Celestial Worlds

Chapter Forty-two

Daniel and I are currently lying on the bed.

    Daniel’s asleep now, topless, his lips parted and snoring lightly, that way I know he’s sound asleep. I can’t sleep tonight, thoughts are running laps around my head and they’re disturbing my focus and sanity. Daniel’s arm is draped over me and my face is snuggled on his chest. I’m breaking in a cold sweat even though it’s very cold in his room. I keep thinking about Jonathan.

    Jonathan who had me at my best.

    But there’s also Daniel.

    Daniel who cared for me at my worst.

    He was the one who took care of me and put me back together. He was the reason why I’m here now, why I have survived my first two months.

    And tomorrow, tomorrow marks the third month of my stay.

    Which means I don’t really have much time left. I can’t keep wasting them although I already have, I’ve already wasted my time here long enough.

    I shift and face my back to his, my body facing the window across the room. Daniel shifts also, hugging me tighter. I try to relax against him but I can’t. I can’t relax and I can’t place my thoughts back to place, they’re running round and round an—

    There’s a small plink on the window.

   I squint my eyes, the moonlight shining bright. I can’t see anything, I maybe hearing some things or a bird may have hit the window.

    Plink.

    There it is again.

    I shift away very slowly from Daniel, wriggling lightly so I don’t wake up Daniel. I put on Daniel’s shirt above my head so it covers my small tank top and my short shorts. I twist the lock from the window and pull it up as far as it would go. I lean out, looking from left to right, searching for the source of the plinking. There are birds perched on the nearby trees nibbling on things, they must’ve dropped some of those kernels when they’re flying past here. I reach up to shut the window back down when another hand stops it. The hand comes from outside the room, I follow it, following the veins and the pores and there he is.

    Jonathan. With his charcoal black wings exposed, stretching wide on both directions. He smiles his crooked smile and says, “Hey Victoria.” He rests his forearms on the windowsill and lowers himself down so he looks at me from eye level. I’m still holding the window up, not knowing there’s a big silly smile plastered on my face.

    “Hey,” I exhale, resting my arms on the windowsill, inside of his arms. Today, his eyes are the same shade of green, not red like the day in the park. “Why’re you here?” I ask him in a whisper, still having a smile on my face. He smiles back and he intertwines both of our hands together, guiding them around my waist. His strong arms are now wrapped around me and my hands are on his shoulders.

    “Came to see you,” he replies, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek. I chuckle like an idiot. He laughs back but it’s a little loud.

    I frantically hold a finger up to my lips, gesturing him to keep quiet. “Shh, keep quiet,” I hiss, looking at Daniel, who is still fast asleep. His eyes scrutinize my outfit and glances at Daniel, who is in a topless state.

    “Have you two done something?” He asks tightly. His eyes turning into the strongest shade of amber I have ever seen. His jaw clenches and cheeks turn pink.

    I laugh at him quietly and remove my hands from his shoulders to wrap around his neck. His expression softens and his eyes turn into the normal shade of green again, leaving his eyebrows furrowed into pure confusion. I twirl some of his hair around one finger. “Jea-lous,” I singsong to him teasingly. He turns pink again but he eventually smiles. He glances at my lips them pulls me closer, kissing me softly.

    “You got me,” he murmurs against my lips. I smile and pull him closer to me, half of my body almost out. He cups both sides of my face and he continues to kiss me softly. He doesn’t deepen the kiss because even before he has the chance to do it, we hear the rustling of sheets. The sound of Daniel shifting. Before I could even push Jonathan, he’s already disappeared. He flew fast out of sight and I’m thankful for that. Daniel sits up slowly, looking at me from across the room.

    “Victoria?” he asks groggily, still rubbing his eyes. “What,”—he yawns—“What are you doing there?”

   I remove my arms from the windowsill and say, “I—I was just catching some fresh air. I…couldn’t sleep.” Half of it was true so I wasn’t really lying. Not really. He yawns again and sits up, the duvet falling from his upper body. He stretches and stands up from the bed, striding over to me. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin against my head.

    “Why couldn’t you sleep baby?” he asks me, leaning back so he can take a look at me face. “You wanna walk outside for a while, I don’t mind as long as I’m with you,” he says, and he smiles sweetly at me and I can’t help but smile back. He leans in and gives me a soft kiss and a split second after he touches his lips to mine; we hear the sound of wood breaking. We break apart and look outside the open window. A branch has fallen off a nearby tree and I chuckle, I chuckle because I know exactly how or who did that. Daniel furrows his eyebrows at me. “Did a branch just fell?” He asks, his lips tugging up a smile.

    “Yeah,” I say. “You could say that.”