Page 4 of Spinning Out of Control

“May I offer you something to drink?” Teracht asked, and the formality of his words made me smile just a bit.

“I’m good, thanks,” I said, and he nodded. I watched curiously as he moved with much more grace than I would expect from someone with a body shape like his, his spider legs seeming to attach to the web that barely moved under what was likely his not insubstantial weight. He walked as easily along the webbing as I might have on a hardwood floor, before he settled onto a large patch of it just a little to my left, sitting down and folding his legs under him, almost like a cat.

I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious. It had been a long time since I had actually been on a date, and the last few times, it had been with a human, and usually at a bar or restaurant, or at least somewhere with more people. Now, it was just me and the giant spider gazing curiously down at me. “So, uh… how long have you been in the human world?”

“Oh.” Teracht seemed surprised by the question. “Just about a year.”

“Are you liking it?” I asked.

Teracht nodded. “I am. What I have seen so far, anyway. I rarely go out.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that in your profile,” I said. “So, what do you do then?”

“I have anything I need delivered,” Teracht said. “And my webbing is picked up by courier each day.”

Ah, ‘spinner’ made sense now. “What is your web used for?”

Teracht shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. The military seemed interested in it when I came here. And it’s something I can do from home.”

“Why don’t you go out?” I asked, though the words felt hypocritical in my mouth.

Teracht’s cheeks colored a little, and his gaze dropped. “I… I just…”

Obviously, I had hit a nerve there. I waved my hand. “You don’t have to answer, it’s your business anyway.”

Teracht nodded and went silent, gazing back at me. The weight of all eight of those eyes on me suddenly felt like an elephant standing on my chest. Why had I thought that meeting with a creature with so many eyes, when all I wanted was to disappear, was a good idea?

“Look, um… I’m sure you want to know what happened,” I said, gesturing with my left hand to my missing right one and my scarred cheek.

Teracht blinked his eight eyes in unison. “Only if you wish to tell me.”

“It was a car accident, back in August. Some guy ran the light and hit my car. I got pretty banged up.”

“I can see that.” I couldn’t tell if Teracht was saying that with sincerity or not.

“If it bothers you, I can go,” I said, swallowing hard.

“Why would it bother me?” Teracht asked in confusion, cocking his head slightly. His hair stayed perfectly in place, and I wondered if it did just naturally grow like that.

“Cause I don’t look like I did in my picture.”

Teracht stared at me. “Yes, you do.”

I frowned. “It’s one of my old pictures. From before my accident.”

Teracht didn’t respond, just gazing back at me, as if waiting for me to continue. I cleared my throat, suddenly wishing now that I had taken him up on that drink. “I guess I just… didn’t want to show my face on camera.”

“Why not?” Teracht asked.

I narrowed my eyes a little. “Why would I?”

“Aren’t you a model?” Teracht asked in confusion.

“I was. Before my accident.”

“But not anymore?”

Anger surged briefly in my chest. Was he trying to be funny? “No. Not since the accident.”

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