The Day It All Burned Down

Chapter Seventeen

Kiera had laid her head on Bennett's chest, both of them holding each other close as they lay in a tangle on limbs. The thunder had stopped and the rain was now only softly pattering around them.
"Tell me something beautiful" Kiera muttered against his skin, her hand moving through the hair on his chest, feeling his chest rise and fall under her hand.
"This moment" he placed a kiss to her forehead, moving his fingers into her hair "Feeling your body, your heart, your soul, connected with mine completely. That is beautiful" he sighed contentedly.
"It is"
"Tell me something beautiful"
"You. My scars. You kissed the ugliness away. You made the bad memories disappear and instead you replaced them with something beautiful. You replaced it with love" she placed a kiss to his chest.
"You belong here, Kiera. You belong with me, on this adventure"
"I would go anywhere with you" she admitted softly. He titled her chin up and connected their lips and slow yet strong kiss.
"We should get back before they realise that were not there" Kiera groaned.
"Five more minutes"
"If I spend another second holding you I won't ever let you away from me" he warned.
"That sounds perfect to me" she smiled.
"Yes but, Alexander won't be happy" he reminded her.
"I hate it when your right" she groaned, reaching across him to grab her panties.
"I hate being right" he groaned, watching as she moved around the room half naked, collecting the rest of her clothes.
After the two of them dressed they headed back to the forest, once again staying out of sight from patrols as they moved through the streets. As they pushed through the branches and bushes a familiar voice broke through the silence.
"Where the hell have the two of you been!" Alexander's voice boomed, making both of them drop their smiles.
"We went out. Why? What's the problem?" Bennett asked.
"We thought you'd been found or even killed!" He shouted.
"We're fine-"
"But we didn't know that!" The woods fell silent.
"We're sorry" Kiera spoke up for him.
"This place is important. What we do is important. I can't lose-" Alexander took in a deep but angry breath.
He loves Bennett like a son. He doesn't want to lose him.
"We won't sneak out again without telling someone" Kiera promised.
"You won't sneak out at all" Alexander ordered, his tone softening, somewhat.
"Yes" she nodded.
"Go to bed, all of you" he ordered sending Kiera, Bennett and the others off towards their tents with sorry expressions across their faces. Kiera moved to lie on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"So...where were you?" Nichole asked as she moved to sit on the end of Kiera's bed, a knowing look across her face.
"I was with Bennett. We were looking at stars"
"I bet he made you see stars" she teased, smirking.
"How did you know?"
"That glowy look you have. I bet that's why Alexander didn't go full on crazy at you both" Kiera pulled a pillow over her head as Nichole laughed "So, what was it like?" Kiera moved the pillow off her head.
"It was magical. Everything. It was like everything was worth it. Everything made sense"
"Wow. Romantic"
"Does it get better after the first time?"
"Oh, sweetie. The first time always hurts, it gets much better with practice" she assured her.
"How am I going to cope?" Kiera sat up and met Nichole's eyes "If it only gets better, I'll go crazy with feeling" Nichole let out a loud laugh, earning a shove from her "This isn't funny" Kiera groaned.
"I'm sorry. The two of you are just so crazy for each other. And I mean crazy" she teased lightly.
"It's intense. To need someone so much that your heart aches when your not with them. To feel your mind so full of them. Have you ever felt something like that?"
"No. No one has loved me like that before and I don't think I've ever loved someone that way either"
"It is maddening. Maybe I am crazy"
"Maybe we all are. Or maybe were the only sane ones" Nichole suggested, squeezing her hand lightly before she climbed into her own bed and closed her eyes.
Maybe she is right. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I'm the only sane one and my father, the other founders, are the real crazy ones. In a fucked up world like this one, clinging to the only thing that grounds me can't be wrong or crazy. To me, Bennett is the only thing that makes sense, the only thing that doesn't lie. His love is real. How he makes me feel is real. Our love is more real than Eden. More real than this fucked up world.
Kiera rolled over in her bed, pulling her blanket over her her eyes rolled shut.