Cresswell: The Lunar Chronicles

Chapter Seven

Cress tried to be as still as possible, hoping Scarlet would fall asleep quickly and fighting the urge to close her own eyes. The bed was unbelievably comfortable, but she knew the minute she closed her eyes she'd see Sybil's face or wake up back on the satellite. To keep her mind occupied, she ran through a series of computer coding that had taken her hours to crack.

Glancing to the side and seeing Scarlet's eyes had finally closed, Cress slowly crept out from beneath the blankets.

Scarlet inhaled, her eyes blinking open.

"I just need to use the restroom," Cress whispered. Whispering was good; you couldn't hear a voice crack in a whisper.

Scarlet nodded, turning onto her side and falling back asleep.

With a sigh, Cress slipped from the room and down the corridor, glad Thorne had made it a point to walk ahead of her so she knew which room was his. His door was ajar and he was sprawled on the bed, his head cushioned in his arms. Just as she paused, hesitating, he lifted his head and waved her over; straightening himself out and making room for her.

A wave of relief flooded through Cress as she slipped in beside him. His bed was just as comfortable as Scarlet's. More so because he was in it.

He kissed her forehead as she snuggled beside him and his hands started running through her hair again, twirling the loose waves around his finger. The window in his room was open just a crack, letting in a cool breeze. Pressing closer against him and burying beneath the blankets, Cress fell asleep after only a few seconds and didn't awaken again until early the following morning.

Lifting her head, she peered through the trees at the sky that was gradually beginning to lighten. She smiled to herself, amazed at the beauty of Earthen sunrises. Amazed at how beautiful Earth was. There was so much she still had to see and it was exciting.

With a grin, Cress kept her eyes trained on the window as she sank back down onto her pillow. Thorne turned over in his sleep, his arm automatically sliding across her back. Though she could have easily gone back to sleep, she didn't want to. The sky gradually lightened until warm sunlight peaked through the trees and in through the glass.

Cress's ears perked up when she heard something clang in the kitchen. Probably Scarlet making breakfast.

"I'm going to go see if Scarlet needs help with anything," she whispered.

Thorne blinked his eyes open and he nodded, tightening his arm around her before kissing the back of her head and letting her go.

"Call me when breakfast is ready," he mumbled.

Cress quietly giggled, standing up. She crept back to Scarlet's room, relieved to discover she was gone, and quickly changed into the sweats and hoodie she had loaned her before making her way downstairs.

It wasn't Scarlet that was in the kitchen, but Wolf. Cress halted mid-step as he whipped his head around.

"Sorry, I... I thought you were Scarlet."

Wolf's lip twitched in a smile. "She's outside."

Cress glanced at the mess behind him. "Can I help with anything?"

"Yeah, sure." Wolf slid a small basket of eggs over. "She said we need twelve eggs, scrambled."

Cress nodded like she knew what she was doing. Pushing the sleeves of her sweater up, she tried to mimic the way the professional chefs had cracked eggs. For whatever reason, it was extremely satisfying.

When Scarlet came back in, carrying a large pail with frothy milk, she handed Wolf several loaves of fresh baked bread and had him start slicing them into thick chunks.

"French toast?" Cress asked.

Scarlet nodded, grinning. "What else?"

Cress hung back, watching Scarlet fall into a routine that looked so natural she knew she must have done it a thousand times before. Wolf said something and Scarlet grinned, heat rushing to her cheeks.

Feeling like she was intruding on a private moment, Cress picked up the port screen sitting on the table and pulled up a game of Mountain Miners.

"Where'd you get off to so early?" Scarlet asked as she set a bowl of fresh grapes on the table.

Cress looked up, startled. "Hm?"

"I woke up at five and you were gone; I didn't peg you as a morning person."

"Oh. I... uh—"

"Aces, what smells so good?" Thorne asked as he walked into a kitchen wearing a grey hoodie that made his eyes look even bluer than normal. He shoved his hands into the sweatshirt's pocket, yawning.

Cress breathed a sigh of relief at being saved from answering. "Scarlet's making French toast."

"Smells amazing."

Scarlet grinned, flipping a thick piece of bread over on a large pan on top of the stove. Wolf, beside her, was frying some sausages in a second pan.

"Hey, Thorne, make yourself useful—go get the syrup from the pantry."

Thorne scoffed, dropping into the seat beside Cress. "Get it yourself."

Scarlet raised an eyebrow at him, her face set in a glare.

With another grunt, Thorne pushed himself back up. "Fine."

After breakfast, Thorne, Cress, Wolf, and Scarlet all headed to Reuix's largest medical facility to distribute their share of antidotes. It was much easier work than it had been in Africa, where all they needed to do was give it to the doctors who would then distribute it to the individual patients.

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