The Wind Blows

Her eyes hurt, like sand paper mixed with fire. Her head ached, and her bones were stiff, but it was the best sleep she'd gotten in so long. And if it weren't for the boy lying next to her, with his head propped atop the cream colored pillow, and a part set between his thin lips as he inhaled and exhaled slowly, she would've still been searching for excuses to not receive any rest at all.

With the raise of her head she looked over at the clock that was sitting on the night stand - its red lights flashing 9:30AM as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight pouring in from the window nearby. She sunk back down into the bed, not wanting to move, not wanting to get up, just wanting to lie there, and talk about things, meaningless shit that never really mattered.

Her green eyes slowly wondered over to the sleeping boy, who was lying across the sheets on his back. She studied the way his chest would rise, and fall gradually with every breath taken in, and put out. She memorized the subtle scars on his face, and the soft freckles that were placed perfectly on his pink skin. She simply watched him sleep, and for whatever reason that made her feel at peace.

And after a few minutes passed, and the morning grew on he came alive, stretching his long arms above his head, as he turned his head, looking to her with a timid smile on his half tilted lips.

But for whatever reason she didn't give one back - with a sinking feeling in her stomach, she couldn't muster up enough strength to give a smile in return.

He rolled his body over so he was facing her, as he tucked his hand beneath the pillow his head was lying on, while his eyes were latched onto her green ones.

"How did you sleep?" His voice was deep, and rough, and she couldn't stop herself from looking away from his deep stare.

"I slept well," she said softly, "probably the best I've slept in a while."

She watched the way his slanted smile grew just faintly on his pink lips before they whispered a, "Me too," in response. She hadn't seen him smile like that in god knows how long, and for whatever reason she could feel the guilt churn inside her emotions for being the one that placed it there.

But no matter what, she had no intentions of making it fade - so she continued to lie there in her bed next to him, and she continued to ask him to tell her stories, and tell her things she didn't know about her sister- that she didn't know about him - and that she didn't know about life in general.

She liked hearing his stories of where he'd been, and where he'd played - the people he'd met, and the friends he'd made - much like the stories she'd heard from Kennedy before things crumbled. She was fascinated by him, and his ambitions - and the way he talked about life in such a carefree way. And for an hour that's all they did was lie in her bed, and swap stories, like everything was fine, and for just a few seconds everything was back to normal.

And after that hour was up they moved to kitchen, where they continued to talk over coffee and cereal.

She watched his green eyes shift to the clock nearby, as he pushed back his chair from the kitchen table, and rinsed his bowl and spoon inside the stainless steel sink.

"I should probably head out soon."

She pushed back her chair to stand up from her seat, as she grabbed her bowl, and walked over to where he stood at the sink, "You um - you don't have to leave so soon."

She fumbled with her dishes before she let her eyes drift up to his. He gave her a faint smile of reassurance, knowing that she was scared - scared of being alone once he'd leave - scared of feeling empty again.

He sighed, and combed a few fingers through his golden hair, "I have to go run a few errands."

"Oh." She nodded her head in understanding and folded her arms over her chest, as she tried to disguise the disappointment in her voice.

"But after I'm done maybe you'd like to go out," his green eyes darted from her silhouette to the tiled floor almost too quickly for her to even notice, "I'm sure you'd like to get out of this place - I mean you've kind of become a home body."

"Am not!," she slapped his chest with her hand, and scrunched up her face, "You’re no better, you know?"

He rubbed at the spot on his chest with his fingers - his figure towering over the small girl as he studied her, with a lopsided smirk on his pink lips. He wanted to say something, but for whatever reason he wasn't able to muster up something worth saying.

His mouth was dry, and his heart was beating loudly within his ears, and everything around him was blurred from existence except for her face - her smile - and her mint green eyes that were burning up into his. And as he took a step closer, and leaned down to press his lips to the apple of her cheek, he found himself gradually letting go of pieces of Anna that he'd promised himself he'd never let go.

Anna wrapped her small fingers around the soft fabrics of his shirt as her lips pressed flush against his, and his hands gripped roughly at her waist.

"Guess what?" She pressed her lips against his, before pulling away once more, as their feet stumbled sloppily into the dark apartment, "Dani's out with Kenny, so we have the apartment to ourselves tonight."

He pushed her body inside the door, "I wonder what we can do with so much freedom." He smirked as they both kicked their shoes off at the door, and continued their positions of being connected at the mouth and hips.

She just smiled, and pressed her lips back into his, as her fingers curled into the sand colored hair along the back of his head. He liked the way she tasted - he liked the way her full lips moved slowly against his, and the way she'd pull on his bottom lip playfully with her teeth, just to make him crave a little more.

And with his hands gripping her hips they stumbled blindly through the darkness, not bothering to hit the lights - not bothering to look where they were going as their feet tripped over one another's, and their hands clawed, and tugged at each others clothes, until the fabric disappeared from their skin, and littered the floor, leaving a trail to her bedroom.

And in his opinion none of it lasted long enough - it never did. The kissing - the touching - the breathing - the teasing - the sweet words - the closeness, and the sense of closure - none of it ever lasted long enough. Even when taking it slow, the end always seemed to catch up too quickly. There was never enough time for him to make her feel alive again.

He brushed his fingers lightly across her cheek, as she lay limp atop his body in the subtle darkness with her heavy head resting on his bare chest, and her ear intently listening to his beating heart.

"What are you thinking about?" She whispered softly, just loud enough for him to hear as her blue eyes stared at the lonely window across the room from the warm bed where they lay.

"Just thinking about what I'm going to do about leaving you here," he muttered quietly, "You know that I don't like leaving you here alone," he whispered honestly, trying to push back the doubt that was breaking through his thoughts.

He loosely combed his long fingers through her soft brown hair, letting them travel down the smooth skin across her back in the process. She released a weighted sigh as she raised her head, and propped her chin up on his chest, looking at him through the haze in her eyes.

But he wasn't looking back - his green eyes seemed to be too focused on the white ceiling that had turned black in the dark room., while his mind lingered somewhere else.

She pressed her full lips against the ink across his chest, letting her warm breath hit the pink skin before she'd pressed her mouth down against him. She liked the way his hands slid down her skin, before his fingertips would sink down into her hips, and he'd anchor her body deep and closely against his.

Her lips pressed flush against his, as their bodies rolled along the pile of wrinkled sheets - his body falling over hers, as his palms pushed her back further - deeper within the mattress of the bed.

He peered down at the fragile girl lying beneath him, with tears burning in her soft blue eyes, and saline wetting the skin on her face. He kissed her face - and he kissed away the tears that were running down her cheeks, and across her neck, as her legs wrapped there way around his bare waist to obtain closeness.

She threw her arms around his neck, and buried her face into his shoulder as she silently wept into his damp skin.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

His voice was so soft in the quiet room, and all that could be heard were the subtle sniffles that came from the girl who was silently weeping with her lips pressed into his shoulder. He just kissed her neck, and drew shapes into her hips with his fingers, waiting patiently to hear her voice ring through his ears.

"I wish you'd stay - that's all," she choked out, knowing how selfish her words were coming across as, "I just need you here for me."

"Anna, I will always be here for you."

He kissed her shoulder, and rolled over onto his back, carrying her with him, holding her small body closely against his chest as he sat up, with her legs still wrapped around his waist, and her arms still embracing his neck.

He used the back of his fingers to brush away a few tears that were still resting on the surface of her rosy cheeks, before kissing her lips lightly - tasting the salt that lingered behind on their soft surface.

He pressed his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes at the feel of her breath hitting his face, before opening them again.

"What are you so scared of, hm?" He questioned carefully, trying his best not to disturb the troubled girl who was sitting in his lap, with her chest pressed against his, and her head laying down to rest on his shoulder.

He ran his rough hands in patterns up, and down the soft skin along her bare thighs, as his lips pressed a kiss against her collarbone. She closed her hurtful eyes, and let out a shaky breath that she'd been holding in as her words came to the surface of her tongue.

"I'm always scared you'll find someone better when you leave," she squeezed he eyes tighter together, and pulled him even closer, "and then you won't want to come back home to me."

He felt his heart sink deep inside his chest, like an anchor plummeting to the bottom of the empty sea. And maybe it was the sickening feeling in his stomach that made him want to hold her close, and never let her go.


She sung along softly to the song that was pouring through the speakers of the old pickup truck, not giving a care that the boy next to her was smiling at the fact that she knew every word to the sweet melody.

"There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how," she hummed, taping her fingers lightly against her knees that were pulled up to her chest as she sang to herself, "Cause maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me. And after all you're my wonder wall-"

"You know, you sing that pretty well."

She felt the blush creep along her cheeks at the subtle compliment that John had given her. She never really knew how to handle a compliment - she was always modest, and never liked to brag or flaunt any talents that may have been hidden beneath what people really saw her to be.

"Thanks." She muttered softly, as she let her green eyes drift down towards her lap in hopes he wouldn't notice the embarrassment that was rising to the surface of her skin.

He smiled to himself, and shifted the gears of the old pickup into the par position before shutting off the truck, and pulling out the keys from the ignition slot.

"Um we're here." He mumbled.

She gazed out the window seeing nothing but trees and water for miles to go, before peering back over to John, watching him run his long fingers through his hair, and rolling his eyes at her questionable expression.

"Just get out." He ordered with a subtle chuckle as he threw open the metal door, and jumped out onto the dirt covered soil. Dani followed close behind, meeting him out in front of the truck, where her eyes wandered over the landscape that stood out with it's calming scenery.

He leaned back against the truck looking out at the calm blue water that reminded him of a pair of eyes he longed to see in more than just his memory, and the thoughts that were pushed to the back of his mind.

"I used to bring your sister out here a lot. She always liked it here. She said it made her feel at peace, like we were the only two people, and no one would ever know we were here" he said softly, before shifting his green eyes to peer over at the girl who stood with her feet planted closely next to his, "I promised her we'd go in one last time, before I left. - But that was before things got bad, and we never got the chance to." He shook the bad thoughts from his mind before they became too vivid.

Her eyes turned to his, and she watched as a slight smirk pulled on his thin lips, knowing exactly what he intended to say, before it was even spoken, "You wanna go in?"

And for the first time in so long she was scared, not in fear, but emotionally terrified of living her life - terrified she might make a mistake that she'd never be able to correct. She hated the way her heart was gaining speed with every beat pounding against her chest - the way he made her feel safe, when he should never have made her feel anything at all.

And before she knew it he was grabbing at the ends of his shirt, and lifting it over his head, causing her eyes to look away even though she'd seen him without a shirt on multiple times before.

"I dunno John - you don't know what's in that water - and - and we don't even have our swimsuits on-"

He looked at her as his fingers went to the buckle of the belt around his jeans, "You're wearing underwear aren't you?"

She nodded her head, "Yeah but-"

"Then you'll be fine," his fingers began to fumble with the button and zipper of his pants, "I swear - Anna and I have gone swimming in this lake multiple times - there's no monsters. I promise." He winked subtly at her, as his feet hopped out of his jeans, and he threw the pile of wrinkled clothes into the bed of his truck.

"So are you going to get undressed, or am I going to have to toss you in with your clothes on?" He teased as he walked past her, clad in only his boxers, with her green eyes having a hard time avoiding his silhouette as he stood at the edge of the small cliff that was overhanging the large body of water.

She watched him make a dive into the warm surface, holding her own breath until his head popped back up for air. She bit down on the skin along her lip, as her eyes observed him from land, and he begged from the blue water for her to come in.

So she closed her eyes, and inhaled the air sharply, before releasing it.

"Here goes nothing." She whispered to herself, as she gripped the hem of her grey v-neck, and peeled it from her pink skin. The slight breeze gave her shivers, and she could feel his eyes watching her every move from the small distance that was set in between them. But she tried to ignore his gaze as her fingers nervously fumbled with the zipper, letting her shorts slip down her legs till they fell to her feet.

And as she tossed her clothes on top of his, and her bare feet sunk into the ground as she walked across the dirt, and mud, coming closer to the waters edge, all she could do was watch him watch her.

Her feet and legs hit the warm water, as she wrapped her arms around her half naked body, and stopped her tracks once the waterline managed to rise to her knees.

"You know if you get in further you won't be as cold."

"I'm fine."

He laughed lightly at the way her teeth were chattering, as she shivered when she spoke.

"I don't believe you." He said, swimming closer until his legs were able to trudge through the water, and his body was rising up above its surface, with a sly smirk pulling on his lips.

"John seriously I - I'm fine." She stuttered as she stepped back, and shot him a warning glare - that told him to not come any closer.

But he simply smiled, and kept walking towards her, not paying much attention to what she was saying, and the looks she was sending him. And as he came close enough to reach out and touch her, she tried to fight off his hands with her own, begging - pleading for him to stop - her screams ringing through their ears - even though she secretly hoped he wouldn't quit without putting up a fight.

She was laughing as his arms extended outward, and managed to wrap around her small waist, pulling her up from the water that was splashing around them, with his wet skin pressed against hers as he carried her out further into the water.

But they weren't able to get too far before their legs fell weak with laughter, and they collapsed into the shallow water below. Her body fell on top of his, and she was trying to remember how to breathe as their laughter slowly settled into the sounds of the water barely moving around them.

"You're such an ass." She mumbled through her teeth, with the warmth of her breath striking his face as she tried to hide the smile that was showing though her eyes.

"You were asking for it." He muttered softly in reply.

Her hands were sinking further in the mud at the bottom of the shallow water that they were lying in, and with every second her body was deepening further into his, and for whatever reason she didn't want to stop it. She could feel his fingers moving up, and over her bare skin beneath the lakes surface as their eyes anchored down onto one another's, and nothing else was said.

Her heart was beating against her chest like a million drums, and her mind was sifting through wondrous thoughts of, if this was what he wanted too? And if it was, was he willing to see this through, and make room inside his heart for someone who might be able to save him from this misery that they were both suffering through, while living their lives both separate and apart.