Between by Megan Whitmer

Author:Megan Whitmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Between
ISBN: 9781939392169
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Published: 2014-06-27T16:00:00+00:00

In my room, Seth drops my sketchbook on the table and holds me until the sobs slow to sniffles. For a moment, I think he might tell me everything is okay. It’s not like he needs to point out how lucky I am. I don’t need the lecture or the “I told you so.”

Then he turns his back to me and puts some space between us, and I know he’s going to make his point. I lean against the table and brace myself for what’s coming.

“I was standing in the middle of Central Hall when we heard the explosion. I dropped everything, literally dropped it right there in the middle of the floor, and came here.” He turns around. His eyes are wide and staring, his face pale. He looks so young right now, so unabashedly afraid. “Do you have any idea what it was like to show up and find this room empty? Then I heard the screams.” His voice cracks on the last word.

Seth closes his eyes, and I wonder if he’s hearing them now, like I am. High-pitched cries of anguish. I release a shaky breath.

“What the hell were you doing out there?” he asks, anger punctuating every word. “Why can’t you just be where I tell you to be?”

I shake my head. My nostrils burn as my eyes fill with tears again. None of the reasons I come up with will mean anything in the face of what happened at the lake. I never should’ve left. “I thought you didn’t want me to go because of Keiran. I thought—”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, Charlie!” He cuts me off and slams his hand down on the island in the kitchen. “I’m not your jealous boyfriend! It’s my job to know all the different things that could harm you and anticipate threats before they happen. This isn’t about keeping you away from some guy, it’s about keeping you alive!”

I rub my forehead. He’s said it a million times—his job is to keep me safe—but until now I’ve only thought about what those words meant for me, not him. His life is built around mine. The way he zeroes in on the things that could hurt me is as natural to him as the way I look at a scene and see all of its lines. It’s who he is.

Shaped by the Fellowship, just like me.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. For so many things. For today. For last night. For the years he’s dedicated to me without question.

Seth’s shoulders fall. “I know. I just need you to understand.” He walks to me and takes my face in his hands, spreading his fingers through my hair. “Nothing can happen to you. Not because of what you are or what it means or any of that, but because nothing can happen to you.”

I hear what he doesn’t say. His protection is more about who I am than what I am, more about his feelings than his job.

I’m more than my bloodline.

My heart flutters. He swipes his thumbs beneath my eyes and across my cheeks, wiping tears away.

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