{"id":2795,"date":"2016-03-14T00:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T04:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2795"},"modified":"2016-03-12T22:39:02","modified_gmt":"2016-03-13T03:39:02","slug":"twenty-six-05-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2795","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-six – 05"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

I sank down next to him, hugging one knee against my chest\u2014as much as I could with my slowly growing belly. I wouldn\u2019t be able to do that much longer. I scooted close to Phelan, close enough our shoulders touched. He closed his eyes, bowing his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think that\u2019s what siblings do,\u201d I murmured, leaning against him. \u201cBut like you said, you love her, and she wouldn\u2019t be so damn angry if she didn\u2019t love you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she does,\u201d Phelan said softly. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy, that\u2019s all. Dealing with it\u2014with her\u2014being judged. Usually I\u2019m long gone\u2014or at the very least on my way out\u2014before that starts happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d I prompted. Phelan smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not an option this time,\u201d he said, then slid an arm around me. \u201cBut it\u2019s not going to make dealing with Aoife any easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll help. I have a lot of experience in dealing with siblings, especially ones that don\u2019t necessarily agree with your decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do seem to recall Matt having some issues with you and Thom being you and Thom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be the big one, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMostly because we talked,\u201d I said. \u201cMatt and I talked and he and Thom talked. There was something thawing between them before you ever got here. I\u2019m still not entirely clear on what it was. Maybe you just need someone\u2014maybe Jac\u2014to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJac,\u201d Phelan breathed. \u201cI\u2019m going to marry her, le\u00e1nnan<\/em>. Soon, as soon as we can, as soon as it feels safe to do it. I love her. She…it\u2019s like she\u2019s a missing piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how that feels.\u201d I smiled and reached up to tousle his hair. He\u2019d been letting it grow again, though I couldn\u2019t decide whether it was affectation or if he simply hadn\u2019t bothered to have one of us trim it for him. \u201cBut you know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded slowly. \u201cI do. It\u2019s strange, though. You and Thom are soul-linked across space and time. For me, it\u2019s like she came out of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the one that\u2019s always saying that fate works in mysterious ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue.\u201d He smiled faintly. The rain had eased, shifting to a cool mist that left us more damp than soaked. Phelan squeezed me gently before he let go. \u201cGo on back to Thom. I won\u2019t be much longer out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll stay until Jac comes for you,\u201d I told him. \u201cNo reason you should be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want you to catch your death out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

I smiled crookedly. \u201cSomehow, I don\u2019t think this is what kills me, Phelan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He got a haunted look for a moment, but he smiled weakly anyway. \u201cI guess not,\u201d he said, then took my hand and squeezed. I squeezed it back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to be stuck with me for a while longer,\u201d I told him. \u201cOne way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have it any other way, le\u00e1nnan<\/em>. Trust me on that. We\u2019d miss you too much if you went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to miss me for a long time.\u201d I leaned my shoulder against his and sat there, staring out through the mist at ink-black trees and the last fading remnants of winter, listening to the faint sounds nature and our camp and letting the stress of the day begin to ebb.<\/p>\n

It was one last quiet moment before my world got tipped on its side again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.] I sank down next to him, hugging one knee against my chest\u2014as much as I could with my slowly growing belly. I wouldn\u2019t be able to do that much longer. I scooted … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,197,14],"tags":[150,171,170,152,149,173,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-2795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-26-book-5","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-marin-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-J5","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2795"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2796,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2795\/revisions\/2796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}