Petrichor

Chapter 6 - Adalynn

"Saint Valentine" Gregory Alan Isakov

The stars are absolutely gorgeous. Making the night seem a little less intimidating, just barely illuminating the sky. The brilliance of them makes the world a bit more hopeful. They were a comfort I had newly discovered that I would never let go of. They blanketed the sky, twinkling on forever.

"Please don't tell me you're planning an escape. Are you?" Rory's voice announces her presence.

"I would never want to leave." I say somewhat truthfully as I'm entranced with what's above.

Rory sighs as she too steps towards the window.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Bed's too soft." I say, truth only slips off my tongue this time. Rory's face contorts with confusion, but says nothing. We stay there, looking beyond the open window. It was only for a short moment before Aurora yawned.

"Go to bed, it's late." I whispered.

"You too Lynn." She murmured.

"I will eventually." She went to bed, I didn't. As the sun rose, shortly did the rest of the house.

I can't deny I was a bit tired, and, in retrospect, maybe it wasn't the best idea to stay up all night. But I just couldn't sleep. I'd never been a good sleeper anyhow, my mind was plagued with nightmares more nights than not. Rory was still asleep by the time dawn came, and I didn't want to wake her, so I tiptoed out of the room. I didn't quite know what my plan was, she was supposed to walk me to training. I sure as hell didn't know the way. I supposed I'd wait for her to wake up, and if she didn't, I could always do it myself. It should be at the same place we left yesterday, right?

I sat at the table, taking in the stillness around me. The air was dry and stiff, but the dew peppering the grass outside gave it some form of sweetness. I stared outside the window for a while, watching the birds flutter by. It felt like I stared outside that window for a decade, and Rory was still awake. Deciding it was my duty to wake her, I started towards the room.

At first I was gentle. I knelt down beside her and tapped her arm, whispering for her to wake up. It didn't work. Then, I tried shaking her shoulders lightly. Nothing. What the hell? Did she die or something? I was getting impatient at how heavy of a sleeper she was. She just laid there, stupidly sleeping her heart out. I glanced around the room, my eyes landing on a pillow. Perfect. I grabbed the pillow and stood a few feet away, winding my arms behind my head and aiming. This had to wake her.

I chucked it at Rory with as much force as I could muster, and to the blow, she bolted upright in an almost panicked frenzy.

"What the fuck?!" She nearly screamed, glancing around worriedly.

"It was just me," I cleared my throat, and she rested her eyes on me. Her gaze softened slightly, and she yawned. She raised her hand to rub the back of her neck sorely, then attempted to crack her back.

With another yawn, she spoke. "Sorry, I'm a heavy sleeper. Only in this house, though. Funny, huh?"

I nodded in agreement, ushering her out of the room. She barely had time to wake herself up, but I was ready to go. I'd already been waiting. Rory had to be one of the slowest people I'd ever met.

Rory attempted to grab a piece of fruit as we walked out, but I pulled her along by her sleeve. "Come on," I urged.

"Why are you so excited to go to training? It's not all that sunshine and rainbows," Rory whined, looking back at the fruit. I sighed, releasing her sleeve and rushing back to grab her the apple. I tossed it at her before exiting the house. She gave a satisfied grin, biting into it.