The Dark Artifices: Lady of Los Angeles

Chapter 28

Jules’/Emma’s POV

Just like in old days Jules fell asleep in Emma’s bed. The distance they’d had between them had worn on both of them. They lay there holding each other the whole night. Afraid to lose the other. They kept waking up each other. Emma always moved when she was sleeping and Jules got hit more times than he wanted to count. Emma woke up when Jules screeched every time she struck him.

     “What’s wrong, Jules?” she asked drowsily, still half asleep.

     Jules rubbed the latest sore spot on his cheek. “You hit me again, Emma.”

     “Well, it’s my bed. I’m used to having space.”

     He started to get up. “Then I’ll leave.” He was stopped by Emma who grasped his wrist.

     “No. Stay.”

     He lay down again. Both of them knew it’d just been an empty threat. None of them could manage to be alone. They lay there looking at each other. Their sleepiness was forgotten.

     Jules tucked a blond strand behind her ear. She looked at him as if he’d solve every one of her problems. If she’d only known. He was one of them.

     He moved closer to her. As he looked down on her lips he couldn’t stop himself from remembering that time. The time when he’d actually kissed her. That’d been part of the reason to why he’d left. That’d been part of the reason to why he’d come back. It seemed so impossible now, that he’d actually kissed her. He’d been so sure then that she had kissed him back. But he knew it wasn’t possible. Even if she was a girl who was most likely to break the rules she couldn’t break this one. To be a successful shadowhunter was her dream. A broken law couldn’t come in her way. If Jules did anything to prevent it…he’d never forgive himself.

She saw how his eyes kept flickering to her lips. Why didn’t he just kiss her? Emma had been the one to take the initiative whenever they were to fight a demon or just talk to somebody when they were younger, still did, but he needed to do something himself sometime for the angel’s sake. She twirled a strand of his hair around her finger. A bruise was darkening on his cheek. Her hand moved to it and cupped his cheek protecting even though she was the one to have given it to him. He flinched at first by the instant cold of her hand. She’d never had warm hands. She moved closer to him and before she got too close she whispered to him:

     “Sorry.”

     And she kissed him.

 

He was stunned at first but relaxed as he understood what was happening. Well, he didn’t understand exactly, but he went along with it. The conscience which had been in his way only a moment ago was gone now. It was so hard to stop especially when she had taken the initiative. He moved a hand to the back of her head to get her closer. He’d always thought she was cold, but everything he could think about now was how warm she was.

     When she leaned back a little he thought that was it. She’d changed her mind. He’d just imagined it.

     “Jules…”

     He shook his head resulting her hand fell off his cheek. “No, don’t. I understand.”

     At that she giggled in a way he thought only his younger sister Dru could or possibly Cristina. She moved her hand back to his cheek.

     “What exactly, Jules, do you not understand?”

     “We can’t be together. Not in any other way than being parabatai anyway.”