The Fine Line of Love and Hate

What did I do? I’m so stupid!
I really hurt him and now I can’t even make up for it!
Damnit!!
I hopped my way to the back door to see if I could spot Jereth.
The rain was still coming in torrents and visibility was horrendous.
Damn it to hell!
I opened the door and made my way onto the back porch.
“Jereth! I’m sorry! Jereth, please! I didn’t mean it!” I yelled out into the wet abyss until my voice was hoarse. I ran my hands across my face to feel tears on my cheeks.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no! I cannot be crying over you!” I spoke out to Jereth; my only response the howling of the wind through the trees and thunder in the distance.
What do I do? What do I do?! WHAT DO I DO?!
My mind was irrational and going haywire.
I knew I had to find Jereth; do I go get dad and waste precious time? Or do I just go now?
I put a slight amount of pressure on my ankle to test its stability and, surprisingly, it didn’t hurt at all.
You won’t be saying that in the morning, I told myself.
But at the moment I didn’t give a flip: my Charge is out there and in possible danger.
I ran, on two feet, back into the house and straight into the utility room.
I threw on a light sweater, although I knew it would be soaked within just a moment, a pair of loose jeans, I put them on over my pajamas because I didn’t need to waste time and I had a feeling it was going to get cold after I’ve been soaked through for a few minutes, and my tennis shoes.
I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the emergency first aid kit that was located underneath the sink.
Just as I was about to head out the door, a light came on.
“Lyla? What are you doing?” I heard Anyita ask sleepily. I turned around and shut the light off.
“Jereth is in the woods. I need you to go tell dad in a few minutes.”
“Why is he out in the woods? Why do you need me to tell dad?” She asked.
“Just go tell him in seven minutes time, okay? I don’t want him to try to keep me from looking for Jereth.”
Anyita looked at the clock. “Seven minutes. Okay. I can do that.” I kissed her on the head and ran out the door.
***
My night vision is superb compared to any and every human; even so, it was difficult to see in the pitch black and whipping wind that I was currently facing.
I was racing as fast as my legs could carry me, towards Jereth’s house.
I knew that Jereth would probably head home, but what worried me is that, in between our two houses, there is a creek. A creek with a bridge; but at the moment I couldn’t even see three feet in front of me. I was basically relying on all my sense to keep me from running into things. I had years of training; Jereth didn’t.
I kept telling my heart that the only reason I felt like a panicked rabbit was because he was my Charge, he’s going to be, at least, and I didn’t want him to die.
I knew there were some underlying feelings but I didn’t have the time, or the patience, to search them out.
“Jereth!” I called out; hoping for answer, something.
I got nothing.
No.
I cursed every time I slipped on the sodden ground.
My mind kept running over the stupid crap I said and I couldn’t make it stop.
I raced to the bridge and yelled out for him; getting no reply.
My heart stuttered as another thought entered my mind.
The drop-off where I fell and broke my ankle isn’t far from here. In this rain, it’s very easy to be turned around. It’s been raining for hours; the water level has probably risen dangerously high. If he slides down, he’s a goner.
I came to a complete stop as those last words rang through my head.
He’s a goner.
“I-I can’t lose him!” I cried out to anybody that was listening.
I pushed my tired muscles as fast as they would go.
I made it to the drop-off and latched onto a tree; terrified of falling again.
I am a Zelphus; I shouldn’t be afraid of falling, I thought to myself. If I fall, I’ll just get back up . . .
“Jereth?! Are you down there?!” I yelled as loud as my sore lungs could handle; and still louder then.
“JERETH!”
“Lyla! I’m down here! I’m slipping! Hurry!” I heard Jereth yell.
I wrapped one of my hands around a thin pine tree and reached down for Jereth’s hand.
I could barely make out his shape but even then I still knew he was too far down; he wouldn’t be able to reach my hand.
My thoughts were confirmed when Jereth said these next words.
“I can’t reach you, Lyla.”
“Ah!” He cried out as I heard him slip slightly.
“Hold on!” I screamed.
I could hear the water rushing down below us at a ferocious pace.
I threw the first aid kit on the ground and searched for a flashlight.
I pulled a tiny, black one out and looked down at the water with it.
It was really high. I’d never seen it this high.
I leaned down a little farther and that’s when it happened.
I slipped. Again.
“AH!” I screamed as I grappled for something to hold my weight.
After I heard a grunt of pain from Jereth, I stopped screaming and realized I wasn’t falling any longer.
I felt Jereth’s arm around my waist and turned my head to look at what little bit I could see of him.
“You caught me?” I whimpered.
I saw a flash of his white teeth in the darkness. “It’s all in the timing.” And then he kissed me.
My eyes went wide as Jereth cold lips moved slowly over mine.
I leaned into the kiss and placed one of my hands on the back of his wet head.
His arm tightened around my waist and I put my other hand on the nape of his neck.
The kiss was just starting to deepen when a loud crack of thunder, with lightning lighting up the sky, pulled us out of it.
I was the first to pull away.
You know how little girls talk about having their first kiss in the pouring rain and how it would be so romantic? Well it’s not. Pneumonia isn’t romantic.
“W-we should probably figure out a way to get up.” I whispered.
“Yeah. My arm is starting to go numb.” I looked at the arm that was wrapped tightly around a small tree. That arm was keeping both of us from plunging into forty feet of ice cold water.
I felt around for the flashlight; but you know with my luck it wouldn’t be there.
“It’s really slippery; I think we should grab onto trees and pull ourselves up, one by one.” I said.
“Okay. You can go first.”
I looked at him suspiciously.
“Why me?”
“If it won’t hold you it won’t hold me. Plus, if you fall I’ll be down here to catch you.”
“Oh. Um, okay.”
He held me up as far as he could and I grasped onto some branches; pulling myself up.
I latched onto a tree and reached up to the next tree.
I put my weight on the tree and it snapped, sending me falling once again.
I flailed my arms out; trying to grab onto another tree.
My right arm came in contact with a small tree and I came to an abrupt stop.
Just now, I started noticing the rain had stopped.
By the way the sky was turning orange; I knew that dawn wasn’t too far away.
“Are you okay?!” I heard Jereth yell from down below me.
“Yeah. The tree was rotted. I’m fine.”
I continued to climb.
Tree after tree; pull up, breathe, reach out, pull up.
My hands and the soft flesh of under my forearms were getting raw from the rough bark of the trees.
When the trees were starting to get horizontal again, I knew I was getting close to solid ground, metaphorically speaking of course.
I turned my head and yelled back to Jereth to start climbing up. After hearing a grunt of acknowledgement, I turned around and kept climbing.
After what felt like hours, but what must’ve been only a few minutes, of climbing, my head was level with the soaked, horizontal Earth.
I laughed out loud and threw my arms out to grip the ground; struggling to get myself up that last little bit.
Suddenly, I got a push from behind and, combined with my efforts, I flew up and over; sprawling out onto the sweet grass.
I recovered my senses quickly and went to help pull Jereth up.
A few minutes later, we were both laying in the wet grass, panting.
Jereth rolled on his side to look at me and I did the same.
“We did it.” He said with a smile.
“You did it. If you hadn’t of caught me then I would have, more than likely, drowned.
“Yeah, but if we wouldn’t have helped each other, bit by bit, then neither one of us would’ve made it.”
“We make a good team.” I said.
“We do.”
“I didn’t mean, what I said, earlier.” I was a little embarrassed to be saying this but it was my mouth that got us into this then my mouth could get us out.
“I know. How long have we been out here?”
“Several hours. You ran out of the house around three this morning.”
“Wow.”
“We should, uh, probably head back. I don’t know how long that whole pill I took is going to last but I have a feeling it won’t be much longer.” I rolled onto my stomach and started to push myself onto my feet.
“I still can’t believe you did that.” He shook his head in wonder.
“Did what?” I looked at him strangely.
“Ran, in the pouring rain, with a two broken bones, to come and find me, when you could’ve gotten your dad and sent a search party out for me.”
I shrugged. “You’re my Charge and no matter how much I act like I don’t care, I still know you. I’d know you better than the guards who would’ve come to find you. I knew you were hurt so you would’ve gone home; I was lucky you didn’t slide in before I got there.”
“You mean I was lucky?”
“No, I mean I was lucky. You’re my Charge. I want to be a Kellknight and you’re the only one I’ll get. I couldn’t lose you.”
“That’s your reason. Sure.” He drug out the word to emphasize his unbelief.
“That is my reason!” I argued.
“Uh-huh. It makes it even more believable when you were sucking the air out of my lungs an hour ago.” He looked smug.
“Hey! You started it! You kissed me first!” I slapped his shoulder playfully.
“Well, you weren’t complaining.” He laughed.
“Shut up.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
I gasped and fell to the ground.
“Ow!” I grabbed my ankle.
“Pain medication wore off?” He bent down beside me and pressed on my ankle. I howled in pain.
“Yeah. It’s worn off.” He answered his own question.
He put an arm underneath my shoulder and helped me to stand.
A while of hopping later we reached the field that led to my house.
I could see my house through the trees and there were people everywhere.
“You can tell that Jereth Kell is missing.” I giggled.
“Along with a Kellknight’s first born daughter.” He retorted.
I rolled my eyes.
We were almost to the house and we could hear the yells of people in a frantic.
Jereth stopped abruptly, so, obviously, I had to stop too.
“Before we get back and everyone asks us if we’re okay fifteen thousand times, I wanna ask you something.” He was looking down.
I looked at him expectantly. “Well?”
“W-will you go o-out with me?” He looked up and blushed.
I blushed and swallowed. I nodded.
He grinned and kissed my cheek. “Now, let’s head into the wolf’s den.”
“Get ready to be eaten alive.” I replied.