Brighter Than The Stars: Book One

Alternate 1.12

Madeline woke to Elijah pressed tight against her body, molding himself against her perfectly, with his arm draped around her and his bandaged hand covering her own. It was doing perfect things to her stomach, and she wanted to relish in this feeling forever.

Then she remembered college. Elijah told her the night before that he was staying, but now she was the one who would have to leave in just a few short months. Did that mean he'd be staying with her parents for the year while she finished college two and a half hours away? Would he follow her there if she asked him to?

"Shh," Elijah whispered, the puff of air hitting her temple.

"I didn't say anything." Or had she?

He let out a tired laugh. "Maybe not, but the gears turning in your head are loud as all hell, M&M. Say what you need to say, because right now it feels like I'm holding a stiff board."

If she could say what she said yesterday, albeit in a letter, surly she could say this. "What happens when I have to go back to college? And what about when it's time for me to join the workforce? There won't be any jobs in my field in this town. And what about your-"

"I can do construction anywhere, M&M," Elijah mumbled against her ear, cutting her off. "And I'm going to tell you this one time, and one time only. Once summer's over, I'll be so in love with you that I'll follow you anywhere. Hell, I would have followed you regardless, because you're still my best friend, and I've lost too much time with you as it is."

Just hearing him say 'in love' was enough to set her insides ablaze. Madeline remembered so many books and movies spouting cliches of fireworks shooting off in the brain, butterflies fluttering around in the stomach, and being weak in the knees. She assumed it was all bullshit, creating this glorified, sappy version of romance. Either that, or Madeline was doing something wrong.

As it turned out, the only thing wrong was the man. With Elijah in her life, kissing her underneath the stars and whispering sweet nothings into her ear, Madeline could safely assume that if she'd standing while he said that, her knees would have given out.

There was a quote by Dr. Seuss, which played well with the quote she'd been repeating in her brain. "you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

Elijah had told her he'd stayed up an hour later than her that first night, just so he could watch her sleep and study her. Last night, long after he'd fallen asleep, all Madeline could think about was his arms wrapped around her, how perfect it felt, and became hypnotized by the sound of his steady breaths.

"You're kind of perfect."

Elijah laughed behind her. "Far from it, M&M. I've got issues, just like everyone else, and those issues run deep as hell. But I'm going to work through them, because you deserve the best version of me. I told you the reason why I left to begin with, how I felt like I was becoming too angry to control for much longer, and I didn't want you around that.

"I still get angry. I still have some of that darkness in me. You saw what I did to that man's house. But the moment you walked into that room, that darkness and anger slipped away. You're the one who brings out the good in me, Maddie. You're the one who brings me light and calmness, and I should have found a way to keep you in my life."

Madeline swore those butterflies just did a line of cocaine, because those wings were moving at warp speed. He brought up being hopelessly in love with her by the end of summer, but if he kept this up, she'd be there by the end of the week. At the very latest.

"You know what I think?"

Elijah pressed a kiss against her bare shoulder, then a second just below her ear. "What do you think, M&M?"