Awakening Book One of the Trust Series - By J. E. Swift Page 0,64
Trust compound so far away. It almost felt like a dream to her, these past five months, the whirlwind romance of Garrett, the daily structure that was Declan’s regimented training.
Declan took the words out of her mouth. “It’s like you can breathe up here, isn’t it? Like your life doesn’t have so many expectations placed on it.”
Her eyes slowly took in the beautiful canvas laid out in front of them. “Exactly.”
“Just me, the trees, and the mountain.”
She nudged him playfully. “Hey! Don’t forget about me.”
“Oh no, I could never forget about you.” He sipped his water, attempting to stifle the smile that was tugging at the corner of his mouth. He leaned back, lying down to stare at the clear blue sky. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
She copied him. “What is amazing?”
He motioned at the blue azure above. “Out there. There are all these stars, all these possibilities for life and other cultures out there and we have barely begun to scratch the surface of our own exploration. At night, I love to just stare at the stars and think about us coming across another planet, just like our own, with intelligent life forms on it, waiting to start a new age of peace. When I begin to feel full of myself, I look at the sky or the stars and realize just how insignificant I really am.”
Caitlyn continued to lie down, but her head was now turned to Declan while he continued to speak. He did not realize that she was staring at him at first; he kept talking, sharing his intimate thoughts and beliefs about the world.
She found that she loved hearing him talk. The relaxing timbre of his voice, the steady cadence; the way that she knew that he truly believed with every fiber of his being what he was saying. When he talked about making the world a better place, Caitlyn wanted to go out and help him make it a better one.
So she listened.
He finally turned his face to hers and her brown ones met his blue. He blushed, she guessed because he realized that he had monopolized the conversation. “I’m sorry.”
Her hand reached out to find his and she gave it a squeeze. “Don’t be. It was nice.”
Caitlyn could see his internal clock winding up again, the world creeping back into his thoughts, the concerns that plagued him every day coming to the forefront. Although Declan was obviously destined for greatness, her heart yearned for him to know some normalcy. He sat up, letting go of her hand.
She stilled his hand and jerked her head down a few thousand feet below. “Don’t. Leave it down there, Declan. Up here… up here we can breathe.” She said, repeating his earlier sentiment.
“It’s difficult not to let guilt creep in.”
“We will head down soon enough. But for now…Sometimes, even when everything seems overwhelming and daunting, sometimes you just need to take time out and appreciate life. You and I are very similar. I think it’s why we get along so well. We will push and push each other and ourselves to death if we let it. Sure, we may have strength and even power, but at the end of the day, can we say that we lived a full life if all we do is work? This is what life is about, Declan. This is what we are fighting for. Our humanity.”
Chapter 18
A few mornings later, Caitlyn awoke in her studio apartment to her cell phone vibrating. She saw that it was a text from Declan.
Can’t meet this a.m. for a run. Sleep in. If all goes as planned, I’ll meet you at ten in the training room.
She rolled over, her clock mocking her in all its electronic glory. Three forty five. She closed her eyes, wondering briefly why Declan was up at that ungodly hour, before passing back out into unconsciousness.
She did not have to wait long to find out. Declan greeted her in the training room at precisely ten in the morning. He wore a huge grin on his face. “Good morning.”
“Well, good morning to you too.”
Caitlyn began to shrug off her jacket. “Don’t remove your jacket.”
She put the fleece back over her shoulders, trying to figure out what he was up to. “Okay. What has you so happy today?”
He smiled broader. “I’ve decided that today is the day you are going to learn to teleport.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened and she couldn’t help but squeal. “For real? You’re not teasing me, because if you are, that’s cruel.”