Shift, Emily Zimmerman. [general ebook reader txt] 📗

him that. Our tongues danced together in a fiery, passionate dance. We pulled apart to breathe. I stared into his eyes for a while, until my breathing slowed. “Drake…I…I love you” I blurted. He stared at me in shock, the palm of his hand touched my cheek, and he smiled softly. “I-“
I woke up, morning light streaming in through the window. My face was buried in my pillow, rolled over on my back and sat up on my elbows, looking around the room. Disappointment flowed through me as I realized that it was a dream. I sighed and fell back into the bed. I realized that I didn’t change last night, I was still in my blue dress, my ears were hurting because I laid on them with the earrings still in. I took them out and set them on the bedside table beside my bed. I looked at the clock to see that it was seven. I jumped out of bed and ran silently into the bathroom. Turning on the shower and jumping in.
I jumped out of the shower and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around me. I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed some clothes, I put them on and blow dried my hair. When my hair was dry, I walked out of the room and to the lunch deck; I assumed Drake was still sleeping, hence the deep breathing I heard in his room. I walked onto the lunch deck, which had turned into the breakfast deck. Everyone was there, eating eggs, bacon, toast, and whatever else was on the menu. I sat down at an empty table and looked out at the forest. Someone sat beside me, I looked up to find Lamina, she smiled and handed me a tray of bacon, eggs, and toast. I grabbed the bacon and bit off a piece “thanks” I said.
“My pleasure” she said smiling. A few people moved from their seats and sat at our table “hey, I’m Kristie, and this is my sister, Haley, we just wanted to know…how you found Garrison?” Kristie, a petite honey blonde haired girl with big brown eyes asked me. I shrugged “well, I had kind of like a dream, of a cave, I started walking down the cave, and I fell down a hole, I fell on my feet, and kept walking down sort of like a tunnel, I found the opening of the cave, and that’s when I found Lamina, and the others” I explained. I explained how I followed the beach to the cave and they both listened with rapt attention, I hadn’t realized that the whole deck had gone silent; they were all listening to my story. When I ended the story, I looked around; I had gotten so lost in the story, I hadn’t noticed that people were crowded around the table. “So…you actually challenged Garrison to a fight?” Haley asked me. I nodded and looked at Lamina “yeah, at first me and Lamina tried to take him on together, but he has three inner animals, giving him the ability to heal in less than ten seconds, soon his minions jumped in, and we had to back out, I called him a coward, and challenged him to a fight, just me and him. And he accepted, we fought for a while, but Drake decided to intervene, he jumped on him, leading to me getting attacked by two other shifters” I muttered with a smile. I looked around the deck, and my eyes landed on Drake who was leaning on the door smiling slightly.
Chapter fifteen. (Drake’s P.O.V.)
I watched as she told the story of how she found Garrison, and how we helped the prisoners. She glanced around the room and her eyes landed on me, she smiled and looked back at Lamina, “Lamina here had a plan a week before I got there, they had them all taking these white pills, which prohibited them to use their inner animals, Lamina stopped taking them, planning her escape, the day I found her was the day they found out she wasn’t taking them” she explained, a saddened expression taking over the smile. I looked out at the forest, guilt overtaking me. I looked back at them just in time to see Lamina take Jenna’s hand on top of the table and squeeze it. “It’s okay, I’m alright now, and the wh- it didn’t hurt that much” Lamina comforted, changing what she said at the last minute. Hurt that much? What didn’t hurt that much? Jenna snorted, “sure Lamina, sure” she said sarcastically. Lamina sighed and ran a hand through her orange and black hair. Jenna sucked in a breath and let it out slowly as she looked around the room, her eyes met mine for a second, but it was enough to know that she needed to be alone, and not to follow her when she left “well, I’m not very hungry anymore, I’m just going to…go” Jenna said, getting up. She walked passed me and I brushed my hand along her arm. I watched as she walked away with a solemn expression. “Drake, I need to speak to you” Lamina stood in front of me. I avoided looking in her eyes. “Okay” I murmured. She walked down the hall, the opposite way of Jenna. I walked behind her for a while; she got to her room and opened the door, gesturing for me to go in first. I walked in and leaned against the wall. “Drake, Look at me” she ordered. I looked up to see her frustrated face, leaning against the door. “I. Am. Fine” she said slowly, crossing her arms. I sighed “I know that” I said. she threw her arms up in the air “then I don’t get why you are still feeling guilty?” she asked me. I looked out the window “you wouldn’t have been in that mess in the first place if I hadn’t fallen asleep” I muttered. She growled “I am fine, and so are my friends, those three that died were my best friends, but you are not the cause of that death, what would you have done? Huh? Answer me that” she said. I thought long and hard about that “I would have fought him off until the headmasters arrived” I decided. She snorted “sure” she said sarcastically.
“why didn’t you wake me?” I asked finally. She went silent “he told me that the headmasters needed to see us, I was about to wake you when he stopped me, telling me that they only needed to see us” she murmured after a long silence. Rage flowed through me and I almost punched a hole in the wall, she stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder “you haven’t changed have you? Still the angry temperamental brother you used to be” she said, shaking her head. I widened my eyes, she was right, I thought I had changed, but I hadn’t, I am the same person I used to be, just older. She was taken a year ago, and I thought that that changed me, but it didn’t. I sighed and walked out of her room, I needed to be alone. I walked down the hall to my room, opening the door and stepping inside, I sighed. “oh dad, I’m sorry, if you could see me now, would you be proud, or angry with me?” I heard Jenna’s soft voice from her room.
“I miss you; of course you know that, I wonder what you would do if you found out that I risked my life to save another. You would probably kill me” she said, her voice thick with tears. I listened as she talked to her father, I could just see her face, her cheeks, tear stained, her expression heart broken. I wanted to comfort her, to tell her that it was alright. “Dad, I need your help, please help me, because I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, I know what you would tell me, follow your heart, and don’t ask questions, but the last time I followed my heart, it hurt me” she said. I put my hand on the wall, along with my forehead, trying to tell her that I’m here, that I wouldn’t hurt her. “I love him, but I don’t know if he loves me back, I think he does, but I’m afraid to find out” she whispered. Shock went through me at her words “I wish mom was here, she would tell me what to do” she said. I stared at the wall for a long time. Her room went silent, and soon I heard her soft breathing get heavier as she fell asleep. I wondered what she meant about last time she followed her heart. I sighed and laid on my bed, I wished the wall between us would disappear, so I could see her sleeping face. I closed my eyes, my only thoughts being of Jenna. I fell into a deep sleep.
I awoke when Jenna awoke, but it was different this time, her breathing was ragged, and she seemed to have jerked awake. I listened for something. I heard her soft crying. I got up from the bed and walked over to the door, knocking lightly “Jenna, are you alright?” I asked softly, worried about her.
“No” she replied, still crying. I opened the door and walked in, my eyes landed on her, sitting on the floor, with her head in her hands. “Jenna, what’s wrong?” I asked her, sitting next to her and pulling her into a hug. She hugged me tightly back and sobbed quietly into my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it” she managed to choke out. I tightened my grip on her and kissed her hair “you don’t have to, it’s alright Love” the last word slipped out without my permission. “L-Love?” she asked wetly, looking up to meet my eyes. My cheeks went hot and I laughed nervously “umm, I mean- well, I mean-“ I was cut off by her lips on mine. I reacted by slipping my hand in her hair and deepening the kiss, her hand caressed my cheek, while her arm went around my neck, I pulled her into my lap without breaking the kiss, I moaned into her mouth, and she slipped her tongue in, our tongues danced together in a fiery passionate dance. We kissed like this for a while before we pulled apart to breathe, not that we wanted to pull apart, but we had to.
“I love you” she whispered, her voice seemed wary.
“I love you too” I whispered. She looked up and smiled a bright smile, a complete turnaround from just a few minutes ago. She kissed me softly, her hands on the back of my neck. She pulled away and laid her forehead on my chest “this wasn’t a dream” she whispered to herself, as if amazed.
“What?” I asked her softly. She shook her head “it’s not important” she said softly. She seemed to be deep in thought, her face suddenly changed, fear overtaking it. “but if this wasn’t a dream, then-“ she was cut off by a scream, I knew that scream. Jenna and I were out the door before either one of us knew what was happening. We ran down the hall and to Lamina’s room, I slammed open the door, but she wasn’t here, Jenna was already running down the hall, she knew what was happening. I followed Jenna, she came to a dead stop in front of the lunch deck. I ran up to her and followed her gaze through the glass doors. Jenna looked at me, suddenly; she pushed me back against the wall, keeping me there with the force of her lion strength. “Stay here” she ordered. Her voice was a mix of worry, and authority, I was forced to nod. I watched