Brighter Than The Stars: Book One

Second Alternate Direction To Version One: Part 3

This time when Madeline woke up with Elijah pressed tight against her body, his arm draped over her with his hand touching hers, she didn't protest. She didn't want to wake him, or put an end to her fluttering stomach.

She hadn't meant to wake up to him at all. Once her parents cleaned out the guest bedroom after dinner, Elijah was meant to sleep in there. And he had, for a time. But the nightmares returned, and so had he. Madeline had heard her bedroom door open, felt the dip in the bed. More than that, she'd felt his fingertips against he skin of her arm, trailing small dimensions against her. Although she'd done her best not to stir, he'd left goosebumps in his wake.

One soft kiss against her shoulder, one quiet 'goodnight', and he'd drifted asleep.

This time when Madeline felt his morning erection, she questioned the words from last night. Elijah hadn't outright admitted to feeling something for her. Instead, he'd skated around her questions with finesse. But he had said the 'L' word as if it were their impending fate.

And maybe it was fate. Maybe their North Star pointed her family to this home nineteen years ago, when she was only just two-years-old, bringing her to next to the family with an eleven-year-old boy. Maybe, just maybe, this was where they were always meant to end up; in each other's arms after experiencing their own journey's in life. Except that North Star acted too soon. She still had one year left of her own journey.

Elijah had offered to stay in this town while she went back off to college, but what if their love evolved before then? What would happen if Madeline fell hopelessly and forever in love with Elijah Martin, only to have to be the one to leave him? Or worse, what would happen if he didn't fall hopelessly and forever in love with her?

"Shh," Elijah whispered, the puff of air hitting her temple.

"I didn't say anything." Or had she?

He let out a tired laugh. "Maybe not, but the gears turning in your head are loud as all hell, M&M. Say what you need to say, because right now it feels like I'm holding a stiff board."

Could Madeline bring herself to say her worries aloud? Talking about her feeling wasn't something she was used to. Not to this extent. Like Elijah, she'd kept just a little distance between her and those she cared about, because she never wanted to feel the pain of absolute loss ever again. But also like Elijah, she was physically capable of holding him at a distance. He was, and always would be, in her heart completely.

"Last night you said, 'if it becomes that other sort of love', but I know it will be. I don't think it's possible for me not to fall in love with you. It feels like my fate. But what if it isn't yours?"

Elijah let out a slow breath behind her, and Madeline prepared her heart for doom. Instead, the hand that had been touching hers entangled their fingers together. "If that's what has those wheels of yours making so much noise, you can relax. That fate belongs to both of us, Maddie. I could feel it when we woke up next to each other yesterday, and I felt it waking up to you now.

"When your parents were teasing us yesterday, I didn't look embarrassed because it felt like they painting this picture of our destiny, minus the goats and the soup ladle. It's why I couldn't stop smiling through the whole thing. Once you and I kiss, it'll be the end of our chance of ever finding love with anyone but each other.

"I may not be in love with you yet, but it is our fate, M&M. I could feel it the moment I turned around, looked in your eyes, and felt all that darkness disappear from me. Only you have that power. Right then, I knew that had to mean something. And every moment we've spent together since then, it's become more obvious.

"If we're half as in love as I think we'll be by the end of summer, all you have to do is ask, and I'll follow you anywhere. So ease your mind, and relax your body, Maddie, because I promised you yesterday that I would never let anyone hurt you again, and I meant that. Your heart's safe with me."

It was if Elijah had willed the tension from her body, and Maddie found herself relaxed against him in the deepest sort of trust. Yet the inside of her body became a jumbled mess. If she didn't slow down the pace of her heart, surely they'd have some sort of medical emergency to deal with. Her mind felt moments away from fluttering far away from her body. She'd never felt so awake in her entire life, yet felt as if she was about to pass out. Her mouth didn't seemed to be caught between two worlds of completely drying out, and drooling all over her chin.

"Yesterday, I wanted you to ask me a question. Ask it now."

Madeline brought his knuckles up to her lips, kissing every part of his broken skin. "Will you stay?"

She'd barely finished the last word when he answered with a single word of his own. "Yes."

A tap on the door seemed unable to stir either one of them. "Downstairs, you two. It's time to have a family talk."

"Guess she noticed the guest bedroom was empty."

With a heavy heart, Madeline released his hand from her grasp, only to feel his body move over her own. She knew what was coming. Like how her body reacted to his confession, she could feel this moment surge throughout every inch of her. "Morning breath," she warned.

Elijah smiled as he lowered lips down to her own. "I don't care about morning breath, M&M."

The moment his lips touched hers, Madeline swore she heard a crackling in her brains; fizzling out and into its demise. So soft, so perfect. So undeniably made to kiss her until the end of time.