Into the Light

76

"That's great! Xeph and I are gonna ride with Griffin over there. We can stop by and pick her up, if that's okay?," she replied. I tried to remember if Anna had met Xepher before. Had she seen her when she was a ghost? Everything just kind of ran together now, so I wasn't sure. I smiled to myself when I imagined the way Anna's face would look when she took in Xepher's eccentric fashion choices. I glanced at the time again and noticed that it was almost time for me to leave, if I was going to make it on time. Where the hell was Sam? "Sounds good," I replied to Devyn. "How long before you're here?" "Well actually, we're about to pull up," she responded, with a light giggle. "Jake is over there already and asked us to stop by and pick up one of Reggie's games that he borrowed." I let out a sigh of relief. That meant that I didn't have to wait around for them to come. "Okay, we'll meet you outside," I replied. After we disconnected, I looked at Anna. "Devyn is about to pull up. You sure you're up to this?" I asked. She gave me a shy smile and nodded. "Yeah. I'm nervous but kind of excited to meet some new people." "You'll love them, I promise. Come on, and I'll walk you down," I replied and stood up. I held my hand down to her and she placed hers in mine. I helped her stand, then pulled her against me. "Oh!" she exclaimed. I gave her a half grin and moved my hands to her hips. "I thought they were pulling up," she whispered, with a sexy grin. "They can wait another minute," I replied, letting my voice deepen. I lowered my lips to hers and let my instincts take over. Her arms went around my neck, as she leaned into the kiss. It was a slow burn, simmering just below the surface, until the flames started to build. I deepened the kiss and she opened to me. Her hands tightened around my neck, as her fingers curled into my hair. I groaned and let my hands push under her shirt to feel the soft skin of her sides. There wasn't even room for air in between our bodies. The air in the room thickened, making it harder to breath anything but her. I moved my hands a little higher until I felt her bra under my fingers. They itched to unsnap it so that I could feel more of her, but I knew that I couldn't. Not yet. I had to go. I lightened the kiss and slowly pulled away. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were slightly swollen from being thoroughly kissed. She was looking up at me with a slightly dazed expression and a need that reflected my own. "I guess I should walk you down now," I murmured, holding her emerald gaze. "I- I guess," she stammered out. I let my hand travel down her side and over her hip until I felt her hand. I grasped it in mine and walked her out of the room. Devyn was at the bottom of the stairs, about to walk up. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "I was just about to come up and see if you were ready to go. Are you?" Anna nodded and gave her a shy smile. "Yeah, I'm ready. Thank you for including me." "Got it!" Another voice yelled out. "Griffin, my man" I said, before I actually saw him. "Hey Colby," he answered, coming into view from the living room. We had made it down the stairs by this time and were standing in the entryway. "You guys bringing her home or do I need to come get her?" "Well, I don't guess it matters. Just text me later and we'll work it out," Devyn replied. I nodded and looked down at Anna again, who was pressed up against my side. I leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You can call me any time. I love you" "Love you," she whispered. Then it hit me. The big 4 letter word that we had been avoiding since it was last said because of a demon. Love. The words had fallen so easily from my lips and it seemed like hers too. Devyn reached over, grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her with her out the door. "Don't worry, we'll have her back at a reasonable hour!" she yelled behind her. I laughed and shook my head as I watched her drag Anna to the car. I waved to her as they pulled away, then closed the door. Where was Sam? It was time to leave. "Saaaam?" I yelled, checking to see if he was somewhere. "Whaaat?" I heard in response. He was in the kitchen. I walked through the house to the kitchen and saw him sitting at the table in the dining room. "When did you get back?" I asked. I knew that he had went to Katrina's for a while. "Just a little while ago," he replied. "Ready to go?" I asked. "Yeah, sure. Just let me finish this first. Can't fight demons on an empty stomach," he said, cracking a smile. "Sure," I replied, looking at the bowl of cereal he had on the counter in front of him. "But we need to hurry." He shoveled the remainder into his mouth in a matter of minutes, then got up and set the bowl in the sink. "Okay, all done. Let's go," he said. We made our way to the car in silence. Once we were on the road, headed towards the park, Sam started to speak. "So, what happened? You just said that Amethyst wanted to meet and she sounded scared. Did anything happen? What were you talking about?" "I don't know," I replied, keeping my eyes on the dark roads lit by the street lights. "She wouldn't say anything besides that Lilith may know about what we done with Anna. Said that we needed to speak in person and that it may not be safe to talk around Anna. That's all I know." "That's strange," he murmured. I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Remember what she said when Anna first woke up?" He pursed his lips and twisted them to the right. "Refresh my memory." "She said that the connection to Lilith was still inside of Anna. That she couldn't break it completely. I think it has something to do with that," I replied. "So, basically, our break from this shit is over?" "Basically," I replied. "Damn it," he groaned. We didn't say anything else during the ride, both of us being stuck in our own thoughts. Finally, we reached our destination.