Chapter Text
Another missed call. Who could it be this time? Dan? I doubt it. Jessy? Probably, although I felt like blocking her yesterday. Cleo? No, she doesn't particularly like me. Thomas doesn't either, for that matter. Richy? Yes, I wish. Every time I thought about him, a horrible shiver ran down my spine. I will never forget that feeling of terror and helplessness as I stared into his fading eyes through the monitor.
No, stop. I shouldn't dwell on that; it will only make things worse. It's one of the things
I remembered from the therapist I used to see in high school. Finally, it came in handy.
So, I tried not to think about it. Not to think about anything. It didn't work out so well, especially considering the recent events.
Inhale and exhale, Claire. Just like mom used to say.
Mom...
I froze in mid-step and after a moment, I heard the sound of shattered glass. Oops. Okay, Claire, get yourself together. You need to clean this up before you hurt yourself (intentionally or not).
The third glass this week met its end in this apartment. It happened every time my thoughts got out of control. Which was too often. Too much has happened in my life over the past month for me to function normally.
I lost my mom. She was my only family. And I really mean it, I had no one else but her. I wiped away a tear that pathetically streamed down my cheek. I approached the trash can to dispose of the remnants of the broken glass. I coded in my mind that I still needed to wipe up the spilled water.
Yes, I had to code things like that for myself. Like I said, my life lately revolved mainly around functioning. "Ouch," I hissed when I felt the sting on my hand from a shard of glass. Oh great, that's exactly what I was trying to avoid. Well done, Claire, you're worthless.
I started heading towards the bathroom in order to wash and bandage my injured hand. I opened the cabinet and took out hydrogen peroxide. I sat on the definitely too small bathtub wedged in the niche opposite the sink. My former roommate always said that this apartment was terribly small and cramped. She eventually decided to move out, which didn't bother me at all. In fact, it suited me just fine.
Sometimes I realized how lonely I was. When was the last time I had a face-to-face conversation with someone? Since I lived alone and started chatting with people from Duskwood, I can't remember leaving the house for anything other than shopping or walking the dog. Now I didn't even have a dog.
I was busy wrapping my wrist with a bandage when I heard the phone ring again. And another one missed call.
Okay, that's quite frustrating now. They've called me every day, but there was like a few times and that was it. Now, someone really tried to contact me. And seemed to be determinate.
I walked back to the living room, carefully not to stand into the spilled moment earlier water and checked my phone. I lost my breath.
Jake.
Jake was calling me. He had called me already 7 times. And now he was calling again.
Why would he be so fixed to contact me? I haven’t heard from him for about two months. He just stopped answering me. At first, I thought something bad happen to him. I thought the FBI found him. I haven’t slept much. I was sitting in my bed, praying for him to text me or at least read my messages.
Then was the thing with Richy... I was so scared, and I couldn’t vent to anyone. Because Jake left me alone. I tried to contact Jessy then, but she felt probably just like me, or even worse. The fact that he felt something for her, and she rejected him so many times. It must have been so hard for her either.
The rest of the group was too busy in “Richy-things”, so they didn’t care about me at all. They have their own lives, why would they care about some random stupid girl who just sticked in their group and almost ruined it?
After that was my mom. I can’t really say how I felt when I answered the call from the hospital. The moment I realized, I have no one. I completely lost the sense of living.
And here I was, holding my stupid ringing phone, staring into the name on the screen.
My heart raced as the phone continued to ring. I debated whether to answer it or just let it go to voicemail like I had been doing. But something inside me compelled me to pick up this time. It wasn’t Jessy like usual. It was Jake. He hasn’t called me ever. Except that one time, when I didn’t know him yet.
With trembling hands, I swiped my finger across the screen and answered the call.
“Hello?” I tried keep my voice confident, but it trembled as I opened my mouth.
“Claire? God damn it, are you alright?” I froze. He wasn’t using his casual voice moderator. It was his voice. I blocked my mouth with my hand as a stifled sob broke from my lips.
“Hey, are you crying? Claire, answer me. What happened?” I had to sit on the couch, because
I didn’t trust my legs in that moment.
“Jake I... God, I just can’t believe this... Do you know how worried about you I was?” I asked finally. My voice still trembled but didn't crack like last time.
I heard his sigh. “I know Claire. But I am here now. I’m not going anywhere.” After a moment of silence, he added “If we were writing now, I’d put a colon and brackets there”
I snorted quietly. He snorted too. I wiped tears from my face, smiling slightly.
“Okay, that was funny.” I claimed, pulling my nose.
“Glad to hear that.” He snorted. His voice seemed cheerier than before, but when he spoke the next sentence, he seemed worried again. “Claire, I’m sorry.” He said “I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn't have left you like that without a single word. I messed up.” He sounded at the same time as a hurt puppy and like he was extremely upset with himself for such a stupid act. His voice was... Different than
I expected. It was warm. He seemed very nice and pleasant.
“It’s... okay” I tried not to sound hurt and sad, but my efforts must have been to no avail, because Jake spoke up again.
“No Claire, it is absolutely not okay.” He raised his voice slightly. He sounded very strong now.
“I know you’ve been bothered by many things, especially Richy’s condition, and I left you with no message.” I shuddered when he mentioned Richy.
“I... Okay, look. Let's just say that things were not very good for me at that time. I almost got caught, through my stupidity.”
“What?” I interrupted him terrified. “Oh my God, but you are safe now, aren’t you?” I asked.
“I am, Claire. Please, don’t worry about that now.” He calmed me down, then he spoke again.
”That's why I had to stop contacting you. I had to move out.” He chuckled bitterly. “Nothing new well, but I found some more security. I’m still working on improving Nym0s for my and your safety.
I was afraid that when I contacted you, they might trace you too. That's the last thing I'd want, Claire. I can't let anything happen to you. Especially not because of me.” I felt tears gathering in my eyes again.
“Why would they trace me?” I asked, a little concerned. I heard him take a deep breath.
“This is exactly the reason I tried to contact you now” He sounded disturbed and a little ashamed. His next words caused the goosebumps over my body. “I’m afraid they might try to trace you already, Claire.”
“Wait, what do you mean? You think they... the FBI is searching for me?” I got up from the couch and started walking around the room with the phone to my ear.
He sighed. “I don’t know for sure. When I left my previous place, I didn't have time to take everything with me. They were probably able to read the records from the motel internet. And believe me or not, you were person I texted the most often. Your IP might not be delated from the network entirely.”
I take a deep breath now. I looked out of the window, at the parking lot. A black car had pulled up. Calm down Claire, it's just a neighbor.
“So... what does it mean now? What are we going to do?” I asked, trying not to let on how frightened I was.
“Well, I hope we agree with at least one thing. You shouldn’t live by yourself now. Do you have someone to move in with?” I wasn’t ready for that question. What was I supposed to say to him?
I had, but she died 3 weeks ago. I felt dizzy. I decided to sit on the couch again.
Jake must have deduced something from my non-response. He didn't ask, thought. Instead of that, he said something that made my stomach do three flips and my heart threaten to jump out of my chest.
“Then I don’t see other options. You’ll stay with me.”
“With you?” I repeated after him in shock. He said it was so important for me not to know him in person and now he’s offering something like this?
“Claire, look. I’m not happy that I’m offering you this, but I have to. I need you to be safe. And I can’t keep you safe when you’re not with me. Not anymore.”
“But how would this look anyway?” I asked disturbed.
He let out a breath “Well, I thought that I could pick...” He stopped, and I heard some alarm sound. “Shit” he hissed.
“Jake?” I interjected. “What’s that sound?”
“Wait a second, Claire. I need to check something. I’ll call you back in a minute.”
“But tell me what does this sound...” I couldn’t finish, because I heard the signal of the call ending. “...means” I whispered, moving the phone away from my ear.
I sighed loudly. I put my phone on the little table next to couch which I was sitting on. I laid down on the sofa, covering my eyes with my hands and letting out a groan of frustration.
I don’t know how long I was laying like this. To be honest, I almost fall asleep. That’s why I sprangled to my feet when I heard the phone buzzing. I picked
“Jake? What happened?” I asked almost immediately.
“They are closer than I thought” He sounded tired. I imagined him just wiping his face with his hand. Or combing his hair with his fingers. Oh, God I just realized I had no idea how he looks, except that he has black hair and blue eyes. “Well, however. I don’t have much time now. And because this...
As I was saying earlier. I can pick you up Claire and we’ll find some place together. What do you think?”
I sighed. What do I think? I’m going to live with Jake. Even though I actually don’t know almost anything about him. “I... I don’t know, Jake”
I heard him start to walk around the room.
“Claire, please. Do you trust me?” He asked. Did I trust him? Absolutely. And that fact scared me.
“I trust you, Jake.” I confirmed. “When will you be leaving?”
“In half an hour, at the latest” he said. I think he put the phone in his other hand because I heard
a slight noise.
“Already?”
“There is no time to waste, Claire.” he explained calmy.
“Right... So when will you be at my place? Should I send you my location or something?”
“No!” He replied immediately. “No, don’t do this Claire. I'll handle it myself, don’t worry.” I wanted to say something more, but then I remembered who I was talking to. “If I leave now, I should be with you somehow in the morning. Is that okay?” He asked. I heard the sound of a bag being zipped.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I will go pack my things then.” I replied. I was a bit terrified when I thought that
I will meet Jake in a couple of hours. But somehow, I was also so excited.
“Okay. Be careful then. Goodbye, Claire.”
“You be careful too. See you later?” I asked a bit playfully.
I heard his laugh. He really just laughed because of something I said. I remembered the time, when he told me that I was the only one that could make him laugh. That fact somehow caused the felling of butterflies dancing somewhere in my stomach. “Of course, see you later, Claire”
There was something about how he called my name. I can't remember the last time someone referred to me so formally. Although, all in all, it shouldn't surprise me. He spoke in almost the same way as he typed. Although, I must admit, in person he seemed a little less shy. Unless it was just my impression.
As I hung up, I saw messages from Jessy. She saw I was online. But I wasn’t ready to confront her. Not now. Enough had happen today, I don’t need more attractions for now.
I left my phone on the table again and I decided to find some bag, in which I can pack my things.
I actually didn’t have many things to take with me. I stand up and my sight stopped at the spilled water on the floor. I forgot about it. I took some cloth and started to wipe it off.
I checked the time – it was almost 12pm. Jake said he will be here ‘somehow in the morning’. Yeah, but what does it mean? It could be either 4 or 9am.
I had to pull myself together and start doing something. After all, I didn't want Jake to see me like this. When I had packed the most necessary things, I decided to take a shower. I stood in the flow of hot water for probably over two hours. I thought about everything that had happened to me over the last few months and in that time, I managed to cry and pull myself together about twice. Finally, wrapped in a towel, I washed my face and teeth at the basin. I decided to blow-dry my long brown hair, as I was afraid it wouldn't have time to dry on its own by morning.
I wore a loose white T-shirt and a pair of washed black sweatpants, which were now actually more grey than black. I checked the time again. Half past 2am. Not bad. But what am I supposed to do now? Sit and wait for him? No, that would stress me out and also bore me. I need something to help me relax. So, I decided to clean up a bit. To be honest there was no big mess, but it helped me stop thinking about what is going to happen soon. If I have to leave this flat for God-knows-how long,
I can at least leave it tidy.
I also thought about going to sleep for some time, but I was sure that I wouldn’t fall asleep.
I was in the middle of making myself a coffee when I heard a notification of a new message. I almost knocked the cup away from me, moving to the phone. I took a deep breath. I checked the time quickly, before reading the message. It was a little after three in the morning. This can’t be Jake already, can it? I counted to three in my mind and opened the message.
Jake
Claire, I am here
What?
Claire
What do you mean ‘here’?
Jake
I mean I’m actually standing by your door right now
:)
I looked at the door frightened and then I heard someone quietly knocking in them.
I quickly threw the phone down on the sofa and walked to the door. I glanced briefly at my reflection in the mirror that was on the wall next to the door. I looked like I hadn't slept for two weeks.
I hesitated before finally turning the key and pressing on the handle.
I stared at the man standing in front of me. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with a hood that covered his entire head and almost his face. He was standing sideways and looked like he was looking out for something in the dark corridor. The only thing I could see apart from the hoodie and the black mask over his mouth and nose were his sapphire eyes.
I don't know how long I stared at him, but definitely long enough for him to finally notice. He took another hasty look around and quickly pushed me back into the room, coming up behind me.
Before I had time to object, his hand landed on my mouth silencing me. He put the forefinger of his other hand to his lips and ordered me to be quiet, while pointing with his head out of the door.
I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at him as if he were some kind of madman. Finally, I heard footsteps in the corridor. Jake moved his hand away from my mouth and approached the peephole.
I wanted to see what he was talking about too, so I pushed him slightly. Then he seemed to notice me again and moved a little to the side, taking the mask off his face at the same time.
I ignored the irresistible urge to look at his whole face and put my eye to the visor. In an instant I felt all the air leave my lungs. In the corridor against the opposite wall stood two men dressed in black. One of them was looking around absentmindedly, and the other was talking to the motel owner while gesticulating vividly.
"There is no one like that here sirs, like I told you. You have no right to be in this place unless you are renting one of the rooms. Now good night, sirs, I don't want to see you here again." I heard the woman say to one of the men while looking at him with disgust.
The men walked around for a little, and then I heard one of them say.
“Okay, it’s nothing here. Let’s just go next. We’ve still had many places in this area to check out”
And they walked away. I moved from the visor, with the felling that my heart is going to pop out of my chest.
I could finally look at Jake. My eyes met his.
“Hello, Claire”
He was looking at me a bit concerned and tired. I swallowed the gulp in my throat, feeling my eyes start to burn from the tears appearing in them. He must have seen this, because he walked closer to me. Without any thoughts, I just bumped into him, wrapping my arms around his waist and sinking my face into his sweatshirt.
If he was surprised, he didn't let it show. In an instant he put his strong arms around me and lifted me slightly so that I was now completely wrapped around his body. He held me in his embrace as I felt the first traitorous tears running down my cheeks. I felt all my worries start to overlap and I just lingered in his arms, crying like a little child.
“It’s okay, Claire.” he whispered in my ear. He began gently stroking my back with his hands. As I began to slowly calm down, he softly placed me back on the ground, but still held me in his embrace. “Don’t cry”
He gently pushed me away from him, now keeping his hands on my shoulders. Immediately, however, he shifted them to my cheeks and, with a little hesitation, wiped away the tears.
“Who were these men?” I asked quietly, felling a bit ashamed of my cry-attack. He just sighed, peering at the door behind me.
“We don’t have much time, Claire. They are already looking for you. We can’t wait. I promise I will explain you everything as we’ll be going. Are you ready to go?”
I nodded.
“Did they go away?” He asked, and when I frowned, he added: “These men”
“Oh, yeah. I think so.”
“Alright, then we should leave as soon as possible. Where’s your bag?” I wiped my eyes burning from crying with my sleeve and pointed with my hand to the bag lying on the kitchen counter. I must have looked really pathetic, because before looking in the direction I was pointing, Jake gazed at me thoughtfully “Claire, are you okay?”
I had to stop acting like a child. Get yourself together, Claire. “I’m fine, Jake. It was just a rough week for me, I guess”
He didn’t seem to be satisfied with my answer, but he let go. I smiled at him slightly and I walked into the kitchen. He followed me. As I entered the kitchen, I remembered what I was doing before he interrupted me with his messages. Coffee. On the countertop was a cup with un-brewed coffee, and next to it a kettle with water that had already cooled down.
“We don’t have enough time for coffee, do we?” I asked, turning to stand face to face with him. He shook his head sadly, looking at me apologetically.
“When we’ll be safe, we’ll drink coffee together all the time” he promised. I smiled at him slightly, and he did too. I quickly cleaned up the cup and the kettle, in my previous order to leave my flat tidy. Jake grabbed my bag, and after I went to bathroom, we were ready to go.
Before we went, we checked by the visor again, if the men were gone for sure. After we both agreed to that, we went outside. I didn’t see what kind of car Jake drove up to me, but I have to admit, when I saw it, I was pretty surprised. It was black, sleek and looked like some racing car.
Jake must have seen that I was staring firstly at the car and then at him, but it didn’t seem to bother him in any way. Even better, he chuckled a bit, when he was putting my bag on the back seats.
As we packed all my tings into his car, we needed to go already. I sat on the front sit, waiting for Jake to join me. After a minute, he finally sat down next to me, while shaking the keys he held in his right hand. I found this attractive as hell. He turned the keys in the ignition and the vehicle started. Then, he moved his gaze on me. He checked me with his eyes, and he looked meaningfully at my hips, where the seatbelt should have been.
“Fasten your seatbelts, Claire”
I rolled my eyes slightly but followed his instructions. In fact, I was so fascinated by what was happening that I forgot to do it right away.
We were sitting in silence. As we drove, I gazed out of the window, watching the passing scenery. The night sky was adorned with stars, twinkling like scattered diamonds against the dark backdrop. The occasional streetlights illuminated stretches of the road, casting fleeting shadows that danced alongside us.
“Do you have any idea where we’d stay?” I asked after a few minutes driving in silence. I wanted to start a conversation, because I felt my eyes slowly began to close.
He took his eyes off the road for a second and gave me a quick peek.
“I have an idea, but...” he checked the time on his phone “I don’t know if we won't stop somewhere else along the way”
“Somewhere else? Why?”
“Claire, I know you haven't sleep. And I’ve been driving since I called you, so I haven't slept either”
“I thought you don’t sleep anyway?” I joked. He chuckled. God he was so cute when he did this.
“Right, I don’t. But you do. It is important to keep your guests comfortable” he said.
“I am very comfortable here, thanks for asking” I replied, adjusting myself in the seat and resting my head on the seatback.
“Of course, I can see you’ve nearly fallen asleep at least twice since we left”
“It is not true”
“It is”
I didn't argue more. I knew he was right, and he knew it too. I saw out of the corner of my eye his slight smile when I no longer responded.
When we finally got somewhere, it wasn’t so dark outside anymore. The sky was illuminated by sun rising slowly. It was a beautiful sight. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch this any longer, because Jake’s voice snapped me out of my reverie.
“Alright, we can stay here for a couple of hours” he said, pulling out his keys and putting them in his pocket. Without waiting for my answer, he got out of the car and opened the back door, taking out one of his bags.
I stared for a moment more at the motel in front of which we found ourselves. It was situated in a real remote area. If it wasn't for the fact that I was here with Jake, I would never have chosen to stay here. There was only one car parked in the car park apart from ours.
Reluctantly, I stepped out of the car, stretching my numb limbs and took over my bag from Jake.
“This place looks frightening” I said slightly jocularly, looking at the faded yellow walls of the motel.
He followed my gaze and smiled a little. “I’ve stayed at worst places, believe me”
He closed the car and, looking back at me, pointed the way to the motel door. We entered an even more squalid interior. A woman, about 30 years old, was sitting at the counter. She was on the phone, painting her nails in the meantime. When she saw us, she didn't even hide her surprise.
"Hold on Ann, I have some customers," she said into the phone receiver and shifted her curious gaze to us again “Can I help you?” the woman asked, staring at me intently.
I looked a little confused at Jake, but he wasn't rushing to answer. He turned his hooded head, looking around the room.
“Um... yeah. We need a room for two.”
She raised her bored gaze at me then moved it to the computer screen in front of her.
“We have only one-bed rooms” she said after clicking something on the keyboard. I stared at her with mild irritation. How can they not have dorm rooms? I mean, I realize that in such a place family are unlikely to stay on vacation, but seriously?
She looked at us again. Jake turned his head to her as he heard what she said. “I guess it is not a problem?” the woman asked, probably intrigued with our weird behavior.
I was about to say that we want two rooms then, but Jake again spoke faster.
“Of course, it’s not.” he walked closer to me, completely ignoring my confused gaze. “One room then, please” he said again with his calm voice.
After grabbing the keys from the bored receptionist, we headed to the room. It was very small, indeed with only one bed. Instead, it was very large, too large for one person. I then thought to myself what such rooms are probably rented for and chastised myself for my foolish thoughts.
“Why didn't we just take two rooms?” I asked finally when I saw Jake, who was already setting up his laptop at the table.
“Because” he replied slowly, typing something very fast on the keyboard in concentration. After a moment he finished “I’m not going to sleep anyways”. He gave me a fast look “First I have to figure out the location of our pursuers”
“Not gonna happen” I cut him off quickly “My apologies, but I'm not going to drive another hours tomorrow with a person who hasn't slept since last fall.” he didn’t comment my little joke at the end. But the truth was, I was right. He needed sleep. And I saw this in his tired eyes.
He ran his hand through his hair, sighing heavily. “Look, Claire I told you” He started “I need to know where they are so I can make sure, we’re safe here. They might be more of them than just the two we saw. I will do this, and you can rest there” he pointed at the big bed with his right hand.
“Stop treating me like a fucking baby, Jake.”
“I’m not treating you like a baby!” he stood up, clearly irritated with my words. “I’m just saying that it is important to...”
“Yeah, I know. Keeping me safe. I’ve heard this before” I rolled my eyes “But I don’t know if you realize this, I can take care of myself too.”
“I know you can. But this is different! How are you going to defend yourself from these guys, huh?” he said louder than before.
“Somehow?! I have no idea, but also, I have no idea what is going on now!” I yelled feeling a growing anger and frustration. “You called me out of nowhere, after fucking two months of completely silence” My hands began to tremble slightly, and I felt my voice begin to crack. “Do you think I just simply didn’t care? That I forget about you and all of this?” I felt tears rising in my eyes, but I didn’t care. Jake must saw them too, but he was quiet, looking at me concerned “I-”
“Claire...”
“No! Stop this, Jake! You just showed up after all this like you weren’t ignoring me for months, and what?! Suddenly, I need to move out, I’m wanted like some criminal and I- I...” I couldn’t finish, because I started crying. He started to move closer in my direction, but I stopped him with my hand.
“Don’t” I said quietly, still crying. “Just... don’t” I started to walk away from him. He glanced at me for a moment, completely shocked with my random explosion. Retreating, I reached the wall and, leaning against it with my back, I slid down through it, sitting down on the cold and very dusty floor.
Jake seemed completely frozen. He certainly didn't expect something like that from me. After all, I had been acting fairly normal the whole way, maybe a little stressed. But now I just felt all the emotions that had accumulated over a long time start to flow out. I couldn't stop crying, I could barely catch my breath.
I tried to think about advice that my therapist used to give me when I was younger. Because of my hard family situation, I used to have panic attacks pretty often. Just close your eyes and breathe. Not working.
While I was sitting there, trying to calm down my racing heart and wheezing breath, Jake seems to have realized what was going on. He came up to me quickly and knelt down across from me. He paid no attention to the dust dirtying his black pants or the coolness of the floor below us.
“Claire... Look at me” he said quietly with his calm voice. I slowly started to open my eyes and my weeping eyes met his frightened sapphire irises.
“Breathe with me now, okay?” He placed both hands on my tear-wet cheeks and began to breathe deeply, not taking his eyes off me. I began to imitate him and after a few shallow inhalations and exhalations, my breathing began to normalize. I felt the pressure in my chest ease.
I have no idea how long we just sat together, breathing. But one thing was for sure, I managed to calm down to some extent. My heart was still galloping, and tears were pouring from my eyes, but at least I could breathe fairly normally.
“I am so sorry for this, Claire I didn’t mean to make you cry...” he whispered, wiping tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. I gave him a look, letting him know I was listening. He sat down next to me removing one hand from my cheek and pulling me closer to him. I rested my head at his shoulder, and he stroked my hair gently.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked softly after a moment when we were sitting in silence.
I nodded. I really was feeling much better than earlier. “I-” I cleared my throat before speaking again “I’m sorry for this” I said quietly with my head still placed on his shoulder.
He moved slightly, so now he was facing me again.
“Listen to me, Claire.” he started, staring deeply into my eyes. His voice suddenly sounded very serious. He wanted me to take what he was saying seriously. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who should be sorry here, Claire and I am. I fucked up so bad.” I wanted to interject, say something, but he didn't give me the opportunity by speaking again. “I fucked up, Claire and it’s true. I know I’ve said this to you before, but I’m going to say this again. I shouldn’t have left you alone. No after all this, I-” he stopped for a second, wiping another tear from my cheek. I didn’t even realize I was crying again. “You said you were scared... I was so scared too. I was terrified when I found out they might be looking for you too. But what I’ve done was the stupidest fucking thing that anyone could ever do.” he sighed and embraced my hands in his own. “The truth is Claire, that I cannot stand even a thought of you being in danger. I can’t lose you.” the last sentence he practically whispered.
I stared at him, still processing in my head what I had just heard. The silence after his words was not awkward. We just sat like that staring at each other. I could feel my heart beating as he lifted one hand from my palms and ran his fingertips over my cheek.
“Jake...” I didn't know what to answer him, I felt the words trapped in my throat. All I could do was look into those lovely eyes of his, which were now filled with concern and sadness. And something else that I couldn't quite define. I squeezed his hand, which he still held in mine.
“I can’t lose you, Claire.” he whispered again. “You’re the only one that matters.” I released my hands from his grasp and moved them to his neck, slightly bringing his face closer to my own.
Without waiting any longer, I gently mussed his lips with mine. They were softer than I expected. I must have surprised him with this, because he seemed paralyzed at first.
I moved away a little to get another look at his face, but I wasn't given the chance to do that, because his hand resting on my cheek quickly drew me back to his lips. Meanwhile, his other hand rested on my waist, drawing me even closer to him. He sat more comfortably against the wall and pulled me so that I was sitting on top of him with my legs on either side of his hips.
He kissed me slowly, gently caressing my lips with his. He tasted like coffee, although I haven't seen him drink any recently. I moved my hand from his neck to his hair and ran it through it. I felt his raspy breath on my lips as he moved away slightly to take in air.
I giggled quietly, seeing him breathing heavily in front of me. I kissed him again, this time running my tongue over his bottom lip before pulling away again. His pupils widened. He didn't let me move far away as in just a moment his lips invaded mine again.
Now it was me who sighed quietly, feeling his tongue on my lips. My head spun and I felt a pleasant warmth in my lower abdomen. I gripped his hair tighter, pulling him even closer to me as my mouth opened to the silent request of his tongue. I whined quietly again, feeling it on my palate. He giggled, wrapping both his arms around my waist.
Finally, I shifted away from his warm lips and rested my forehead against his. He looked into my eyes smiling charmingly. God, that smile would be the death of me.
“So...” I said quietly while playing with the collar of his sweatshirt. “Are you going to sleep then?” He probably sensed the undertone in my playful voice, because he grinned, shaking his head slightly.
“Fine” he claimed “But we are going to sleep indeed. You need to rest before we could continue our ride tomorrow”
“Of course, what else were you thinking?” I asked him, acting indignant.
“Amusing” he commented sarcastically, helping me get out of his lap and standing with me. “Go take a shower, I'll quickly make sure we're safe and join you right away” Jake informed me, walking back to his laptop.
“You’ll join me in the shower or...” I started, but he cut me off.
“You’re unbelievable” he said, raising his eyebrow at me.
I chuckled. I took my clothes and disappeared behind the bathroom door. Surprisingly, the water was pleasantly warm. It wasn't what I expected from such a nasty place, but I wasn't going to complain about it.
I washed myself quickly, rinsing away all the stress I had been feeling lately. I had to admit that the earlier outburst was relieving. I finally felt relatively relaxed, knowing that behind the wall waiting for me was the black-haired boy who had recently confessed that I was the only thing that mattered to him. That was enough to calm me down.
I changed into my sleeping clothes and left the bathroom, peering at Jake sitting at the laptop. He noticed me and smiled at me. I returned the smile, heading toward the bed. I was already about to lie down when I noticed dust on the quilt. I squirmed and started looking around. I walked over to the closet, located opposite the bed, and opened it. The door squeaked when I pulled on it.
Jake was watching me the whole time from above his laptop.
“What are you doing?” he asked finally when he saw that I beamed slightly at the sight of what I found in the closet.
"Changing sheets." I explained "This one here is completely covered with dust" I pointed with my hand to the bed. He nodded as a sign of understanding and went back to typing on the keyboard, while I set about removing the dirty bedding.
After a while, I heard the laptop flap closing and looked at Jake.
“Alright, I guess we’re safe here” he said, but seeing my happy face he added “For now, of course. We still need to leave tomorrow morning”
“Well, at least they won't drag us out of bed in the middle of the night.” I joked. Jake chuckled.
“I'll go take a shower, too” he announced, rummaging for clothes in one of his backpacks. I nodded, putting on the last pillowcase. When the bathroom door closed behind him, I fell back on the bed tired from the whole day. I arranged myself comfortably on one side so as to leave room for him.
I don't know how long I lay like that with my eyes closed, trying to fall asleep. Suddenly I felt the mattress behind my back bending. The cool air assaulted me as Jake lifted the quilt behind me, laying down, right next to me.
I wanted to turn toward him but changed my mind when his strong arm wrapped around my waist, drawing me closer to him. I adjusted myself to his body, joining my right hand with his, which encircled my waist.
I smiled to myself, feeling the warmth of his body behind me and his calm, warm breath on the back of my neck.
"Goodnight, Claire," he finally said with a sleepy voice. Huh, I thought he thought I was asleep. Well, he didn't.
“Goodnight, Jake” I answered him in a whisper before completely drifting off into sleep.
At the time, I had no idea that it would be the best night's sleep I had had in several months. I also had no idea that it would be the same for Jake.