Literally Die in His Tenderness

Chapter 5

"Mr. Craig, are you going to travel soon? Can... can you take me with you?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, hoping I wasn't crossing a line.

He paused, clearly surprised, then let out a sigh of helplessness. "Sure."

During the drive, I learned that Gordon was heading back to his hometown to visit his grandmother. I agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend temporarily to avoid the pressure of his family trying to set him up for marriage. Gordon's grandmother lived in an old, quaint tourist town, and I was totally caught off guard when I saw the sunbathing platform on top of her two-story house. I spent a lot of time there, trying to clear my head. The slow pace of life in that little town seemed to calm my mind, and I couldn't help but sigh, "I could stay here forever."

"Then stay," Gordon said, his voice softer than usual.

Just then, his grandmother appeared, holding a quilt. She was probably planning to dry it in the sun, and I felt a little awkward. I offered, "Grandma, let me help."

But she sighed, her voice filled with resignation. "My grandson is so unlucky. Even when he brings such a wonderful girl home, she's not his."

"Grandma, I..." I started, but she cut me off, pulling me down to sit beside her. "I knew from the moment I saw you, you're not Gordon's girlfriend," she said, her tone almost knowing.

I froze. Had I somehow revealed too much about the situation between me and Gordon? But then, her next words took me completely by surprise.

"There's something inside you," she said, her voice quieter. "It's like a bond between a couple. That means you have someone you love."

Before I could process that, Gordon spoke up. "Grandma, you're talking nonsense again. Let's stick to the facts, okay?" He turned to me, adding, "Aubrey, don't mind her. When I was a kid, she always said stuff like this to scare me."

But something in my gut told me Grandma wasn't just making things up.

"Grandma, what do you mean? What's inside me? Is it a tracker?" I asked, feeling a chill run down my spine.

She looked at me with wide eyes. "You don't know?"

I shook my head, completely lost.

Muttering something about "shameful scum," Grandma asked me to tell her if anything strange had been happening lately. So I shared the weird connection I had with Troy.

"I don't get it," I said. "He can always reach out to me. It used to feel special, but now, it's... kind of terrifying."

Grandma clapped her hands together. "Girl, you've got a real problem."

She told me to wait while she went downstairs to make a phone call. Gordon and I exchanged a look, both equally confused.

Half an hour later, Grandma returned with a girl who couldn't have been more than 15, wearing traditional clothing. She took one look at me and spoke.

"Aubrey, what you're dealing with is called a Substitute Insect."

"A what?" I was more confused than ever. I had suspected I was some kind of stand-in for Terra, but this whole "Substitute Insect" thing was a whole new level of bizarre.

The girl continued, unfazed. "You have a Substitute Insect inside you. Originally, the female insect and the male insect are supposed to be together, but because of the Substitute Insect, the male..." She paused, letting me process.

It clicked. Terra and Troy were supposed to be together, but Terra had used me as her stand-in to study abroad. As long as she stayed away, Troy would naturally be drawn to me. His body would sense me and feel an automatic connection. That magnetic pull I felt when I saw him? That wasn't just chemistry, it was because of this bond.

But then, she added something that made my head spin. "The insect inside you... seems to have been destroyed. Now you can control it rationally."

I couldn't believe it. All the weird, overwhelming feelings I had around Troy suddenly made sense. It wasn't just him, it was the pull between us, something I could now control.