Chapter 70 - As We Waited
804 Words
"Emily, cut it out," Kiki screams as I rush over to her side, scared that she'll tumble to her death in this old house.
Thankfully, her lips pulled together in a narrow line and remained silent. As she poked at the reams of writing, she made a little grimace, staring down at the twilight collecting on her fingertips. Looking back to the bookcase, she blew at it, and a gray explosion of dirt erupted.
As a small coating of it fell over Emily's face and formerly white frock, it was difficult not to chuckle. To have seen the neat and perfect Santi Grahams smeared in filth and dirt is such a bizarre sight.
She started swatting at it like if it were a single bug that she could exterminate. She cleared a path of dust from her face with a polished palm. But there was still a lot.
Chuckling, I took a step closer and lifted my hand to her cheek, wiping away the dust with my thumb. Her eyes flicked up to mine, dust clinging to the ends of her lashes.
"What are you looking for, Santi?" Emman murmured. "They're just old books."
"I like books," I replied, swatting his hand away.
He snorted in response. "When was the last time you read a book?
I turned away from him and leaned in toward the bookshelf, squinting at the titles on the endless spins of books. A little bit of dust still dung to her dark, wavy hair. "Last night, I read all the time. To sleep, to kill boredom. I don't know. Three hundred years of life, you just tend to develop various hobbies over time. Do forgive me for barging on a special human quality." I teased.
"You never read before, with me," He mutters under his breath but I hear it well. I leaned my hip against the bookshelf, hoping it didn't give way completely beneath my weight. But it seemed stable.
"Yes, I did." She rolled her eyes, making me roll my own. "I read every night before going to sleep. Although most nights, you would fall asleep way earlier than me."
A little frown pulled on his mouth. "That's what you were doing all those times? I thought you secretly cheated on me whenever I went to bed. That made me anxious for a while."
Emily's irritation flowed off her face as she responded. "What did Santi do to make you think that way, Emman?"
"I simply figured you were going through social networking sites and using dating apps," he says, shrugging. "I did know you were a demon."
As I return to perusing the books, my lips are pursed. "How not to establish bias on your Pride & Prejudice, huh. How ironic," I read aloud as I pulled one out.
Emily gasped with joy, "Oh!" "I can't wait for you to read that one! It's so true and timely," she said as she examined it more closely. Her head ducked as she looked closer at it. "Some form of a diary."
"You girls are perplexing," he said. As he gazed up at us, our heads whirled around in tandem, his eyes wide. "Perhaps one of these entries expresses your bias towards me!"
He shouts, flushed scarlet, "I'm sorry, alright!"
"What if it recalls one of the queen's frequent trips?"
Emily spun around without giving me a chance to respond. She sat sweetly on the end of a cloth-covered sofa, the old book spread out in front of her. Her fingers traced the yellowed pages with her index finger.
I fought the impulse to roll my eyes once again. I'd always had a fascination with the aristocracy. It was, I assumed, the possible explanation I acquired notions about Earth's life in the first place.
He shouted, "Stop gazing at me like that and come over here Emily," and for some reason, she obeyed and approached her twin. Today, this may be an issue. As I sat down on the sofa, I was relieved to see that it, too, did not give way under my weight. Kiki was sat next to me, his cream-colored legs protruding from my jeans and pushing against them. I was surprised he hadn't complained about the wrinkled and soiled white pants he was wearing.
Kiki scratched his button nose, reminding me of how many times I'd pressed it for amusement. But that was in the past, and this was the present. Because of the allergens in the air, that adorable nose had gone red and blotchy today. Despite this, I thought it looked kissable. Emman cleared his throat before beginning to read with a softer tone. I kept an eye on him while he perused the material.
Emily paused for a final time to clear her throat and moisten her chapped lips before proceeding.
- Writer
