A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) by S.L. Baum

might have been a
fracture from the baseball hitting you. But you insisted you were
fine. The knife wounds to your wrists healing over and over and
over again. That, my dear, is a clear indication. Only time will
tell, but my guess is that you will stay twenty
forever.’
    ‘ But I don’t want to... I
want Roger,’ I sobbed.
    ‘ You have us now dear,
forever.’ Catherine promised.”
     
    I finished my story. What had happened to me
since that moment seemed unimportant right now. Link wanted to know
what I was and that was the simplest explanation.
    “ Charity,” he said
aloud.
    “ Yes, Charity is my given
name. My parents said I was a gift from God, his charity to
them.”
    “ That suits you much better
than Emily,” he half smiled.
    “ Yeah, I’m not a big fan of
that one. Catherine picked it out,” I admitted.
    “ Catherine and James... not
Rachel and Jason?”
    “ We need to switch names,
security reasons,” I offered.
    “ You heal yourself,” he was
stuck on half statements, still trying to absorb all the
information I had thrown out there.
    “ Yes, my body heals itself.
Blood stops flowing, open wounds close on their own, bones set and
heal. It was broken by the way, my ankle,” I explained.
    “ I’m glad I wasn’t crazy on
that one,” he smiled in return.
    “ Why aren’t you ordering me
out of here, saying I’m the devil, calling the police, the
government, whatever?” I asked him. “Our biggest fear is being
discovered.”
    “ You, whatever you are, you
are a link to my past. You are a part of my history, a part of me.
I told you before... I don’t think I’d ever be able to stay away
from you.”
    “ I probably should have
tried harder to keep you away. Look what I’ve gone and done now.
I’ve exposed us all,” I worried, wringing my hands
together.
    “ I’m not running to the
press, or to the government. Don’t worry about that,” he said as he
turned my face to look in my eyes. “So you’re not seventeen, you’re
twenty, that makes me feel a bit better.”
    “ Closer to ninety, how does
that make you feel?”
    “ Wow, I hadn’t thought of
it that way.”
    “ I’m sure there are a lot
of things we haven’t thought about. We need to talk to James and
Catherine. I need to let them know what I’ve done.” My voice
strained as I thought of how they might react when they heard of my
betrayal.
    “ I’ll be there with you.
We’ll tell them together.” Link held my hand, trying to reassure
me.
    I took out my phone and
sent a text to both of them. “ Semi-bad
news. Need 2 talk. Come home NOW pls. ” Then
I seized the photo album and we walked out his apartment door. As
Link drove me home, not another word was spoken. But my mind was
racing.
     
    Link and I sat in the kitchen, waiting for
Catherine and James. My fingers were rhythmically drumming on the
granite countertop, my foot bobbing up and down, my nerves getting
the best of me. Link reached over and placed his calm hand on top
of my fidgeting one.
    “ Relax, what is the worst
that can happen?” he said. “They can’t kill you,
apparently.”
    “ They could cut my head
off. They could burn my body,” was my monotone response.
    “ Really, would that do it?”
His eyes widened.
    “ Yep, Catherine told me
that’s how it was done during the witch hunts in Scotland,” I
answered, my eyes solemn.
    “ Did she see it? Was it
someone she knew?”
    “ Catherine knew about it by
legend. Then later, James and Catherine witnessed it together, here
in America. It was a stranger,” I answered.
    “ Well they aren’t going to
do that to you, why would you say that,” he looked disappointed in
me.
    “ They won’t, but someone
else might. If you found me then someone else could too,” I
worried.
    “ I had a family photograph
of you. Grandpa had shown your picture to me since I was a kid. I
think I was meant to find you,” he said as he wrapped his arms
around me.
    I still couldn’t get over his ease with