“Did you know something was wrong?” I asked in a small voice.
“Seth did,” my dad confirmed, turning to look at Seth with as much pride as he was capable. “From what it sounds like, he knew right away. The bond is very strong between you two.”
“I didn’t know until you were airborne,” Seth corrected him. “I didn’t feel the danger until right before I saw you.”
“Is that going to be a problem?” I asked quickly. “I was burning pretty bright.”
“It might be,” Jupiter answered. His dull red eyes seemed dimmer today, more so than usual. He ran a hand over his gray hair and leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. “The government might stop by to check things out. Although the phenomenon in the New Mexico desert will have them over there too.”
“Is that where we landed?”
“Yep.”
“How did you find us there?” I turned my attention back to Seth.
“I felt you. I followed you. They won’t ever take you from me.”
My breath caught in my throat and my bones felt gooey. I believed him. He was the reason I was still alive, the reason I was still able to walk and move. I knew without a doubt that he would never let this happen again.
He would always take care of me.
“Thank you,” I said with watery eyes. I couldn’t see straight through the tears clouding my vision. Seth was just a big, blurry figure in my line of sight. I blinked once and two tears fell from both eyes. He came into focus then. His jaw had hardened tightly with tension but his eyes had softened into infinite emotion.
“Always, Stella,” Seth promised.
My mom patted my knee and stood up. My father followed her and then everybody else.
“We should probably let her rest some more,” my mom suggested, but it definitely felt more like a command.
“Feel better, Stella,” Nate tapped my toe and then took Serena’s hand. She gave me a small, encouraging smile and then they disappeared with Jupiter on their heels.
“Come on, Seth,” my dad called from the doorway. “You’ve seen she’s alright, now let her sleep.”
Seth walked over to me, ignoring my dad, a gesture that seemed very brave to me. He stopped by my side and bent down to place another sweet kiss on my cheek. With his lips lingering on my skin he promised, “I’ll be back later.”
And then he followed after my parents, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I had been filled with fear and paranoia lately. And after everything I went through I should probably be feeling it even more. But I didn’t.
Not with Seth nearby.
If anything, I felt more protected than ever. A feeling of safety and security unlike I’d ever known filled me, and I knew it was all because of Seth- all because of what he would risk to keep me alive.
And it was then that I felt myself fall just a little bit deeper in love with him.
Chapter Seven
“So you’re not coming to school again?” Piper whined into the phone. It was currently not even seven in the morning yet, and Piper had finally gotten ahold of me after more than three days of radio silence.
“Nope,” I tried my best to sound sick, although it wasn’t too hard since my voice was still scratchy from getting punted in the throat. “I’m still quarantined.”
“This is the worst week of my life,” Piper groaned. “First you miss couple’s night, then you miss the big party. I didn’t see you all weekend! And now you’re staying home again. You’re ruining my life!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not doing it on purpose.” I let out a weak cough, just for good measure, but I hated lying to Piper.
“I don’t ever remember you being this sick before, Stella,” she pointed out. And I cringed and waited for it. “In fact, I don’t ever remember you being sick, ever! You’re like some freak of healthy nature. You don’t even get colds.”
“Yes, I do!” I defended myself, even though she was right. “And maybe I’m so sick because I’ve never been sick before. It’s all caught up with me or something. I feel like I almost died.”
Not a lie.
A strong arm reached up and pulled me into him. I had a serious feeling of déjà vu with a boy in my bed and Piper on the phone, but I ignored it. This boy was allowed to be here.
And he hadn’t touched me all night.
He had been annoyingly chivalrous. He slept on top of the covers, and I slept underneath. He held my hand for a while, but otherwise I remained untouched. He was partly afraid of hurting me again.
And I had a feeling he was trying to respect my parents, even though he had snuck into my room through my window and they didn’t know he was here…. Still, I admired his integrity.
Kind of.
Ok, not really. I mostly found it obnoxious. But at least, I wasn’t suffering from conflicting feelings at the moment.
Ahem.
“Whatever,” Piper continued her complaining. “I’m stopping by later. I’ll bring you soup or something.”
“Bring me my homework too, please,” I asked sweetly. Seth tucked me in closer to him and mumbled something into my neck.
“You’re such a nerd,” she giggled. “Feel better soon. And I mean that. Tristan has been a little biotch without you here to balance out his testosterone with your magic female ways. Hurry back to me!”
“Play nice, Pi,” I giggled. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bye, babe.”
I tapped to end the call and then tossed my phone on my nightstand. I snuggled back into Seth and lay like that for a few minutes. He was so perfectly comfortable and I had wanted to do this all night.
This was probably becoming a bad habit between us, but that was fine with me.
“Mmm, Stella, I’m going to miss this,” he whispered with hot breath against my back.
Apparently, Seth thought this was becoming a bad habit too.
“But it’s so nice,” I pouted, not wanting him to give this up.
“You like this?” he sounded surprised and sleepy- it was my new favorite sound.
“I do like this,” I confirmed. “I like you, Seth.”
“I know you like me,” he turned me so that I was laying on my back looking up at him. He had one arm under my neck and one holding my waist across my stomach. He was looking down at me with full lips and slightly puffy eyes and I felt myself fall just a little bit more in love with him. And then he said, “I want you to more than like me.”
“I want to, too,” I heard myself say.
His beautiful mouth broke out into an adorable grin and he nuzzled his nose along my jawline. “Don’t give up on me, Stella. You need to know that my feelings for you are running my life right now. I know you need time to come to terms with your feelings for me, but I did that the moment I met you. You’re everything to me.”
His voice was rumbling and deep, rough gravel. I knew what he was saying was true because I saw it in his eyes, felt it in his touch, and heard it in the delicious sound of his voice. He was confessing all this to me and it felt like there was a purpose to it, but I couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.
“I won’t give up on you, Seth,” I promised. I reached up and held his jaw, loving the scruffy feeling of his morning growth in my hands. I let my nails scratch over the short hairs, worshipping the spiky feel on the pads of my fingers.
“Promise me, Stella,” he demanded firmly.
“I promise.” My voice was only a whisper because it was weighed down with true emotion. There was something so intense in his eyes, something so infinite. He was asking me something simple, but it felt endlessly more complex. And there was this puzzle he was setting out for me, but I couldn’t piece it together. My thoughts were still foggy and slow this morning and the answer was just out of my reach.