.
After not being able to find a nearby motel, they pull into a field and park up.
With sleeping bags laid out in the tray of the truck they both stare up at the stars. Leah's head is tucked into the crock of Embry's arm as they talk. She can hear the calm thump of his heart under her ear and it settles her. It's now been four months. Four whole months since she last phased.
He points to a particular part of the sky. "That's the Milky Way right there." He begins before pointing out several other constellations.
"When I went to see my mother's family, they told me a story." He whispers as she strokes his fingers over her hip and the side of her stomach. "In Polynesian mythology, people, the elements and every aspect of nature are descended from the one primal pair, the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. In the beginning there was only the darkness, Te Ponui, Te Poroa, the Great Night, the Long Night. At last, in the void of empty space, a glow appeared, the moon and the sun sprang forth and the heavens were made light..."
As he speaks, Leah can feel her eyes slowly lull. She snuggles closer to his side, laying a hand over his chest.
She feels him press a kiss to her temple, his warm lips touching her hairline.
"Leah?"
She can hear him but she's so tired and his voice feels so far away. "Hm?"
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
.