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"I like it better than Ghost or Fox I don’t believe in ghosts and you’re not see-through and can’t fly, so that’s just stupid Those bad "

I sh--the tension in the room had no space for humour--but Fox cracked a smile, too Soht I’ for a way to be huain"

My heart squeezed to death

Clara leaned back intoover Fox’s face "You may have killed, but you aren’t a bad aze "Whather feet, looking anywhere but at him "Because only bad s strained, sucking in courage She burst out, "And I love you, so you can’t be a bad man otherwise how could I love you? I would knoould be able to tell you were naughty, and I wouldn’t want to love soht and tall to looking ancient and frail He sucked in a heavy breath, and for the briefest of one, and the fragility was replaced with power once again

His throat worked hard "If it’s okay with you, I’ll start the story now" Gripping the hem of his black t-shirt, he tore it over his head

What in the living daylights is he doing?

I squeezed Clara so hard she squeaked For weeks I’d wanted to see Fox naked I’d wanted to understand what he kept hidden But now he stood before me and I wanted to shut my eyes

He didn’t need to verbalize his story It lived in his skin, engraved intothe t-shirt, he threw it away

My eyes were transfixed by his rippednutrients and a healthy layer of fat Every sinew, every vein, every thread and bunch of ers ached to touch hie and whisper over the small uniformed marks just below his collarbone There were circular scars and oblong scars, square scars and scars that looked as if they still retained gravel and dirt froe looked too harsh, too unforgiving to cuddle or sleep against He didn’t look ranite and marble, carved from obsidian and slate

"Fox…I--" My voice desertedto a fever pitch between us Fox tensed, highlighting yet ht of the fire

"Now you knohy I don’t like for people to see"

Clara stayed mute on my lap, either unimpressed by the show ofon his skin I shouldn’t allow this I should take her far away, so she didn’t have to live with such atrocities in her young s she shouldn’t know She knew her tie, yet she dealt with everything with such fine edged decorum and sensibility

Tears tracked silently down my cheeks for both Fox and Clara Two people who connected and were drawn to each other; two people ould destroy each other

"I don’t want people to know I don’t want people to guess et, but every day I remember thanks to a body that will never erase or heal But if you want to knoill tell you the story behind every otten--thein

I shook ht I wanted to uncover his secrets, but I couldn’t h his past--not while it lived so deeply on his skin in the present

Clara had no such scruples

Her little hand darted up, pointing to a scar above his protruding hip bone "That looks like a ce--cee--caesarean scar Mummy has one, and she said she loves it because it reentle kiss on athered her close, squeezing hard "I love that scar I’ht you intoup at Fox

Dropping his eyes, he traced the scar with a finger "This is from a knife si out the recruits ould operate in intense pain compared to those who couldn’t"

My hands wanted to sla look "Perhaps we’ve had enough story-tie with my eyes Stop it You’ll scare her She doesn’t need to know details

Fox nodded "We’ll avoid the scars for now I’ll tell you the story of this" Sucking in a breath, he turned away froht his chest was impressive with its relic of memories, his back was a piece of parchment with history inked into every crevice

Clara bounced offmy arms off her "Wow" She olden hue of licking flaes of his muscles and flickered over the silver of his scars like some expensive imbedded jewellery "What happened to you?" Clara leaned forward, childlike wonder shining bright in her eyes

"Life happened to h or cry In onethat he was He bared his soul; he dropped every barrier, so we could understand hi so rantinghe ith pride It wasn’t an achievee of ownership Every design spoke of proprietorship and control

My heart swelled for this broken warrior My eyes burned with tears