Before the Fall

Chapter Five - Gut Instinct

Aster

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

The world was seemingly at peace.

Literally.

Even the news channels were having trouble finding something to report that wasn't good.

But there was this undercurrent in the air.

I could feel it.

Xander felt it.

We lay in bed and listened to the quiet.

Yes, quiet.

Living in the heart of New York City, it was quiet.

Xander's fingers were carding through my mousy brown hair. It was one of my favorite things he did when we went to bed each night.

I lay with my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, syncing my breathing pattern with his.

Even with all of the terrors outside our apartment, we knew that this one place was where we would be every night - with each other.

I could tell he was wanting to talk about something.

Probably H-Corp.

Neither of us had hardly even breathed a word of our encounter in the last few weeks. It's not that we were afraid of Li's threats, but we just didn't know what to say.

That poor person's face kept sticking in my mind. The ears, the tail, the unadulterated weirdness of it all.

I couldn't shake it.

"We need to go."

I felt Xander's warm breath whisper the words through my hair, a soft kiss being pressed to my head in their wake.

"Go where?"

"Somewhere. Somewhere they can't touch us."

I blinked slowly. I knew this was foolish talk.

We both knew.

There was nowhere on earth that H-Corp couldn't touch.

I leaned up and looked at Xander's eyes in the dimly lit room. It was never fully dark. The streetlights kept enough light in there for us to see.

"You don't even believe your own words," I said, brushing his fringe back.

"We have to try, Aster. They're waiting for us to slip up. I see them lurking and following us, now more than ever."

A small, sad smile spread on my lips. "Now who's paranoid?" I teased.

He huffed in frustration. "I'm not joking, Aster. I'm serious."

I sigh and sit up, hugging my knees to my chest. A siren passed by our building, the first one in days. Both of us looked towards the window.

"Fine. Just tell me what you want me to do. I'm always on your side, Xander, you know that."

"I wasn't too sure when you signed that gag order."