Rise and Fall [[BEING MOVED TO ANOTHER ACCOUNT]]

Chapter Ten

Ten

                    Tallan's on guard duty tonight. Without his presence in the room, I feel even more alone. I sit in bed, blankets gathered up to my chin, staring into nothingness. I twist the sheets in my hands until I feel my heartbeat in my fingertips, and I release. Letting the blood flow back.

                    I hear someone walking, but take little comfort in knowing I'm not alone. I hear the footsteps approach my door, and wonder if it's Tallan on a blanket run. It gets cold by the door.

                    "Alek?"

                    I jump a bit. It's Sasha. Her whisper is soft, and it carries like a sigh.

                    Yeah?" I whisper back. I'm getting used to how quickly my voice comes now.

                    "I can't sleep."

                    "Me either."

                    I see her silhouette shift in the doorway.

                    "Can I come in?"

                    My breath catches. "Absolutely." I watch her darkened form approach Tallan's bed. She sits down. The springs don't so much as squeak. She's as light as air.

                    As I watch her in silence, I wish the curtains were open. I want to see her. To my eyes, she is the most beautiful creature to ever walk this earth. This hell. My version. I ache to see her moonlit face, and taste the chocolate in her eyes.

                    "Are you okay?" she whispers to the darkness.

                    I nod, then blush when I realize she can't see me. "Yeah. I'm handling it well." I laugh softly. Only for a moment. "First time I've ever handled something close to well."

                    I feel her smile from across the room. It makes the dark space brighter. Not as lonely. Not as cold.

                    "Are you okay?"

                    The question catches her by surprise, and it's a moment before she answers. "I think so." She sighs. "I'm just worried."

                    "What about?" I'm listening intently. I don't think I'll ever stop listening to her. Her voice sifts through the night like artificial moonlight. Fixing my beacon. Bringing my soul closer to home.

                    "About the trip tomorrow. I'm worried they'll find us."

                    "They won't," I assure her. I can't believe it. That's twice tonight. But it's an odd sort of comfort. Knowing she's as scared as I am. If not for the same reason.

                    She's quiet again, and I assume she's nodding.

                    "Alek?"

                    "Yeah?"

                    "I'm cold."

                    My heartbeat slowly quickens.

                    "Do you want to sleep in here?"

                    I imagine her slow smile spreading across her face. "Yeah," she says.

                    We're quiet. I count the seconds in my head. Maybe a minute passes before she speaks again.

                    "I'm still cold." Her voice is sort of sad. I wasn't expecting that. My chest begins to ache as my heart reaches out to her. It hovers. Unsure of where to land.

                    "Do you want to sleep with me?" I smile slightly to myself as I realize how my words sound. "I mean, not like that, but so you won't be cold."

                    She laughs, and her voice floats at my shoulder.

                    "I know that's not what you meant. Move over." I scoot away, and she slides in between the sheets. Her foot brushes my ankle, and it's like ice. I'm still sitting up, and she rests her head on my chest. She sighs, and inside, I sigh too. This was what I'd wanted. From the very first time, in the car. When she'd sagged. Spent. This was what I'd wanted for her. To lay her head against me, and let everything else fade out. Leaving me. Her. And the silence that spoke so loud. Filled with the beating of our hearts.

                    "Is this okay?" she asked, and I felt her head tip up. As if to look at me. I smile. Oddly at ease.

                    "Yeah. It's fine."

                    I imagine another smile, and she nuzzles into my chest. Turning her body so that her legs curl up against my thigh.

                    Her hand rests against my chest, and she breathes deeply. Hesitantly, I put my arms around her. I hear a smiling sound, and feel her body expand against my side as she draws another breath. Breathing me in as I breathe her.

                    I hold her, wide awake, and finally feel her nodding off against me. Her head becomes heavy, and her hand begins to slip. I catch it as it falls, and hold it in mine. Rubbing my thumb absentmindedly across the delicate webbing between her thumb and forefinger.

                    She stirs.

                    "What're you doing?" she mumbles. A bit groggily. I smile down at her. Unable to contain the strange happiness that has taken hold of me.

                    "Admiring," I answer simply, and slide so that I'm lying on my back. As I move, she moves with me. Her head lolls, and her cool cheek presses into the warm skin of my shoulder. She slips an arm across my body, and I lean my head against the top of hers.

                    "I'm not cold anymore."

                    I smile in the dark, and she suddenly rolls. Pressing her back into my side, and curling so that her legs come up. Without thinking, I curl too. So that my body wraps around her protectively. She's mine tonight, and I won't let anything hurt her. I loop an arm her waist, and hold her from behind. Nose pressed against her neck, I breathe her in. She takes the hand at her waist, and entwines our fingers. Bringing them up to her mouth to press them to her lips. She lets them fall in front of her chest, but I don't give it a second thought. Right now, I'm her guardian. And if that was all I could ever be, I don't think I'd trade it for the world.

                    Sasha's breathing slows, and becomes longer. Deeper. I feel it raise my arm, and drop it down again. I kiss her neck, and lay my cheek against it. Feeling the heaviness of my eyes threaten to drag me under. In a desperate plea, I beg my nightmare to leave me alone. Just this night. Just this once.

                    As I slowly slip under, I breathe her in one last time. The scent of a beautiful flower, the last thing I smell before sleep takes me prisoner completely.