Page 23 of Even If the Sky is Falling
“Cat. Alive. Together,” she said. She glanced at Percy curled up at the edge of the sofa.
“Yes,” he smiled. “Cat. Alive. Together.” He shifted again. “I should get some sleep.”
Maya yawned. “Yeah, me, too.”
Wordlessly, she shut off the lamp, and they arranged themselves side by side on the enormous couch, arms around each other, faces inches apart. He was warm, solid and smelled like garam masala and home. This was the only way she could imagine herself getting any sleep tonight. Alive, and together with Tarek Mizra.
“Good night, Maya,” he said.
“Good night, Tarek.” She smiled. He shifted a bit, coming even closer to her. She did the same. She could make out his eyes now. The fear was still in his warm eyes.
But there was comfort, too. And the space between them was gone. Maya wasn’t even sure who started it, but it wasn’t long before they were kissing. Maya was pretty sure it wasn’t really happening though—it had to be a dream. Yesterday she’d been tense, and stressed and worried that her world was going to fall apart under her nose, and now it was the end of the world, and her first crush was gifting her easily the sweetest kiss of her life. She squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn’t wake up as Tarek gently explored her lips with his own. Tiny bites, a little bit of sucking. Soon his tongue reached out to taste, to explore. It was soft, sleepy and slow. Those full lips she’d fantasized about when she was fifteen felt even better than she could have imagined. She could feel his heartbeat against hers while they were cocooned together on an antique couch and wrapped in a furry blanket. They kissed like that, softly and lazily, for probably longer than they should have, until a long chime sound startled Maya. She sat up as Percy bolted off the couch into the darkness.
“It’s over,” she said. Their nightmare, or fever dream, or whatever it was, was over.
Tarek shook his head and took out his phone. “No. Sorry. That’s my sleep app. Reminding me it’s bedtime.” He picked up his phone, but the sound had already stopped.
“What time is it,” Maya asked. The spell of that moment was broken. Maya had no idea what was going to happen now.
“Midnight.”
“Why do you have a sleep app?” Maya’s therapist had once suggested she get one, but the sight of it on her home screen made her anxious.
Tarek shifted a bit, putting some distance between them, then huffed an awkward chuckle. “My therapist recommended it. I have insomnia.”
He didn’t seem to want to say more, and Maya didn’t want to pry. But clearly everything wasn’t sunshine and rosewater in Tarek’s world like she’d assumed. Estranged from his family and seeing a therapist? He looked at her with an awkward smile on his face, maybe worried he’d said too much.
“So...it’s time to sleep then?” Maya said. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do that, or see where those kisses would have gone if his app didn’t go off.
He seemed as torn up with indecision as she was. “Yeah. We should.”
“It’s just,” Maya said, squeezing his thigh. “I don’t want to do something even if it feels right, for the wrong reason, you know?”
He leaned forward and kissed the tip of Maya’s nose. “Yes. I know exactly. Let’s sleep.”
Maya smiled, then turned her body so she could be the little spoon to his big spoon. She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but her last thought was that his breathing had slowed so his insomnia wasn’t kicking in. Maya gave in to slumber, not knowing if the world was ending or not, and she’d never slept so peacefully.
6
Maya would have expected that waking up pressed tight against Tarek Mizra on a lumpy old couch with a furry wolf blanket thrown over her would cause a bit of confusion, but everything was crystal clear the moment she opened her eyes. She shifted a bit, squinting. It was still dark, but a bit brighter than earlier, as if a dim light was behind her. She could hear paper rustling. She turned to see Tarek reading by the light of his flashlight.
“You’re up,” Tarek said softly.
“What time is it?”
“Four. Can’t sleep.”
Maya smiled. “Book too good? Been there.”
He chuckled. His sleepy face was...adorable. A tiny bit of stubble on that square jaw. Hair sticking up everywhere. And sleepy, hooded eyes.
“Any chance I slept through theall-clearsirens?” Maya asked.
He shook his head, putting his book down. “No. Still no cell service, either.”
Maya sighed. She’d kind of hoped she’d slept through the rest of this disaster, but there was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep now. She looked around—she couldn’t see Percy anywhere, but she knew he was out there.
Three positives: Cat. Alive. Tarek.
