Dream Bound: Book One | ✓ [COMPLETE]

Dream Bound - Chapter Sixteen

                                        Dream Bound

                                     Chapter Sixteen

                                              day ten

    It had been two days since Colton had spoken to me. At first, I hadn’t been keeping track. I moved through the seconds, telling myself, “He’ll snap out of it. He’ll realize it’s not worth it to keep putting himself down over a mistake.”

    The seconds turned into minutes, minutes that erupted into hours. Those hours yanked me out of my haze, a brutal slap to the face that told me I needed realize what was going on. By that point, it was too late. I was too late. In my haste, I saw that Colton had left again. Though this very event occurred two days ago, it burned in the back of my mind like old stars.

    As night fell, and the second day drew nearer, I knew that this was more than self-guilt. It was something deeper, something that cut open an old wound for Colton. Mistakes didn’t come easily to him -- and when they did, they left behind patched wounds, wounds prone to be scratched open years down the road.

    The moment I had fell and injured my arm, Colton lost himself in his memories; those of which were unreachable to me. Unreachable to a degree. If I wanted a closer look, there were ways. However, this had already been deemed bitter for Colton. While we were living on borrowed time, he wanted to keep his memories out of my reach.

    After learning about my past with him--our past--I realized that there was a part of him that wanted to share those memories with me. He felt something deeper, something more prominent. To me, it was all discarded memories and Archangel power. To him, sharing those memories with me would mean as much to him as an intimate kiss. He’d never admit it, that was another part about him that drove me crazy.

    Now, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I sat on the penthouse balcony. A glass of cold tea was balanced on my knee, glistening with condensation. Every once in awhile, a single drop would race another down the side of the glass, coming to a stop on my skin. I lifted the frosted rim to my lips, taking a hearty sip of the sweet, refreshing beverage.

    It was still early yet--far from the afternoon peak. The sun was half hidden behind a thick bank of clouds, which provided some shade. I tried to get comfortable--to relish in the afternoon comfort, but I couldn’t. The wooden rocking chair was just a little too rickety. The air was bitter, unwelcoming. No matter which way I shifted, the armrests seemed to dig into my sides, rubbing sharply against my ribs.

    Setting my tea on the ground beside my foot, I scooted to the edge of the chair and rested my hands in my lap. My fingers twitched, itching to move in a typing fashion. Hearing Colton’s voice wasn’t the only thing that had fled my presence two days ago. It was also two days ago that I had had my encounter with Cordelia, a half-demon. Just after her appearance, I had done my research on a few words tickling the back of my mind.

    Today, they came crawling right back with insistence, practically begging me to dig up more answers about them. Colton was gone--out and about somewhere in the small town of Waterton. I’d already eaten brunch, cleaned up last night’s dinner mess, and managed to shower with an injured arm. What else did I have to do? A bittersweet mixture of fear, excitement and curiosity flooded my stomach as I snatched up my drink, carrying it back inside.

As soon as I had the computer powered on, I opened up Firefox and jumped straight to my recent history. I scrolled through the links, trying to remember which one had been the most efficient; which one had provided me with the most (what I thought was) accurate information.