Daughter of Neverland

Chapter 18

   When I open my eyes my first thought is: Why am I comfortable? I know that I passed out on the cold hard ground resting my head on his but now I'm lying on the bed covered up in the thin old blanket. Something must be wrong. I shiver as I sit up and look around. Where's Pan? Did he . . .

No.

No.

No!

Father must've taken him. He must have come after I passed out and taken Pan but left me. I swing my legs over the side of the small bed. My toes touch the ground as arms wrap around me from behind. I scream and it's followed by a familiar laugh that causes my heart to leap with joy.

"Oh! I thought . . . I . . ." I fall back into him as a sob of joy chokes out the rest of my words.

"I promised not to hurt you, Ari. And it seems my almost death nearly did."

"You've lied before." I laugh through another sob, "Recently actually."

I pull down on his arms with all my strength, and finally, he lets go of me. I quickly get off the bed, only to find myself leaping back on. He pulls me onto his lap, his comforting hands gently rubbing my back. Strangely, an overwhelming sense of joy floods over me, knowing that he's alive seems to be filling me with much more joy than I would've thought possible. At the moment, I feel as if I am surrounded by a thousand stars, each one twinkling with hope and relief.

My childish grin fades when a thought comes to my mind: I can't allow myself to feel any more pain when it comes to him.

I get off the bed and walk over to the small kitchen. He must've picked up the mess I made before I woke up. Whatever, I'm sure I can still fake seeing a mess. I grab a rag and scrub at the nothing on the small counter, there's nothing to clean.

Woosh.

A book flies past my head.

Did he just try to hit me?

I didn't know my aim was better than his. Oh.My.Word, my aim is better than his!

"Ha! You missed."

I pivot swiftly to meet his gaze and am met with the expanse of his neck. Our substantial height difference transforms into an imposing presence and I suddenly feel very nervous and unsettled. An odd sound leaves my mouth, half-gasp, half-sigh, half cry for help.

"I don't miss." He hisses as I stumble away from him.

My back slams into the wall. "Did I say missed? I meant . . . Oh, my."

He pins me against the wall, his hands on either side of my shoulders. His gaze is directed to my eyes. I could shrink down —to the size of dust and die from the blush covering every part of my face— and escape his gaze if I wanted to but my feet are frozen to the ground. I feel like I'm paralyzed. He grabs my chin and tilts it up toward himself.

"Your eyes are beautiful." His words sound sincere but I still blink multiple times. What is happening right now? "Has no one ever told you that?" I nod, "Well they are. One is like the ocean here in Neverland, a deep and mysterious blue. The other is like the mist that covers it in the early hours of the day, a calming and yet haunting silvery-gray."

No one, not even Father, has ever called my odd two-toned eyes beautiful. I mean they're odd eyes in rare colors. Where's the beauty in that? I don't even think that I've ever thought my eyes to be beautiful and they're mine.

"Stop lying."

"I would never lie to you, not unless it's for your safety, Ari."

"That right there is a lie."