The Fall of Sky: Part One by Alexia Purdy

and Cotija cheese with a tomato lemon sauce. Do you like those?” I nodded, knowing what he was talking about. I’d had those tacos on a trip to Mexico once, and had eaten enough to stuff a cow. My mouth watered at the thought.
    “Excellent.”
    At that moment, Caridad waltzed in and placed a piping hot bowl down with spoon and limes to one side. I watched her as she placed another before Jonas. Dark red napkins to keep spills from our clothes came with the set up, and I felt like we were at a restaurant under the stars and not at his home. The food smelled absolutely divine.
    It tasted even better.
    Don’t get used to it, I told myself. The warning was shoved to the back of my mind, however, as the night wore on and Jonas peeled layer after layer off his hardened exterior.
    This wasn’t going the way I wanted it to, or was it?
     

Chapter Fourteen
     
     
     
     
    Audrey
    THE MOTEL ROOM walls were pressing down on me, and I rubbed at my temples to stifle the pain throbbing like an endless drum. I hated the fact that Liv was out all night with Jonas. It was near morning, and she still hadn’t graced us with her presence. Damn her. I was going to kill her when she waltzed her little skinny ass back in here if it was the last thing I ever did.
    “Audrey?” Saul’s voice parted the silence of the darkness, and I rolled over to see what he wanted.
    “Yeah?”
    “Can’t sleep, can you.” He didn’t ask, just stated the fact that I’d been tossing and turning for hours.
    “I’m sorry if I’m keeping you awake. I can get up and go hit the diner if you want to rest.”
    He sat up, rubbing his face. The cracking pops of his neck as he stretched made me think of firecrackers popping in the distance. Fourth of July was around the corner.
    “I’ll go with you.”
    “No, really, you don’t have to. I’m just going to go grab a snack and read while I’m there.”
    “I could use a snack too.” He yawned and was already climbing out of bed. I sighed and dangled my legs over the edge of the bed. Since Liv wasn’t there, I had the whole second bed to myself and didn’t have to share with Saul. It was nice to spread out on the mattress, but not feeling his soft breaths and warmth radiating off him when I had slept in the same bed made me suddenly feel so alone.
    Why was that?
    “That’s what we’re about, sleeping and eating.” I stuffed the pillow behind my neck and stared at the popcorn ceiling. Maybe I shouldn’t worry over Liz. Maybe I should just let her go. She’s always gotten herself out of messes—sometimes with my help yes, but…this time, she’d gone too far. Aligning herself with Jonas this way had left me feeling like I’d lost her, for real this time. If I kept holding on, I’d be pulled into the undertow and drowned like a sinking rock.
    I let out a breath, hoping the stone weighing heavily in my heart would disintegrate with every little breath.
    “Nothing like facing the future with a full stomach.” Saul was standing by the bed and held out his hand for me to take. I smiled. He had a way, this man. He could make the monsters lie down and quiet their endless attacks on my mind with easy words. Just like that.
    “Okay, but I’m sick of Denny’s.”
    “Fair enough.” He laughed as I slipped my fingers into his warm ones. His firm grip lifted me up out of bed, and I stood there, almost chest to chest with him, both of us in just our sleepwear. Mine consisted of a thin camisole and panties while he wore pajama bottoms and was shirtless.
    Oy vey…
    “I’ll just…um…Let me get changed.”
    “Okay.” His voice sound gruff, as if he was holding back things he wanted to say. Instead, he let me go, his hand falling back to his side. How I longed for his hands to touch me again, in more places than just my fingers.
    Turning, my heart was frantically thumping like a panicked squirrel attempting to jump a tree. I was happy to have the excuse of finding some clothes and dashed for the