nolanayer:
“oh, o— okay,” he replied, exchanging a long exhale for her explanation.
‘unhappy’ was not a favored term. it implied disappointment, and the mere idea sent a shiver down his spine, not only because it was one of the last that he wished associated with himself, but also because it hadn’t once crossed his mind during that evening.
“we felt similarly at first. the, ah, the discomfort, i mean…” nolan fell quiet as he internally replayed the details of the encounter. he had hesitated to look at first, but when he did there was no mistaking the perfect manner by which the symbol on brynne’s left hand matched that on his right. he looked at the anchor now, and it was as though the sensations were ghosting at the tips of his fingers. “do you think they might be experiencing similarly? i wouldn’t like to think that sh— they are also… sickly.”
nolan watched quietly as the nurse touched the mark. for something that had such a weighted presence in real life, it sure had an air of uncertainty when it came to its existence on his skin. he nipped at the insides of his cheeks, remembering that the confusion had only hit a peak when the dance ended early. she had walked away and he knew little else past six letters of a name.
when his voice returned, he was not certain whether he was asking only himself or the courteous woman before him, “what am i going to do?”
kenzie tried to keep her composure as she listened to nolan describe his first meeting. knowing that it was her sister made this all the more important. she realized now that she was looking at him more closely, crucially gaging whether she approved of him for brynne. she tried not to stare too obviously, since this was still her job and she needed to stay professional. as much as she tried to avoid letting her personal feelings get involved, she couldn't help the desire to ask for more information.
she nodded along as he explained that they both felt the initial shock of the touch, but his question left her with more curiosity than contentedness. “with the connection you two now have, it’s likely they are feeling something similar,” she said. kenzie wondered if that was why she hadn’t heard from brynne since the ball. it would make sense that after such a life altering event, her sister would hide herself away or go off on some reckless adventure.
kenzie wasn’t prepared for the almost desperate question that left his lips moments later. she faltered briefly before recovering, looking up from the mark. she tried to open her mouth to speak, but words wouldn’t come out immediately. she closed her lips again, thinking carefully. she could easily tell him that his soulmate was her sister, give him the inside track on how to recover whatever mess she was sure brynne made, but she paused.
part of her wanted to give a medical opinion on what to do, but she was sure that wasn’t the source of his question. assuming what she knew about her sister was correct, this man’s discomfort was not caused by anything physical. it was psychological, perhaps on his end or perhaps on brynne’s. the best solution she had was to give him loose advice on how to handle the other manson girl. “have you spoken to her since you met? it might benefit you both,” she suggested, not aware that she might have revealed her own knowledge by using the specific pronoun.