Home > Work > Everbound (Everneath, #2)
1 " However he'd found his way here, it didn't matter. I knew then that the boy under the tree had to be mine. That floppy hair should be mine to touch. That big, knuckly boy hand should be mine to hold. That gruff voice should be mine to hear, and those ears should be mine to tell all my secrets to. Except for the biggest secret. That I loved him. More than the crush I was dealing with for years. More than I should've loved a best friend. More than he would ever love me back. I was gone for him. "
― Brodi Ashton , Everbound (Everneath, #2)
2 " Tell me, friend," Jack said, his fingertips grazing mind as people shuffled past us in the hallway. "Is there more for us?"I looked at my feet. "There's everything for us. "
3 " What happened?" I asked, squinting at his face. Cole glanced at Max. "I wanted to jump in after you. Max disagreed with the appropriateness of that reaction. And then his face ran into my fist. "
4 " ... " it's the Fiery Furnace." They just looked at me as if I said "It's a puppy driving a tractor. "
5 " So why did you come over?" I said to Max. He turned around and started walking backward. He spread his arms out wide. "For love!" He had to jerk his hands back in when they got too close to the flames.Cole broke out in spasms of laughter."What is it?"Cole looked at me. "I brought him over. Ages ago. "
6 " He gave me a look. "Nick, I never wanted to save Jack.""I know. But you helped me anyway. You were my hero. He shook his head "I told you. There are no heroes."How could he believe that now? What loathing ran so deep that would block out anything good?" I stepped closer. "I don't care what you think of yourself. I think you're a hero.""Then you're blind "
7 " I trusted you,” my voice shaky with anger and exhaustion.“I know,” Cole said simply. “And now I have all of eternity to earn your forgiveness. "
8 " I waited for you.""But it's a race. Why did you wait for me?""I always wait for you. I'm always waiting for you. "
9 " If I lost you... why can’t you see that would be the end of me? "
10 " You really can't see it, can you?""See what?""He has a tether too. And it points right at you. "
11 " You know the Everneath?""Uh, yeah, I think I'm familiar with it.""Good. Because I'm going to destroy it. I'm taking the whole. Damn. Thing. Down. Are you with me?"Always. Forever. "
12 " Cole. Know this now. I will never forget what you've done for me. Never. Do you hear me?He nodded, but I could see he was crumbling, as if finding Jack would put an end to everything he wanted. Because it would. I placed my hands on either side of his face and brought his lips to mine in a light kiss. "
13 " I know he is wrapping my name inside of him, folding it in the blanket of his heart. I know this because I used to do the same thing with his name when I was in the Feed. "
14 " I was asking Cole to risk his life, again and again, for the boy I loved. And it wasn't him. "
15 " I didn't care that we'd caught a few stares from students passing by. I didn't care that the bell to begin class rang. I didn't care that everything between us had changed. All I cared about was the fact that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get any closer to Jack. "
16 " How did you know to turn back?" I said.With his head still down, he said, "I waited for you.""But its a race. Why did you wait for me?"He lifted his head so that his eyes met mine. "I always wait for you." He took a deep breath, my ankle still in his hands. "I'm always waiting for you."In an embarrassingly breathless voice that didn't sound like my own, I said, "Because I'm so slow?"He smiled. "Yes. But not in the way that you think. "
17 " To get someone to follow them, a Siren would most likely appear as that person's deepest desire. The thing they wanted most. Cole's had become me, only it wasn't me as the queen, which I assumed would've been what Cole wanted most. It wasn't even me as an Everliving.It was me, simply as me. "
18 " Thats not what I mean." He seemed flustered. Very un Jack-like. "I just mean...What do I mean?""Are you asking me?"He nodded, now completely at a loss.I tilted my head, thrilled to see that even Jack could get flustered. "Maybe you mean, 'Hey Becks, you have such natural beauty, even without effort you shine like the stars.'"He stared at me and nodded slowly. Which was not the reaction I'd been expecting. For the first time since I'd known Jack, he looked...vulnerable. And I was the person who could hurt him. What was going on? "
19 " Cole: " There's the old Nik. No 'how do you do', no talk of the weather. Just a good swift kick to the balls." Nikki: "A kick to your balls is an option? "
20 " I'm taking the whole. Damn. Thing. Down. Are you with me? "
