The Ties That Bind Us: (The Ties Duet Part One) Danda K. (dark academia books to read TXT) 📖

Just us.

Thirty

Jaxon

We get home from breakfast around noon. As we walk in, I can’t help but notice that Magnet runs straight for us, and by us, I mean Cameron. He rubs both sides of his face on her ankles as we attempt to take off our shoes.

I look over to her questionably. “What’s this about, Cameron Jade?” I point my chin towards my traitorous feline companion. “You telling me you’re a low-key cat person now?”

Untying her boots, she shrugs off my comment, denying what we both know is true. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I continue to bait her. “You two have very similar qualities, so the bonding does make sense.”

Ignoring my comment, she throws Magnet’s toy mouse at me over her shoulder. I catch it in one hand as she continues into the house. ”I’m gonna take a shower.” She pats Magnet on the head, and he purrs in response. “I’ll leave you two to catch up.” She heads towards the bathroom, and Magnet beelines into the kitchen.

It’s only ’cause she feeds him.

She heads for the bathroom as I go into the kitchen to give Magnet some of his tuna and peanut butter. After placing his dish on the floor, I make my way to the couch and sit down to watch Netflix when I hear the water running in our bathroom.

I weigh my options. Netflix, relax, maybe nap? Or Cameron, naked and definitely wet?

I think about this for around three seconds before I throw the remote on the couch, realizing there’s nothing to fucking think about, and head right for the bathroom.

When I open the door, she’s wet and in a towel, standing over the tub with her hand on the knob, filling it up with water.

“Bath time?” I ask, approaching her from behind.

“Yeah, still a bit sore.” She looks back at me and smiles, angling her cheek for me to kiss.

Obliging, I kiss her then walk over to the closet. “Want some company?” I grab the Epsom salts and check the water’s temperature before adding them.

She points to the small standing shower. “Sure, just rinse off first.”

I undress as she steps into the tub and slowly submerges herself, the steam from the water dancing around the surface.

I quickly rinse off in the shower with some soap and turn off the water. Turning towards the tub, I see Cam lying there with her eyes closed and her head leaning against the edge. Most of her body is submerged, with just one knee resting above the bubbly surface. Her hair’s up in a messy bun, some loose strands wet and sticking to her neck. Cameron opens her eyes and watches as I approach her.

Smiling, she scoots up to give me room to sit behind her.

Once I’m settled in the tub, she leans back into me, her breaths calm and steady. We’re both silent as I glance at the curve of her full chest peeking through a break in the bubbles.

Cameron’s voice breaks the silence. “Why do you call me Nyx?”

I can’t tell if this is a spontaneous question or if it’s something she’d thought about for a while. I’ve actually wondered why she’s never asked.

I return her question with a question. “Why do you think I call you Nyx?”

“Other than the fact that she resides in Hades’ underworld and represents all things dark and chaotic?”

It should surprise me this is her assumption, but it doesn’t.

Cameron continues, “In paintings she’s also portrayed with a dark, misty cloud over her.”  She shrugs, reaching for some body wash. I stop her and grab the soap for her instead.

“That’s your problem, baby. You take the worst parts of things and label it as a whole.” I squeeze the soap on the sponge and run it down her arm slowly. “Did you know that not only was Nyx known to be incredibly beautiful, but she was the only goddess Zeus ever feared? She could bring sleep or death to the human race.”

I switch to the other side, squeezing the water out of the sponge and watching it slide down her arm.

“Yes, she was the goddess of night. But she also had the power to give life and illuminate the darkness.” There’s a trickling sound as I dip the sponge in the water again. “In fact, Nyx produced Hemera and Aether, Day and Light.” I bring the sponge to the front of her chest and slowly run it down the valley of her breasts.

“While some gods are either fully good or evil, Nyx had the ability to impact mankind in both good and bad ways. But,” I kiss the crook of her neck, “because of her dark and mysterious features, many people have portrayed her as a negative deity.”

I drop the sponge, grip her chin with one hand, and turn her face to look at me. “You’re just like her because, besides the beautiful ivory skin and dark features you have, you emanate light. Like Nyx, you lived in your own personal hell, but it never determined who you were. You’re not a product of your environment. You’re the strongest person I know, and I knew your strength from the moment I found you on the beach that night. I saw the look of determination in your eyes, and I just knew you were a force to be reckoned with.”

She leans forward and hugs her knees. “I guess I never thought about it like that.”

“It’s okay, now you--” I’m distracted from the conversation by something on her back.

“What are these?” I point to the little circular scars there.

Unphased, she replies, “My father thought it would be fun to burn me with his cigarettes.”

Despite the anger nearly exploding in my chest, I continue, ”It’s shaped like a crescent.”

I run my fingers along the curved trail by her left shoulder blade.

Cameron shrugs. “I’m not even sure he realized he was doing that, to be honest. He was always drunk. All I knew was the louder I screamed, the more he did it.” She pops a stray bubble on her shoulder. “Eventually, I stopped