Lonely

Chapter 71, Hanger

We were in Arianna’s living room of her house, which was completely different than ours. We had just gotten there, and already we were sitting down, waiting to hear what she and Jasper had to say. Sophia and Ryder were perched on the twins knees, there small eyes half shut, thanks to Max’s drowsy feelings. Roxi, Ariadne, and Libby were sitting around Sadie. Sully was in between Boomer and Levy, and I caught sight of Jett wedged in a dark corner. Arianna smiled at us.

“Well, now that we are all here, we can begin.” We all looked at her expectantly, but Jasper stepped forward and spoke.

“Lonely is a very special town.” He began. No duh.

“It is empty, because its job is specifically to accommodate whatever party needs the room and the town. It has held as many as one thousand people at a time, but mostly just small groups, like us. The houses change according to the type of people or person in it. It works around you.

“We will be battling here. The town also has a special facility to train in, and a pool.” The kids all cheered.

“Feel free to explore. Don’t break anything, or vandalize because the town has holds a bad vendetta against people like that.  Trust me. We will begin our training the day after tomorrow. If you need anything, come over and get me or Arianna, as you know.” He turned and smiled at Sadie.

“Not to mention the fact that we have a birthday in two days.”

Sadie’s expression looked confused, then surprised, then embarrassed. Nicco and Liam smiled.

“Perfect! You haven’t been to a party until you’ve been to an Irishmen’s party.” He said. He and Liam high fived without taking their grinning looks off of Sadie.

We left the house, after the guys had kissed Arianna on the cheek and all the kids had said good night to Sadie and hugged her. Sophia had to be dragged off to bed by her sisters to leave Sadie’s arms. We went back over to our house in the pitch dark.

“Dibs on the room.” Sadie called, going down the hall and into the kitchen, the guys following her. They all groaned.

“That means we have to stay in the living room, while you and Hanger get the room. Technically, that shouldn’t even be allowed.” Max whined.

 Sadie poured a bowl of cereal and looked deviously up at them.

“Does the thought of Hanger and I in a room alone at night bother you?" she asked teasingly, smiling at me. She looked happier than she had in a while, and it put me in a better mood. Dodger made a face

. “Don’t even go there. I’m going to bed. And taking this with me.” He grabbed the box of cereal and stalked out of the room. The others drifted off to the living room.

Sadie fanner her face with her hand.

“Either I’m having a hot flash or it’s a hundred degrees here, even at night.” She said. Now she said it, I noticed it too. The heat was stifling. My shirt was damp, and I missed the cool stones in Arianna’s house.

“Do you feel like we’re in a glass box here? Like there’s something over the town, making it so hot? You know, other than the sun?” she asked.

 I nodded. It felt very claustrophobic. “I think it must have something to do with the magical thing.” I said. Sadie leaned against the counter and ate her cereal in silence. When she was done she ran her hand across my chest as she walked past. It wasn’t fair. She was beginning to say something in the hall way, but suddenly fell silent. I walked up behind and looked at the sight in the living room. The guys were all passed out. The twins were pig piled on top of one another, Max was in an easy chair, his legs slung over one side and his head dropping over the other side. Dodger and Boomer were sprawled out on the floor, and Levy was on the couch, one arm hanging off the edge. They were all sound asleep, their mouths hanging open. Sadie made a face.

“It’ll be a wonder if we get any sleep with their snoring.” She said. She had a point. It sounded like someone was ripping a chainsaw to life in our living room. She smiled at me with her dazzling smile and turned to go to the room we would be sharing. She looked over her shoulder at me.

“Coming?"

I nodded. “I’ll be there in a second. I just want to check on something.”

She looked skeptical but nodded and went to the bedroom. I went into the kitchen and opened the back pack Sadie and I took ever where. Inside, I pulled the picture of her and her family out. She looked so happy and care free, nothing but an innocent child. I wished I could make it like that for her all the time, but I knew it wasn’t possible. Not yet, at least. I put it back and went down the hall to the single bedroom.

As usual, Sadie didn’t hear me enter. She arched her back and stretched her arms over her head, creating an image that I knew would stick with me for days. I went up behind her and put my hands on her waist and kissed the soft skin of her neck. She giggled and turned to face me. She wound her fingers into my hair and pulled gently, asking me to come to her level. Instead, I picked her up. She laughed in delight, and kissed me. I breathed in her sweet, warm scent, her tiny body barely weighing anything in my arms. She pulled away; our breathing ragged, and rested her forehead against mine. I studied every freckle on her face, and probably could have drawn a picture of her with every freckle in the right place, arcing over her nose.

“We should probably go to bed. Who knows what Arianna has planned for us tomorrow.” She said quietly. I put her down on the bed and crawled up next to her, planning to kiss her again. The floor of the house rumbled and shook. I stopped moving. It creaked and then settled again. I ignored it and bent my head to kiss her, but it shook again, more violently. I was amazed none of the guys woke up. Sadie sighed.

“I guess the house doesn’t like the idea of us in the same bed.” She said. She got up as if to sleep on the floor, but I shot up before she could.

“Have the bed. I don’t sleep well without you anyways.” I said. She looked pained.

“Don’t be silly. I can sleep on the floor. I’m not that much of a powder puff.” She said, sitting up.

“You can sleep on the floor if you want, but I’m warning you, the guys like to play pranks in the morning and will probably assume I’m the one on the floor.” She paused.

“What kind of pranks?” she asked, tilting her head.

“The bad ones. You get the bed.” I said, taking a blanket off of a chair and laying it down on the floor, more for Sadie’s benefit than for my own. I heard her grumble something about being pig headed and almost snorted. If anyone was pig headed, it was her, but I let it go. She settled into the bed and within a few moments, her breathing deepened into sleep. I lay in the dark, staring at the pattern on the curtains. Apparently, Arianna was right about the house shaping its self around the type of person you were, because our room was black, but he trim was bright yellow and the curtains were also. The splash of bright color in the darkness. Like Sadie was to me. That was possibly the cheesiest thought over, I decided.

I wondered what the training would be like. Jasper had taken over, and was slowly working his way from what we could do to what he could make us do. He used different methods for each of us, and changed them every day so we never knew what to expect. Boomer had already picked up and thrown three cars, so this time was bound to be different. Thinking about trivial stuff like that, I fell asleep.