Break Free The Night (Book 2): Loss of Light by E.M. Fitch

is."
     
                  "Does he know? Does anyone else-"
     
                  "Only Emma," Kaylee answered the question Jack couldn't finish. But she knew what he was asking, had she told anyone about their mother.
     
                  "How is she?"
     
                  "Strong," Kaylee answered in a whisper, her eyes seeking out Emma's shape in the darkness, but of course it was too dark to see her. "She always was stronger than me, I think."
     
                  "Not stronger," Jack whispered. "You're strong too. She just knows how to hide her feelings better than most."
     
                  Kaylee nodded, grateful he thought she was as strong as her little sister but doubting the truth of his words just the same. The silence stretched and though Kaylee knew she should be tired, she wasn't ready to return to her bed, no matter how warm it had been. The sounds of sleeping surrounded them, restless shifting, deep breathing, soft snoring coming from Bill's bed, or maybe it was her dad, it was tough to decipher. Jack kept his flashlight pointed out the window, sporadically sending out his message to the blackened forest below.
     
                  "There he is," Jack finally whispered, relief coloring his words as he sagged against the window frame. Kaylee leaned into him, peering into the blackness. There at the base of the trees, where the water met the land, a bright light was blinking back at them. Jack was squeezed next to her, pointing his light out and answering in blinks and clicks.
     
                  "Is he okay?" Kaylee whispered.
     
                  "He's worried about us, but he's fine. We'll try to meet tomorrow, midnight, back at the fence." As Jack whispered, he was clicking the flashlight on and off. When he finished, he pocketed the light. Kaylee could feel the the relief flooding him. She was relieved too. He relaxed, his whole frame melting a bit on the spot. She could feel it, feel the way his stance shifted a bit behind her, feel his breath hitting the back of her neck as he exhaled slowly. She turned, not quite sure if she wanted to face him, to stand so near to him. But the darkness helped. It masked whatever was flashing through her eyes. He didn't step back. Her chest bumped lightly into his and his fingers reached forward to grab her hips. She stiffened, but she didn't break free, didn't turn to her bed. Because a large part of her didn't want to, a large part wanted that sweeping blindness that came when her mouth pressed to his, when she let him override every other thing with his proximity and heat.
     
                  And he was about to, she felt that, knew it in the subtle shifting of his stance. His hands drifted higher, lightly tracing her waist. His head lowered, closer to hers. She felt her eyes drift closed against the blackness of the room. It was only in that last moment, when she could taste his breath on her lips, that she pulled back.
     
                  Because it was still there, the red dot, blurring her vision when her eyes closed. She wanted to sob, wanted it to stop, wanted to never see the color red ever again in her life.
     
                  But she did, and it froze her.
     
                  Jack sighed, not with impatience or irritation, but almost as if resigned, almost as though he felt he deserved it. Which was worse because he didn't. It was unjust and unfair and Kaylee knew it, but she didn't know how to change it either.
     
                  "Jack, I'm-"
     
                  "Don't worry about it, Kay," he interrupted her whisper, his voice soft yet heavy. He brought his lips to her forehead and kissed, lingering. She moved into his chest and let her cheek rest, inadvertently counting his heartbeats. This time it was he who pulled back.
     
                  "Get some sleep," he whispered.