Fallen by Laury Falter Page A

scintillating face was so clearly defined in my mind , I felt like I could easily sketch him. The presence of his conceit was undeniable, always there, barely submerged beneath the surface…annoying me. A s these memor ies broke apart and dissipated , I wanted to reach out and keep him with me.
    I could not understand why he had such a strong pull, so much command , over my emotions. It wasn’t fair, even if it kept me intrigued. There was so mething about Eran that I could not figure out. Eran … who did not live in my n eighborhood or attend my school … had the uncanny ability to suddenly appear when ever I needed him .
    As ridiculous as it made me feel to admit, n one of this made any sense . This is precisely why I was call ing him here.
    T he real question , however, was… how ? How did one summon somebody to their bedroom?
    Think, I told myself.
    Eran appeared only when I was in trouble, or more precisely, when I was about to be in trouble. What pl agued my mind was how he knew. There was the possibility that he followed me, but I discarded that thought almost immediately. I was observant enough t hat I would have seen him . It could have been dumb luck, but t hat seemed out of the question. T oo improbable . Regardless, being in trouble seemed to be the key. So I concentrated on how best to create trouble for myself . This would be difficult, especially in the comfo rt and safety of my own bedroom.
    Think… t hink… .
    I laid like that for several minutes , trying desperate ly to come up with something, anything , that w ould put me in danger , but short of burning the house down, I came up blank.
    I was sure my five - minute time limit had passed long ago , so despite my disappointment, I resigned myself to the failure, opened my eyes , and sat up in a huff.
And there he was.
    Eran stood directly in front of me - at the foot of my bed - smirking.
    “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to sit up again,” he stated in his captivating accent.
    We were inches away without a sing le part of our bodies touching, invisible currents of excitement charged between us. If he was breathing, I didn’t notice, but my breath was trapped in my lungs for a punctuated minute , as we continued staring, at each other , silently, hesitantly .
    I recognized that my head was beginning to swim from lack of oxygen , which he must have noticed too.
    “ Inhale , Magdalene,” he coaxed, softly.
    I finally allowed my lungs to open, enjoying the cool, refreshing feeling as they filled up. Still, our eyes were locked , and I nearly shook with the thrill of having him so close . S urprisingly, I was able to contain it.
    He watched me curiously, unmoving, as I collect ed myself.
    “How- h ow did you get in here?” I asked , finally able to formulate words.
    “Weren’t you interest ed in seeing me?” he responded , being only slightly troubled.
    I was uncomfortable with the fact that he called me out , but denying it would do no good. It was obvious to me now – though I had no idea how I achieve d it – that he had come because of me.
    “How did you get in here?” I repeated, feeling stupid.
    “You have a trellis up the side of your house.”
    “I do?”
    He nodded.
    “Oh.”
    “You don’t look like you’re in mortal danger so did you need something else specifically?” He lifted his eyebrows, insinuating.
    I hesitated, un certain of wanting to go through with the line of questioning I brainstormed . But I knew , now was the time to ask them , or I may never have another chance. Given Eran’s unpredictability , there was no telling when he would show back up.
    “How did you know I wanted to speak with you?” I demanded , quietly.
    “Ah, that … , ” He took a step back, leaning against the dresser Rufus gave me so I ’d stop hogging the bathroom. His hands curled around its edges , allowing his muscles to expand across his shoulders and chest , straining against the thin, black sweater he was wearing. I was