Nine

Adara's eyes flew open. She hadn't noticed that she'd fallen asleep, let alone on Beck. She inhaled deeply, lifted her head, and went to get off of the couch. It was then that she felt the pressure on her stomach. She groaned.

That wasn't the first time she'd woken up like that. After spending so long with Gabe, she had gotten used to the feeling of being trapped.

And she'd learned how to move that stupid arm.

Before she did, though, she realized that she wanted to see Beck as he was now. Vulnerable. No one was more vulnerable than when they were sleeping, and she knew that that was the best time to study someone.

And, boy, did she want to study him. She'd never met anyone less straightforward with their feelings. It was so...frustrating. She hoped that his face would give him away. When she looked at him, though, her frustration dissipated.

His jaw was dropped and his left eye was partially open. Both of his arms were flung out wide and to either side, which explained the arm over her abdomen. At the sight of him, she couldn't stop herself. The laughter bubbled up in her chest and poured out, overflowing and uncontrollable.

Adara's jolting movements made her jostle Beck, and his eyes flew open. Then, as if she were contagious, Beck began to laugh, too, not aware of what prompted it. He was still tired, she could see, and he wasn't quite awake, but he still laughed along with her.

When they calmed down, Adara thought about the previous night. What she had tried to do and what he had said.

She moved his arm off of her and separated herself from him.

As if reading her mind, Beck spoke up, his voice still croaky, "I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. Calling Maia some random friend. That was terrible of me."

Adara nodded it agreement. It was terrible of him.

"But I need to know," Beck continued, "what you want to do about the whole situation."

Adara rolled her eyes. "Well, I want to get Maia back," she snapped, saying it like it was obvious. It should have been by that point.

Beck sighed, not impatiently, but close enough for someone who seemingly couldn't show any emotion other than calm. "Let me rephrase that," he began to reiterate. "What can we do that won't be dangerous to either of us for the time being?" She didn't answer. Any plan she had cooked up involved her demise. It was pretty much inevitable by that point. "So can I take over planning for a while?" he asked. Instead of giving verbal affirmation, she just nodded again.

She couldn't see any situation in which Beck knew better than her what to do about this. After all, she knew Gabe. She knew Maia. He couldn't even understand Maia's importance! He knew nothing about their relationship, and he definitely didn't know what was best for Maia. Only Adara knew that.

But, again, she knew Gabe, too. What he was capable of. Adara couldn't help but wonder what Maia was going through without her. Gabe was ruthless, and he could never be taught to understand. He was so close-minded. Facts amounted to nothing in the presence of his opinion.

She still loved him, she knew she did, but the undeniable truth was that sometimes loving him was worse than hating him. At least if she hated him, she could see him as a monster.

Gabe's eyes narrowed, seeing her standing so close to Maia.

Adara squeezed her eyes closed. She didn't want this right now. She wanted Gabe and all her memories to just stop.

The rhythmic thud, thud, thud, of his boots nearing her was enough to send her mind into complete overdrive.

She dropped her hands onto her thighs and balled them up tightly, willing the memory to leave her be.

Gabe's breath was hot in her ear. "What do you think you're doing?"

The thought of Gabe- finally- was gone. It was because of Beck's voice, though she wasn't registering what he was saying.

Understanding that she should probably pay attention, she said "Huh?"

"You okay?" he asked, probably for the third time at least.

That stupid question and that stupid, stupid word. "Okay". She hated how artificial it sounded. The question was a courtesy. One she most certainly did not appreciate.

"Oh, yeah." She waved him off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just super tired. I woke up kind of abruptly."

"Oh, really?" Beck mocked. God, why couldn't anyone just believe her? She hated explaining herself.

"Yes," she said forcibly. "Fine."

Beck's eyes were still aggravatingly wary, so she redirected their conversation. "What plan did you come up with?" she asked.

Thankfully, he played along and started outlining the plan. "Well, it's not an exact course of action. It's just a list of things we have to do." Great. He didn't even come up with a real plan. She knew it wasn't fair to criticize when he'd only had a couple minutes to think, but he was annoying her. It would really help her if he was bothered, too.

"Basically, we have to lay low. We have to stay out of the government's peripherals. They're on the lookout now- with terrible timing, may I add."

"No kidding," she snorted.

"Anyway," he continued, "we also have to discuss the terms of the trade. We can't trade you. You're not particularly valuable-"

"Ouch."

"-but I can't willingly trade one person's life for another. We need to get the number down. I can't do a million and a half dollars. No matter how great I may seem, I'm not great enough to have that kind of money."

"So, I'm short, we need to not do anything except for try and negotiate with Gabe- which I already did. The number was two and a half before I talked to him." She blew another breath through his nose. Why did this situation have to be so infuriating? Wasn't she supposed to be cool-headed in the face of a crisis? "What, you want me to call him again, then?"

Beck smiled. She didn't know how he could that in the given situation. "Not yet," he said. "I want to show you something first."