AT THE SAME TIME
XAVIER'S POINT OF VIEW:
Later, after everyone stopped hovering and Selene promised not to lecture me again, the cabin finally fell into a gentle hush. Jaxon and Michael stepped outside for a 'check around the perimeter' which was probably code for 'we're too wired to sit still and need to grumble about our feelings in private'. Selene brewed something nasty looking for my 'stabilization,' and Adrian... Adrian stayed by my side. He hadn't left since he caught me.
Now, with a blanket around my shoulders and the distant chirp of evening birds, I was tucked into Adrian's lap on the old couch. My head rested against his chest, rising and falling with his steady breath. His hand gently combed through my hair. Neither of us spoke. I could feel it, the words in his throat, the ones he kept swallowing back.
"I'm okay, you know." I said softly, trying not to disturb the peace.
His fingers paused.
"No, you're not."He said.
I closed my eyes.
