Brighter Than The Stars: Book One

Alternate 1.4

Madeline hadn't realized they'd fallen asleep until she turned away from the morning light peeking through her blinds, and landed against a warm body. She remembered cleaning up Elijah's busted hands, him sneaking back to his car to grab a bag, and remembered him changing into something that wasn't stained with blood and debris. She remembered talking for a while, then nothing.

But this moment? This she would remember for the rest of her life. The warmth radiated from him like he was his own down comforter, reminding her that all of last night hadn't been a dream. He was here, in her bed, holding her.

A strong arm came out and pulled her closer against his chest, while a groggy moan escaped his lips. "Go back to sleep," he muttered.

Madeline had to hold in a laugh, curious where Elijah thought he was. Did he have a girlfriend he normally slept next to, who was waiting for him to return? There was no ring on his finger, and he'd mentioned having a roommate rather than a woman he lived with. "Elijah?" She whispered.

"We were up until four in the morning, M&M. Go. Back. To. Sleep."

"Mitch!" Her mother's voice bellowed through the house.

"And your mom just noticed my car parked outside," Elijah groaned out, only to tighten his hold on her.

"Mitch!"

"What, woman?"

"Get your ass downstairs, and tell me if I'm seeing things!"

She listened to her dad's lazy footsteps pass her door. "You really want my parents to find us this way?"

Elijah just shrugged as his eyes remained closed. "I don't give a shit, Maddie. You're an adult, I'm an adult, and we're both fully clothed. I'm not ready to move yet."

Madeline allowed herself to get comfortable against his chest, then noticed something interesting in her line of vision. "I thought you weren't ready to move yet."

"I'm not."

"Well, something's moving underneath the sheets."

She felt his head shift up, only to land right back down on the pillow. "It's morning, and I'm relaxed. It happens." Elijah brushed off his erection like it was absolutely nothing, making Madeline pleased that he was treating her like an adult.

They'd stayed up and talked for hours, covering every topic they could think of, and Elijah seemed fully willing to open up, like he would have the last time they'd seen one another. While twelve years had passed, they'd acted as if they'd been around one another the whole time. No awkward phase since the first few minutes in her bedroom, no watching how they answered something. Elijah still felt so familiar to her, despite the time and distance that'd separated them.

Madeline heard the front door slam shut. "They're checking the house, you know."

Elijah laughed quietly. "Let 'em. As much as I want to see your parents, I'm comfortable right where I am."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you let me fall asleep in here." There was no way they'd fallen asleep at the exact same time. She'd intended to sleep downstairs so he could have the bed, but apparently that never happened.

"I was up for a good hour after you fell asleep, so no, you don't know better. When I have a bed to myself, I get nightmares. Seeing as I almost always have the bed to myself, I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a very long time."

Madeline let out a sigh of relief, hearing he didn't have a woman in his life, then realized that information shouldn't have had any effect on her at all. "You still didn't get a good night's sleep."

"Yes, I did. Just not for as long as I would have liked, because you keep talking to me." When the front door slammed again, Elijah chuckled under his breath, and squeezed her shoulder. "Not that I would have had a chance in hell either way."

"And three, two, one.."

"Maddie, honey, you up?" Her mother said before hitting her fist against the door.

"Don't come in! I'm in bed with a very attractive, older gentleman."

Elijah's body shook in laughter, dropping his fist against her forehead.

"Since I have a good guess who that older gentleman is, unless you tell me one of you is naked, I'm coming in."

"Why did that sound like she wouldn't care if we were?"

Madeline just shrugged a response. "No nakedness in this room!"

Her door burst open, and her mom, still in her pajama's let out an earth shattering squeal. "Mitch, I found him! He's in bed with Maddie!"

"Where?"

"In bed with Maddie!"

"This room is too fucking loud for how early it is," Elijah mumbled, though a smile was on his face.

"What the hell is he doing in bed with Maddie?" Her dad asked as he walked up the steps.

"Honestly, sweetheart, I don't even care right now. My baby is home, and that's all that matters. Pretty sure they were just sleeping, though."

Elijah nodded his confirmation, let out a groan, and pulled himself out of bed. Her mom wasted no time and wrapped her arms around him.

When her father walked into the room, his eyes were already glistening.

"Looky what I found, daddy! Can I keep him?"

Her dad laughed through his tears, and turned the hug into a group one. "Honestly, I'd let you keep him forever if he was willing."

Elijah laughed against her dad's shoulder. "How about we start with a month, and see where we are?"

"Elijah came back to fix the house, and sell it, but instead he just broke the living shit out of it, so that bought us some extra time."

"I came here to see all of you," Elijah said. "The house just gives me a reason to stay longer."

Her mom pulled away from him, and put her hands on his cheeks. "My baby's finally here. I've waited so long for this."

"I'm happy to be back home too, Mary, but I should probably shower."

Her mom slapped him on the chest. "You go shower. I'm going to make you a nice big breakfast."