Page 358 of Eternal
I opened one eye, surprised. “What, hair?”
“No.You.”
Me.
I can’t do this. My heart is going to explode.
When he’s done, he stands and looks up at the ceiling, where tiny stars I’d drawn look back at us. No names under any of them. I couldn’t name them. I think it was too much for me.
But then he pulls a pen from my nightstand and adds another star next to them. It’s bigger, brighter, almost glowing against the pale ceiling. Then he writes my name beneath it.
I watch him, breath catching, feeling exposed and safe all at once.
I caught my eyes tattooed on his back. My eyes. The ones I hated for so long. On his skin. Forever.
I want to say something, anything, but the words are stuck in my throat. When he turns back, I get up, take the pen again, and write his name beside mine. Then I add one more word: Eternal.
Then I settle back, reach out, and pull him down until he’s lying fully on top of me. Now, I’m kissing him.
Our lips meet, tentative at first, then deeper.
I think I love him. I think Kat is right.
How the hell am I supposed to keep my guard up when he makes me feel like this?
“You’re dangerous for my heart,” I whisper against his mouth.
He chuckles softly. “We’re even, then.”
And just like that, I know, I’m completely, hopelesslyfucked.
He curls around me, hand warm on my stomach. Slow circles. Soft breath.
And I close my eyes. Breathe. And I don’t ever want to forget this.
For a second, I let myselfwant. A home. Safety.Him.Somewhere I don’t have to flinch. Somewhere I can simply…be.
It’s quiet in my head for once. And God, I don’t want this night to end.
Sleep comes soft. Maybe this time, I’ll be okay.
99
AZRA
“Dawn Of A New Time” by Johan Söderqvist, Patrick Andrén
Past
It’s been forever since I saw Vik and Kat and the dogs.
I don’t even remember what day it is. Maybe Saturday. Or maybe it’s not even a real day.
They stop being real when you don’t go to school.
Mama didn’t want me to go out. She said school was a lie. That the teachers would turn me against her. That if I left, someone would take me. Like take meaway. I didn’t ask where, I stopped asking to go.
She kept saying there were bad people out there, and they didn’t love me like she did.
