Page 97 of The Awakening
I nod, taking another deep breath. I think I’m already getting better at controlling my nature. I can feel it. “Yes. Deal.”
Junichi tilts his head as he stares at me, and a smile spreads across his mouth. “I can see your eyes better without the glasses in the way.”
Instinctively, I reach up and touch the bridge of my nose. I must have left them on the sink in the bathroom.
“You told me your eyesight was perfect now, anyway,” Junichi goes on. “When did the blue show up?”
Groaning, I rub my eyes with my fingertips. “I don’t know. Every time I think I’ve plateaued, something else happens and I reach a new freakish level of abnormality.” I’m rubbing the corners, but I stop and lift my gaze at Jun’s silence. He’s still watching me with that same soft expression.
“Notfreakish. Your eyes are mesmerizing, Jae. Like an amber stone outlined by the ocean… I can’t look away from you.”
I swallow and take a breath beforeIlook away. Then I stamp down on the warm feeling bubbling up my spine by focusing on the dark shadows of trees and brush swaying and moving beyond the window.
I don’t think this will work, but… I’ll try.
* * *
If the weatherhad been nice, I would have taken Jun on a walk around the cottage. There’s a path through the trees, winding toward a small lake, and it’s stunning at sunset. But given the thick cloud cover, it got dark much earlier than normal. Now, the rain is pelting hard against the outside walls and windows. Thunder is rumbling in the distance, inching closer.
I decided to take him to the attic instead. He looked at Mum’s journals and said he thinks Haruka would wet himself for that kind of research. Sorry, but I cannot imagine Haruka wetting himself underanycircumstance. The very thought is offensive.
We had dinner (I made a simple stew with veg since he said he wasn’t too hungry), then talked before retiring to our respective rooms. He didn’t try touching me anymore, and we kept busy talking about things other than ourselves and this awkward situation between us, so I was able to maintain some semblance of normalcy. It was a relief—to know I’m capable of exhibiting some control.
I’m reading in bed now, which research says I shouldn’t do. But I do. It’s cozy for me, especially on violently stormy nights like this.
There’s a bright flash of lightning in my window, briefly illuminating the darkness outside and the shadowed outline of trees. It’s followed by a big boom of thunder, making the entire house rattle. Mother Nature is really cutting up tonight.
A soft knock on the door makes me lift my head from the book. “Yes?” It creaks open and Lulú pads inside. I’m about to freak out, thinking the vampire cat is capable of knocking and opening doors, but then Junichi pokes his head in.
“Hey.”
I blink, staring as my gut starts twisting around in the familiar way. “Hey… what’s wrong?” Lulú is already on my bed, nestling in beside me. There’s another white flash of lightning. The boom of thunder that follows rattles the house again. Jun closes the door, presses his back into it with his eyes closed and takes a deep breath.
“What is it?” I ask once more.
“Don’t laugh at me…” he says, his eyes still closed. “But I donotlike thunderstorms. Do you mind company?”
“I…” Rubbing my hand against my scalp, I ruffle my hair to distract myself from the warmth that’s suddenly pulsing in my groin and snaking up my spine. “I—Alright. But why would I laugh at you about that?”
There’s another flash, and it jolts Jun into movement. He tries to play it off, but his walk is a little too brisk as he moves toward my bed. Just as the thunder hits, he climbs on and lies beside me, curling into himself a little. Once the house stops rattling, he says, “Because it makes me feel like a child. I’m too big to be acting like this—literally six foot one.”
“Now you’re just bragging.” I smirk, looking down at him. He’s cozy in a gray vintage-looking T-shirt and black joggers. He smells like something I want to rub my face in, but I ignore that. “I don’t feel sorry for you. You’ve ruined it.”
His head is on the pillow with his hands tucked underneath as he lies on his side. He blinks his onyx eyes up at me. “How tall are you? Five foot… five?”
“Um, five footsix,thanks. Please don’t cheat me a whole inch.”
Jun shrugs against the bed, grinning and closing his eyes. “Doesn’t matter. You’re perfect.”
Right. Since when? A few months ago, he barely wanted to be in the same room with me. But now I’m perfect?
“You once told me,” Jun begins, “that being here made you sad, which is why you stayed away for so long. Do you still feel that way?”
“Hm… a little.” I close the book in my lap and set it on my bedside table. I pull my glasses off as well, massaging the inevitable mark at the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “It’s not as bad as before, when I came back to check on it during uni. Now, it feels like I’m a kid looking after the house until my parents get home. Except they’re not coming. It doesn’t feel likemineyet.”
“Mm. Maybe do some remodeling? Put your own stamp on it?”
“I’d like to.” I lean to turn off the lamp, then settle down on my back beside him. “I have to make some life decisions before I do any big remodels.”
