Petrichor

Chapter 20- Adalynn

"Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene" Hozier

The distance set between me and the stars was something unfathomable. Their brilliance is so far out of reach, but yet I appreciate them all the same. Being underneath the same night sky as all creatures, stunning and sinister, was an odd feeling. A feeling indescribable; we are all the same, minute creatures. We don't really have a say in our fate, do we? The ground will retake us one day, forcing us to lay in watch of the stars for an eternity. But I still loved it. The stars, I mean. No one can touch them, no one can take away their beauty, their purity. I was envious. Nonetheless, I still sit, perched on the windowsill. The cool breeze brushed through my tangled hair, bumps raising on my bare arms. The endless, bright, but faint twinkling lights dazzled all across the lands. An orb, challenging the sun, made its presence known. It swayed among the atmosphere, making its way through the sea of stars. This one only shone brighter, was bigger. It changed shape occasionally, but you knew it was always the same encaptivating moon. This was my peace. Only because it was dependable. The stars will never swim away and the moon never forgets to come back. The first night on the surface was a memory that has stained my mind. It stole every bleak nightmare that resurfaced the second I tried to sleep.

My attention never drifted in the quiet blanket of night. I brushed off the sound of the covers rustling behind me, eyes stuck outside. I heard Rory flip over. And then again. And again. She'd been restless from the moment she fell asleep. I tried to ignore it, focus on the stars. She kept mumbling something. Jet.

When she bolted upright, gasping for air, I couldn't ignore her any longer. I pushed off the window, making my way over.

"Rory?" I mumbled, sitting on the edge of the bed. She gripped the sheets, panting, struggling to breathe.

"I-" She inhaled deeply, running her fingers through her hair. "I can't-" Panic ridden, she looked around the room, anywhere but me. She pushed herself forward, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me closer.

"Woah, Ror, what's going on? Have a bad dream or something?" I swiped her hair out of her face. Her skin was on fire. It was freezing in the room, how was she so damn hot?

Rory's lips tugged downward. "We made mistakes," She clutched the fabric of my shirt, tugging me closer. I stumbled forward a little, hitting her shoulder. "The devils..."

"Mistakes? Devils?" I grabbed her cheeks, forcing her to look at me. "Rory, what the hell are you talking about? And what the hell is jet?"

Rory shook her head, mumbling. "Not what, who-" She whimpered softly, averting her gaze. "I shouldn't have said anything, she's going to be angry."

What the hell.

Sighing, I let go of her face. "Rory, you had a nightmare. Go back to bed, okay? It'll be fine in the morning. We'll get you some food-"

"No, no, no." She chuckled quietly, pathetically. "I don't want to eat."

"Are you feeling sick or something?" I was grasping for straws at this point. "Fine, you don't have to eat. Sleep."

"Adalynn, you - Everything's going to go wrong. Everything went wrong. We are wrong. We've been bad-" She blubbered, erratically searching for something, never looking straight at me.

Maybe she had some sick dream about the trial. Or shifting. Something, hell if I know. Whatever it is, it needs to be figured out already.

"Rory, nothing is wrong. Save for the entire world, but that's not new. Come on, lay down, Ror." I tried pushing on her shoulders to guide her back down, but she went stiff.

"Lynn," she muttered, pushing away from me, back against the wall. "Please stop doing that." Her voice hitched. She almost sounded like she was on the verge of tears.