Chapter 401
Clementine:
A sense of familiarity hit me once someone pressed their lips against mine. I knew someone had scooped me up, and from the comfort of his arms alone, I knew who it was.
However, I had been through so much in the last two days that the idea of my beloved coming here and saving me felt like an illusion, probably a dream caused by the North to fool me into believing I was safe.
But the moment his lips touched mine and I absorbed the feeling, I realized it was not just a dream and that he was real.
I started to open my eyes, and right in front of me, so close to my face, was him. I instantly jumped up, still in his arms, and wrapped my arms around him. I pressed into him so hard that he stumbled back and faintly fell onto the road, but he made sure to keep a tight hold on me.
“Ian,” I murmured, saying his name again, and I heard him cry a little while holding me close.
“Of course it is your Ian,” he replied.
I broke the hug just to look at him, at his face, his eyes, and his lips, and then I hugged him again. Before I pulled away and looked at him once more, he watched me with a smile on his lips, realizing that seeing him again had filled me with hope and comfort.
“We need to find a place to get away from the hollow man,” he warned, and I frowned at him. He quickly wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to my feet. Then, without saying another word, he lifted me into his arms and started carrying me toward the theater.
“Not there,” I protested, shaking my head and wriggling my feet.
“There is a way to fight them. Come on, calm down.” He lowered me to the ground first. “But for now, we can rest here,” he added, as we stood on the front porch of the theater.
It did not seem like the hollow man was around, since he could usually be seen from afar. Now that we were here, I turned to look at him.
“Are you real?” I wondered, poking my finger into his chest.
He smiled and stepped closer, grabbing my elbow and pulling me against his chest.
“Of course I am. You have no idea how I have been feeling without you,” he replied, speaking softly as he leaned down and kissed my cheek, then my other cheek.
Being with him, after feeling like I could never be with him in the North itself, brought a strange sense of comfort.
“Come on, sit here,” he told me, probably realizing I was acting a little slow. He made me sit down, not just anywhere, but on his lap as he leaned back against the wall of the theater. We had shelter above us, and the front porch felt cozy.
I sat in his lap, staring at his face, my hand resting against his cheek.
“What was I thinking? Of course I have something to help you,” he remarked after staring back at me with nothing but love in his eyes. He then pulled a protein bar from his pocket. “This is all I had when I left. I wish I had known I would find you in this state. I would have brought more food p>
He started to ramble, but I grabbed the protein bar and leaned in, kissing his lips.
“Are you still mad at me?” I asked, referring to our earlier issues.
“No, of course not,” he replied. “Do you think I would have barged into the North looking for you if I were angry with you?” he complained.
Then he added, “Well, you are kind of right. Even if I were angry with you, I would have come here. But that is not the point. I am not angry with you,” he corrected himself.
“You know, I thought about the whole situation. Our egos got in the way, and before you ask if I was kissing Troy, I was not,” I explained quickly. I noticed a slight hesitation in his body so I added, “I did not kiss him, and now I am realizing what really happened p>
I noticed the way he watched my face with intrigue, probably because he wanted to believe that I had not kissed Troy.
“Troy was acting really weird. I should have known he was up to something bad. Those alphas and their actions,” I commented, lightly slapping my forehead. Then I looked back at him.
“He asked me if he could lean in and blow air on my face to get rid of an eyelash. I swear, Ian, that is all that happened,” I told him. The moment I gave him the explanation, I could tell he was already accepting it because he smiled brightly.
“Of course that happened,” he remarked. “He had been trying to sabotage our relationship, from telling me that you had a crush on him too p>
As soon as he said that, I pulled away from him and gently got off his lap.
“He told you I had a crush on you, or did you find out yourself?” I asked, since I was under the impression that Ian had been investigating me.
“How would I have found out?” he replied. “Clementine, he came to me with your diary. You had written about having children with him and all that nonsense. And then I saw you too. It is just that I was insecure, okay p>
Ian shocked me when he told me what had been happening.
“And that Oriana thing?” I asked him, mentioning the shower incident.
“That was Haiden,” he replied.
As soon as he said that, I growled. So they had been playing all these games?
“Oh my god, Ian, I am so sorry. You must have felt trapped,” I told him, leaning in and resting my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He quickly wrapped his arms around me, almost as if he never wanted to let me go.
“Okay, we will deal with all of them once we go back. Miss Rue will be waiting for us at the fence,” he explained.
As soon as he said that and patted my back, I pulled away from his chest. This time, even he could see the harsh look on my face.
“Whoa, what happened?” he asked.
I clenched my jaw, because I remembered that witch and how she had shot me.