Atticus

Chapter 8

After I bandage up my shoulder, I go back onto the deck. I'm shocked to see him on my boat.

He looks at me and I am stuck staring at his legs.

"You have legs. Like the other one."

He nods. "We can change forms."

After a while of staring, my face heats up when I notice he isn't wearing anything. Before I can see something I shouldn't I turn around and go back into the cabin for some men's shorts.

When I come back, I don't know how to go about giving them to him. Should I walk close to him, throw them to him, or just wait for him to take them from me?

In my nervous and anxious state, I end up holding them up to him to take while still being a few feet away. I look to the ground and wait for him to get up and get them.

For a few moments I wonder if he knows what I want him to do. He is just staring at me with an emotionless expression. I jump a little when he gets up and snatches them from my hand.

After I hear him put them on with a grumble, I look up at him. He is very tall compared to me and although I'm tan, he is a bit darker than I am. My anxiousness increases the more he stares at me with those blank deep blue eyes. If I didn't look away, I would have gotten lost in them.

I clear my throat. "What was that other one?"

No response.

"The female one."

He sighs and stands up straighter to show me that he isn't going to tell me.

I shake my head as my nervousness turns into annoyance.

He turns his back to me and goes to the end of the ship. I think he is about to leave but he stops at the point of the ship and makes no move to jump in. Instead he just watches the water move around the boat.

I look over to the fish still in the bucket and decide to share it with him as a thanks for saving me.

While I prepare the fish, I think about his actions. Why the heck did he save me but won't even give me any answers? Why hasn't he attacked me like the others have?

I pause preparing it and look over to where he is standing. His back is to me and I watch how his back muscles move as he leans against the railings. He looks like someone who would spend almost every day at the gym.

I return to my fish. He is so rude to me and yet why did he do what he did? I am so confused by him. I've never met a more confusing person.

I am about done with the fish when I feel eyes on me. He is watching me. After I finish the last part of cooking the fish on a small stove on the dock, I take a deep breath.

I turn around to face him while I'm holding two plates with some fish on both. His eyes look down to the fish for only a second and then back to my eyes. It's like he has to look me in the eyes. Like he can't look away for long without having to look back to me.

I gain enough confidence to walk to him as he watches me. He hasn't hurt me or given me any hints that he will. I should be safe, right? I hold the plate out to him.

"Here. Thank you for helping me."

He looks at the plate and slowly takes it from me.

I turn from him and sit down, trying to ignore the awkwardness in the air.

We eat in silence and he finishes well before me. I put the fish down and look at him. He is still watching me.

I look to my plate and back to him, flipping my hair out of my face. "What is your name?"

I see something change in his eyes but then return to their emptiness. Silence.

"I just want to know what to call you."

"I don't have a name."

How don't you have a name? Didn't his mom or dad give him one?

"What do you want to be called then?"

"I don't need a name" he says with disgust.

I look down at my plate and he continues to look at me.

Fine. Just to spite him and because I'm petty, I'll give him a name and call him it in my head. I won't call him it because I am still kind of afraid of him but I will when I am thinking of him. I think of some names for a bit but nothing fits him.

Then a name comes to me. The name of a character from To Kill a Mockingbird. The character is nothing like him but for some reason, I feel like it works.

I sit up straight and look him in the eyes. I am about to say something but I start to get lost in his eyes. They are a lighter blue than the first time I saw them but they are still very dark.

They look so conflicted and I'm confused as to why. I start to notice something about them that makes me realize that I will never forget them. The closer to the pupil, the bluer the iris gets. A thin line of green runs along the rim of the pupil.

I feel myself being pulled towards them. It's like I am home and yet I am very far from it. He offers no comfort and yet for some reason, I want to trust him.

The feelings wrap around my heart and stay there while he continues to stare at me. My eyes finally start to pull away from his and I notice a small smile on his face. If I wasn't so used to his emotionless face, I wouldn't have noticed the slight change in the way the corners of his lips turn up. He looks at peace as he stares at me.

"Atticus" I say out loud. His face returns to its emotionless state.