Cadence

Part 78 - Wednesday, December 22nd, 2106...or...ugh

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2106...or...ugh

Robin flung open my door while I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. 

"Cadence," he whispered, and I stared at him, gripping at my covers. "I'm..."

"Winter!" Aaron called. "She's sleeping! Leave her alone!"

"No she's not," Robin called back. "She's awake. Leave US alone."

He slammed the door closed right as Annika was about to walk in.

"Well, okay..." she said through the door. "I'll just hang out here..."

"Cadence," he whispered again. I sat up and pushed the covers off of me. 

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap.

"I want to kill your sister," he snarled. "I want to kill her and her stupid husband. I..."

I laid my head on his chest. "Robin, don't worry about it. Don't--"

"Look at what they did to you," he choked, grabbing a piece of my hair in his fingers. "Look at what this represents to them. They feel like as long as you look like...like one of them, they can't be defeated."

"Look at me, Cadence..." he said again, closing his fist around my hair. He pulled my head so I could look at him, and he touched my temple with one finger, his thumb right under my right eye.

"Look at your purple eyes. You look like..."

"It doesn't matter," I said fiercely. "I'm still Cadence. I haven't joined them...I still love you...I..."

Robin pressed his lips on mine. We kissed for a long time...me just sitting on his lap, his strong arms around me, running his fingers through my green hair. My stupid green hair. 

Finally, we stopped to breathe. "I love you, Cadence. I..."

"I know, Robin," I whispered. "I'm so sorry you had to see...I'm so sorry you had to...I..."

"It was the most horrible thing ever, Cadence," he said, and his voice cracked. "To see them holding you like that. You were stuck in their grasp. I couldn't move. I couldn't come and get you. I couldn't....I had to watch...Dawn hurt you. I was trapped in your stupid sister's arms and you were being hurt...and when he ran that...thing down your neck..."

"What thing?" I demanded. "What thing, Robin? What did he do?"

"It was this...machine...it looked like a gun but no bullets came out. He just ran it slowly up and down your neck...and it hurt you. I could tell.

"What?" I whispered. "He..."

"Aaron said he was an inventor...he invents things for torture. Gabriella uses them...it's a...never-ending system."

"He invented that thing? It was like needles up and down my neck. I..."

"I don't want to think about it," Robin said quickly. "I just wish I could grab that thing and smash it into his face...the way he smiled while you...he..."

I looked at my Robin and tears were running down his cheeks again. 

"Hey," I whispered, and I pressed my forehead on his so our noses touched. I could see his eyes perfectly this way, staring into them. They were the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. Blue, almost like mine, except darker, with flecks of soft emerald in them. His long, blonde lashes tickled the bridge of my nose as he blinked. "It's over now, Robin. I'm fine. I'm here."

"But this won't end," he said in anguish. "They're never going to be defeated. We can't kill them. We can't hurt them. Time travel has given them limitless lives, don't you see? If your sister dies, Dawn can just go back in time to whatever minute of the day he chooses and just ...he..."

I let my lips closer to his.

"As long as I've got you, I don't need to fear," I whispered. Our mouths were so close together I could feel my lips brushing on his when I spoke. 

"Oh, Cadence," he whispered back. "I don't think I could've loved my life to the fullest if I didn't meet you."

"Me too," I wiped away his tears with my fingers. "I'm so glad I never found that kiss."

"You don't need to," Robin smiled. "I've got plenty for you."

He pressed his lips against mine again, stroking my cheek with his fingers.