Page 10 of Made to Be

He blinked slowly at me, as if the question had to register in his brain. One eyelid even moved a little slower than the other, making him look kind of drunk. It was almost like watching an old computer reboot and turn on at a snail’s pace. It was, honestly, kind of painful to witness. And so endearingly adorable. It also made me want to snort with laughter. But that would have been wildly inappropriate. Because what I had done – reanimated a corpse to fulfill my lacking love life – most certainly wasn’t.

“I’m Victor,” I told him as I tapped on my chest.

“Victor,” he repeated slowly. His voice was a little clearer, a low-pitched rumble that made me shiver.

I nodded, feeling silly for asking this but I needed to make sure he was, well, conscious. And that I hadn’t scrambled his brain when I’d shocked him multiple times. “Do you understand me?” I asked, and when he stiffly nodded in return, I added, “I brought you back.”

He tilted his head to the side like some adorable little puppy, and I couldn’t help but smile. Well... I looked him up and down where he sat, certainly not little.

“You... Oh, how do I put this gently.” I scratched my head. “You died. So, I brought you back to life.”

His dark brows scrunched together with what I assumed was concern. Or confusion? I couldn’t really tell with him.

“Do you remember anything? About your past life?”

He didn’t respond for several seconds before he stiltedly shook his head.

“What about your name?”

Again, another head shake.

“Well, you could go by your old name, Camden,” I told him. “But you can pick something else. Something new, if you want.”

Those dull and glazed eyes drifted past me to land on the bookshelf along the wall to my back. I watched as he squinted, his mouth falling open as he struggled to read the words on the spines of the books lining the shelves. His head cutely lilted sideways to see them better. It seemed he remembered how to read at least, as he spoke,

“Frank.”

I nodded, “Oka-”

“Tom.” He quickly spouted a different name. Then. “Julia” and “Rebecca” and “Andrew.”

Okay, now he was just reading off the names of authors on my shelf. I slapped my palm to my forehead. To my bemusement, he gazed curiously down at hisopen palm then mimicked me by slapping his own hand to his brow, with far more force than I had.

This time I couldn’t help the laugh that burst from me. Those pale eyes grew wide at the sound, and I swore I saw a smile tug at the corner of his still slightly blue-tinged lips.

“Then maybe you just keep your name. How about it, Camden? Or Cam for short?”

His chin bobbed up and down in quiet, almost shy agreement.

“Well then, first thing’s first. Dang, I never thought I would say this to anyone in my bedroom,” I muttered under my breath, then louder. “We need to get you into some clothes.”

I rose to my feet and Cam clumsily followed suit. When he reached his full, towering height, my head tilted backwards as I maintained his gaze. I let out a disbelieving huff,

“Satan, you’re taller than I thought. What were you, a linebacker?”

He tilted his head again, an action I had quickly deduced to mean he was confused and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“Never mind. Let’s see what I can find.”

***

When morning came, I hadn’t gotten any more sleep. I’d been too busy trying to get Cam to talk moreas I peppered him with questions. Most of which went unanswered, but that didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I had actually done it. I’d successfully brought a corpse back to life. Hah! Take that, depression!

After wiping the crusted mixture from him with a warm wet cloth, I’d set on raiding my closet. It was next to impossible to get this tree of a man into my clothes. My baggiest t-shirt was stretched taught across his broad chest and shoulders. The largest sweatpants I owned were several inches too short, exposing his ankles, and the seam across his ass looked ready to burst. My eyes kept drifting to the significant dick print below his navel, because obviously none of my underwear would fit this guy.

After I eventually made my way downstairs with Cam as my adorable, clingy new shadow, I put on the biggest, strongest pot of coffee and whipped up some of my famous French toast. And, because it was fall, I added a bit of pumpkin spice to the cinnamon and sugar mixture.