The Witching Hour (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 12

The sunlight woke me up. It shone brightly through Rose's curtains, right into my eyes. I groaned and covered my eyes with my arm, but it was too late. I was already awake. I felt Rose squirm closer to me, burying her face in my side. I sighed, but I didn't move. I didn't want to wake her up.

The bed was way too small for the two of us. My muscles were screaming at me to get up and stretch. I felt so cramped.

Someone entered the room. I didn't move my arm. I felt too lazy for that. Whoever it was walked over to the bed and stopped in front of it. It had to be Allen. Who else would be there? Unless it was Sibyl. Maybe she came back. I dismissed the thought; the footsteps were too heavy for her.

I lifted my other hand up into the air. "Hey," I whispered.

Allen grabbed it. His hand swallowed mine. I forgot that I was small. "Hey," he replied softly. His hand was so warm. "Getting up anytime soon?"
"I don't really feel like it." I moved my arm to my chest to look at him. It looked like he just woke up as well. His hair was a mess, and the top few buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned.

He kneeled down beside the bed, still holding on to my hand. Allen held my hand up to his face. He closed his eyes. "What am I going to do if I can't find her?"

I sat up, careful not to move Rose too much. She remained asleep, but she latched herself onto my leg. I put my other hand in Allen's hair, smoothing it out. "We'll find her. If Marak ever found her scent, then he probably went after her. If not, we'll find other ways to get her back. It'll be all right, Allen."

Allen opened his eyes and looked up at me. His eyes were watery. He looked rough. "What if you're just saying that to make me feel better?"

I smiled down at him. "Why would I lie to make you feel any better? That would be counterproductive anyways."

He chuckled lowly, resting his forehead against my hand. "Why are we doing this?"

"What?" I asked.

Allen squeezed my hand. "This."

I felt my cheeks growing warm. What we were doing, showing affection towards each other, didn't register in my head until he mentioned it. I was half tempted to pull my hand away, but I didn't. "I don't know," I breathed out. "You started it."

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess I did."

We didn't talk for a few minutes. We just sat there like that. Him holding one of my hands, and the other in his hair. It was really soft. I didn't mind messing with it.

After the long break of silence, Allen was the first one to speak. "You can just stay here with that. Rose looks happy with you, and I know Sibyl didn't mind you. I would be fine with it."

I suddenly felt tired. Like I had gone through a whole day already. "I can't."

"And why not?"

"I'm a witch," I sighed. "I don't belong here. David and the others will eventually find out about me. I won't even be able to use my magic properly if I did stay here. The risk of being found out would greatly increase. I can't, Allen. Don't hope. You'll only disappoint yourself in the end."

His hold on me tightened. Allen was growing irritated. "You would rather live by yourself again? All alone? Do you hate being with us? Or is it something else?"

I leaned in closer to him, forcing him to look at him. I grew deadly serious. "I cannot live here. I don't do well with other people. I'm still iffy around you. I am better off by myself. Do you really appreciate me messing up your life? Sibyl's gone, and it's probably my fault."