Listen, Obey

49. Forty-Ninth Lesson

Birds chirped outside our window, clouds rolled gently across the sky. It was a beautiful morning, serene and perfect. 

Lying beneath a thin sheet, nestled against Marc's chest, I allowed day-dreams to roam. I was safe in his embrace, ready to face the day no matter what anyone decided to throw at us. 

He stirred awake, meeting my gaze with those eyes I once thought were cold. The chill had vanished, consumed by everything I felt for this man. The transformation was absolute. One step at a time, he'd showed me that love was far from dangerous. Love was what we all lived for; it allowed us to brave the next step in our lives; it helped us to breathe when the air seemed too thin. 

The door swung open. "Daddy, Ethan!" Tilia sprinted across the floor and jumped into the bed. Her smile shone like a second sun as she crawled across the sheets and made herself a spot between us. 

I smiled until I realized that I had no underwear. Talk about awkward. Marc looked at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. However, he didn't offer any help. 

"Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. But you slept so long. I'm hungry." The added whine in her voice was of the sweet rather than annoying kind. I checked the time and saw that she was right. It was definitely late for her. 

"I'll make us something," Marc said, starting to rise from the bed. He leaned over and pulled something out of his drawers. 

Of course, I thought, he was prepared with clothes close at hand. This must happen to him constantly if he liked to sleep in the nude. 

"And Tilia, we have guests, so no loud noises," he added. 

A frown settled on her forehead. "Who?"

"One friend of Ethan's, and one friend of mine."

She turned to me, still frowning. "Who is your friend?"

"His name is Jace."

"Does he like to play?" The seriousness in her voice could have earned her a spot in the Spanish Inquisition.

I chuckled, knowing that she wanted someone to play with her. I very much doubted that Jace would agree to play with Tilia's lego, though. Perhaps he would sit down and draw with her, or play a game, but I didn't want her to see much of him today if he was coming off his high. 

"Maybe not today, angel." 

She beamed. "Then maybe another day." That's how simple the world was to a young child. I loved her outlook on life and wished that I could somehow tap into that simplicity. 

Marc slipped on a t-shirt. "See you downstairs." He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss, right there in front of his daughter. It shook my entire body. He was serious about this--as serious as someone could ever be. 

I must have looked shocked because he laughed and kissed me again. "She's not stupid, you know."

Checking her reaction proved him right, she wasn't surprised in the least. She was tapping her foot on the floor, a gesture she must have learned from Marc, or maybe she learned it from me, I wasn't sure. 

------

Jace and Drew appeared when the rest of us had finished our late breakfast. Jace's skin held a gray quality that I remembered all too well from those first days at St. Mary's. It wasn't a pretty sight, nor was it a nice feeling. Drew seemed more than willing to take care of Jace, though, so we left them alone. 

I had questions, but they could wait. Or, maybe they weren't questions; rather, I wanted to know what had happened out of concern. If he wanted to keep that secret, I had no intention of hounding him for information. He was here, and that was the important part. How he got tangled in Sam's mess was none of my business.