Allegiant (16 page)

“
Oh hun, don’t get up on
account of me,” Meg says, sounding like a southern belle. She
gestures for me to lie back down. “You look positively
miserable.”

I ignore her and adjust my back against the
pillow. “What’s going on?” I ask cautiously. If Meg is visiting,
something must have happened.

James gives me a reassuring glance. “I
forgot I was supposed to meet with someone today. No big deal.” He
turns his attention to Meg. “Tell Jack I’ll get with him
later.”

“
Not an option,” a man
says, appearing on the other side of the room.

My mouth falls open in surprise as I take in
Garrett’s brother. He is absolutely identical to Garrett; the only
difference is that he has brown eyes instead of turquoise. He’s
dressed in army fatigues, and the last name Abernathy is printed
across the left side of his chest.

James stands to face him. “There’s nothing
to discuss.”

“
Doesn’t matter.” Jack
crosses his arms and approaches the two Guardians. “We have a
schedule. We stick to it.” He speaks in a clipped tone, obviously
irate.

I notice Meg roll her eyes.

James sighs and tosses the television remote
on the coffee table. “Fine. I officially have nothing to report to
you. Satisfied?”

Jack’s brown eyes flit to me and then back
to James. His expression hardens making me think I shouldn’t be
here, even if this is my apartment.

“
This is where you spend
your time?” he asks, seemingly irritated.

James gives him a sideways glance. “You know
I’m Emma’s Guardian.”

Jack scowls. “That doesn’t give you free
license. You know the rules.”

Obviously, Jack does not approve of James
spending time with me. Or is he alluding to the fact that he still
loves me? My hands start to feel clammy.

James stands taller. “I don’t answer to
you.”

Jack takes another step and clenches his
teeth. “I don’t want this mission compromised.”

“
And just how is it being
compromised?”

Jack’s eyes dart to me again. He stares at
me with contempt as he clenches his jaw. Inwardly, I cringe. What
have I ever done to this man?

“
Look at
me
,” James says roughly,
feeling my anxiety.

Jack focuses on James. “Keep it in check,
Davis,” he threatens. He takes a step back and then fades as
quickly as he appeared.

Meg lets out a low whistle as James turns to
me. “Well, that was fun.”

“
Not really,” I say as I
adjust my features to look less worried. “I take it he doesn’t like
me?”

“
More like he doesn’t like
love,” Meg says with a hint of a smile.

“
Jack’s wound pretty
tight,” James says and then glances at Meg. “Maybe tighter than
usual?”

Meg’s golden brown shoulders rise and fall
with a shrug.

“
You,” James says as he
walks toward me, reaching out to feel my forehead again, “are still
really hot.”

Meg giggles.

I can’t help myself, and I shoot her an
annoyed look. Is she laughing at the irony in that statement? I
normally don’t look this terrible. Wait. The last time she saw me I
was in sweats and a t-shirt. I sigh.

“
Lie down and let the
medicine work,” James says.

“
Yes, sir,” I say
sardonically. “You know, I’d be asleep by now if your friends would
stop dropping by.” Whoops. That came out a little harsher than I
intended.

James pauses, puzzled by my
uncharacteristically bitter tone.

“
I’m sorry,” I say quickly
and give them both a remorseful glance with my haggard green eyes.
“I’m just tired and I feel gross and Jack was angry…”

“
It’s all right, hun,” Meg
says and steps beside James, so they’re both hovering over me. “I’d
be ornery too, if I were you.” She flashes her perfect, dazzling
smile.

Man, she’s irritating me today. It must be
the flu. I shift myself to lie down as James tucks the blanket
around me again. “I’m sorry,” I mouth. He smiles.

When he stands, Meg turns to him. “So, when
will you be back?” she asks.

“
Depends. I want to make
sure Emma is feeling better before I go.”

Meg glances from James to
me. “Do you mind if I stay? My Ward’s been pretty easy going and I
haven’t watched TV in
years
.” She looks excited, like she’s
just been told fairies exist.

“
Um…” I really want to tell
her no.

“
We’ll be really quiet,”
she nods innocently, “and I’ll get you whatever you
need.”

What I need is time with
James,
I think. But then, what are we
really going to do anyway? I’ll be sleeping while he watches me.
How exciting for him. “Sure,” I concede. “Whatever you
want.”

“
Thank you!” she says
enthusiastically, her southern accent growing thicker in her
excitement. She turns to pick up the television remote and hands it
to James. “Show me how this works,” she drawls.

James laughs. “When were you born
again?”

“
1950. Now show me how it
works.”

Meg and James move opposite me, to stand
directly in front of the television. James launches into his remote
tutorial. “Now this particular set is old, but…”

I close my eyes and try to block them out.
It would be amazing if I could fall asleep instantaneously. I
consider moving to my bedroom, but then decide against it. This is
my place, damn it, and if I want to be sick on my couch I will.

Eventually, I fade into a restless sleep.
I’m brought back to consciousness a few times, by a word or a
laugh, the loud sound followed by shushing. When the volume returns
to a whisper, I fall back to sleep only to be woken again. By the
fifth time, I’m over it. It’s maddening.

“
Guys!” My eyes snap open
and I prop myself up. I find James seated at the opposite end of
the couch with Meg leaning against the arm rest, her hand casually
resting against his arm. My eyes narrow and I wish I had the energy
to get up and knock it away. “I. Can’t. Sleep.” I enunciate each
word.

Meg pulls her hand back and stands. “She’s
right.” She looks at James with remorse. “We’re not being very
polite.”

“
You think?” I
snap.

She looks at me. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

“
I’m sorry, too,” James
says, his eyes registering my feelings. He’s knows I’m
upset.

I’ve really had enough of both of them,
which I hate to say because I treasure all of my time with James.
But seriously? “Why don’t you two just go,” I say and pound my
pillow, fluffing it. “Check on me later. Garrett should be back any
time with the Gatorade.” I flop back down.

James gets up and stands over me. “You
really want me to go?”

“
Yes. Please.” I close my
eyes in reaction to what I’ve said and then open them again. “You
know what I mean. I’m just getting more and more irritated the
worse I feel. Please, just go for now. Check on me tomorrow; I’m
sure I’ll feel better by morning.”

James hesitates. “You’re sure?”

“
No,” Meg steps in. “I’ll
go. You stay.”

“
Ugh!” I pick up the pillow
and put it over my head to block them out. Why don’t we stand
around and argue about it? That will solve everything!

“
I’ll see y’all later,” I
hear Meg say, her voice muffled by the pillowcase. I wait a moment
and then pull my head out from under the fabric. James is looking
at me, pained. I sigh. “What?”

“
You haven’t been this
angry in a while.”

“
I feel like
crap.”

He kneels down, so his eyes are level with
mine. “I know. I’ll stay.”

Really, I just want to sleep. I look at him
sincerely. “No. Go do something productive with your time. I’ll be
fine. You’ll know if I need you, right?”

He nods and then gives in. “I guess I should
be seen, seeing as how Jack was all bent out of shape.”

I pick my head up and lean forward, giving
him a soft kiss on the forehead. “That’s a good Guardian.”

He smirks.

I lay my head down. “Promise me I’ll see you
tomorrow,” I say as I close my eyes.

“
I promise,” he says and
gives me a quick kiss goodbye.

Incessant ringing wakes me. When I open my
eyes, I know I’ve been asleep for a while because it is pitch black
in my apartment; no light shines through the windows. My cell is
lit up on the table, going off like crazy. I lazily scoot to the
edge of the couch and reach for it, squinting when I read the
screen. It’s after nine o’clock and Shel is calling.

“
Hello?” I answer, my voice
rough.

“
Em?”

“
Yeah.”

“
What’s wrong with your
voice?”

I rub my eye with the heel of my hand. “I
caught some sort of flu bug. I feel like road kill.”

“
Aw. I’m sorry; I won’t
keep you. I just wanted to let you know that Dane’s birthday is
this Saturday, the sixth, and he’s invited Matt and me to a
party.”

Fantastic
, I think sarcastically.
What do I care?

“
You’re invited too, but I
didn’t think you would come and neither did Dane, really. I wanted
to let you know in case…”

Her rambling becomes incoherent to me. Hell
would have to freeze over before I would go to Dane’s birthday
party. Has he lost his mind?

“
Em?”

“
Hmm?”

“
Will you be
mad?”

“
Mad about
what?”

“
I just asked you if you
would be mad if I went and you didn’t say anything.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. “No, Shel. I
don’t care if you go to Dane’s party.”

She sounds relieved. “Okay. I really don’t
want to go but Matt’s going, and I have no other choice if I want
to see him this weekend.”

Yeah,
yeah
, I think to myself.

“
Plus,” Shel’s voice gets
quiet, “I can do a little recon.”

As much as I hate to admit it, I am curious
about little Ms. Teagan Meyer. “You have fun with that,” I say. I
didn’t tell her to find out anything…but I didn’t tell her not to
either.

“
I’ll let you go, so you
can relax,” Shel says sympathetically. “I hope you feel better
soon.”

“
Me, too. Talk to you
later.”

“’
Kay. Bye.”

I end the call and toss the phone aside.
Yawning and stretching, I look around in the darkness. I eye the
door and wonder where Garrett is with the Gatorade. I pull myself
off the couch and shuffle my way to use the restroom. What a waste
of a day.

Once in the bathroom, I decide to take a
shower because my skin feels sticky. Maybe I can wash away this
sickness. I stand under the warm water, allowing it to beat against
my neck, shoulders, and back. It feels comforting. When my skin is
sufficiently pruny, I get out and change into a fresh t-shirt and
sleep shorts, deciding to spend the rest of the night in my bed.
The sheets feel cool against my warm skin, and I snuggle into them,
allowing my mind to fade and drift. You would think there would be
no more sleep to be had, but I slip into unconsciousness again.
This time is different though, as my mind weaves a dream out of the
day’s events.

“
You look
beautiful.”

The skin of my exposed neck tingles as I
hear Dane’s voice behind me. I turn and feel something brush
against me, low on my legs, and look down to see I’m wearing a
floor-length coral gown. Its strapless, with an empire waist, and
it’s covered with a flowered lace overlay. Delicate rose appliqués
of the same coral color are scattered over the bodice and
throughout the full skirt. I place my hands on my hips and swing
from side to side for a moment. The soft chiffon moves with me,
back and forth, mimicking the motion of a bell. I’ve never worn
anything so elegant.

I lift my eyes to find Dane walking toward
me. He wears a black tuxedo vest over a white dress shirt, which is
tucked meticulously into a pair of black pants. The collar of his
shirt and the next few buttons are undone, and he carries a black
necktie in one hand and his tuxedo jacket in the other. “Can you
help me with this?” he asks, grinning.

I smile as he approaches me, and I reach out
toward him. When he’s within arm’s length, I set my hands against
his shirt and scrutinize the small clear buttons. No wonder he’s
having a hard time. I fasten the first, the second, and the third,
making my way up his chest. When I reach his collar, the shirt is
tight around his neck, and I have to wrestle with it a bit. I press
my body against his as I concentrate on pushing the button through
the fabric without choking him. He sets his hands on my waist to
steady me, still clutching the tie and his jacket, and my heart
begins to pound. Even with the added items between us, I still feel
like he’s touching my bare skin.

When I get the button fastened and lean
back, he releases me and hooks one finger over his collar, trying
to stretch and loosen it. He hands me the tie, and I loop it around
his neck, tying it into a Windsor knot. “Thank you for doing this,”
he says as I diligently work.

I smile into his chest. I don’t know when I
learned to tie a necktie, but I appear to be very good at it. I
tighten the knot under his collar and then smooth the tie, tucking
it into his vest. I step back to admire my work and to admire…well,
him. His dark brown hair is perfectly styled to look carefree, his
jawline hints of a five o’clock shadow, and his hazel eyes soften
as they gaze at me.