The Awakener (30 page)

“Yes.”

“And we tried to fix it ourselves, even though it shouldn’t have needed fixing
, and it didn’t work. You called Andrew and he’s not even in town.”

She stared at him.
“Ok, you’ve lost me.”

Then his eyes stared just past her, his pupils dilating
until the black almost overtook the blue. She gaped at him; his breathing was rapid now.

Oh my gosh, he’s having a vision.

She waited, each second feeling like an eternity. Slowly, his breathing became even again, and his eyes focused on her.

“Caitlyn was right all along,” he exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face.
“I just needed to have a little faith.”

“What?
Micah, what did you see?”

Now his face was inches from hers.
“Don’t worry, it all works out.”

“Do you mean you live?”
But he didn’t answer her, only took a step closer. “Micah—” she began, but his hand wrapped around the base of her neck.

His mouth landed on hers.
Shocked, she staggered back, losing her balance, but he grabbed her, holding her against him. Finally registering that this was real, not some daydream, she kissed him back. He responded by kissing her harder, faster. She could understand his hunger—she felt it too. Every part of her body was tingling and numb at the same time. She found her fingers running through his hair, enjoying how silky it felt, while his kisses became frantic. His hands came back up her body and, reaching her neck, he tilted her head back, his lips making their way down her jaw and throat. His warm kisses on her skin left her lightheaded, and she closed her eyes. She had goose bumps everywhere as his lips made their way back to her mouth. Once his mouth was again pressing hard against hers, she realized they were now standing next to the bed. When had they moved?

One of his arms crushed her body against his, while his other hand was tangled in her hair, cradling the back of her head.
She knew there was no escaping his strong arms, even if she wanted to. She felt her knees go weak, and she found herself lying down on the bed, Micah next to her. Being so close to him, she could smell his skin and feel how warm his body felt next to her. Somewhere in her mind, she was trying to understand what was happening still, and she was beginning to wonder if lying down was a mistake. She wasn’t prepared for the rush of new feelings it brought. She was telling herself to pull away, even though she was afraid she’d be waking from a dream if she did, when he stopped kissing her.

He gazed down at her, resting on his elbow, his eyes searching her face. Lying on her back, aware of his warm arm across her stomach, she smiled up at him.
“So you did want to kiss me.”

He brushed her lips with his, murmuring, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop now.”

She giggled and threw both her arms around his neck, knocking him off balance and down on her. He quickly propped himself up again with his elbow. Then he was standing up. “We should probably go downstairs.”

“What?
Why?” she asked, sitting up.
Does he regret it?

His eyes roamed her face
and, instead of answering her, he was knocking her back down with his mouth. She was beginning to understand his reason, when he stopped and practically jumped off the bed. “Yeah, we can’t stay in here. Come on.”

She wanted to disagree with him, but she knew he was right.
She let him pull her up to her feet. As she lumbered toward the door, grasping his hand, she asked, “Can we just talk for a bit?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Just talk?”

She smiled, hitching her shoulders up. “Please. I promise to be good.”

“Ok, but I’m going to hold you to it,
‘cause I can’t guarantee anything on my end.”

Once they were sitting down on his bench, he pulled her hand into his and began tracing her fingers with his.
She watched his hand and then peeked up at his face. “So are you going to tell me what you saw?”

“I live.
I see me in the temple now.”

“You do!
Wait, what temple?”

“Oh, guess I didn’t tell you about that.”

She waited and he grew quiet. “So?”

“It’s Enoch’s temple. We need to find something inside of it.
I promise I’ll tell you more but, right now, I don’t want to think about it.” She was going to ask why not when he kissed her again, leaving her breathless when he stopped.

Kissing him felt so right.
Like she’d found something she’d been missing.

“So this is ok, then?
I don’t have to be with Andrew now?”

He pulled her into his lap.
“Not unless you want to be.”

She pressed her head against his chest, listening to the pounding of his heart.
“No, I want to be with you.”

“Good
.” He squeezed her around the waist playfully and she squealed at the pressure. “Because I’m not giving you back.”

She laughed and then faced him.
“So what changed? Why’s it all fine now?”

“The miracle came.”

“Huh?”

“You have to have faith before the miracle can come.
I was doing it backwards, thinking I’d have faith after I’d seen the miracle. That’s not how faith works. Once I let myself truly believe it was going to be fine, I saw me in the temple with all of you, including Andrew. He’s going to show up tomorrow.”

She stared at him and then grinned.
“So is
this
part of the miracle too?”
Sure feels like it to me.

“
You
are my miracle.” His lips brushed against hers, sending fire through her veins. He cocked his head to the side. “Or maybe you’re my little loaf of bread.”

“Ha ha! Very funny. Now you’re mocking me.
I made a good point, you know.”

“Yes,” he kissed her lips, “you did.
I wasn’t making fun, I swear.” He winked at her. Then he had that look again, and she loved the rush it gave her to know what it meant.
He wants me
. As his lips found hers, she thought of all the times she’d pictured how this would feel. They paled in comparison.

Micah stopped abruptly.
Feeling disoriented, she asked, “What? What’s wrong?”

He arched an
eyebrow at her. “You aren’t keeping your end of the bargain.”

“Yes, I am! Besides, I’m not the one starting all the kissing.”

“True, but I can’t help it. You look too good, so it’s really your fault.”

“Nice try.” She detangled herself from his arms and stood.

“You better not try running away again,” he said
, as she crossed the room.

“I’m not.
You always catch me anyway.”

He chuckled behind her.

She pushed the door open all the way. “There, that should help us be good.”

“Maybe,” he admitted as she turned around.
“Now get over here.”

She waltzed back and stood planted in front of him.
He grabbed her hands and pulled her close, nestling his face into her stomach. She giggled and ran her fingers through his black hair. He tugged down on her arms, but she decided it might be safer to sit next to him instead. He made a funny face at her.

“What? You told me to behave!”

He snorted and lifted her into his lap anyway. “Like you didn’t plan this tonight? You sent Trent away on that date on purpose, didn’t you?”

She bit her lip. “Maybe.”

She pressed her face into his chest, enjoying his scent.
Tucked under his chin, she kissed his throat softly. His breathing sped and he turned her neck until her lips met his. His mouth moved with hers. Eventually he stopped, cradling her in his arms. She felt like she was panting, trying to catch her breath.

He grunted. “Poor Trent’s been going crazy babysitting me.”

“It’s been good for him.”

“I’m not so sure.
You don’t know how crabby he can get.”

“Well, at least he’ll be in a better mood tomorrow.”

“Who knows, either way, I don’t want to think about Trent right now. I just want to enjoy you.”

“Ok, deal
.” She hesitated and then asked, “When did you know… I mean, when did you realize—?”

“How I felt about you?” he asked, finishing her question.

She nodded.

“I hate to admit it, but it was in Rome. I liked seeing you before I left, but I didn’t really think it through, you know. When I started having visions about you and Andrew, I was insanely jealous. It surprised me, but you were with my friend, so what could I do? Besides, I—” he stopped. “Well, you know. I thought you were supposed to be with him. I thought I was ok with it all, but then I see you the morning after prom. Man, I knew I was in trouble then. You walked in and it felt like my heart stopped.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When you told me you broke up, I about kissed you right there, but—”

“I know,” she interrupted, not wanting to talk about that.

“I thought I’d done it, you know. Trent’s been glued to my side for the past month. Damon’s been over almost every day. Then you show up here tonight and I’m going crazy inside…” His words trailed as he kissed her again. There was something in the way he kissed her this time that was different. He wasn’t in a hurry. It was gentle, soft, and left her feeling like a puddle in his arms. Dizzy, she leaned her head back, wanting his lips to find her throat again. He did, kissing behind her ear.

Taking her face in his hands, he peered into her eyes.
“Eden, we need to go downstairs. As much as I want to stay here with you, I don’t really trust myself right now.”

She wanted to protest, but she knew he had a point.
She followed behind him, clutching his hand, afraid this would all disappear the moment they left his room.

At his door, he stopped. “Before we go downstairs, you have to tell me when you knew.”

Her eyes shifted to the floor. “I knew before you, sort of the moment I saw you in the locker hall.”

He was thoughtful and then grinned.
“You always were the smart one. I really don’t deserve you.”

She shook her head.
“You have that one backwards.”

“No, I don’t.”

She wanted to turn it into a joke, but his eyes were so sincere that all she could feel was the happiness bubbling within her. She pressed her lips on his, closing her eyes, his hand slipped behind her neck, tickling her skin, and her lips parted. He pulled back, his breathing ragged.

His brow was wrinkled.

“What’s wrong?”

He took a deep breath.
“Wow… nothing… you’re just… we need to go downstairs.”

She bit her lip, smiling back at him.
“Oh. Ok.”

They entered the great room where Micah’s parents were about to start a movie.
Eden sank into the couch, pulling her knees up. She shot a text to her mom, telling her she was at the Hawkins watching a movie. As her mom sent back,
Oh good! Have fun!
Micah sat down next to her. She was wondering if he wanted his parents to know about them, when he grabbed her hand.

So, I guess he’s not hiding us. This can’t be really happening, can it?

As the movie neared its end, the front door opened and Trent strolled in. She caught the surprise in his face at seeing her there
. His eyebrows shot up when he spied their hands clasped together. He plopped next to Micah and slapped Micah’s leg hard, saying nothing.

When the movie ended, she overheard Trent whisper, “I can’t even leave you alone for one second. So now what?”

“It’s all good,” Micah replied.

Trent stared at him, his face doubtful.

It was late and she needed to get home. They had a big day tomorrow. She stretched and told Micah’s parents good night as they left the room. Trent stared at her; she could see the unasked question in his eyes.

Micah stood up and held his hand out to her.
“Are you going to be ok driving home?”

She half
-yawned, half-laughed. “It’s only a hundred feet away. I think I’ll be fine.” She took his hand and landed on her feet.

“You shouldn’t be out at night by yourself,” Micah said.

She wanted to argue, but he did have a point.

“I’ll drive you home,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Micah—” Trent began.

Micah cut him off.
“I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Remember what Sage said to us.
You think you’ll walk back or something? I’ll follow you.”

As Micah nodded, she thought how ridiculous this conversation would sound to an outsider.
She only lived one street over, but they all had a very good reason to be more cautious at night now. Nobody was anxious for another run in with a nasty demon.