Time's Tragedies- The Books Of Beginning [2]

31. In Your Dreams

Eternity perched on the side of Lili's bed, running her hand up and down the striped covers. She had been in this position for a while, and she had been in this room even longer. Ever since late afternoon, when Lili's magic had lost control and she had fainted, Eternity had been by her side, watching over her. She hadn't even wanted to eat dinner before rushing up to the room she and Lili had shared, but Rafe had wisely convinced her she needed to eat something first.

The first few hours, as the summer sun set and the stars came out, Eternity had switched between the desk chair and her bed, sketching to while away the minutes that seemed to stretch on forever without Lili to match her jokes and fill the silence. She had started with simple things that she had seen - Abby's cactus plants, the wildflowers growing around the tree in the front yard, the way her collection of bead and string bracelets looked on the desk in the lamplight. But then, a new topic drew her in. Lili.

The finished sketch sat on the desk now, and Eternity was proud of how much she had been able to capture with only strokes of pencil. It was Lili, tucked beneath the covers, golden hair spilling in waves across her pillows, her head smushed against her arms, because she was laying more on her side than her back. There was a pronounced furrow of worry in her forehead, which Eternity had noticed was something she had in common with her mother. They both tried very hard to be strong, and to hide all the stress that filled them. 

Kate was quite good at it, Eternity had learned in her months with the Wibberlys. Everyone but Rafe had a hard time seeing what was going on inside her head. But Lili... even if her magic didn't react the way it had, Eternity could tell how much she was dealing with. 

They hadn't been best friends for long, but they were already reading each other like the books and poems Lili so adored.

After the sketch had been finished, Eternity had allowed herself a moment to change into her pajama shorts and tank top, to brush her teeth and wash her face. Then she had taken up this position on Lili's bed, where she had remained until now.

It was 1:00 am. She knew she should probably sleep, but she couldn't. Not until Lili was able to wake up and be ok. 

Because Lili was her friend and her roommate, obviously. Because Eternity cared about her safety and well-being, and genuinely liked the girl. A lot. And ok, maybe because she felt loyalty to her, and her kind family who had taken her in and been nothing but affectionate. But not because she was committed, in any way. If she felt like walking out to spare herself the heartbreak, she would.

She just didn't feel like walking out was necessary, that was all.

Now, if she had voiced these thought out loud to anyone, Abby and Jake, for instance, or even Abigail, they would claim that she sounded in denial of a lot of things. But the thoughts remained in her head, and Eternity was allowed to remain oblivious for tonight.

Her eyes fell, as they had been doing most of the night, on Lili, and a tense but fond smile stretched across her lips. She hated the way her friend looked so stressed even in sleep, as though her mind was nothing but nightmares right now. She hated that Lili was in this position. But she had to acknowledge that even with the stress, Lili's face smushed, her hair tousled, her body nestled under the blankets, it was all very natural and even sweet. 

Eternity sighed. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up sketching another picture of the girl, and goodness knew she had already done quite a lot of that. She couldn't help herself. Something about Lili just seemed to inspire her. Maybe it was her magic and the way it called to Eternity. Yes, she thought, that was probably it.

"You have pretty hair, you know," Eternity murmured, brushing a bit from her friend's face, "I'll have to paint it sometime, the color would look so good with lighting and shadow."