneels on the floor in front of me.
“Rina? Can you breathe? Do you need me to get your medication?” He offers but I shake my head.
“I… I’m okay. I just need a second.” I shudder. Now that I’m safe I’m remembering how painful it would have been for me to leave. That was almost very, VERY bad.
“Did he manage to push you outside? Is the magic hurting you again?” He asks, fussing over me and looking me up and down as if he would be able to physically see where I’m hurting, even though the magic doesn’t work that way.
“No, I didn’t go outside. I’m fine.” I reassure him. My heart rate is finally starting to slow down and my chest is loosening up so I can breathe properly.
“I mostly just had a bit of a scare. Hey, do you think Catcher is okay? He sounded like he hit that wall pretty hard. That was Catcher right? I figure if it was some stranger you would have thrown him out rather than left him there.” I start to ramble. Okay, maybe I’m still a little freaked out.

Torin lets out an annoyed huff of breath.
“I didn’t throw him that hard. He will be fine. Besides, he’s the one who was manhandling my… Guest.” He concludes. Guest huh? I suppose that’s better than prisoner although the line there is definitely a little blurred.
“To be fair, it didn’t seem like he knew about me. He was just trying to keep strangers out of your territory. He seemed worried that I would be in trouble for being here. I don’t think he meant any harm. I doubt he knows about the spell keeping me here.” I reason.
“Someone should have told him.” Torin grumbles and I smile weakly.
“Did you ask someone to tell him? It’s not the easiest thing to explain, you know, like hey by the way there’s a chick living in the store room at work. She’s not allowed to leave the building because she’s actually a totally normal human and our boss saved her life and is now keeping her captive. By the way, she's the new bartender.” I give a mock explanation and Torin’s brow drops a little so I know he can see my point.
“Some conversations are better done in person. Plus Kyle and Laura probably didn’t know what to say, or what you would WANT them to say.” I clarify. Torin sighs and shrugs which I interpret to mean that he agrees I’m right but doesn’t want to admit it out loud.

Now that he’s sure I’m okay, Torin gets up off the floor and leans against the edge of his desk. I’m noticing a pattern here. Every time I’ve been seriously stressed or in pain, he’s knelt on the floor. The first two times I didn’t notice because I was already on the floor so it made sense, but I’m up on a chair this time, he didn’t need to kneel down. I get the impression that he’s trying to, I don’t know… Make himself smaller? Less intimidating somehow? Is it strange that I find that comforting? I wonder how much of his time Torin spends worrying about how he comes across to others, if he’s being too intimidating or how his words will be misinterpreted. No wonder he stays quiet so often. And while I’m thinking about things he says that could be misinterpreted…
“So, are we going to talk about what you meant when you said to Catcher, ‘She is MINE’ because you’re going to need to define that better. Your WHAT exactly?” I raise an eyebrow and sit back, waiting. Torin freezes.
“Uh… My Guest?” He tries and I continue to stare at him and scoff.
“Just barely. You sure that’s what you meant?” I push. Torin frowns and looks puzzled as if he’s trying to figure out what answer I want to hear. Really what I want to know is what he was REALLY thinking then. Is he actually considering me as a guest? Or maybe a prisoner? Or, even worse than that, as a possession?
“My friend?” He tries again. His words are a question, I wish he sounded a little more certain of his answer. I narrow my eyes and he drops his gaze to the floor. I can’t help it, I crack a smile. The big scary demon that has everyone walking on eggshells being cowed by little old me is just too funny.
“Well that’s alright then. You had better make sure that Catcher knows that though. The way you stormed in and threw him against a wall then dramatically said I was yours, he probably thought you looked like a jealous boyfriend or something.” I tease. Torin was leaning against the desk, but at my words he slips and nearly falls to the floor. He catches himself at the last second.
“Don’t be ridiculous. He would never think that.” Torin answers, sounding a little choked. I frown at him.
“Why not? You have to see how that looked.” I remind him and he shakes his head.
“Catcher would never think that.” He repeats.
“Sure he would, we’re a guy and a girl, we look close enough in age and I called out to you for help and you came running. It’s a reasonable guess.” I reason. Torin shakes his head firmly.
“You’re too… Nice, and pretty. He would never think you might be with me.” He argues. I repress the urge to giggle like a little girl and clap my hands. Torin called me pretty! Oh damn… Why do I care if he thinks I’m pretty? Nope, that’s not a good idea. Being friends with him is one thing, but I cannot develop feelings for him. Not while he’s acting as my protector slash jailer. It’s probably nothing. Everyone likes being told they’re pretty, right? I’m probably just enjoying the compliment. It’s flattering, especially since Torin doesn’t seem like the type to hand out compliments easily. I mean, I would bet that he probably THINKS nice things about people, but I doubt that he expresses those thoughts very often. I shouldn’t make too big a deal out of it or I’ll embarrass him.
“Thanks. But you know, you’re nice too, and handsome. So your argument doesn’t really work.” I insist. Torin opens his mouth to argue but I hold up a hand.
“I know you’re not going to agree with me. So let’s agree to disagree for now. BUT you still have to make it clear to Catcher that I’m your friend, not some kind of prisoner or possession. Who knows how he’s going to interpret it all.” I grumble and Torin nods.
“If that would make you happy.” He agrees and I can’t help but smile again. Considering my situation, I’ve been finding a lot of reasons to smile lately, and I suspect a great deal of them are because of him. 
Brewing Trouble
Detail
Share
Font Size
40
Bgcolor