Chapter 12 - When A Name Means Attraction Part 2

Marcus had been in and out of consciousness and for as long as he could remember during those times, he had found that a woman was taking care of him with the gentleness that he could describe as calming, exactly like he was in heaven’s gate.

This gentleness is the same one he felt now when he opened his eyes. It surprised him yes, for he had never expected that the woman would be Ysabelle Rogratiatto.

But she seemed to be paying attention with tracing her fingers on his right arm. Why? he asked then.

Her more-than-necessary touching was unbearable that he needed to stop it, and fast, so with his other hand, he captured her wrist swiftly and this made Ysabelle gasp in response. Their eyes connected and with that, a flurry of emotions brought their hearts beating in disarray.

“What are you doing?” said Marcus in a raspy, stern voice, quickly commanding his heart to beat in rhythm. He pulled her closer towards him, making her lean considerably in her stool. As a consequence of this inches-away position, they felt each other’s warm breath.

“Fa—Father?” she whispered, wide-eyed looking down at him, “Father Marcus!”

“Ysabelle...what are you doing? he asked again, mentioning her name in a breathy fashion. He awarded her with cold eyes, but ones that were enshrouded with confused emotions. This made her feel like he was searching for sins in her soul.

“I was...I was just...looking at...your...tattoo, ” she replied with breaths hitching with every word.

Why does he have this certain effect on her?

Shaking herself from her shock, she wrenched her wrist free from his hold and stood up. Marcus didn’t miss her face blushing in clear reds then.

“Tattoo?” Marcus parroted, brows knitting together in confusion. “I don’t have a tattoo Ysabelle.”

“You do!” she replied quickly, “Although...I don’t know if that is a tattoo. Look at your right arm!”

And Marcus did so, lifting this particular body part for him to examine...for a long minute.

“You are hallucinating maybe? I don’t see any markings on my arm, ” he said with ease, but it was not after a slight twinge in his lips escaped.

“What?!” Ysabelle let out. She blinked thrice to clear her vision and gazed on the markings once again. “But there it is, see?!” she stated, pointing to the black ink. As if it wasn’t enough, she walked closer to him and hastily grabbed his arm, palming his skin with her other hand so as to prove her point. But another point was known when she did it. Her face blushed even more when she realized her mistake. She released his arm in a hasty fashion and backed up towards the wall. Marcus, although surprised to have been casually touched by a woman, couldn’t help but smirk. This caught Ysabelle dumbstruck. Priests weren’t supposed to smirk right? But he did!

“I’m...I’m sorry Father. I didn’t mean to—, ” she quickly announced but was interrupted by him.

“It’s fine, ” he said, taking a deep breath whilst sitting up. For a moment there, Ysabelle thought that he was totally naked with only the bed sheet covering his lower body. She would have darted out of the room if it was so, but glad that he was wearing a black trouser.

“By the way, thank you for taking care of me. I appreciate your time and effort, ” Marcus stated after he drew himself at the edge of the bed.

“Oh, it’s nothing...” she replied, suddenly feeling butterflies in her stomach. Examining his overall presence, she found him looking good. In fact, more than good. He looked like he wasn’t even ill at all. He took no effort when he pulled himself up from lying and he didn’t even exert himself when he sat down at the edge of the bed. “Oh! Are you feeling—”

“Better now?” Marcus finished, and this made Ysabelle nod consequently. He smiled then and stated, “Yes, I am. Very.”

He wasn’t an impatient man. For the most part, priests including exorcist priests are supposed to be a man with considerable patience, but for some reason, there was a pulling force inside him that meant time was of the essence.

“You are?” Ysabelle asked in disbelief. Odd of him to recuperate that quickly.

“Yes, now, I need to prepare myself. I need to see your cousin right away, ” said Marcus, once he stood up.

Ysabelle took a step back to open up a wider space between them, her hands trembling. Why? Because this God-like of a man with priestly aura seemed too casual to show his thick slabs in front of a virginal woman. And...he was towering her alright. She never expected that a mere 4 inches of difference in their heights could lead to her feeling intimidated.

She never felt intimidated before...not once...not ever in her lifetime. So why did she? To him?

“Why?” was her immediate question. She did want to know the answer to her own question, but the latter issue about him needing to talk to André warranted an explanation too.

“I need to talk to him, Ysabelle. I need to discuss some...matters, ” he answered rather vaguely. “He is awake now, I presume?”

Ysabelle, after remembering André’s condition, nodded. “Yes, he...he had finally woken up yesterday night, ” she replied. “The doctor says he is in stable condition, but he still needs to rest in bed.”

“Ah, good, ” Marcus remarked. He walked past her and into a table with a pitcher of water. When he poured the clear liquid into a glass, he heard her call again.

“Father?” she spoke.

“Yes?” Marcus replied but didn’t look at her way.

“Are you really sure you are okay?”

“Hmmm?”

“I mean, your hand...” she mentioned, looking down at the bandaged part.

For a moment, she thought he was going to say it’s fine, but without expecting it, he turned around to face her and pulled out the bandage, dropping the thin linen on the floor. Lifting his hand for her to see, he then stated, “It is fine now, see?”

The sight made Ysabelle turn red with embarrassment at first and then blue with bewilderment. How could? How could his charred hand heal that fast?

“As I said, this is just a momentary setback in the exorcism. You don’t need to concern yourself with it at all, ” he reassured, then turned back his attention on the table and drank his glass of water.

“That’s...a relief to hear, ” said she, smiling softly but still with a residue of disbelief.

As if on cue, the main door opened and in came Father Julien.

“Ah! Father Marcus! You’re awake!” he exclaimed, smiling towards his way.

“Good morning Father Julien, ” Marcus greeted with a nod.

“Good to have you back Father, ” was his colleague’s reply, relief clear in his voice.

Ysabelle watched as they exchanged casual glances. It perplexed her even more when she saw Father Julien acting as if it was a common occurrence for him to see the exorcist priest in sudden good health.

“Where are my clothes?” Marcus asked straight away.

“Hmm, that. I believe it is placed in a hanger, in the change room Father, ” he replied, looking at an entrance into another room which Ysabelle thought is the change room.

“I see, ” Marcus voiced. After drinking the last of the liquid, he turned to Ysabelle and gave her a wry smile. “Would you excuse me for a moment Ms. Ysabelle?” he said.

It didn’t take her too long. She knew exactly what privacy he meant. She nodded quickly and said, “Oh, of course, Father. Anyway, I need to go. It is good to see you well.”

Leaving a smile on Father Julien’s way, in haste she opened the main door and out she went. In the hallway, she placed a hand on her chest as if she was clutching her heart. Just that moment...just that simple word alone, it made her heartbeat jet out of control. Maybe it was trivial a word for others, maybe it was insignificant for all, but then the difference between Marcus calling her name in raw form and putting a respectable Miss before it meant a borderline of emotions exploding.

To Marcus, her exit was a solution for his disquieted heart. She didn’t even realize what effect she had on him when he found her in his room alone, all the more touching his arm. Her leaving could give him the chance to evaluate his emotions more. Truth be told, he wasn’t supposed to feel any attachable emotions for any person, most especially a woman. He wasn’t supposed to even show it. He was a priest for crying out loud. But why now that after André’s exorcism rite, he had been too much of a jumbled mess?