Citizen

Chapter thirty-one

**another fresh edit so please point out any mistakes - I really shouldn't trust myself to edit at 2am but I'm a creature of habit, whoops**

---

Three sharp raps on his front door was all it took to drag James out of bed. As footsteps thundered throughout the house and lights flickered on, Kyra shrunk back with the shadows, oblivious to the icy sheets soaking through her coat. She blinked as water tangled in her lashes.

The door opened with a frown. James looked around, his half-closed eyes widening as he took in the scene before him. Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled, "You realise the porch is covered for a reason, correct?"

Kyra tucked wet strands of hair behind her ear. The rain was an afterthought, unimportant compared to him. "Are your parents home?"

He shook his head, brows furrowed.

"Am I allowed to come in?"

He stepped aside; she weaved under his arm and into the warmth. The house itself was cold and dark, but the memories that came with it were enough to stop her shivering. She followed his trek up the stairs to his dimly lit bedroom; it seemed to change every time she entered it. Today the bed was facing the window, adjacent to a precariously stacked pile of books that served as a nightstand. His real nightstand was covered in the sheet music next to the piano. The desk was pushed under the window, and unlike any other surface in his room, it was bare. There was an organised quality to the chaos of his bedroom — much like James himself.

James touched her arm lightly, his skin like a flame against hers. "Whoa, you need to defrost. How long were you outside?" He pulled the duvet off his bed and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Kyra shrugged. "Long enough to grow gills." She sat on the bed, turning her head slightly to inhale the lingering scent of James.

"Why?"

She looked up, frowning. "Why what?"

He sat next to her, so close warmth radiated off his skin. "Why were you out there?"

The silence laid on her skin like poison. More than anything she wanted to rid herself of it, but how? How could she explain what made no sense to her? She came because she needed him, but also because she was going to lose him and she couldn't bear to see him. They both knew what was going to happen - and there was nothing they could do to stop it. But there was one thing they could do. Forget. At least for one night.

She bit her lip and tangled her hands in the folds of James' blanket. "I, I don't..." She stopped, took a breath, and started again. "Why should I spend my last night worrying when I can spend it doing things I won't be able to for a while?" Or ever again, she added mentally. Everything depended on the events of the next day, on who the Commander chose to be apart of their plan, on how much he wanted Ashley Henderson dead. Even a life-long friendship like theirs wouldn't be able to survive that.

Kyra shook her head to clear it. "Can we forget about the fact that I'm leaving, just for tonight, and instead focus on the fact that I'm still here?"

James stared for a moment before nodding. "Where's your mum tonight?"

Kyra looked down to hide her stinging eyes. "She, uh, she took an extra shift at the hospital tonight - it's always busy during storms. And I couldn't exactly explain why I wanted her to stay home." She smiled with tight lips. "I guess tonight is important for everyone in different ways."

"Will you see her before you leave?"

"Yeah. In the morning. I don't have to be there until the afternoon."