The Falling Rider

Chapter 11

Sometime after I had sat down, I had fallen asleep myself. I woke up and stretched. I looked at my bed to see Gallagher awake, watching me. My cheeks heat up as Gallagher smiles.
"Gallagher! You're awake!" I say as he chuckles.
"Yeah, I woke up about an hour ago. I tried to get up, but my stomach was too sore." He says as he carefully sits up.
"You don't have to get up. It's ok, seriously." I say.
"Alright then. I actually wasn't really planning to." He says smiling. My heart skips a beat and I smile back. I look at the balcony and see that it's dark out. Shit. I look at the clock and it reads 9pm. 3 more hours until our plan. I look back at the balcony to see Storm and Rain cuddling and sleeping. Aww.
"Adira?" Gallagher asks.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Are you okay? You just turned really pale." He says. No, I'm not okay.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I say.
"You sure?" He asks. I nod just as Li bursts through the door.
"ADIRA! HELP ME PACK!" Li shouts. My eyes widen.
"Pack for what?" Gallagher asks.
"Oops." Li adds.
"Uhh, nothing! She's just... sleepwalking." I lie as I give Li a look.
"I'm pretty sure she's not sleepwalking." Gallagher says as he studies Li's face.
"No! She is! She just sleeps with her eyes open sometimes! The only way I can tell she's sleepwalking is because she's saying things that don't make sense." I lie again.
"Pineapples are vegetables!" Li shouts. Good job, Li.
"See?" I ask Gallagher. He looks at Li and studies her face. Then, he turns to me and glares.
"What aren't you telling me?" He asks. Shit.
"Nothing." I lie, not making eye contact.
"Adira. I know you're lying to me." He says as I look at the ground.
"No I'm not." I lie.
"Yes, you are. Tell me!" He shouts.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie again. I really hate lying.
"Storm! Help!" I shout in my mind link.
"What?! What happened?" He shouts and I see his head pop up from the balcony.
"Distract Gallagher! He's close to finding out about the escape!" I shout.
"Adira. Are you sure you even want to escape?" Storm asks.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Why do you ask?" I ask.
"I mean, you're leaving everything you've ever had. Well, except for me, your little sis, and your friends, but it seems like you would miss a lot here." Storm explains.
"Name one thing I would miss that's here." I challenge.
"Gallagher." He says. My eyes widen.
"What? No I wouldn't..." I deny.
"Oh please. Adira! I'm your best friend and also your dragon. Our minds link. I can tell you like him. I could also tell that Leo scared you today. I almost broke the glass down to get him away from you, but you had confidence." He says. He's not wrong...
"Adira?" Gallagher asks, his eyes softening.
"Hmm?" I look at him with wide eyes.
"Are you okay?" He asks. I nod and look back at Li.
"Hold on." I tell Gallagher. I walk over to Li and kneel down to her level.
"Go to your room please. I'll be there in a few minutes." I say.
"Pinky pwomise?" She asks.
"Pinky promise." I say, laughing.
"Someone's likes you." Li whispers right before she leaves and closes the door behind her. I look back at Gallagher who's staring at me. He notices me staring as a pink color tints his cheeks. I give him a small smile and he returns it. I walk back over and sit down in the chair.
"What should I do?" I ask Storm.
"Do what you think is right. I won't push you to do something you don't want to do. I'll support your decision, but I won't hesitate to help you if you make a wrong decision along the way." Storm comforts.
"I'm so confused. On one hand, I could stay here and rule the kingdom and accept the responsibilities of becoming queen. I'd also have to marry Gallagher. On the other, I could escape with my best friends and sister and live a carefree life. I could even have a family with Leo... I want to escape." I decide.
"What about Gallagher?" Storm asks.
"Should I tell him? He doesn't seem like he likes this whole kingdom thing either." I say.
"No. It could ruin the plan. I'm sorry, you shouldn't tell him." Storm answers. I sigh.
"Ok. I won't tell him, but I need him to leave in order to get ready. Wait, but what about you and Rain?" I ask.
"What about us?" Storm asks.
"Don't play dumb. I know you like her." I say.
"Yes, fine. I do like her. A lot, in fact." He says.
"This is so confusing." I say.
"I thought you made your decision." He says.
"That was before you admitted you liked Rain." I argue.
"We're escaping and that's final." Storm growls. I sigh and shake my head, knowing I won't be able to change his mind.
"Adira? You look sad. Did your parents do something? Did Leo do something?" He asks, raising his voice.
"No, I'm fine. Just thinking about this morning." I lie. He looks at me worriedly.
"Come here." He says. I get up and walk to the bed. He takes my hand gently and pulls me down beside him. I lay down and he wraps his arms around me.
"I'm sorry." He says, holding me tightly.
"It's not your fault. It's my parents." I say.
"I know. I just wish I could take you away from it all. I wish we could escape." He says. Something in my mind clicks.
"Did you hear that Storm?" I ask him.
"I certainly did, but you can't tell him." He says. My eyes narrow.
"What do you mean I can't?" I ask.
"He could be bluffing. We can't risk it." He says. I sigh as a tear rolls down my cheek.
"Hey, hey. What are you crying for? Please don't cry, Adira." Gallagher says sweetly, wiping my tear away and caressing my cheek. I lean into his hand and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and open them again to see Gallagher watching me intently. He pulls me into a hug and holds me tightly. I'll miss him... Will I really? Yep.
"Adira?" Gallagher asks.
"Yes?" I ask.
"I-I'm sorry about the fight with Leo today. I just... I didn't like the way he was holding you." He apologizes and my cheeks burn.
"It's ok, Gallagher. I forgive you." I say.
"Really? Thank you so much, Adira." He says as he holds me closer to him. I sigh and look out at the balcony, still in his arms. Storm looks at me with sad eyes and I smile sadly. It fades away just as fast as it came. Gallagher breaks the hug, but keeps me in his arms. He stares into my eyes and smiles. I can't help but smile back. Then, I remember that I have to help Li pack.
"Gallagher?" I ask.
"Yes, Adira?" He asks.
"I have to check on Li." I say and his smile fades. It comes back after a second.
"Of course. I'll just head back to my room. It's getting late anyways." He says.
"Ok. Do you want some help?" I ask.
"Well, probably getting out of bed, but after that I should be fine." He admits. He's not afraid to admit when he needs help? That's amazing. Leo never does that...
"Ok. Here." I get off of my bed as he pulls off the covers.
"Actually, hold on. Let me check your stomach. It was kind of in bad shape the last time I saw it." I say.
"Yeah, ok. I kinda figured it would be since it hurt so much. Go ahead." He says. I carefully lift his shirt to see that his cuts are better and so are his bruises.
"They're doing well." I say.
"Really? It looks terrible." He chuckles.
"It looks better than it a few hours ago." I say as I pull his shirt back down.
"Well, that's good. Alright, ready to help?" He asks.
"Yep!" I say enthusiastically. He swings his legs off of the bed and takes my hand as he tries to get up. I help by pulling him as he gets up. I get him up successfully and hold his hand as he walks around, just to make sure he's okay. Then, I let go of his hand and have him walk a few steps for me.
"Great! I'm so glad you can walk on your own! If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and Leo?" I ask.
"Just a bad past. We both had dragons at the time. His dragon tried to bite Rain. He didn't have any reason for it. She kept her distance and didn't do anything wrong. After that, I decided to talk to Leo about it. He started arguing with me and I guess it just led from there." He says.
"Hmm. Ok. Good to know." I say.
"Yeah." He says, looking at the ground.
"Do you need any more help?" I ask.
"No, I think I should be fine. Thanks, Adira." He thanks and smiles at me.
"No problem." I say, returning the smile. We walk out into the hall and he reaches for his door knob. He pulls his hand back and turns back around to look at me.
"Goodnight, Adira." He says, pulling me into a hug. I hug him back and he nuzzles into my neck. Butterflies swarm in my stomach as he breaths on my neck. Heat rises to my cheeks as he hugs me tighter.
"Goodnight, Gallagher." I say as he holds me closer to him. He pulls back enough to kiss my cheek, sending chills down my spine. He stares into my eyes as my cheeks burn. I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato. I never used to blush this much. What's wrong with me? His eyes flash down to my lips, then look back up to my eyes. What is he doing... What about Leo?
"Adira. Don't worry. Just do what your heart tells you to do." Storm guides. I gulp as he bites his lip when he looks back down to my lips. The thing is... my heart doesn't know what to do either. I like Leo and Gallagher. Well, shit. I'm in a relationship with Leo though. Ahh, Storm! Help! Just as Gallagher starts to lean in, Storm roars loudly, scaring Gallagher and making him jump back. "Thanks. I think I froze." I thank Storm.
"Next time, you won't need my help. Your heart will tell you what to do. I promise." Storm comforts.
"Ok. I'll be in there in just a minute." I say.
"Uh, sorry. Umm. G-goodnight, Adira." Gallagher stutters as he turns back around and enters his room, closing the door behind him. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I stumble to Li's room. I open her door and shut it behind me quickly. I look at Li and see that she's already changed into shorts, a t-shirt, and riding boots. Good girl.
"What happened?" Li asks.
"Uh, nothing. Ready to start packing?" I whisper. She nods and takes out a medium sized bag.
"Now, we won't be able to bring everything, so I'll just grab the things you need. You can bring three small toys, two medium toys, or one large toy." I say and she frowns. I grab her bag and start filling it with shorts, pants, and t-shirts.
"What about my dresses?" She asks.
"You won't need them in the wild." I say.
"Yay!" She exclaims.
"Shh." I say, bringing the bag to her bed. She nods and puts three small toys on the bed. One of them was a wolf from her old best friend that moved to another island. Another was a dragon that I had bought her. The last one was a princess that our parents got for her. I quickly put them into the bag and zipped it up.
"Ok, we can't risk getting caught. We're gonna have to go across the balconies. Get on my back." I say. She quickly gets on my back when I kneel down and I grab her bag. I walk out to her balcony and look to my left to see Storm staring at me.
"Can we walk across your wing to get there?" I ask him. He sighs, but chuckles as he unfolds his wing out to us. I quickly walk across it and hop onto my balcony. I set Li down with her bag.
"Wait out here while I pack." I say to her and she nods. I look around to see Rain is now gone. Must've gone back to the stables. I walk inside my room and quickly pack some t-shirts, shorts, pants, my drawings, weapons, and blankets. I quickly change into a new pair of shorts, a new t-shirt, and put my riding boots on. I open my secret cabinet and pull out my bow and arrows, swinging them onto my back. I go back out to my balcony and see Storm holding his saddle in his mouth. I smile at him as he sets it on the ground. I put my bag on the ground and put his saddle on. It's a bigger saddle than usual, but that's because Li is coming with us. Good thinking, Storm.
"Thank you. I try." Storm teases. I chuckle and pat his neck. The saddle bags are big enough to hold our packed bags, so I quickly put them in there. I see a few water bottles and loads of bread in them already.
"Where did you get these?" I ask him.
"Uh, it doesn't really matter.." He replies nervously. I laugh quietly and close the saddle bags. I lift Li up onto the saddle and sit down on it behind her.
"Ok, Li. Hold on tight." I say. She nods and holds onto Storm. I hold onto him as well, protecting Li with my arms on either side of her.
"Ok, Storm. Let's go." I say. He takes off and starts flying towards the forest.

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Hey guys! Hope you like this chapter! I'll try to post again tomorrow!