Let the Storm Break (Sky Fall #2)(32)

“Actually, your mom knows I’m here.”

“What?”

“She insisted I stay on top of the covers, and we had to keep the door open—”

“Okay, what?”

I spin around, and sure enough, my door is open. And those definitely sound like my mom’s kind of rules, but . . . she wouldn’t even leave Audra and me alone for two seconds.

“She fought us at first,” Solana admits. “But when I explained that I could help you sleep, she agreed.”

Still. I can’t even . . .

“Wait, I slept?”

“What else did you think you’ve been doing all night?”

My turn to blush. “I don’t know. I was kind of a mess.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” She stands up, looking around like she’s trying to decide whether or not to leave.

Part of me wants her to go. But I remember my promise to Gus.

Plus, she did help me sleep—for a really long time. According to my clock it’s 12:24, which is later than my mom has ever let me sleep in. I’m still tired, but the worst of the exhaustion has faded.

I run my hands through my hair and sit on the edge of the bed. “Sorry. This is all just really weird.”

“I know,” Solana mumbles, smoothing the thin yellow fabric of her dress, making it hug her curves even more. “It is for me, too.”

She says the last part so softly it’s almost like she doesn’t want me to hear her. But I do. And I feel even more like crap.

“Look, about yesterday . . .”

I don’t even know where to start. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’s here. With creases from my pillow pressed into her cheek. Standing next to a pile of folded boxers I never bothered putting away.

So I go with the only thing I can think of. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

She bites her lips and looks away. “It’s fine.”

Wow, she’s an even worse liar than me.

But I don’t know what else to say to make it better.

“So, um, how did you help me sleep?” I ask, deciding it’s easier to change the subject. “I thought the Gales had already tried everything they could think of.”

“They didn’t know about enticing. It’s a trick I came up with a few years ago, and I’ve only tried it on one other person.” She walks to my window, which is closed tight for the first time since Audra left. “My former guardian used to have horrible flashbacks at night, and I knew Southerlies could draw memories, so I tried sending one into her mind to see if I could change her dreams. It took me a little while to find the right command, and it only works if I’m there to keep control. But she said it helped.”

“It does.”

Now that my head is clearing I can remember reliving a memory of Audra and me in the snow. I’ve never had any flashes of that moment before, but now that it’s back, I’m going to hold on to it as tight as I can.

She stayed with me that cold, scary day, holding my hand. She cared.

And if she wouldn’t leave me when we were just stupid kids who didn’t even like each other, how could she leave me now?

But she did leave, my brain reminds me, and I want to rip it out and stomp it into a pulp. She’s been gone twenty-five days.

Yeah, but she promised she’d be back, and I have to believe that. I’m not giving up hope just because she sent two vague words across the sky.

Not yet, at least.

“Are you okay?” Solana asks as I get up and walk to my dresser, searching for gum or something to get rid of my toxic morning breath. I settle for a crushed Mento that’s probably been in my pocket for at least a month, but hey, it’s minty—not that I’m trying to impress Solana. Which is good because I also catch a glimpse of my hair in the mirror, and dang, I never realized it could be tall-andbumpy and greasy-and-plastered-to-my-head all at the same time.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just still tired.”

“I know. The Gales said you hadn’t slept in weeks.” She drops her eyes to her hands, twisting a wide gold cuff on her wrist. “They asked if I’d be willing to stay with you at night to help you sleep. I told them I would, if you were okay with it.”

I accidentally swallow my Mento.

I’m coughing so hard I can’t speak, which is probably better because I don’t know what to do with the idea of having a hot girl in my bed all night. I mean, that’s kinda the ultimate fantasy, except . . .

Wrong girl.

And what if Audra came home and found us together?

“That sounds like a really bad idea,” I tell her when my voice is finally working again.

“Why?”

“Because . . .” I can’t believe I even have to explain this. She’s my ex-fiancée—sorta—and I usually sleep in my boxers! “I don’t know. You really don’t think it would be weird?”

Solana shrugs and looks away, and I can see her cheeks turning pink. And that’s when I realize . . .

When I woke up, her arm was wrapped around me.

All this time I’ve been assuming Solana’s just as relieved about the no-more-betrothal as me. But maybe . . .

Solana pulls her hair around her face, hiding behind it as she picks up a framed photo from my desk. It’s a picture of me with my parents on a hiking trip from a few years ago.