Page 24 of The Truth Between

I ate quickly as we chatted some more. I felt guilty for having her stay in the kitchen longer than she’d planned. I offered to wash my own dish when I finished and Molly didn’t give me an opportunity to. Soon, I decided the only place to go was back to the room I was staying in for the time being. I was grateful for the lights in the hallway that lit the way, or else I would have been completely fucked.

Upon reaching my room, I showered and changed into my nightclothes before I lay down on the bed, enjoying the feel of smooth sheets against my skin. I turned the lamp out in my room, settled under the covers and closed my eyes. For a moment, I enjoyed the silence around me, knowing that soon dawn would come, and then I would have to face another day here.

Just as I was falling asleep, soft voices reached my ears. My eyes snapped open, and I lay still, straining to hear what they were saying. The voices were coming from just outside my door, and a chill ran down my spine when I recognized who was speaking: Franklin and Soren.

What were they discussing? And why were they standing outside my door?

I slowly got out of bed and held my breath as I walked over to my door and pressed my ear against the wood.

I heard Franklin’s voice first. “A decision will have to be made soon.”

Soren responded, his voice low and serious. “I know. I’m waiting on some news before making any decisions.”

“So, what do we do until then?”

“We wait. That’s all we can do.”

“Okay. And if something—”

“We’ll deal with it if it comes to that. For now, we wait.”

There was a finality to Soren’s statement that I didn’t like.

Then there was silence. Their footsteps moved away from the door, and I was left alone with the quiet and my racing thoughts.

What were they talking about? What were they waiting for? I didn’t understand. It was obvious that I was missing some pieces of the puzzle and that was frustrating.

I walked back over to the bed and lay there, staring up at the ceiling. I was more lost and confused than ever. I wanted answers, but I didn’t even know what questions to ask. All I could do was see what the morning would bring. With that, I drifted off to sleep.

14

SOREN

Everything around me was silent, just how I preferred it. Everyone had long since gone to bed, but as usual, I was still awake. The demons that haunted me had done a number on me tonight and I found the need to leave my room to quiet them for a little while. I could hear the sound of the wind blowing against the windows as I walked through my home.

Today had been slightly warmer, so instead of snow falling and painting the landscape white, we received rain. I stared at one of the many windows and watched as water droplets fell down on the glass, designing a pattern all its own. I hadn’t bothered turning on any lights. I knew this place like the back of my hand, with or without anything illuminating the way, and the moonlight did its job of helping in that department.

My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness around me as I touched the knob and softly opened the door. I’d made sure before giving her this room that the hinges were well oiled, making it so I could easily slip in and out of her room as I wanted. With the moonlight’s help, I immediately found her in bed asleep. But I couldn’t say that her sleep was completely peaceful.

The ache in my chest became lighter as I stared at her, and before I knew it, I was walking toward her sleeping form. It was as if I couldn’t help but get close to her. I clenched my fists in an effort to not reach out and touch her, especially with how close I was to her right now. The light streaming in through the crack in the curtains gave me the opportunity to study her. She seemed fragile and innocent, but I knew there was an underlying fiery strength within her, plotting how she was going to get out of here.

I slowly made my way to a chair that was near her bed. It was then that I realized this was the closest I’d been to her in days. I’d decided to keep my distance from her after I blew up at the mere mention of Eden. It was hard being away from her in general, but I thought putting distance between us and allowing her some more freedom in my home would help remove the guilt and lessen my desire for her.

I was wrong. I still wanted her badly, even though she was trying to destroy one of the most important things I was fighting to protect. As I observed her, I couldn’t help but feel a connection to this woman who served as a reminder of something that I shouldn’t want or have.

My gaze lingered on her as if I were frozen in place. Her hair lay slightly tangled across her pillow, and I assumed that was from tossing and turning at some point during the night. I watched as she slept, her breath coming in soft, even sighs. I could see the slight bags under eyes from the stress I’d caused. She needed this time to recover from everything.

She deserved so much more than I could give her, including being far away from this place. But I wasn’t willing to let her go easily, and that was only going to be more challenging with Parker and the Chevaliers breathing down my neck.

My heart thudded in my chest as I watched a small hint of a smile appear on her face. I found myself wondering what put it there. At least, while she was asleep, something was able to make her happy. The happiness she couldn’t find here in reality.

I didn’t know how long I’d been sitting there, but it had been way longer than I’d planned. After all, there was still one more thing I needed to do before I would leave her alone for the night.

I quietly stood up and walked over to the bedroom lamp closest to Iris. I adjusted the lamp slightly so the camera I’d instructed to be built within the design was fixed on the object of my desire versus the wall. I knew she’d hit the lamp when she’d gone to bed tonight because I’d watched her do it before I ended up standing in front of her door, talking to Franklin about her.

I pulled out my phone and tapped on the app that would bring up the live feed. As I watched her on the screen, mirroring the image I saw in person, I confirmed my adjustments to the lamp were correct.

Did I feel guilty about watching her?

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