Brighter Than The Stars: Book One

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐸𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃: 𝒟𝑒𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓈

The reason Madeline couldn't  track him down was because he changed his last name to her family's. But there it was, pulled up on her computer, right in front of her eyes.

Pictures of him in places she visited. There was a picture of him in a restaurant she went to at least once a month with her friends.

At her graduation, she just assumed it was her new superpower, being able to feel his presence. Yet she'd failed to feel him, not just in her city, but in her own goddamn house.

Madeline shut her laptop, unable to look anymore. "Two years, Elijah. Two fucking years."

"Please don't be mad at me, M&M."

The worry in his voice caused Madeline to stand to face him. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the universe. How could it bring you so close to me, but out of reach at the same time? That North Star is defective as shit."

Elijah laughed as he hopped out of the bed, coming over to wrap his arms around her, pulling her tight against his body. "Or it worked perfectly, and guided me to where I could be in your life once I pulled the trigger. Maddie, I want you to just let it sink in. Not all the crap about the two years that went by, but the other part."

It was true, Madeline hadn't been able to concentrate on anything other than that. Not until he held her in his arms and said those words.

Come morning, or at the end of the weekend, he wouldn't disappear from her life. They wouldn't have to resort to phone calls and visits twice a year. "So, I can have you back?"

His arms tightened around her. "We get to have each other back."

The heart beating against her ear, she'd be able to hear that as often as she wanted. After a bad day, she'd be able to seek him out for a hug just like this. So many things most people took for granted were now the most cherished things in her life.

"How long do you think we can hold each other like this before we get tired?" Madeline asked him.

"I'd shoot for a record, but I've had to piss since you woke me up."

Madeline laughed as she let him go.

Except he didn't walk away. Instead, Elijah stood there, his hand moving to her face to wipe away a stray curl. All Madeline could do was close her eyes and relish in it. Just like the heat from his body, and his heartbeat, this mesmerized her. He was here, in her house- in her bedroom. After twelve long years of being absent from her life, Elijah was standing in front of her, and she wouldn't have to watch him walk out her door and wonder when he'd come back.

"My little M&M's a grownup."

She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry at that, but it was a reminder of just how much time had gone by. She was in the fourth grade when he'd left, and now she was two months into her third year of college.

"Will you sleep here tonight?" Madeline asked him. "I know you live here now, but I'm still not ready for you to leave."

Elijah placed a kiss against her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin, taking their time, before she felt him step away. "I'll stay all weekend if you want me to. But first, the bathroom."

Madeline pointed over to the door next to her closet. That was the only decent part about having the bedroom at the peak of the house. She had the space to herself, and the only one of them to have her own bathroom.

Her cell phone dinged just as Elijah closed the bathroom door behind him.

Eva: I'm guessing you've come across the big male in your bedroom. Notice I didn't lie, you just assumed. I was going to say you had a big package waiting for you, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have allowed me to inspect that if I asked.

 Madeline shook her head as she replied to the message.

I noticed. Thanks so much for not telling me the second I got home. You let me sit on that stupid couch for five minutes.

Eva: You're welcome, very much. I wasn't even going to go out tonight, but then the dreamboat showed up, so I figured I'd better make myself scarce. No joke, though, he's so much hotter than those photos you showed me. Word of advice: do not leave me alone with him again. Your friendship means everything to me, but I can't be held accountable for what I'd do to that man.

A pang of jealousy shot through Madeline. Her friendship with Elijah, or whatever they could consider it, only allowed her so much claim.

Eva: Unless you call dibs. Dibs are sacred.

More sacred than friendship?

Eva: Just admit he's the sexiest man who's ever walked through our doors, and I'll leave you alone.

Seeing as Madeline wasn't ready to admit to that out loud, or in text, she turned off her phone as Elijah opened the bathroom door and stepped out. But rather than join her right away, he just stood there, his eyes remaining on her.

"What?"

Elijah scratched at the long stubble on his cheek as he swayed his head back and forth, a smile dancing on his lips. "Just seeing you again. It seems unreal. I keep thinking that I fell asleep in my bed, and I'm still sleeping. Except you don't look like how I pictured you turned out, so I know it's real. I'm caught between denial, and relishing in all this."

The way his gaze not just lingered on her, but lingered through her, took Madeline's breath away. As in, she forgot how to breathe for a solid ten seconds. "Have you dreamt about this before? Us seeing each other again?"

"I have," he answered while he rubbed his shoulder. "Truth is, I've had a recurring one. I'm sitting at my favorite restaurant with a few of my friends. I hear something and look across the room, and there you are, laughing. Your head's dropped back a little, and you're just letting out this infectious sound. Then we make eye contact.

"I've had that dream for the last couple of years, so don't blame the universe, M&M. I'm the one who couldn't put two and two together."

Madeline nodded, though she'd still rather blame the universe than him. "It isn't the restaurant from your photo on Facebook, is it? Because my friends and I go there at least once a month."

Elijah stared at her, and she swore she saw the color dripping from his face. "Please, don't tell me that."

Maybe it was more Elijah's fault than the universe's or North's Star. They'd done everything short of dropping her on his lap.

"How about you lay down, and I'm going to get changed for bed?" Madeline told him. "As much as I want to stay up and hear everything there is to know about you, I'm exhausted and I've been worried all day, and I just want to lie next to you until we both fall asleep."

Elijah smiled. "Sleep sounds good," he admitted. "I haven't done much of that since my dad died."

"I'd say I'm sorry about that, but I've wished for his death at least a thousand times."

"Trust me, so have I."