The Sun

When I wake up the next morning, I find Thane gone but CheeChee was fast asleep on my stomach. I stretch and cause CheeChee to roll off me but he doesn't wake up. I think that's the best sleep I've had in... I don't really know but it was nice to be in a comfortable bed again.

As I roll out of bed, I stretch again and yawn. I look over to the window and see the bright warm sunlight flooding in. It makes me pause. The sun... I turn and walk straight out of the room and head straight outside.

Someone calls out to me but I ignore them. As soon as I step outside, I take a deep breath and close my eyes against the bright sun. I keep my eyes closed but I lift my face and take another deep breath. It was so fresh and... alive.

I feel the slight tingle on my exposed skin and feel myself starting to smile. I'll never take the sun for granted ever again. When I feel something blocking the sun, I open my eyes to see Thane looking down at me.

He reaches out and pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear as he says "The sun suits you." His words slightly surprise me. I reach up and lightly grab his hand as I say "It suits us both. It feels good on my skin."

Thane gives me a small smile and nods but when we sense someone walking up behind me, Thane looks over me as I turn around and see Cruz. Cruz glares at Thane before turning his eyes to me and saying "I called your name back there... Is everything okay?"

I blink before slightly nodding my head and saying "Sorry, I didn't hear you." He narrows his eyes a fraction and says "You couldn't hear me yelling your name more than once but you can hear me walking up behind you?"

Huh... I guess he has a point but in my defense, I've learned to pay attention to things creeping up behind me. In a way, I didn't even hear him approach. I sensed him. I felt someone approaching us and instinctively knew they were behind me.

"Do you need something?" Thane asks from behind me with a cold tone. Cruz glances at him before ignoring Thane altogether and asking me "I need to speak with you for a minute.... In private. Is that okay?"

I think about it for a moment and say "Want to go for a walk? We can talk while I enjoy the fresh air." Cruz's face lights up with delight and quickly says "Of course!" I turn back to Thane and say "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Thane keeps his dark eyes on Cruz as he says "Hmmm" I turn and start walking towards the small path that circles the entire base. Cruz easily catches up and matches my slow pace. After a few silent minutes, he turns to me and asks "Are you okay?"

I look up to him and hesitate to answer. How should I answer that? Sure, it's nice to be back in our world, the world of the living but I was still a dead person. Instead of focusing on all the problems waiting for me, I give him a strained smile and say "Of course."

He narrows his eyes on me and quickly cuts me off. I come to a stop and look up to him in question. He runs a hand through his hair before saying "What happened to you? What happened to the both of you? How long were you two in that place together? Has he ever hurt you?"

I feel my face crumble as I quickly say "What? No! Cruz, Thane has done nothing but helped me, save me, and teach me how to survive. I think you're confused about something." Cruz grits his teeth before reaching out and grabbing both my arms.

He leans down so that we're at the same height as he says "Valerie, he's dangerous and maybe because you've been around him for so long, you can't see that. You shouldn't be sharing a room with him or even be around him when no one else is around."

I try to shrug his hands off as I take a step back and say "Let me go, Cruz. I understand you're worried but you have nothing to worry about when it comes to Thane." Suddenly, Cruz flies back and lands hard on his ass.

Thane looks down at him and says "She told you to let her go. If I catch you putting your hands on her again, I'll remove them..." The calm in his voice makes it seem like he's talking about the weather and not ripping Cruz's hands off.

Cruz glares up and Thane before slowly standing up and dusting his pants off. He scoffs at Thane and says "And what... are you her bodyguard now?" This time I glare at Cruz. I try to step forward to tell the idiot off but Thane lifts an arm and stops me.

He looks to Cruz and says "I'm her guardian, her teacher, her partner, her companion, and if she allows it, I'll be her lover. You see, I'm willing to be her everything, just like she's my everything. You, on the other hand, will be nothing more than a friend or a comrade. If you continue pushing her, I will remove you altogether."

Cruz and I stand in complete silence. Damn. Cruz starts to chuckle but it's dark and without any true humor. He points to Thane before saying "You may have been all those things to her in that other world but here? You're nothing more than a monster. Your father has already buried you. Do you think he'd accept you back with open arms? Especially with the way you are now? What could you possibly do for her as a dead man?"

My anger spikes and I step forward again but Thane blocks me again but this time there's a dark smirk on his face. He licks his bottom lip with that same dark smirk, sending a shiver of fear and desire running down my body.

He takes a slow step towards Cruz and replies in a low voice "I have nothing holding me back anymore, Cruz. I've lost everything that once held me back. I'm a dead man who doesn't exist and has nothing to lose." He moves a little closer and leans into Cruz's face as he says "So please, push me and see just how far I'll go to keep her safe and in my arms."