Snow tumbles out of the clouds and the steam from the car billows against the glass of the windshield, as thick as the fog that surrounds my mind. I stretch my long, entangled limbs, sore from falling asleep in the passenger seat while Kade drives us to safety.
My dark lashes feel thick and heavy, as if they’re weighing down my lids, but for once it’s not with exhaustion. I just feel content, being so close to the heat his solid body radiates. Why does he have this effect on me?
Kade’s piercing gray eyes are still fixed on the horizon, or rather, searching for it amidst the frozen white storm-- but I know he can sense that I’m awake. It’s in the way his lips curve downwards with worry and his brow furrows as if he’s not quite sure whether to ask.
It’s the question he always asks me when I wake up, whether it’s the middle of the night and I’m screaming, or if it’s evening and I’ve slept right through the day.
Did you have the nightmare?
Until recently, the answer was always yes. I always had that same horrible dream, night after night, and I’d wake up drenched in sweat with fistfuls of sheets balled into my hands.
Since Kade came into my life, though, the dreams have slowly gone away. I just feel safe around him, and when he’s this close, there’s nothing in the world that can touch us. Which is a big deal for me, considering I’ve never felt protected in my life.
Even when there’s danger all around us, hunting us like a hawk hunting down its prey, I can still manage to feel loved and cared for in his arms.
Still, he’s so concerned about me, all the time. Maybe he’s thinking more with logic than I am-- maybe the threat feels more imminent to him, and I know he can’t stand it when something might hurt me.
A small smile forms on my mouth at the sight of his concern, and the general cuteness of him that is just one more thing to come along with the package.
He has sharp angled features and messy dark hair that always seems to defy gravity, sticking up in all directions because he likes to run his hand through it when he’s nervous. And then there’s his beautifully shaped mouth that I’ve felt against mine, warm and gentle, ravaging every inch of me-
But only once. I’ve only felt those lips against mine once.
It didn’t take us long to find out what happens when we kiss, and the consequences that quickly follow. Now we know that we have to be careful, like we’re treading on shards of glass that might pierce our skin at any moment.
That’s why, even though we’re closer than we’ve ever been, he remains distant. He wants to kiss me, and god knows that I wouldn’t refuse him, but the mysterious things that follow our touch can’t be allowed to happen again.
We have to stay focused, get out of danger, and find somewhere safe where they can’t find us. So we keep driving towards the place where the day meets the night, where the crumbling sidewalk ends and gives way to a steep dropoff at the edge of the world.
The horizon.
Kade must sense me staring at him because finally, he glances at me with those gray eyes. His irises have flecks of violet in them near the center, and they darken at the very sight of me, deepening into an almost charcoal color.
He swallows hard and asks the question. “No nightmares?”
“Not today.”
He nods and I watch as the relief spreads over his face. It’s pretty obvious that he cares about me more than he likes to admit.
I smile again and let my eyes close, nestling into my black sweatshirt and leaning against the glass of the window. The coldness seeps through my hood and into my skull, numbing my mind until I think I might fall asleep again. Kade’s eyes leave the road again and flicker to me, the hint of happiness in them.
We’re going to be fine.
That’s the thought that lulls me as I start to drift off again, and it must jinx us.
Because when Kade’s eyes go back to the road, they widen in horror.
And from there, everything dissolves into chaos.
Before I can see what- or who- is in the middle of the highway, our car is slamming into it and spiraling out of control, spinning on a patch of black ice, whipping, tumbling, smashing into smithereens. Crunches and cracks fill my ears.
Then, everything goes dead silent. The world rights itself again.
My heart pounds and pumps adrenaline to each extremity of my body, as it begins to throb with an immense pain that has me afraid to move. Branches are everywhere, snow is still falling, and there’s something sticky coating my hands, the windshield, every inch of everything.
Kade isn’t saying anything. Is he breathing?
I jerk in my seat but something sharp stabs me right in the side, and waves of pain assault me. Not where the branch poked into my broken ribs, but right in the center of my back.
That’s when I know that it’s happening again.
The kiss I shared with Kade was the first thing that made it happen, but I know that any strong emotion can unleash it- what I really am, what’s been a hidden part of me since I was born. And now the fear inside me is so strong that the fiery burn of pain in my back only intensifies.
All I can think about is Kade and if he’s okay, and-- are those footsteps muffled by the snow, getting closer and closer? The fear is so real, so immediate as it courses through my veins, that it isn’t long until the painful scorching in my back explodes into a massive release.
Then the waxy, soft feathers of immense black wings tear out of my skin. They unfurl with a gentle rushing noise that seems a horrible contrast to what’s happening, and a quick glance in the mirror tells me that my dark brown eyes are now an inky black color that looks threatening, almost dangerous.
The strange footsteps are drawing closer, and now I can hear Kade rasping in the seat beside me.
He’s hurt really badly, and instead of making me even more afraid, I start to get angry.
I know what I have to do, but it’s going to be hard.
Strange how Kade makes me feel safe and protected, when in reality, I’m always the one doing the saving.
That’s my last thought before those footsteps stop right outside my car window, and a shadow falls over us, sending chills all the way through me.
That’s my last thought before the silence is broken, the running away stops, and the fighting begins.
My dark lashes feel thick and heavy, as if they’re weighing down my lids, but for once it’s not with exhaustion. I just feel content, being so close to the heat his solid body radiates. Why does he have this effect on me?
Kade’s piercing gray eyes are still fixed on the horizon, or rather, searching for it amidst the frozen white storm-- but I know he can sense that I’m awake. It’s in the way his lips curve downwards with worry and his brow furrows as if he’s not quite sure whether to ask.
It’s the question he always asks me when I wake up, whether it’s the middle of the night and I’m screaming, or if it’s evening and I’ve slept right through the day.
Did you have the nightmare?
Until recently, the answer was always yes. I always had that same horrible dream, night after night, and I’d wake up drenched in sweat with fistfuls of sheets balled into my hands.
Since Kade came into my life, though, the dreams have slowly gone away. I just feel safe around him, and when he’s this close, there’s nothing in the world that can touch us. Which is a big deal for me, considering I’ve never felt protected in my life.
Even when there’s danger all around us, hunting us like a hawk hunting down its prey, I can still manage to feel loved and cared for in his arms.
Still, he’s so concerned about me, all the time. Maybe he’s thinking more with logic than I am-- maybe the threat feels more imminent to him, and I know he can’t stand it when something might hurt me.
A small smile forms on my mouth at the sight of his concern, and the general cuteness of him that is just one more thing to come along with the package.
He has sharp angled features and messy dark hair that always seems to defy gravity, sticking up in all directions because he likes to run his hand through it when he’s nervous. And then there’s his beautifully shaped mouth that I’ve felt against mine, warm and gentle, ravaging every inch of me-
But only once. I’ve only felt those lips against mine once.
It didn’t take us long to find out what happens when we kiss, and the consequences that quickly follow. Now we know that we have to be careful, like we’re treading on shards of glass that might pierce our skin at any moment.
That’s why, even though we’re closer than we’ve ever been, he remains distant. He wants to kiss me, and god knows that I wouldn’t refuse him, but the mysterious things that follow our touch can’t be allowed to happen again.
We have to stay focused, get out of danger, and find somewhere safe where they can’t find us. So we keep driving towards the place where the day meets the night, where the crumbling sidewalk ends and gives way to a steep dropoff at the edge of the world.
The horizon.
Kade must sense me staring at him because finally, he glances at me with those gray eyes. His irises have flecks of violet in them near the center, and they darken at the very sight of me, deepening into an almost charcoal color.
He swallows hard and asks the question. “No nightmares?”
“Not today.”
He nods and I watch as the relief spreads over his face. It’s pretty obvious that he cares about me more than he likes to admit.
I smile again and let my eyes close, nestling into my black sweatshirt and leaning against the glass of the window. The coldness seeps through my hood and into my skull, numbing my mind until I think I might fall asleep again. Kade’s eyes leave the road again and flicker to me, the hint of happiness in them.
We’re going to be fine.
That’s the thought that lulls me as I start to drift off again, and it must jinx us.
Because when Kade’s eyes go back to the road, they widen in horror.
And from there, everything dissolves into chaos.
Before I can see what- or who- is in the middle of the highway, our car is slamming into it and spiraling out of control, spinning on a patch of black ice, whipping, tumbling, smashing into smithereens. Crunches and cracks fill my ears.
Then, everything goes dead silent. The world rights itself again.
My heart pounds and pumps adrenaline to each extremity of my body, as it begins to throb with an immense pain that has me afraid to move. Branches are everywhere, snow is still falling, and there’s something sticky coating my hands, the windshield, every inch of everything.
Kade isn’t saying anything. Is he breathing?
I jerk in my seat but something sharp stabs me right in the side, and waves of pain assault me. Not where the branch poked into my broken ribs, but right in the center of my back.
That’s when I know that it’s happening again.
The kiss I shared with Kade was the first thing that made it happen, but I know that any strong emotion can unleash it- what I really am, what’s been a hidden part of me since I was born. And now the fear inside me is so strong that the fiery burn of pain in my back only intensifies.
All I can think about is Kade and if he’s okay, and-- are those footsteps muffled by the snow, getting closer and closer? The fear is so real, so immediate as it courses through my veins, that it isn’t long until the painful scorching in my back explodes into a massive release.
Then the waxy, soft feathers of immense black wings tear out of my skin. They unfurl with a gentle rushing noise that seems a horrible contrast to what’s happening, and a quick glance in the mirror tells me that my dark brown eyes are now an inky black color that looks threatening, almost dangerous.
The strange footsteps are drawing closer, and now I can hear Kade rasping in the seat beside me.
He’s hurt really badly, and instead of making me even more afraid, I start to get angry.
I know what I have to do, but it’s going to be hard.
Strange how Kade makes me feel safe and protected, when in reality, I’m always the one doing the saving.
That’s my last thought before those footsteps stop right outside my car window, and a shadow falls over us, sending chills all the way through me.
That’s my last thought before the silence is broken, the running away stops, and the fighting begins.
