As quietly and quickly as possible, Katherine opened her door, peeking out into the hallway to make sure no one was up yet, and crept over to Tyler's door. She put her ear to it and could hear the distinct sound of snoring inside. Katherine's lips curled into an amused smile.
I am definitely using that as blackmail material later..
Slowly, careful to be as noiseless as possible, Katherine turned the handle to Tyler's door and tiptoed inside, closing the door behind her. Tyler was laying on his back, one arm across his chest, the other stretched above his head.
He looked so beautiful with strands of black hair falling into his eyes.
As though drawn by a magnet. Katherine stepped toward him. Another step... another... a fourth. And then she was beside him, staring at his peaceful face, her breaths coming short and ragged.
He could wake up any second. You're crazy. Just grab the keys and go already. You've lost your mind. Katherine leaned down. This is insanity. She leaned closer, so close now her ragged breaths moved the hair laying across his closed lids. He'll wake up.
Softly, Katherine pressed her lips against his. It was only the slightest of kisses -justa peck really, but it gave her the courage she needed to go through with her plan.
Katherine pulled back to find Tyler's lips curled into a sleepy smile.
"Katherine.." he said breathily.
Oh, you've done it now... Stupid, careless girl!
But no other words escaped his lips. He was still asleep.
Katherine let out the breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Katherine.."Tyler breathed again, moving his head to the side, his smile widening. "I love you..."
Katherine's heart jumped to her throat and her eyes widened, a mixture of hope and joy sparking heart.
He loves me? No. No, that's ridiculous. He doesn't.. Does he?
All the things Tyler had done for her came back to her in flashes.
His change of heart on her job at The Haven... His fury and animalistic rage when McDuffie had tried to kill her... The way he had killed McDuffle for her, showing no mercy.. The looks of concern.. Pretending to be her boyfriend.. Saving her hide in Biology class...The way he defended her from that flirty waiter... Kicking that jock off the phone for her.. That afternoon in the rain..
The way he had held her... His anger toward her family on her behalf... All those kisses...
Those breathtaking, beautiful kisses...
He loved her.
It all fit and the words had come out of his own mouth, even if not deliberately. Tears sprung to Katherine's eyes.
He loves me... she thought, overwhelmed by a sense of unadulterated joy.
The bright red glare of Tyler's alarm clock drew Katherine's attention.
4:27. You don't have time for this right now. You can analyze your relationship with Tyler later.
Right now, you have to get to that island.
Hesitating only a moment, Katherine grabbed Tyler's set of keys off of his nightstand and dashed over to the glass paned balcony doors. Throwing them open, Katherine looked back at Tyler's sleeping form, now even more illuminated from the fading moonlight pouring into the room.
I love you too, Tyler, Katherine thought with every fiber of her being.
Katherine walked out onto the balcony and climbed down an old oak whose leaves overhung on the white-marble balcony. After reaching the ground, Katherine dashed to the back of the house where the garage was. Katherine manually opened the large garage door, entered, and pulled the cover off Tyler's Porsche.
Katherine closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer. She knew very little about driving. Only the basics, and she certainly didn't have her license yet -her parents had made certain of that. Katherine could only hope she didn't crash.
Just stay between the lines... How hard can that be?
*****
I love you too, Tyler...
The words hung heavily in the air, and they reverberated in Tyler's awakening mind. Katherine's voice was a soft, comfortable awakening, yet Tyler couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had often dreamed of Katherine since their first meeting, and had often heard those words from her lips in the safety of his slumber, but this was different - it felt different. It was as though he had really heard her say it.
And there was the oddest chill in the room…
Tyler opened his eyes and looked around the room. The balcony doors were open.
Didn't I shut those? I remember shutting them....
Lazily shoving the covers off of his body, Tyler rose and walked over to the balcony in nothing but his boxer-briefs. It was still mostly dark as he looked out on the expanse of the front yard, but Tyler could see the golden leaves on the old tree just as well as he could in daylight.
A lovely, familiar scent registered in the back of his mind but the fogginess of his previous dream kept him from realizing that the scent came from the room and balcony rather than from his mind. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
Katherine had been in his room.
She had been on the balcony too; he could smell where her hand had touched the railing.
He laid his hand on the railing where Katherine's hand had been. If he tried very hard, he could almost feel the warmth left behind from her touch. She couldn't have been there more than twenty minutes ago.
But why? Tyler asked himself. Why would she come to my room and stand on my balcony? She has her own to look out on..
A niggling feeling at the base of Tyler's neck urged him to check his side table where he had left his keys. She couldn't have... She doesn't even know how to drive..
Almost against his will, Tyler's feet walked back inside the room and his eyes fell on where his car keys should be.
But they were gone.
Panic settled in Tyler's gut. Something was very wrong. What possible reason could she have for taking my keys?