I Wanted to Believe

Sophia sat on the park bench; the same spot that she had spent every evening for the past week. Thunder echoed from somewhere in the sky, earning a sigh to escape from her pink lips.

She returned to wait patiently under the same tree every night since she had seen Jack. At this point, she chalked it up as a figment of her imagination. But the girl was eager to feel his tentative touch again. So she sat and watched as joggers and children slowly disappeared, leaving her alone to her thoughts.

Bright light filled the sky as a bolt of lightening illuminated the park. Pushing herself up off the wooden bench, she quickly glanced at her surroundings. With no sight of another soul anywhere near her, she walked to the road and hailed a cab down for a ride home.

Sophia knew that her time with Jack a week ago did actually happen. She wasn't that delusional. She couldn't be. It all felt too real to her. Just merely thinking of his plump lips pressed to hers gave her chills.

Her fingers carelessly combed through her hair, wrapping a hair tie around it to keep it out of her face. Setting her cellphone on the coffee table, she then stepped out onto the fire escape.

It reminded her of her favorite spot at Jack's. Though this one was much smaller, there was a beautiful view of Manhattan off in the distance. Plus, there was a storm coming. Sophia adored thunderstorms. The smell, the sounds, everything.

Thunder boomed, much closer this time, rattling the old metal that she stood on. For a split second, she envisioned the entire thing collapsing, sending her tumbling down mine stories to her ultimate death. Sophia closed her eyes and clenched the rusted rail with her slender fingers.

The lights of the city shone on, as if the people had no idea of the pending storm. But Sophia was anticipating it. Just like she always did.

As an ambulance zoomed by, sirens piercing her ears, Sophia was abruptly torn from her thoughts. Her ears were buzzing.

She felt truly pathetic. Jack didn't bother to stop her. For a year, she hadn't heard a word from him. He didn't even bother to send her a message so she knew he was still alive and well. Sophia didn't understand why she still cared. Any self respecting woman would have moved on months ago. But Sophia couldn't seem to shake the feelings she harbored for the mysterious magician.

Sophia sighed. Evette would be at work for two more hours. Today was Sophia's day off and she felt like it was all wasted away due to her obsession with waiting for Jack to come for her. She was holding her breath for something that could possibly not even happen. He saved her from herself once, why would she expect him to do it again?

A young woman sat on a blanket, the only thing that separated her from the wet pavement. The rain had finally stopped, leaving a thin sheet of water on the dirty ground. Leaning up against the building, she tried to become comfortable but not having much luck. She was used to that though. She longed for the days that she had a soft bed to sleep in, no matter how terrible her home life was.

Just as her eyes fluttered shut and her mind began to fall to a rest, heavy footsteps jolted her awake. They sounded frantic.

The girl melted into the wall, hoping to suddenly turn invisible. If she learned anything in her past few months in this alley, it was to always stay on high alert. She braced herself; maybe her time was finally coming. She'd been dreading the day that some man would decide she was fragile enough to swoop up. She figured she'd be used and then left for dead.

A man ran into the alley as she watched with wide eyes. He didn't make it far though. Just a few feet in front of her, he halted. The sound of a gunshot bounced off of the concrete walls. A gasp escaped her lips as the man spotted her, his eyes connecting with hers. He looked at her with such pain that she almost felt it tearing through her own chest. Terror filled her body as the stranger collapsed beside her, his blood spilling onto her blanket.

It was all in slow motion. She waited for the shooter to appear around the corner. She waited to be gunned down also. But that never happened. The man before her looked at her with his dying eyes. Sophia couldn't look away. She was in shock. Her body refused to move.

It wasn't until she heard sirens that she knew it was time to go. Leaving her blood soaked blanket behind, she grabbed her bag and ran as fast as she could. But that was a sight Sophia would never forget. It was the first time she watched a man die.

A small noise pulled Sophia from the painful memory. It sounded like a tap on the glass. Her eyes focused back on the ominous sky. She felt a presence and she knew just who it was.

"The door was locked," she pointed out. A laugh sounded behind her.

"Nothing's ever locked, darling," a smooth voice replied. Sophia turned her back to the city lights. Jack sat in the large window, his feet resting on the metal fire escape. Sophia's eyebrows raised, disappearing behind her choppy bangs.

"I figured with your success you'd have given up on breaking and entering," she commenting, looking him in the eyes. Jack let out another laugh and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked her with a teasing tone laced in his voice.

They both were already well aware of the answer. So Sophia didn't bother to say it aloud. She turned her eyes back up to the clouds. The rain would be here in no time. She hardly noticed Jack step out onto the platform. But she did notice when he closed the space between them.

Sophia's breath caught in her throat. There was a sparkle in her eyes as Jack's dark orbs pierced into hers. His hand touched her cheek ever so gently.

"I miss you so much," he said in a low voice. Sophia felt her entire body turn to jello as lightening filled the sky, followed by a deafening boom.

"I miss you, Jack," the woman repeated in a whisper. She feared her voice would break if she spoke out loud.

The intensity between the two couldn't be ignored by either of them. Jack was teetering. He could barely contain himself. He felt as if he was walking on a tight rope. The young man attempted to balance himself, but he couldn't. He had to have her. Now.

With no warning, Jack's lips came crashing down onto Sophia's with force. His hand pressed roughly against the small of her back, pulling her as close to his body as possible. His soft lips worked their magic as she felt her back hit the cool metal behind her, the shirt that covered her skin raising as his fingers brushed across her hips.

Her hands worked through his thick hair just when the rain began to fall steadily. Though they were soaked to the bone, neither seemed to mind much. They were wrapped into their own little world of lust. Nothing else mattered more at than moment. They finally had each other.