Fly Me Away

Chapter 41

I thought of something – why did Pirro come instead of Jackson? That was definitely odd.

“Is he through here?” I asked quietly. Pirro grunted and continued walking, which I think meant yes.

We went directly into the forest. It was eerie, and I got more and more nervous the further away from the hot fire we got. The moonlight bouncing off Pirro’s fuzzy back was the only visual aid I had, and I was following a bear through the forest at night for goodness sakes. Anyone looking from the outside would think I was crazy.

But I wasn’t.

Pirro stopped suddenly, and I walked straight into his backside. He grunted again and made a motion forward with his snout.

“Thank you,” I said quickly, before walking ahead of him in a suddenly burst of bravery.

Despite the incredibly dark surroundings, it didn’t take me long to find him there, sitting under a large tree, looking like a God as the moonlight shone on his stern face. I twisted back to check on Pirro, but he was gone.

I took a deep breath. All alone.

Jackson didn’t look at me as I approached; he remained completely still. His arms were rested on his knees and he had fallen back against the tree, his head looking slightly up, straight at the moon.

“Jack,” I spoke gently, scared of breaking the silence.

He didn’t respond. He didn’t even move. I took deliberately slow steps towards him, afraid of…something.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

He turned his face to me then and I froze. He was so beautiful. His hair was almost white in the moonlight and face was smooth like marble. His eyes, however, were duller than usual. Lacking that alertness they normally had.

I suddenly didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t gone into this with a plan.

I walked over and placed myself down beside him against the tree. He watched me right up until my face was just inches from his, then he turned away, back to the moon again. The earth was just damp enough to make the back of my shorts wet, but I didn’t care.

“Are you cold?” He asked. His low voice sounded a little bit raspy, maybe from lack of use, yet it pleased my ears.

I shook my head, “not really.”

Then we sat in silence. I have no idea how long for, but that was the most meaningful silence I would ever experience. We were both clearly upset, both for the same reason, but we weren’t really sure what to say. Should we be saying goodbye? Or should we be coming up with some kind of solution.

“Our last night together,” Jackson finally announced, flexing his hands and not removing his gaze from the moon.

I had so many things to add to that, but again, where did I start?

“A…are you sure?” I stumbled.

He shook his head, “No.”

“Then why say it?”

“I wanted to see you react.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and turned to him. He was still. “Why?”

“I like watching you react.” He shrugged and the corners of his lips turned up.

I ignored that. “Can you just stay?”

I watched him carefully, and a small smile crept up and graced his features. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“How does it work then? Is there something I can do?” I adjusted my position, beginning to get riled up, “I don’t want you to leave me yet, I still need you here.”

“You won’t need me anymore.”

“I will!” I urged, my blood boiling.

“Don’t be like this.”

“Like what?!”

“Angry,” he said lazily, “don’t be angry.”

I breathed shakily and screwed up my face. “I’m not angry,” I blatantly lied. I didn’t even believe myself.

He finally turned to me, hearing my obvious lie and comparing it with my outraged facial expression. He laughed, looking angelic and serene. This made me angrier.

“Tell me what you’re feeling then,” he requested with a slight, lazy smirk on his face.

He was making me so mad! How could he sit there and look like all of this didn’t bother him? I was pouring my heart out, on the verge of begging and groveling on my knees for him to stay and he was just mulling over it.

I sighed and tried to calm myself. I pinched the bridge of my nose and looked down.

“I’m not entirely sure….” I swallowed, dropping my hand, “…what a broken heart feels like. This could be it.”

The silence that ensured after my statement was painful. That knife in my chest was twisting with every second that passed without him responding. That heart breaking knife.

“A broken heart….” He repeated whimsically to himself. His head fell back against the tree and he closed his eyes, “I never meant to do this…”

“I still love you, you know. I don’t think I can stop.”

I sat and listened to his breathing. I wasn’t going to cry, I always cried. I was going to wait. He turned to me and I spotted him from the corner of my eye. My own head was down, focusing intently on that ring on my finger.

“Were these different circumstances...”

“Different as in,” I tried to swallow that lump in my throat again. Why wouldn’t it just bugger off? “if you had a choice?”

He nodded solemnly, “Yes.”

“I suppose there’s nothing I can do,” I murmured.

Completely crushed and feeling as if there was no point in trying anymore, I clambered to my feet. I screwed up my face again, urging myself not to cry. Don’t cry Maggie, don’t do it.

“Maggie,” he stopped me. I was left half standing, he had my wrist.

He was sad now, I could see that. Finally. His lips were turned down and his eyes pleading, something other than indifference from him. I dropped back onto the ground, facing him.

I took a breath, “You told me didn’t you? You said I shouldn’t get too attached because you would leave,” I admitted.

“When I said that—” he stopped, suddenly realizing what he was about to say and cutting it off. I frowned. He sighed, frustrated, “I was telling myself. I was warning myself.”

This confused me. I waited patiently for him to continue.

“I’ve lied to you Maggie. That first day, the afternoon at the top of the trail, you remember that don’t you?”

Of course. “Yes.”

“I had been following you for a few months before then. You were so beautiful that day, I remember being overwhelmed by you. The wind in your hair, the sun lighting up your skin, your eyes…. That was when I made a spur of the moment decision to meet you. I had completely selfish motives— I just wanted you to look at me. I wanted to talk to you and ask you questions and find out what you thought of everything. I wanted to be closer to you.”

My breath got caught in my throat.

His eyebrows knitted together, “I wasn’t supposed to do it again. I wasn’t supposed to keep seeing you.”

“I’m glad you did,” I whispered, feeling the blush creep up to my cheeks. I looked away quickly.

“I was too,” he smiled, but it quickly faded, “right up until now.”

Despite how good it felt, how much I loved the burning fire he’d just ignited in me, did I really want to hear any of this? Should I have just cut the tie right then? My stomach was full of butterflies as his words shattered the cold silence of the forest. I wanted him to kiss me then. Make the break harder, I didn’t care.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to control myself, "Kiss me Jackson....please."

My eyes shot back open and my heart leapt to my throat when he leaned in close, no hesitation, moving his arm over me and placing his hand on the grass on the other side of me. I was pinned against the tree and frozen with shock. His stern face was right there, only inches until his lips were on mine.

He lifted his hand and his fingertips brush across my jaw line very slowly. I closed my eyes. They felt like feathers gliding softly across my skin. The hairs on my arms stood up when his hand scooped around my neck and his thumb stroked my cheek.

“Your heart’s racing,” he murmured, the tip of his nose now grazing my cheekbone.

I could hear his soft breathing. I could feel it on my lips now. “I know,” I whispered. It came out so quietly I thought I had just imagined it.

Then he kissed me, exactly how I wanted. Agonizingly slowly, and so gentle it made me desperate for more. I hadn’t forgotten the sweet taste of his mouth since last time. My shaking hands lifted, but my thoughts were so incoherent they didn’t know where to go.

He deepened his kiss and I couldn’t think anymore. My body was pressed right up against the tree, and he held me close. It was then, muddled and dazed, that my hands found there place; on his shoulders, around his neck, in his hair.

In the back of my mind, this was a bad idea. That part had no control over my actions however, and I couldn’t have been more consumed by this kiss. I never wanted it to end. I never wanted him to let me go. This wasn’t fair. We’d only just started. We’d finally gotten somewhere, he couldn’t leave…

I tried pulled away reluctantly, just to say something, though there was really nowhere to go. Jackson noticed and kindly gave me some room, but stayed close enough to resume whenever I was ready. He was frowning slightly, not wanting to stop. My skin tingled and the butterflies stirred.

I was trying to speak, but his eyes skimmed over my face continuously and he drew nearer and nearer by the second. My head was still muddled and trying to form a sentence was difficult, especially with his hands beginning to roam. I closed my eyes and took a moment.

“…do you hate me?” I managed to whisper, feeling my eyebrows knitting.

He stopped, frozen solid for a moment, then kissed me hard again. “No…” he murmured against my lips. The butterflies erupted from my stomach and flew into a frenzy.

I had more to say, but that wasn’t happening. We kissed for an immeasurably long time. The moonlight had shifted across the sky by the time I’d pulled away and managed to breathe again. It lit up the earth from a different angle.

He was stealing kisses now, moving to my jaw and my neck while I tried to speak, “Jackson….”

He lifted his head and met my eyes. He looked lovely and wild, like he’d just had some heavy burden lifted. His smile was seductive and his eyes blazed though mine intently. Realizing I couldn’t get the right words out, I changed my expression, hoping he knew me enough to be able to read it. It didn’t take long and his eyes turned frightened when he realized what I wanted to hear.

“I’ve loved you since the first time I met you,” he breathed, his low voice drenched with sincerity.

I was winded.

“And I’m sorry for lying. I’m sorry for everything, I’ve really ruined this for you. For us.”

“No…no you haven’t ruined anything Jackson.”

“The amount of times I upset you,” He looked away and shook his head like it was the most atrocious thing anyone could do, “You have no idea how much I wanted to just….tell you everything. Every second of the day I planned too, yet… I still sat there and watched you cry over me, thinking it was best."

I smiled sadly. He looked so sincere. There was no way I could have known about this inner battle he was having. “I know you meant well,” I whispered.

“And now,” He looked up at me, “we’ll never get our chance.”

That stung.

“No,” I shook my head and spoke quickly, placing my hands along on his face desperately, “Let’s go.”

His eyebrows turned upwards, wanting to give me what I wanted, but fearing he was unable, “Go where?”

Anywhere,” I urged “Let’s fly Jackson. Fly me away.”

“Fly you away…” he whispered. That same fearful puppy dog look trapped on his face.

“We can run from the demons and they’ll keep following us. If we keep moving, we can stay together for as long as we want,” I suggested. I didn’t know what I was saying. I hadn’t thought it through. All I knew was that I wanted him, and he needed to stay with me.

He sat motionless and silent for a long time thinking about it. Then he sighed and placed a hand over one of mine. “I’m sorry Maggie.”

I sighed too, somewhat expecting that answer.

“I don’t want to be away from you,” I pleaded, refusing to let him go.

He shook his head, “I can’t see a reason for me to stay after this.”

“I see reasons. Many reasons.”

“Maggie….”

“What if….what if something still comes after me? That’s possible right?”

His face had gone blank now. Depressed. I wasn’t helping.

“Come on,” Jackson said, ignoring my pleading and moving to get up. He gracefully unfolded and stood at full height, then lifted me up like the giant baby I was. I let him.

He walked swiftly back to camp, with me silently nestled in his arms. The fire was still roaring. There was only one set of eyes staring at us as we entered the opening. One lonesome nymph was seated on the log next to the fire. She smiled sadly at us, then disappeared.

“You can put me down,” I whispered, not wanted to wake the sleeping Pip.

Jackson obliged and I shakily stood on my own two feet. I had forgotten about the no energy thing, but now that the adrenaline was gone, my body felt like Jelly.

“You should get some sleep Maggie,” Jackson advised, slipping an arm around my waist to steady me.

I managed to twist around and force it into a hug. “No,” I said stubbornly into his shirt. He smelt like smoky Jackson, most likely stemming from the fire.

He chuckled softly, angelically, and wrapped both his arms around me, squeezing me close.

“You frown like a child when you disagree with me,” he pulled away a little so he could get a look at my face, “very endearing.”

I blushed furiously, embarrassed, and I over exaggerated the frown. He laughed.

“Jackson, just say no… If someone up there wants you to leave, please say no….”

“You know I’m going to try,” he smiled softly and kissed the end of my nose.

Was this really happening? Was Jackson really hugging me and kissing my nose? I continued to blush, glad it was so dark, not that that would hinder his vision.

“Oh. Good,” I chimed lightly, looking at him from beneath my eyelashes and grinning. I cursed myself when my brain forced me to yawn.

He smiled back, “time for bed, Mags.”

Jackson lifted me up again and carried me fireman styles towards the tent. I laughed at his use of Pips nickname for me, thinking it sounded strange coming from him. I needed to muffle my laughter into his sleeve.

The tent was huge, and it had two separate rooms. Jackson put me down and I tiptoed passed the wall separating the rooms to check on Pip. Quiet snores and a messy mop of red hair on the bed meant she was already fast asleep.

“She’s done very well through all of this,” Jackson whispered into my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist as we overlooked Pip, “She’s a good friend to you.”

“I know,” I sighed. Really, she shouldn’t be caught up in this at all.

He picked me up again wordlessly. “Hey!” I hissed.

He had no problem moving me over to the small mattress I’d woken up on earlier and lying me down, ignoring my constant struggling.

“I told you I don’t want to sleep,” I insisted.

“You should,” he urged. The tent was dark. I couldn’t tell whether he was agitated with my stubbornness or not.

I squirmed around as quietly as I could, flailing my limbs in all directions to try and escape his iron grasp. I couldn’t really see, but I could faintly make out his perfect white smile in the dark. He started chuckling.

I was just about ready to start hitting him, when I was suddenly pinned down by all his weight. My heart was pounding against my ribcage; was he straddling me?! Oh my God. This was not like him. All train of thought was lost when his lip’s found mind effortlessly and I was caught in another one of his irresistible kisses. He pulled back far too quickly then and sat up, grinning ear to ear.

“Wow…” I breathed. This angel was going to give me heart problems.

“Sleep Maggie,” he purred in from in front of me, closer to me than I’d thought.

“O…okay.”

He laughed quietly, “If only I’d known it was so easy to get you to listen to me a bit earlier.”

I nodded mindlessly, still in a daze.

He shifted then, taking his weight off and moving so he could get me under the covers. I regained some composure and assisted, glad that I was already in reasonably appropriate clothes to sleep in. The mattress was as comfortable as I’d remembered. I wondered how they’d managed to get it all the way out here unnoticed…?

Jackson leaned over and pulled all the blankets right up to my chin, pinning me under the heavy material. I took a deep breath, knowing that I had to stay put now. He laughed light heartedly and brushed the hair out of my eyes.

“I don’t want to sleep,” I complained in a whisper, in one last ditch attempt.

“You need too.”

And that was that. Jackson stayed at my bedside with me for a few minutes, I wasn’t sure why. If he was waiting for me to fall asleep, it wasn’t helping his cause; I wasn’t even going to try with him in such close proximity.

Then, as if he’d just read my mind, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead, “Goodnight Maggie.”

I struggled to pull my arms out from under the covers so I could keep him close, trap him in a vice grip of my own, but I never got the chance. By the time my hands were free, all I could see was his beautiful silhouette standing before the entrance to the tent.

“Jackson,” I called out. I didn’t mean to be so loud.

He hesitated for a moment, "yes?"

When I didn't respond, he took a step back towards me. “Is something wrong?” He asked, worried.

“Would you stay with me?” I didn’t even care how pathetic that sounded.

I couldn’t see his face, but I wanted to. The silence while he contemplated this was long and I was having trouble trying to stay awake now.

“Will you sleep?” he asked warily. I nodded.

He sat down and folded his legs beside me, his back resting against the side of the tent. I sighed, annoyed at how tired I really was, and rolled over trying to get comfortable. I spent a good half a minute begging my eyes to adjust to the darkness so I could stare at him, but they weren’t doing what I wanted. They were stinging with tiredness now, and once I shut them, to my extreme displeasure, I fell straight to sleep.

I must have been dreaming when Jackson laid down next to me, fitting so perfectly on my little mattress and wrapped his arms around me. ‘Sleep well,’he might have whispered, but I also might have dreamed it.
♠ ♠ ♠
Big fat chapter for you :)

I've started a new story since this one is drawing to a close, so pop over and have a read if you've got some time. Deja Vu it's called.

I dunno. Go have a squizz.