Author's note: Happy New Year! I hope this update finds you well. Thank you for all the love. If you don't follow me on Tumblr (booksrockmyface), I posted a scene on there that I wrote for this story to be inserted later. You can find it by posting post/39282757895/so-i-posted-that-snippet-and-it-seems-a-couple-of-you onto the end of my Tumblr address.

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Chapter Five

Watching Adrian leave this time was more difficult than any parting we've ever had. He kissed me and touched my hair again and again.

"I'll come back soon. Before you know it." He promised, holding me close. "I love you, Sydney."

"I love you, too, Adrian."

He slid into the front seat reluctantly and just sat there. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out. "No way I can convince you to come with me, is there?"

"I have obligations here. And you have obligations there. Maybe next time, bring Jill with you. You'll have someone to spend time with while I'm working." I leaned down and kissed him once more. "Drive safely." I stepped away and waved as he finally backed down the drive and down the road.

My phone rang when I finally walked inside. I read "Jill" on the screen and hesitated answering. When I finally did, it was to discover she was crying on the other end.

"Jill, are you all right?" I asked. I stared at the bottle of wine still sitting in my refrigerator.

"It just sucks, Sydney." She wailed.

"What does?" I took the bottle out and took a sip. I had a hard time swallowing it.

"You know." She sobbed. "You and Adrian are perfect for each other. You should be married by now."

"It's complicated."

"No it's not. Just get married already. He can move there."

"And what about you, Jill?" I took another sip. This one was slightly easier to swallow.

"I can come visit once a month. He'll be better once he's with you." She sounded clearer.

"I know." I put the bottle down and leaned against the counter. "He and I will figure it out. Don't worry."

"I'm trying not to." She sniffed. "But I can't help it. I'm connected to him. I feel what he feels."

"Put up the block."

"I can still feel emotion sometimes, even with the block. It's too strong."

"Does that mean that you can sense…?"

"I distract myself with other things. That usually helps. And it's getting easier to block those out too."

"That's good to know. Glad we're waiting." I picked up the bottle once more and took a long swallow.

"You're waiting? Oh my god, how is that possible?"

"Control." I said simply.

"And being the craziest girl on the planet. Adrian is hot, even if he's like a brother to me, I can see that. How can you not want to get on that?"

"'Get on that'? Jill please tell me you've not 'gotten on that' with anyone?"

"I'm almost seventeen."

"I know. But you should—"

"Wait until it's someone I really love. I am. But it's not like I can have the guy I love."

"Have you ever talked to him about this?" I poured the last of the wine down the drain before I drank the rest of the bottle.

"How?"

I sighed and stretched out on my couch. "You have to take him aside. Say that you don't want it to mess with your friendship and you don't expect it to end his current relationship and you just tell him."

"That's easy for you to say."

"I know it is easy to say outside of it, but it's better to say something and have all your cards on the table than to die inside as you watch him with someone else. He doesn't know. So let him know."

I heard her sigh. We went back and forth about it for a while longer. She was just about sure she was going to tell him in the end. I was relieved that I could convince her of at least that.

She ended our conversation with, "And Adrian needs to move to Utah."

I chuckled and hung up, putting the phone on my chest. I dozed and woke to the sound of my it ringing several hours later. I put it to my ear without a glance at the screen. "Hello?"

"So, I'm almost to Nebraska, but it's not like I can really tell because I feel like I've been driving past the same field since I left your house."

I chuckled at Adrian's rambling. "I know. How are you feeling?"

"Missing you. But fine otherwise. I just fill the gas tank and am now stretching my legs."

I said nothing for a few moments. Then, "You're going to stop in Iowa, right?"

"Yes, dear." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I just don't think it's smart for you to drive thirty hours straight."

"I've done it before."

"I'm just saying that you don't have to bring your car with you every time. I can pick you up from the airport."

"I could have left the car behind."

"And how would you get around?"

"Next time we're trading cars."

"Next time you're flying. We're not arguing about this."

"If I bring Jill along, we can take turns driving. Especially since we'll have two Guardians in tow."

"Don't take risks, Adrian."

"I take risks every day, sweetheart."

"I don't like sweetheart."

"Hm?"

"Whatever term of endearment you're trying to come up with, sweetheart isn't it."

"You seem to like it when I call you honey."

"I do."

"Okay, honey. I'll do anything for you."

"I know you will."

"I need to get back on the road. I just wanted to check in."

"Okay. Be careful."

"I'll do my best."

"Call again when you get to your hotel."

"I will."

I went to bed, unable to fall asleep for hours with worry over Adrian.

There was knock on my door before I was even able to put my bag down. "Come in, Jill." I called.

She threw open the door and came straight toward me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. I placed a hand on her head and the other on her back. I rested my cheek against her hair as I summoned my healing magic, taking away the darkness that filled her.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. She stepped back. "Thank you."

I smoothed the hair away from her face. "Any time."

"Lissa took a little of it. She was going to do the full healing, but I knew it would be better if you did it. And she's got a lot more on her plate anyway."

I nodded and kissed her forehead.

"She wants to see you, by the way."

"I'll go tomorrow." I collapsed on the couch. "Go on home. We'll talk after I've had a proper sleep in my own bed."

"I told Eddie." She said, sitting down on the floor by my head.

"Told him what?"

She let out a frustrated groan and pushed my shoulder. "Why couldn't I be bonded to a girl?"

"Because I'm better." I grinned at her and sat up. "Come here, my child." I said, patting the couch beside me. "What did he say?"

"'That's nice. I need to go see Rose.'" She collapsed sideways on the couch. "What am I going to do?"

"Has he been around since?"

She shook her head.

"Text? Call?"

She shook her head again. She covered her face with her hands and she rolled to her side. "My life is over."

"Hey, there." I leaned over her. "Look at me, Jill."

She shook her head. "I don't deserve him anyway."

I pried her hands away. "I know he's the love of your life right now and he's with someone else, but it's not the end of the world. I know it feels like it. You know it feels like it. Don't do anything reckless and show him you can be happy without him. If it's not him, then it will definitely be someone else. I promise."

"Can I stay here?" She asked meekly.

"Is your mom okay with that?"

"My mom loves you. Of course she's okay with it."

I patted her shoulder and then sat up. "Then I need to go make sure the guest bed is ready."

"How is Sydney?" She asked, following me to the back of my apartment.

"She's fine." I said shortly. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent off a text to my fiancée. "Consoling Jill. Call in a bit."

"Just fine?"

She was looking over my shoulder.

"Do you mind?"

She walked into the room and sat down on the bed. "I caught a glimpse of something that happened between the two of you a few days ago…" She waggled her eyebrows at me.

"You have the ability to block everything out for a reason, Jailbait."

"That's a nickname I haven't heard in a while." She stretched back on the bed and put her hands behind her head. "So what's that like?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." I flipped off the light. "Sleep well, kid." I walked down the hall and then walked back to the room. "Hey." I leaned against the door. "Eddie is probably still trying to process everything. I bet you'll get a call from him soon."

"And if I don't?" She asked meekly.

"Then he's not worth the time it takes to fret over it." I pushed myself away from the door. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Adrian?" She called after me.

"Yeah?"

"I know what it was like in your head after everything with Rose. I don't want to have to deal with that again."

"And I don't want you to either. You want me to say something to him?"

She chewed on her lip for a while and then shrugged. "I don't know if that will help anything."

My phone went off. I looked down to see a message from Sydney.

"Go talk to her. One of us should be happy around here."

"Feed off of my happiness, okay?" I said with a wave over my shoulder. I punched in Sydney's number. "Hello, beautiful."

"Not right now. I just got up."

"You are quite sexy when you're rumpled. Like we've been rolling around in bed all night doing everything but sleep."

"Adrian!" she admonished. I could almost hear the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Hey, honey, you know you want it." I crooned.

"So what's going on with Jill?"

"Of course you change the subject." I sighed and changed for bed as I explained about my shadow-kissed guest in the other room.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to call Eddie when he wakes up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Honey, please don't explain to me the things that are wrong with this. I can't help it. I need to know what he's thinking."

"She said he went to Rose?"

"Well he said he was going there after she told him, but that doesn't mean he talked to her about this."

"I bet he did. She's his friend as much as you are Jill's."

"Jill and I are a bit closer."

"Just a little." She teased. "I need to get ready. And you need some sleep."

"I'd sleep better with you beside me."

"Stop being so cheesy."

"I can't help it."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Have a good day at work. Call me when you get off."

"I will."

I lay in bed for a long time just staring at the ceiling. I missed Sydney and I worried over what was going to happen with Jill. I was determined to speak with Eddie and started working out what I would say to him. Somewhere in the in the middle of trying to figure out what to say to him, I fell asleep.