Free Falling Darkness: The second book in the Falling Awake Series by T.A Richards Neville Page A

“Never mind.”
    “Is who? Who were you going to say?”
    “Ressler.”
    “Ressler?” I mimicked.
    “He thinks he’s in love with you. Don’t mention that I told you.”
    “I won’t say anything,” I promised. Ressler was so open to anything, I imagined he has at one point or another thought he loved a lot of different girls and I wasn’t about to read too much into it.
    My dream catcher lay on Drake’s leg by my hand and I stroked the feathers, rubbing them in-between my fingers. I wondered if it had captured any of my mom’s dreams. I hoped so.
    “Do you think you love Caleb?” Drake’s words jarred me from my temporary thoughts.
    “Think?” I said. “You really are a pessimist aren’t you?”
    He laughed. “I’m getting cynical in my old age.” I wondered how old Drake was, but I didn’t have the nerve to ask. He might not want to tell me. Hundreds, maybe thousands of years old? The thought sent a silent shiver up my spine. Some things would always be too hard to believe, no matter how far sucked in I was into this weird, yet wonderful world of the bizarre.
    “When it comes to Caleb, I’m not sure about anything anymore. Love him? I doubt it. I don’t know anything about love.” I had thought when I first started spending time with Caleb that I understood exactly what all the hype was about. But the longer our weird relationship went on, and the more I flew between infatuation and despair, and at times what I thought was actually hate, I now knew that could never be love. Could it? It was much too turbulent and there was no way my heart could stand any more of it.
    “He’s too much for one human’s heart. I’m not strong enough to love him,” I said with a sad smile. “Even if I wanted to.”
    I looked down to where Drake laced his fingers through mine, pulling them away from the dream catcher. “Will you take me to see my dad?”
    “I thought you’d never ask.”
     
    ***
     
    I closed the door to the room my dad was in quietly behind me, and I stood with my back pressed against it just staring at the only man that had been in my life since I was a baby. He was dressed in the same white tee and blue pajama pants, and anyone would think he was just sleeping, he looked so peaceful. I braced my hands against the door behind me and pushed myself further into the room. I dropped down on my knees next to the bed and wrapped my arms around my dad’s that hung straight down by his side. His skin was warm and it made me feel immediately better. Warm was good. Warm was still alive. I was still wearing the leotard under my coat and I couldn’t have cared less. I kept my coat tightly fastened anyway.
    “I’m sorry, dad,” I whispered. “I’m sorry if after everything I’m about to do, it turns out that it was nothing more than a nasty lie. I’m sorry if I come back here asking for your forgiveness, hating myself that I ever doubted you. But I know you, and I know that you’ll understand why I need to do this. And you’ve lied too, dad. But I forgive you for everything. I just hope you will forgive me too.”
    I stood up, bending down to kiss him on the head, and then I climbed onto the bed and lay next to him. I molded my body to fit his and lay my head on his chest. My head rose and fell under the rhythm of his breathing and it felt good. This was the closest I had been to my dad, ever. My dad was not the cuddly type, and neither was I. But right now, it was all I needed from him.
    My eyes opened when I heard the door creak and I lifted my head. The room was dark and windowless and light spilled in through the open doorway around Caleb’s silhouette. I knew it was him even though I could barely make out his features. His presence was like no one else’s. I must have fallen asleep. The light was on in here when I first came in.
    “Before you say anything,” he said, before I had a chance to utter a single word. “I live here. I haven’t gone back on my word.” I twisted around,