The warmth of his palms radiated through my cheeks as he mirrored my hands. He shifted, and I wanted to lean back in to be near him once again. Then he ran his nose along with mine. Sawyer pressed his lips in a feather of touch against mine.
"Maddie-"
I pressed into his kiss. Sawyer claimed this wasn't a dream. If it wasn't, that only meant that Dr. Vodola was going to drop the hammer and pop my bubble once again. For the first time in my life, I wasn't going to think about something. I was going just to jump headfirst and enjoy life, even if it was just a moment. Tomorrow was not going to be in my hands, but tonight I was going to take the reins.
His short brown hair tickled against my fingers. Sawyer's lips were soft against mine despite the growing pressure. Arms wrapped around each other, securing me at the moment instead of drifting away.
"I need you to keep this strength for one more day." Sawyer pulled away and locked eyes with me.
It was dark in the room, but those eyes held onto mine clear as a bell.
"Sawyer-"
"Just one day. I'll be back for you tomorrow."
My stomach dropped. "Are you leaving me already? You just got here."
His forehead touched mine.
"I'm honestly afraid to stay," Sawyer whispered and chuckled.
I smirked. "Then stay."
He kissed my forehead. "Only until you fall asleep."
Sawyer shifted away and had his back against the headboard. I sighed and resisted an eye roll. Crawling closer to the end of the bed, I pulled the sheets over me once again. Like so many other nights, I curled myself against Sawyer and draped my arm over his middle.
"I've missed this," I mumbled and closed my eyes.
Behind my eyelids, I could almost see that smile from that face I knew long ago.
"Soon enough, it will be a regular thing again."
I didn't have the energy to argue with him. Instead, I let the stillness take over. My breathing evened out. My muscles loosened, and my mind drifted away.
19
Sawyer
Leaving Madeline sound asleep crushed me. I didn't realize how much I missed just being near her. I felt like a total jerk, but just sitting near her as she slept felt different than when Lacey would stay over. That probably made me ten degrees of an asshole. At the end of the day, I didn't know how healthy our attachment was, but Madeline made me want to be better, wasn't that what relationships were supposed to do?
Madeline's face didn't have a line creased in her face as she laid there with her eyes closed. I snuck out of her room before the sun was considering peeking over the horizon. I hid Dr. Green's ID under the one bush near he parked. I walked out of the parking lot and down the street where I had parked my car. Then I got into my car and drove towards my dad's. My thumbs drummed against the steering wheel. The music thumped in the car, but I couldn't tell what song was playing. My ears heard the music, but it was disconnected, breaking in and out of my thoughts. I still didn't have a plan with my dad. Opening my windows, I turned the music up louder. Screw planning, I was going to go in freestyle.
When I got to the house, I pulled into the driveway. Putting the car into park, I turned it off. I took a deep breath and let it out gradually. Getting out of the car, I marched up the front door and used my key to get in. Surprisingly, he didn't change the locks since I moved out.
"Dad?" I called out, but there wasn't an answer.
Heel toeing down the hall, I never heard a response. Craning my neck around corners, I noticed that the basement door was open. Getting closer, I peered down the stair's lights were on. Taking measured steps down the stairs and the flashbacks to that one day nearly eighteen years ago, had it been that long since I'd been down here? I had my mom with me at that time.
"Dad?"
My dad jumped as he walked out of the large freezer. His eyes were wide, and he dropped whatever was in his hands.
"Sawyer? What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk."
"You haven't reached out to me since you were home a couple of years ago. What do you want to talk about now?"
"I saw your last press conference."
I crossed my arms and leaned my back against the counter near him.
"And?"
"What are you doing to Madeline? She looked terrible."
Dad shrugged. "She's just tired, that's all."
"She looked more than just tired."
"You don't understand."
My dad walked around me. I got off the counter and spun around to look at him.
"You're not seriously thinking of using her to breed, are you?" the question came out weaker than I had intended.
My dad raised an eyebrow.
"I'm only going to take an egg from her and then implant a fertilized embryo into her. I'm not going to have sex with her. Hybrid animals aren't able to reproduce, and people will want to know if clones can as well."
"Do you hear yourself?" I spat.
"It's easier to think about this stuff if you don't humanize the subject."
"She is a human. Maddie was not created like me, but she's still human. When she turns eighteen, she will be a legal adult and can leave your ass. What will stop that?"
His face reddens.
"She wouldn't do that."
A smirk grew on my face.
"What's to stop her from not leaving you? Your kindness?"
"You think you're so smart now?"
"No, I'm just stating facts. She'll be a legal adult."
"The law
