Always

Chapter Four

Six's POV

I can't sleep.

I can tell Sam is asleep next to me. But I can't stop tossing and turning. I've tried humming myself to sleep, even though I knew that wouldn't work. I also tried to snuggle up to Sam but that just made me more uncomfortable. I finally get up.

I walk through the curtain that is my door, and then walk quietly down the hallway. When I walk outside, the moon is shining bright and full, a few clouds pass in front of it from time to time as I walk towards the drop off that if you fell off, you would land in the lake. I sit down, my legs dangle over the edge of the drop off. I just watch the water, how the ripples in it carry about 100 feet from where the waterfall pours in, I study how the moon reflects on the clear liquid. A small, warm breeze blows my hair and tickles my face, I inhale and exhale the fresh air.

I sense something behind me, I twirl my head and to see John.

"Couldn't sleep?" John asks.

"How'd you know?" I say.

He chuckles a little and sits next to me.

"I saw you walk by my room," John explains. "The curtains may be doors, but they aren't very opaque."

"Ah."

I don't ask for an explanation of why he was up since he doesn't ask one for me. So we sit in silence for what doesn't feel too long, but when I am aware again, I'm in Johns arms. He carries me towards the house. I must've fallen asleep while I was sitting there. I feel us brush by a curtain, and then I am laid down on a bed. John pulls the covers over me and then kisses me on the forehead. A warm feeling shoots through me. After John leaves my room, I can't help it, I smile.

...

I wake early the next morning with Sam gone, I get curious, so I sit up, stretching out before launching myself out of bed. I walk down the hall and out to the kitchen, where the little bit of noise originates. Sam, Malcolm, and John sit at the table, Malcolm must have teleported here this morning, and the others must not be up yet. As soon as I walk into view, John looks up at me, and smiles. It takes Sam a moment longer to notice me.

"Morning," Sam says.

"Morning," I say, and sit down beside Sam.

"Did did you sleep ok?" John asks.

"Yeah," I reply.

I appreciate when John doesn't mention me getting up in the middle of the night. I replay the moment when John kissed me on the forehead when he thought I was asleep. I wonder what it meant, I wish I would've opened my eyes, just a little, to see his expression.

"So, Six, when you go back to the U.S., Sam will have to go back to school," Malcolm says. I already knew that, but I ache a little at the thought of it. It also annoys me how Malcolm just assumed I was hooked to Sam, but I am not a possession.

I nod and look down, I don't want Sam to see me disappointed. Why am I hiding my thoughts from Sam?

"I want to have a normal life, you know?" Sam says. "But you haven't talked about what you want to do."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

John watches Sam, and then looks at me expectantly. He knows what I want to do, we talked about it in Florida all that time ago, my thoughts still haven't changed. The problem is, Sam wants to do just the opposite.