Anaphase

Phase XIX

Demetri's Perspective 

I laid awake watching the ceiling, calmly listening to the inhales and exhales of Lilith's slumber.
She fell asleep so easily. I envied her.

For the resurrected, sleep wasn't necessary. Our impenetrable senses and instincts disabled us from sleeping on the regular basis. Constant caution. Constant Alert.
Any slight movement or flutter of a wing from a tree metres from the window would snap us right back to hyper consciousness. There was always the fear keeping us awake.

 I'd slept many times but it never did anything for me. Nothing's ever made me feel safe and secure enough to abandon my senses.
Yes, we could enter a deep relaxation quite easily but the fear of being hunted haunts the thoughts of every last remaining first generation. Always one eye opened, being so few of us left in the world.

Slight anxiety crept in my thoughts as I kept trying and trying to figure out an explanation to tell Lilith tomorrow.

She'll be expecting an explanation no doubt. Of our world. Our history. Of me.

She saw the mutants, looked one right in the eye. A human shouldn't have been able to see them but the horror in her eyes showed she was something else. Yet here she was, sleeping. It didn't make sense. 

I flinched, recalling the way her eyes went red and unfamiliar, her head thrown back as if she was a...

No, it's impossible. That species died out long before mine. The line was broken a millennium ago.

 
But there was no way she was a first generation, or even a resurrected at that. She wouldn't have been able to sleep from the beginning. But then again, she was clearly not a forsaken, I'd seen her bleed and her blood sure wasn't black.
Why did nobody in the family believe me when I said she killed them all then?!

She seemed possessed one second and then completely sane the next. It was as if she saw- saw what?! Ugh! She knows something. She's seen something.

A memory wipe is the only solution. It's as father had said.

So why did I repulse at the thought of wiping her mind. I wanted her to know. To understand.

To stay.

Lilith heaved a large sigh for the second time tonight. The corners of my lips tugged up involuntarily.
Every now and then I'd hear her suddenly mumble a couple words before turning and going silent again. My lips tugged even further as I remembered the words she mumbled over the past four days.
'Sunset', 'vines', 'don't go', 'Demetri'.

The sheets switched like train tracks and she rolled out of the blue. I felt my body tense up from the sudden movements, calming when I realised it was her. Turning, she rolled over to face me, her hands concealing half of her face.
Her fingertips were just touching my shirt and lingered there. All my dilemmas from before faded and all that held my attention was her.

I remembered the first time I'd seen her and the taste of salt, the second coming in late with puffy eyes. Every other time after that. 

There was no denying it, she was a part of my life now.

"How far you've flown," I whispered.

Even in the dark-lit spare room I could make out her her fair skin, feathery lashes, slightly rose cheeks, quie-
Suddenly she moved again.

Small whimpers and indistinctive words escaped her lips and her eyebrows furrowed together repeatedly.

Her fingers held weakly to my shirt as her other hand wandered onto my chest.

I swallowed.

Now her whole body was subconsciously moving towards me.
"Lilith. Lili-," I whispered.
I couldn't ignore the hidden curves or intoxicating scent of her.

Her head rested itself on my chest and her left hand flat on my torso.
Silence.
My hands went up involuntarily from the sudden change.
Her whimpers calmed and her brows relaxed as did her face and she returned back to steady breathing.
Perhaps the most steady I'd heard her breathe since I'd met her.
She had fallen into an even deeper sleep.

I allowed myself to relax and push the tension from my body.
Reaching out my hand, I brushed a loose piece of hair off her face and laid my head on my arms.
I focused on the steady rise and fall of her breathing, smiling indifferently.

It was as if a small bloom of a flower had erupted within my chest. Walls that I had tried to put up tumbling down over her one manoeuvre.
In this moment, a wave of protectiveness overcame me.

It was wrong to call her fragile. She could be one of the most strong people I'd ever met.

Slowly, I rested my hand down on the small of her back over the duvet. 

She stirred, before quietening again, nestling her head again.

My own breathing calmed, almost ,matching hers.

This girl right here.
Nobody touches this girl without her consent. God knows she's already had her fair share.

"I will protect you with my life, Lilith Haynes," I breathed lowly.

After watching her closed eyelids, I hadn't realised that my own were imitating.

I'd have to apologise to the stars for I didn't need them tonight. I may have ditched them but I would've done it a million times over if it meant getting to repeat this night.

As far as I was aware, she was on a whole different planet.