ғɪғᴛʜ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ.

When I woke up the next morning, I had my head buried in the sand, my eyes were covered with the crock of my elbow because of the summer sun hitting straight into my eyes, my back hurt and my feet were cold.

But none of that was important, because the real reason why I had woken up was because I felt this intruding voice inside my head.

This place is way better in the morning when no one is around.

I sat up and flipped the sand off my body, quickly standing up and looking everywhere to find Theodore.

That was my chance.
I needed to go and find my soulmate.

Going for a run always clears my mind. I'll probably do this every morning just to survive. Or maybe just to forget the fucking reason why I'm here.

I whistled three times and waited for my horse to show up.
Damn, where the hell is Theodore when I need him?

Once I spotted him, resting behind the shadow of a tree at the edge of the forest, I ran towards him and jumped on his back, starting to gallop by the side of the sea and towards the city.

Even if we were far from the city, as long as I could keep hearing his voice I knew he would still be on the beach.

Maybe he was running now towards me, maybe this was my opportunity to actually meet him.

This is all Mae's fault, if she hadn't dumped me, I would still be living with her. We would be happy and planning our fucking future together.

Wait.

Mae?

She?

But no, and then Gemma shows up, saying I needed to do something with my life, that I should take over the family business and help my dad.
Guess what? I don't give a fuck about the family business!

The voice in my head was getting even louder if possible, like if he was getting closer to me.
I could actually feel the proximity.

I started to think that maybe if I focused enough I could actually see him.

But involuntarily, everytime he thought and I heard it, it was like blacking out.

And that led me to submerge myself inside my mind and to stop the outside world.
I lost sense of where I was and I actually feared I would fall off Theodore if I continued listening to the voice.

Then she thinks she needs to babysit me! Like if I couldn't do things on my own! I'm a damn grown up.

I shook my head and opened my eyes again, praying that I would still be safe over Theodore's loin, and trying to remain self-conscious until I found him.

I felt him getting closer to me, like some kind of spell, like a magnet.

I had to keep going.

I wondered if he was feeling the same as me.
How is he handling this?
Does he know about the legend?

But suddenly the worry interrupted my mind, and it only came with more and more questions.

What am I going to say to him when we meet?

'Hey there, I'm your soulmate?'

No, I can't do that.

What if he is straight and he laughs at me?

Besides, he said he is from London, didn't he?
What if he is here only temporarily?

What if I never get to know him?

What the hell does she want now? Does she want to make fun of me? That she can send me a message and that I'll be running back to her? Oh God, no. I'm not answering her. There, deleted.

This guy is constantly angry.
I was starting to think that he isn't really like me. That we couldn't be a match.

But on the other hand, I felt him so close that I was struggling to keep my eyes open. It was almost painful to feel that pulsating magnetism.

I knew that if I let myself drown in his thoughts, if I blacked out enough I'd probably be able to see him, to get a better picture.
And that would be the solution to find him.

So I let myself go.
I allowed my mind to stop controlling itself and to submerge in a daydream about his voice.

To follow him into the deepest and darkest places of my head as I lost the sense of reality, of my body and my actions.

For a moment, all I could see was a white background, and all that existed was me, but weirdly I couldn't feel my limbs or even move my eyes.

I wasn't hearing a thing and I started to doubt if I was there at all, if I was breathing.

And suddenly a couple of green eyes showed up behind my eyelids, taking my breath away.

The next thing I know is that I'm spread on the sand, my feet tangled in an inorganic position on the saddle of my horse, my back hurt and my chest wasn't receiving the necessary amount of oxygen that it needed.

I looked up at the sky and my ears pounded.

The voice was gone.

I closed my eyes and grumbled. I was a lost cause.
And now I was probably injured and not able to move.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" - I opened my eyes again, seeing an unknown face above my head.

"Are you okay? Did you fall?"

"Yeah." - I sighed.

"Can you move? Do you need help?"

"Please."

"Okay, let me get your feet out of the saddle."

The stranger started untangling my feet and shortly after I was free.
He extended his hand and pushed me up.

I recovered stability in one leg, and left the injured one in the air.

"Does it hurt? Can you ride?"

"Please stop asking questions." - I said, massaging my forehead. - "I'm fine."

"Mmm, okay. Can I do anything else for you?"

"No, it's okay. I'll head home anyways."

"Sure. I'm Liam by the way."

"Louis." - I said as I tried to figure out how to get on Theodore again with one leg less.

I tried to impulse myself with my arms and jump up with only one leg, but it didn't work, making me hiss of pain when I stepped on my injured leg.

"Okay yeah, that's it. I'll help you and accompany you home. And you should go to a hospital if that doesn't pass."

The guy lifted me and helped me get on Theodore's loin.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Lead the way, I want to make sure you get home safely."

The guy, who now I realized was dressed with some running clothes and sneakers, started running by the side of Theodore, who was trotting back to the countryside with an intermediate speed by the side of the sea.

My head was still spinning, my back and my leg were still hurting, but luckily I had recovered my breathing.

And then I remembered that my soulmate's voice had disappeared, so that meant he wasn't at the beach anymore and that I probably had lost my chance of meeting him today, and to add to my failure I had slipped off my horse, hurting my body.

Well done, Louis.

"Do you usually run in the mornings?" - I asked Liam.

"Yes, every day since I moved."

"When did you move?"

"When the summer started. I'm a lifeguard."

"Oh, that's cool I guess."

"Yeah. Have you lived here long?"

"Since I was born."

"That's amazing. This place is really beautiful."

I nodded slightly and then it hit me.
My soulmate was running this morning too.

"Liam, have you crossed any other runners today?"

"Yeah, a few. But not in this area. Most people run closer to the city."

"Sure." - I sighed. - "Was there by any chance one with green eyes?"

Liam looked up at me with an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know, I didn't pay attention."

"Okay." - I resigned.

We kept talking for a while until we reached the end of the forest, where the park of my house was coming into view.

"That's my home." - I pointed to the big house in the middle of the field.

"Wow man, that's huge."

"Yeah. Well, thanks for the help. I don't want to keep taking your time."

"Sure, it was a pleasure. See you around, Louis."

I smiled at him and he turned around, running back to where we came from.

I sighed and made my way to the stables to leave Theodore and give him food.

We were both starving.

"Where have you been all day? You missed all your daily duties, Louis! I had to lie to mum and tell her you were gone to the field early but I didn't have a clue!" - Lottie shouted at me when I stepped inside the stables.

"Lot, I'm not in the mood."

I tried to get off Theodore but failed on the intent and fell on the ground.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I twisted my leg. I'm fine." - I said standing up and resting my body weight on my good leg.

Lottie rolled her eyes and helped me walk back to the house.

"You're staying in today. I'll ask Fizzy to do your duties."