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Summer was rapidly coming to an end and before classes were to start again, the youngest charmed sister suggested a family camping trip. With the stress of leading a normal life and protecting the world from all evil entities, no one disagreed with the idea of getting away and relaxing. Collectively, they decided it is better to be a little selfish and take care of themselves than burning out and not being able to save the world, again.
So, the minute they were on board with the plan, the family began their journey to the lake a few towns over. Making it just in time to set up their tent and watch the sun as it set over the body of water.
The glowing sun, a crisp circle in the bloody sky, illuminated a quivering path across the water. It bathed the lake's meek waves and wispy clouds in a burning red as small waves crashed the shore. The gentle breeze was soft, calming and welcomed after a long day of sitting in an overcrowded car. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the fleeting colors of dusk began to fade away. The charcoal-black rocks circled small pools of water, shimmering confidently before dark fell upon them.
“Okay, start the fire, Mel! Time for smores and ghost stories,” Maggie chirped, as the heat from the sun was replaced with a light breeze from the night.
While their marshmallows roasted, Maggie volunteered to be first in telling ghost stories. The story started sweet, a young couple just married moving into their house together until it took a dark turn. The pair both had secrets, they were murderers who had dark spirits constantly around them. Anything they touched would surely be ruined and now they were together, their lives had just taken one hell of a turn. “Their friend took a picture of the couple in their new house. He says it was just the three of them there but that’s not what it looked like,” Maggie ended, taking another bite of her treat.
“Wait, is that it?” Mel questioned.
“Uh, yeah?”
“That wasn’t scary at all and the ending was kind of…” Mel trailed off, not wanting to hurt her sister’s feelings.
“If you think you can do better, then, by all means, blow my mind.” the youngest sister suggested.
Macy watched Mel intently as she started her story with ‘once upon a time’, laughing when Maggie rolled her eyes. She was happy, warm by the fire as she rested her head on Harry’s shoulder. This was something she needed for a while now, a quiet night with her family.
Mel’s story was gruesome, she described the events in great detail, especially the way the killer cut the faces from his victims and how he twisted their bones while they were fully conscious. “Until this day, nobody knows what happened to him. Some people are saying he’s still alive and hunting as he travels around the world looking for his next victim,” she summed up.
“Whoa Mel, what the hell was that?” Macy asked, moving more into Harry’s side.
“Great, now I won’t be able to sleep tonight,” Maggie complained.
The two sisters looked in the direction of Macy and Harry, waiting for them to tell their ghost stories. Macy declined, saying she doesn’t know any and she was really bad at keeping a one-track mind while storytelling. On the other hand, Harry accepted, deciding on telling a kid-friendly story for the sake of Maggie and her sleep.
“There once was a lady who was in a terrible car accident, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Being too nervous to go back outside, she began to work from home and used google maps as a means to ‘traveling the world.’ She would pretend to walk the streets of Paris, Berlin, and other well-known places people traveled to,” explained Harry, his voice changing with the tone of the story. “Next thing you know, the woman was standing at her door, face still a complete blur as she raised her hand and knocked three times.”
“Harry...” a frightened Maggie trailed off.
“Would you have liked me to tell you a real one about a demon I had to face with my other charge years ago?” he questioned tilting his head.
“No, no we are good with that one,” Macy quickly interjected.
“Well maybe it wasn’t as kid-friendly as I originally thought,” he shrugged.
Mel laughed, “don’t mind these overgrown babies because I am impressed. Where did you find that story, Harry?”
“If I tell you…”
“Nice,” Mel approved, still laughing at her sister’s scared expressions.
Under a sky of perfect midnight velvet, under stars so brilliant they drew the eyes heaven-bound, the lyrics of ‘walk on by’ played softly in Macy's mind. As the light twinkled and the unheard music played, she snuggled more into Harry’s side.
The night brought such silence, as the small family settled down from the horrors of the ghost stories, that the crackle of the campfire was all that could be heard, like a piece of insane natural music. The flames that licked at the wood and the red sparks both danced in the cool breeze. They sat close, circling the fire, faces toasted warm and cold, mesmerized, relaxed. It was like the fire was charming their worries from them and sending them heaven-bound along with the dark smoke.
“I’m going to head in, night guys,” yawned Maggie, walking towards the tent.
Mel followed suit, realizing how tired she had been from the long drive, “yeah, actually, me too.”
“Night,” both Harry and Macy called out in unison.
Maggie stopped in front of the tent, grinning, she said, “night you two.”
The pair just shook their heads as they watched her sisters zip the tent once fully inside.
Focusing on the stars once again, Macy sighed into Harry’s side, “it’s so beautiful out here.”
“Yeah, yes very” he agreed not bothering to look at the scene in front of him but rather the woman on his side.
Spreading the thin cover further out, enough for them to lie down, Harry pulled Macy into his chest and hummed into her hair. She focused on the vibrations of his chest as she continued to count the stars that accompanied the moon. The moonlight poured from the sky like the milk of a god that required no nourishment and instead was satisfied with only the beauty of the soft rays, spilling from the hands of the night sky; seeping into every crevice of the desolate valley.
“I am so glad we did this,” Macy practically sang, turning to face him.
Harry nodded, agreeing, “this trip has been nice so far, relaxing even.”
They sat there for a moment, a long moment, smiling at the other while the fire cracked on the side of them. There was that look again, the one he always gives, only to her. The look that made her knees weak and her breath hitch in her throat, the one where he looked at her like she hung the stars and the moon, like she was the only person in the world that mattered. She should have seen it coming, if only she had paid more attention. Except she was too busy spending time with him to even notice the change. He was her closest friend, someone whom she quickly missed whenever he would leave. Moods would rise on his return. His little quirks soon became her most favorite thing, easy to discern his mind-set in the absence. His green eyes, every hue of the forest, rimmed cooly with moss, pierced her and soon everything green reminded her of him. His laughter was her haunting tinnitus; it kept her up all night. She craved for their private tea chats in his office, where he opened up and at the same time she would dread him telling her that he had all this for someone else.
It was at that moment when Harry lowered his face to her that she knew, she had already fallen head over heels in love with him. As their lips touched she prayed they could stay that way forever, too wrapped in each other to care about what was going on in the world. So, when they pulled away and she gave him that look, the one she knew he knew all too well. The look she would give him at least three times a day just before they would sneak off from the crowd.
“Really?” Harry asked, shocked written well over his face, “are you sure?”
Chest heaving, she nodded in response before placing her hands on either side of his face pulling him into a passionate kiss, positioning herself to straddle him. Hands roamed as the kiss was further deepened. She could feel Harry's hands starting to lift her shirt, breaking the kiss she let him pull it over her head before meeting his now swollen lips, but pausing.
“What’s wrong?” asked Harry as his hands dropped from her breast to rest on her waist looking puzzled.
“I love you,” she breathed, watching his face soften at her words.
He flipped them over so Macy was lying on her back and he was inches away from her face. “I love you, Macy Vaughn,” Harry expressed as he looked dreamily into her eyes.
Cheesing Macy pulled Harry into a kiss, soft, impassioned. Not like any other kiss they shared before, this one was full of emotion, love. His hands slowly roaming tracing over her as he revealed more skin and soon she laid bare on the blanket; watching him with revere while he silently cherished the way the moonlight splashed down its watery white-silver glow onto her exposed body, bathing, illuminating her.
The way he handled her body, with such care and in that split second before his touch every nerve in her body and brain was electrified. It's the anticipation of being together in a way that was more than words, in a way that was so completely tangible. He watched Macy close her eyes and gasp as he slowly enters her, waiting until she confirmed she still wanted to do this here.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, tightening her legs around his waist for more contact. She could feel his thumb strum a pattern on her shoulder as he moved inside her, his eyes showing just how much he loved her, how he would do anything for her. He whispered sweet nothings to her about how he would never leave, she was the only one and will always be, how he will always protect her. A tear slipped from her eye and he leaned down, kissing it away and she couldn’t believe she found someone who loves her more than she loves herself.
She had spent so much time during her childhood thinking she will never be happy and would most likely die alone. This was something she hadn’t seen coming, but they say those are the best ones. She was in love. She was finally happy with her little family.
The little family that included the man who was offering his soul, his entire being to her at that moment. They moved rhythmically, slowly as they cherished the feeling of the other. At that moment everything was different, it wasn’t a quickie in the nearest closet, it wasn’t a late-night shower or early morning sex. This was more intimate, a vow that they will forever be bound to one another, this was more than words alone can put together. And it was confirmed by the look in his eyes, they told her everything she needed to know.
She pulled his lips to hers again, whispering just how much she loves him before capturing them in a kiss. Harry still moved slowly, as she ran her tongue across the bottom of his lip. Their foreheads touching while being brought closer to their climax, thanks to Harry and resting there until they both rode out the wave.
Moving to the side and pulling Macy into him, Harry spoke into her curls, “we have a lot to discuss.”
“Indeed we do, we sure do,” she responded, rubbing circles on his bare chest that glistened in the moonlight.