This took a little longer to upload than I wanted, and it was done with a stupid headache -_- Hopefully it doens't suck too much or anything, and if it does, sorry.
This one could easily be the last, but I'm torn between making it the final chapter or continuing the story for a few more chapters. So, I'll leave the decision up to you all. Would you like for me to continue this just a bit more, or end it here and start the sequel?
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My eyes blinked open, adjusting to the dim light of the room. I groaned, reaching up and wiping the sleep from my eyes as I sat up. My whole body was stiff, arguing with me about the movement. For a bit I was sort of lost as to where I was or what had happened, but then the events of that night came back. And after a quick surveillance of the room I knew exactly where I was.
Sathe’s club.
No one else was in the room and the door was shut, allowing me privacy. Throwing the blanket off of me I stood up from the couch that had been my bed, almost losing my balance. Something felt different, like I was missing a part of myself. Was that because the power Jake had given me had vanished when he died? But at the same time I felt like there was something else, something that had replaced it, but had also always been there.
Letting out a small sigh I closed my eyes, finding myself slowly gaining a headache. “Just what I need. After a hard night of fighting I wake up with a headache, just great,” I mumbled to myself.
The sound of the door opening drew my attention and I was met with a very familiar set of grey eyes staring at me. Dakkone paused in the doorway for a moment, surprise written on his face, but also relief. “Nice to see you’re finally awake.”
I raised an eyebrow, wondering just what he meant by that. He made it sound like I had been asleep for days. And maybe I had. “How long was I asleep?”
“A week.”
That was more than just a few days, and I just stared at him for a moment. He was serious, I could tell, but I didn’t understand why I had been out for so long. Had fighting really taken that much out of me? “Wow. Never thought I’d sleep for a week straight.”
“Neither did we. We were starting to get worried that you’d never wake up. All the stress you’ve been under, plus everything you went through that night made us wonder if you weren’t going to just sleep forever. Wouldn’t be the first person.’
I decided against asking what he meant by that. Dakkone had experienced a lot more than I could ever imagine, and after his story about Lauren I didn’t like asking questions about experiences. It was best if the painful memories were left untold, they would only cause the pain to surface once more if they weren’t.
“You hungry?”
Just a second after he asked that my stomach let out a growl and we both grinned. “I guess that means yes,” I replied, walking over to where he was without falling flat on my face.
When we walked out to where the club’s dance floor was I paused, taking in all the damage. The place was a wreck, like a tornado had decided to touch down in the middle of it. The walls had construction equipment around it, boards lying here and there while all the debris was tossed to one side. The bar was in pieces and the stools were nowhere to be seen.
“They tore this place up pretty good. Sathe managed to keep any humans form getting involved, but it’ll be down for a while,” Dakkone said, answering my unasked question.
The talk about the fight brought another thought to my mind. “So how is everyone?” I asked, wondering if I was going to like the answer.
“We’re all alive, if that’s what you’re asking. Your brother probably came out of it the best. Apparently he was just unconscious, but not hurt. Sathe took a beating, but she’s fine now. Took a day or two for her to recover, but nothing she hasn’t dealt with before. Xavier and Zyten faired pretty well, along with Nick and Etran.”
That was a relief to hear. No one had died in the whole thing. If they had I would have felt guilty for it, like I had caused it because I was the one Jake was after. “Well look who finally decided to wake up.”
Turning my attention to the door I found Zyten walking towards us, and behind him was Xavier. Relief flooded over me at the sight of him. Even though Dakkone had told me he was alright I had been worried. But now that I saw him I was fine. Resisting the urge to run over and tackle him I just smiled at the two as they came to a stop next to us.
“I was going to take her out to get something to eat, but I just remembered there’s something I promised Sathe I’d do. Why don’t you take her, Xavier?”
I looked over at Dakkone, a bit surprised by his words. It was clear that he had just thrown the whole promising Sathe thing in there. I wasn’t the only one. By the look on Xavier’s face he hadn’t expected it, but he didn’t argue. “Sure.”
With that we headed out the door, our steps falling into sync with one another. We were silent for a while, nothing but the sound of our steps echoing around us to fill the silence. Normally the crowd on the streets would have filled the air, but the fact that it was sometime during the night kept them form being out.
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
The sound of Xavier’s voice almost made me jump. We had been so quiet I had almost forgot he was right there as I started to drift off into my own little world. “I’m glad you’re okay, too,” I replied, finding my heart speeding up a bit.
It was quiet again and I felt a bit uncomfortable in the silence. Then I felt something I hadn’t been expecting, a hand on mine. He hadn’t taken it, no doubt waiting to see my reaction as his own hovered there by mine. If I said I felt like anything other than a giddy schoolgirl I’d be lying. My next step took me just a bit closer to him and I turned my hand, allowing our fingers to intertwine.
The last day I could remember might have been one of the hardest I had ever lived, but that didn’t matter anymore. Today was possibly the best I had ever lived so far, and probably one of the best I’d ever have in my life, which would be quite long.
Then Xavier stopped, once more surprising him. “Xavier?” I started, looking over at him, but my words were cut off as he pulled me close to him, his lips pressing against mine. Immediately everything around us melted away and my eyes closed, returning the kiss and wishing it would never end.
But all good things had to come to and end at one point or another. After who knows how long we broke the kiss and I couldn’t help but to smile at him, my heart feeling as if it was going to beat out of my chest. “I love you, Riley.”
Those words hit me harder than I ever thought anything could, and right then I felt like nothing could ever go wrong again. All the stress and pain I had gone through was completely worth it. “I love you, too, Xavier,” I replied, our lips once more meeting.
