Starcrossed (Starcrossed 1)

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she?? he asked as though he had been meaning to ask her that

question all night.

?Beth Smith.?

?Beth Smith. Right,? he said sarcastically.

?What??

?Well, ?Smith? is obviously an alias.?

?You don?t know that. You don?t know anything about her. How

can you say that isn?t my mother?s name?? Helen asked, getting

defensive.

She had never even known her mother, and here was this

stranger assuming he knew more than she did. It cut Helen a little

to have to admit to herself that perhaps he did. For the first time in

hours, she was also hyperaware of the fact that she was lying on

top of him, and she didn?t want to be anymore. She tried to put

pressure on her forearm but a searing pain informed her that there

would be none of that. After a few feeble attempts to roll off of him

she gave up. She could feel him smiling, and his arms tensing to

hold on to her just in case she managed to get away.

?I know your mother wasn?t named ?Smith? because you can fly,

Helen, now hold still. You?re hurting me,? he said frankly.

?Sorry,? she said, suddenly realizing that he?d taken the brunt of

her weight when they hit the ground. His injuries were probably

far worse than hers?and hers were awful.

As she watched the sand turn gray, then pink, then coral with the

rising sun, Helen thought that this was the second dawn she had

seen in as many days. Of the two, she much preferred this one. She

was in far more pain, but she was also alive and completely free

from anger. Helen hadn?t realized how heavy the burden of hate

had been until she was allowed to put it down.