Ch.32 Madness

Chapter 32

The warm embrace of slumber lulled Birdie into a blissful state that she did not want to awake from. Her body was positioned perfectly and the heavy coat of sleep was so thick on her eyes, she wanted to drown in it. It was her mind and body's way of making up for the lack of sleep she had been getting for the past few days. Every cell in her body was drained and starving for slumber. Even when she was full, she still craved more.

"Birdie!"

Birdie jerked in her sleep as Noor's voice startled her.

"Wake up! Wake up!" The little boy hollered.

"Noor..." Birdie muttered, her heart beat rising. "Noor?"

"Baba said he's taking us to the treehouse," suddenly the bed dipped beside Birdie and Noor's cold fingers wrapped around her hand. "Let's go!"

"What...." Birdie's eyes fluttered open. She blinked against the harsh sunlight pouring in through her windows as she stared at the boy with the pointy ears and bright green eyes. "What are you doing?"

"You've been sleeping all day," Noor complained. "Let's go! Mama will be here to pick me up soon."

"What's going on?" Birdie sat up, her throat dry and her head pounding. "How did I....What happened?"

"Birdie," Hayden appeared at the door. "If you want to go then come on. I have to be somewhere with Elsa in a few hours."

"Hayden," Birdie's eyes watered.

Jumping out of bed, Birdie ran forward and threw herself into her brother's arms. Her chest swelled up as the half jinn wrapped an arm around her and arched his brow.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking down. "Are you still thinking you're gonna get lost again?"

Birdie's heart quivered. She pulled back and looked at her brother, her mind a mix of emotions she couldn't name.

"I don't know what's happening," Birdie confessed. "But it's good to see you."

"I'm right here," Hayden chuckled, brushing back Birdie's silver hair. "And so is mom, baba, Noor and Elsa."

"Elsa?" Birdie laughed through her tears. "Nora will kill you."

"Why?" Hayden snorted, pushing off the door and shoving his hands into his pocket like he always did when he was uncomfortable. "If I can't say anything about Dev then she can't say anything about Elsa."

"But Dev is nice," Noor muttered from where he laid in Birdie's bed. "Elsa isn't."

"Noor," Hayden frowned. "We talked about this. You can't keep being mean to Elsa. Nora said you had to be nice to both Dev and Elsa."

"Paba said I don't have to be nice to anyone," Noor said.

"This isn't right," Hayden shook his head and turned his eyes towards Birdie. "You see this? This is why we don't come around here. Because everyone is just so obsessed with Nora."

"Hey, hey," Birdie said, growing concerned. "Hayden, what's going on? Where's baba?"

"I don't know," Hayden said. "Noor, let's go."

"Is Elsa coming with us?"

"Mom," Hayden corrected the little boy.

"Nora is my mom," Noor said stubbornly. "Elsa is my step-mom."

"What?" Birdie looked over her shoulder at the boy.

"Are you okay?" Hayden asked, looking down at Birdie. "You've been acting very strange for the past few days. Ever since you got back, it's like you don-"

"When did I get back? How did I get back?"

"You've been back for a month now," Hayden said. "I don't know how you got back and you still haven't told us where you were."

Birdie couldn't hear properly with her heart pounding in her ear. She felt her knees weaken as her stomach dropped to her feet.

"Babe?"

A familiar voice called from down the hall. Birdie looked up as Elsa walked into the room.

"Are we all ready?" She asked, her hand over her swollen belly.

"What the hell?" Birdie shrieked, her eyes wide. "What is all this? What are you doing here? Where's Nora?"

A deep frown formed on Elsa's flawless face. Her lips twitched as her eyes snapped towards Hayden.

"You deal with this," she said as she turned and walked out of the room.

"Hayden!" Birdie stared at her brother, baffled. "What's going on? Nora is-"

"Can you please stop saying her name," Hayden snapped. "It makes Elsa upset and I don't want to worry her and the baby."

"Baby?" Birdie choked. "That's not your baby, is it?"

"Of course it is," Hayden said. "Why are you so shoc-"

"Where is Nora?" Birdie demanded.

"She left!" Hayden's voice rose. "We broke up! She married Dev from work. We went over this, Birdie!"

The feeling of icy water being poured over her head took over as breathing became difficult. Birdie took a step back from her brother, peering at him as if he was a stranger.

They broke up? Birdie struggled to form thoughts. She married Dev? How can...

"Where's Zuri?" Birdie's voice shook.

"How do you know about that?" Hayden asked.

"What?" Birdie looked up in confusion.

"Elsa and I didn't tell anyone the baby's name yet."

"You're going to name her Zuri?" Birdie felt her chest ache and her head start to throb once more. "You can't do that. That's going to crush Nora. That's her baby."

"Birdie," Hayden sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stop. Please...That's not Nora's baby. That's my baby with Elsa."

Birdie's stomach churned, "How can you say that? You love Nora! You marked her! Hayden, this is all wrong. All of it. You need to fix this. Go find Nora. You two love each other."

"I can't do this right now," Hayden muttered under his breath. "Noor, let's go."

Birdie stood frozen, unable to speak or breath as she watched the hurt and irritation in her brother's eyes. He clearly still loved Nora. The way he flinched every time her name was spoken aloud made Birdie's heart clench. But his eyes were covered in a thick coat of stubbornness they had inherited from their parents.

"You need to fix this," Noor said, as he walked past Birdie.

"What?" Birdie's eyes fell on the boy.

"Fix this," Noor said with a deep frown. "Come home and fix this."

"Wait, Noor," Birdie took a step forward as the boy stepped out of the room. "Noor!"

"Birdie!" Wren's arms wrapped around the girl's waist as she bolted upright in the middle of her sleep.

Sitting beside her on the barrel of hay and the thick blanket, Wren had been watching Birdie toss and turn in her sleep. Her face was etched with worry and irritation. Wren's palms itched to smooth back the hair on her face but he didn't want to touch her. Touching her once was tortrus enough...

"Noor," Birdie called out, her breathing labored, her chest rising and falling at a rapid speed. "I...what..."

"It's okay, it's okay," Wren gave up fighting himself and brushed back her silver hair. "It was just a dream."

Dazed, confused and lost, Birdie looked around at the dark barn they sat inside. The rain could be heard from outside, beating against the roof as the small fire burned in front of them. Birdie's eyes scanned her surroundings before coming to rest on Wren.

"I'm still here," she said, a strange look on her face.

"Yes," Wren smiled, placing his hand on the edge of her face.

"I...I had a really bad dream," Birdie confessed.

"I could tell," Wren pulled her a bit closer. "But at least you weren't calling out Adan's name. Now, that would have been a very bad dream."

Birdie's eyes narrowed at the fey. Her thoughts were still messy as he slowly leaned back, pulling her back with him to rest up against his chest. Her hands were pressed over his heart as he moved one of his hands behind his head and held Birdie with the other.

"Did you..." Birdie began, remembering the snake that had slithered across her feet back at the palace.

"Hm?" Wren waited for her to finish.

"Did you put that nightmare in my head?" Birdie asked.

Wren paused, growing very still. After a few beats, he lifted his head and peered down at the girl in his arms.

"You think I would put nightmares in your head?" He asked.

Birdie gently pushed away. She sat up and let her shoulders shiver from the cold rain.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around the dark barn once more.

"We're still far from the East end and I didn't want to be caught in the rain," Wren said, sitting up with her. "Birdie..."

"Is this place safe?" Birdie asked.

"Yes," Wren said. "Can we go back to the question I asked yo-"

"What time is it?"

"Listen to me," Wren's voice hardened. "I am speaking to you."

"What?" Birdie snapped. "Don't speak to me like that."

"Then don't assume I would deliberately put nightmares into your head," Wren glared. "Is that what you really think of me?"

"Yes," Birdie did not hesitate. "I wouldn't put it past you."

"Well, I didn't," Wren said sternly, his eyes hard and unreadable. "I couldn't do that."

Birdie snorted, "Okay."

"You don't believe me," Wren noticed.

"We established that a very long time ago."

"You're just so goddamn stubborn, aren't you," Wren's brows knit in anger.

"You don't trust me either," Birdie pointed out. "Why are you acting as if this is such a shocker?"

"Because you're just...." Wren looked for a world that would properly express his frustration. "You're so...."

"Say it," Birdie narrowed her eyes.

"Must you always assume the worst in people?" Wren asked.

"Yes!" Birdie said. "Always assume the worst in people and you will never be caught off guard, right? That's what you taught me."

"Of all the things I've said, you caught that one?"

"Why are you fighting with me?" Birdie jumped up. "What is your problem?"

"You're my problem!" Wren stood up with her.

"I am not your problem!" Birdie was tempted to shove him back. "Stop yelling at me!"

"Or what?" Wren stepped up, challenging her.

"Or I will blast your ass back to the pala-"

Birdie didn't finish her threat as Wren pulled her to his mouth. Her lips were piping hot and feather soft. Wren snuffed a groan as Birdie parted her lips and stumbled closer. Her hands grabbed a fist full of his shirt as he crushed her to his body and pulled her bottom lip in between his teeth. The breathless way Birdie struggled to keep her heart from racing out of her chest did crazy things to Wren's body. Things we wanted to do to her in the dark night.

"I would never put nightmares into your head," Wren confessed, coming up for air as Birdie's forehead rested against his.

"Why..." with her eyes closed, Birdie moved towards Wren's warmth and his hungry lips.

"I make them stop, remember?" Wren said, his voice a whisper, his lips tracing her face.

Birdie nodded.

"Do you want to tell me what happened in your dream?" Wren asked, placing his hands on either side of her face and kissing her lashes.

"I had a dream I went back home," Birdie said, feeling her heart ache from the memories of the dream.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Wren said. "It should have been a happy dream. You with your baba and your mother. Your brother, your friends."

"No," Birdie shook her head. "It wasn't. Hayden....in the dream he wasn't with Nora."

"His....wife?"

"His soulmate," Birdie sighed, placing her head against Wren's chest. "He's crazy about her."

"It was just a dream," Wren said. "A bad dream that won't come true."

"What if it does?" Birdie asked, looking up. "What if I go home and find out everything has changed."

"Then you come back here," Wren teased.

"No," Birdie frowned. "I can't leave them..."

"Little bird," Wren tucked back her hair. "If your brother really loves his wife as much as you say, there is no power that can separate them."

"Except Hayden's stupidity," Nora rolled her eyes. "He would be the one to mess it up."

"But I thought you said they're obsessed with each other."

"They are," Birdie pulled back. "Their love....it's....it's consuming. When they're around one another it's like nothing else exists. Their world moves around one another....it's...."

"My mother always says love should be madness," Wren said. "It should consume you, drive you insane, and make you reckless in the best way possible."

"Yes," Birdie laughed. "That's them...that's Hayden and Nora."

Wren nodded slowly, "Sounds like you're envious."

"No," Birdie shook her head, taking a seat on the hay. "Never."

"But you want a love like that," Wren observed. "You want a love that's madness."

"I guess," Birdie shrugged.

"And is that Adan...?"

Birdie felt a heavy weight drop on her shoulder like tons of bricks. The smile slipped from her face as she looked up, her throat growing tight and her lips stinging from the way Wren had kissed her.

"Y-yes..." Birdie said, locking her eyes with the fey.

Wren held Birdie's gaze as thunder struck across the sky. The doors of the barn shook with wind, making the flames flicker.

After a long pause, Wren looked away and settled back down on the hay. He turned to face away from Birdie and closed his eyes, leaving her to sit in the dark alone with her thoughts.

What do you think?