The Above || Completed

19 A Bed of Splinters

Aeron and I settled in the hammock by the baobab where the trunk's mist devoured us and concealed us from sight. I'd just finished explaining what I found out at the meeting point. The files were spread out on our laps. It must've been past midnight now.

"You think Grace could be the angel?" Aeron said quizzically.
"No, I think they think Grace could be the angel. I just want to find out if they're on the right track," I explained.
Aeron frowned. "So, you don't think Grace could be the angel?"
I groaned. "No. I feel as if she couldn't possibly be but the point is, there is a chance that she is."
"All right, tomorrow we'll show her a page from the book and if she can read it, she's our gal," he said merrily.
"If not, we can put this schedule to good use and get the hell out of here tomorrow night," I added, waving the schedule in the air.
Aeron chuckled. "You did great, Maddison."
"Thanks, I wish I could say the same about you," I replied jokingly.
"There's always next time." He sighed. "You know we'll probably get in trouble with the council in the morning."
"They'll let us off the hook with a warning." I waved it off, feeling relaxed about the situation.
"I hope so," he said, "I wouldn't want to be the reason you get kicked out of the Renewal."
I looked at him gravely. "None of that was your fault. We'll be fine."
He gave me a faint smile. "Thanks. But if push comes to shove, I'll take the blame for all of this, you know?"
"And you know I won't let you do that. So shush," I said, unable to hide my smirk.

Aeron sighed. "You're stubborn, Devonne."
"I hereby give you full permission to burn all those files," I said.
"All except yours," he replied teasingly, folding up the files and schedule and putting them in his pocket.
"Cornelius," I scolded, making use of his middle name as he had mine.
At this, he gave in. "Fine. Just so you know, Devonne suits you better."
"Yeah, whatever. I'm still calling you Aeron. Cornelius is just around for when he gets annoying," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I knew you'd come around." He smiled that sexy smile.

I yawned. "Okay, we should go to bed."
"I thought-"
"NOT like that," I snapped, cursing myself at my choice of words.
"In that case," I caught him still grinning but it faded, "not a good idea. We'd get caught going in."
"Well, where are we supposed to sleep? The tool shed?" I said, exasperated.
"Technically, that's not an option anymore. You broke down the door to get me out and the rest sort of followed," he said.
"Yeah I'd rather not sleep on a pile of splinters," I murmured.
"Um... We could sleep right here..." Aeron suddenly suggested, looking down bashfully.
My eyes widened. "Here? On the hammock? With you?"
"Yeah..." He blushed.
I stood up hastily. "No thanks! I'll take the splinters!"
"Come on, Maddison!" he called after me as I walked away.
"I am not sleeping with you! Pervert!" I shouted.
Aeron was running after me. "Maddison Devonne-"
"What?" I demanded as he reached and grabbed my wrist.
"I have no intention to take advantage of you. The hammock is the only choice we really have," he whispered seriously.
He had a point. And perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.
I made one last feeble attempt to argue with him, "But it's cold."
"I'll keep you warm, okay? Just, please, don't sleep on the splinters," he said, gently tugging on my wrist.
I laughed. "Okay."

Aeron started leading the way back, grasping my hand in his own. He let me get comfortable on the hammock first and then he lowered himself onto it beside me. We swayed a little as he made himself comfortable and it lulled me half to sleep. Our bodies were almost right up against each other but out of respect for me, Aeron tried putting his weight on the opposite side of his body. I noticed that something was poking into my ribs, too close to my cut and glanced down to check what it was.
"Aeron?" I whispered, checking if he was still awake.
He cautiously -and quite adorably- opened one eye. "Hmm?"
"Your elbow is kind of digging into my side," I said, biting my lip.
He shifted hastily. "Oh, God. I'm really sorry, Maddison."
"It's okay." I giggled. "Are you uncomfortable? You seem tense."
Shockingly, when I said that last part, I'd placed a hand on his appealingly defined chest. Aeron looked at me with some kind of meaning in his eyes that I couldn't explain. There was a beauty in it that I couldn't place.
"Yeah, honestly, I am," he said, chuckling low and seductive.
"I -uh-" I started.
"Would you mind if I put my arms around you?" he interrupted, speaking softly.
I gave him a coy smile with the flutter I felt in my chest. "No, I wouldn't mind."

What was I doing? Hold on, this couldn't mean anything. It was just so we'd be more comfortable in this tiny hammock. Nothing else. But it felt like more somehow and I didn't know what to do. Aeron slid one arm round my neck and shoulders and the other round my waist. Or rather, just above my waist. I shifted closer to him and left one hand on his chest, wrapping my other arm round his abdomen. I was so conscious of where everything was. It was like paranoia. Truth is, I felt more than comfortable. I had no idea how cold the night air had truly been until I felt the warmth that Aeron gave off. He was cozy. As Aeron fell asleep, he buried his face in the curve of my neck, breathing warm, heavy breaths that tickled my skin. I allowed myself to rest my head on his shoulder and smile a little. Aeron was warm, tender and soft. He smelled like wood, dust, plants and sweat. But he gave me this odd feeling. He was warm. He was alive. He was safe.

He was home.

^^^

!!Author'sNote!!

I hope you all liked the ship action in this chapter. *cough* *cough*

I want to start to focus more on Grace, Zachariah and Erica again since it's been a few chapters since we've heard from them. Haha, so expect to see a little more from them.

Thanks for 141(+) reads guys! I finally got past 100...😁🙌🏼 Keep reading!

Be sure to give me some feedback. Comments are welcome and so are votes!❤️