The Scent of Lilac: An Arrow's Flight Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

to
do this as well. To comfort me. To listen to my complaints. But when my tears
are spent and my body is weak with exhaustion, he speaks.
                “Are you
finished?”
                I hold still
beside him. His tone sounds different—irritated. He’s never spoken to me this
way before, and I lift my head in surprise. He is all shadows.
                “If you
are,” he continues. “I have something to say.”
                I push up
onto my elbow, the sudden space between us causing a cool wisp of air to slice
through the stickiness of our bodies. I shiver, but I keep my eyes pinned on
him.
                “Okay,” I
say, curious.
                He eases
up until his back rests against the rough wall, and he takes my hand.
                “You
aren’t alone.” His voice is low and husky. “I’m here. Every day, I wait for you.”  
                The sweet
gesture in his words causes tears to pile up into the corners of my eyes again.
                “Oh Chad ,”
I shake my head, but my words are careful. “Of course you do. It’s your duty—”
                “No,” he
interrupts briskly. “That isn’t why.”
                I sit up,
growing suddenly impatient. I shouldn’t have let him see me fall apart. It’s
not good for him. He can’t understand what I’m feeling, and I’m too exhausted
to reason with him. Night moves in more deeply; I should have been gone hours
ago anyway.
                I tug my
shirt over my head and swing my legs off the edge of the mat, but before I can
stand, Chad has
me by the waist, holding me in place.
                “That
isn’t why,” he repeats.
                I frown.
                “Fine, Chad .”
I twist in his grip to face him, my former well-kempt demeanor snugly in place.
“Tell me why, then?”  
                He
hesitates, his fingers loosening their pressure. And when he says nothing more,
I stand, satisfied that he’s scurried back into his place beneath me. It’s much
easier for both of us this way, despite these feelings that crop up on occasion.
I slide into my skirt tugging on the string to cinch it.
                “I’ll
bring you some food tomorrow, okay?” I swing my pouch over my head and push on the
gate.
                “I wait
for you... because there’s something in the middle of my chest that hurts when
you aren’t here.”
                Silence.
                The gate
falls back into place. I turn. Chad stands and comes to me. Our eyes connect, and for once, I don’t see duty
written in them. I see his heart beating for me. And I can’t move.
               

Chapter 5
    T
    he sun sets, darkness creeps in on us, and I lie next to Chad ,
his steady breathing matching my own. In silence, we stare at the darkened
ceiling. I’ve studied it many times in the daylight. When the sun hits it just
right, there is a stern frown in its clumpy surface that always makes me feel
uneasy. As if the cave is a living being that hates me and longs to spit me out
of its mouth. But tonight, it stares back at me from the blackest of blacks.
                I raise
my hand toward it, imagining that the frown might have grown sharp teeth in the
darkness and will gladly take a bite out of me. It doesn’t. Instead, I catch a
shimmer of my fingers in the small bit of moonlight. After a moment, Chad reaches up, entwines his fingers with mine. His grasp is a solid truth in my
reality.
                At his
touch, I turn, barely able to discern him. He shifts his weight until he faces
me. Another minute, and that crooked smile slides into place. The shadows can’t
hide it.
                “Are you
going to stay with me tonight?” he asks.
                The
question tumbles around inside my brain. I’ve never