Embracing The Shadows (Shadow Series #5)

26 - Memories

A cold breeze wafted over my bare forearms when the comforter slipped from my shoulders to my waist. The mattress dipped beneath my body from an extra weight added to the bed. The subtle movement gradually pulled my unconscious mental state out of the deep sleep I comfortably resided in as I languidly lifted my head from the pillow, curious to see who cause the bed to move.

Isaac weakly smiled down at me as his fingers gingerly brushed the multiple strands of hair out of my eyes. He finished crawling into our bed and slipped underneath the warmth of the comforter next to my body.

"Sorry," he said in a low voice. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I shuffled across the short distance left remained between our bodies until my head rested on his right shoulder with the tip of my nose brushed against his neck. My right arm draped over his chest as I snuggled closer into his side, sighing in content.

"S'okay, baby," I sleepily mumbled.

My eyes fluttered shut. I softly smiled to myself when he wrapped his arms around my body and pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead.

"Go back to sleep," he whispered.

The grip around his torso tightened at his words as I happily laid against his side and intertwined my right leg between both of his legs, feeling the soft cotton of his sweatpants against my skin. I inhaled deeply through my nose as I began to allow myself to drift off again.

A vivid image of Valack inside of his cell with the white bandage removed resurfaced in my mind. My upper torso abruptly flung up from the bed as I forced myself into a sitting position next to Isaac's body.

The warmth of the comforter ripped away from our bodies and greeted our skin with a breeze of cold air from the fan above our bed. I pushed my slightly tangled hair out of my face while my head wildly whipped from side to side as my mind worked to remember what happened after we saw Valack in his cell.

The sun peeked through the curtains, ensuring the night had long passed and we were well into the next day. My brows furrowed as I sleepily searched through my mind for the missing memories. The gray oversized shirt over my upper torso caught my attention as I shifted my gaze to the new clothes I wore, recognizing an old shirt that belonged to Isaac and the black sleep shorts I often wore to bed.

I ran my fingers through my hair, stressed. My right hand automatically reached back for my phone on the bedside table until my fingers brushed against wood. A frown slipped on my lips at my missing phone.

"Isaac, where's my phone?" I asked.

"It's on my side—"

I crawled over his body with my left hand placed near the edge of the bed to hold my body up and grabbed my phone near the lamp. I leaned back and returned to my sitting position once the electronic device was in my hand.

"Clara—"

The screen lit up from the hand movement and illuminated an overwhelming amount of unread messages and missed phone calls from my friends. I nervously raked my fingers through my hair while I speed read through the notifications, confused by the reoccurring theme of apologizes.

"Oh, my God..." I breathed in shock.

A thick haze heavily laid over my mind, similar to the feeling of waking up with a hangover and unable to remember anything after you blacked out the night before.

Isaac slipped the phone out of my hand before I had the chance to read the most recent message from Stiles. I gaped at him after the time caught my attention before he clicked the screen off.