Page 14 of A Love So Wrong
Turning restlessly in her bed, Jade opened her eyes, giving up her fruitless pursuit of sleep. Anger, sadness, and frustration kept pinging around the inside of her brain like a pinball machine. Her arms and legs felt jumpy while her heart felt like it was beating much too fast for someone who was recently trying to go to sleep.
Annoyed, she flipped back the covers and cut a glance to her clock by her bed, three-o-clock in the morning. Knowing there was no chance of falling back to sleep, she stood up and opened the curtains to her window. With a little bit of moonlight, she was able to find a pair of jean shorts lying on the floor by the bed and slipped them on. Going to her window, Jade unlatched it and pulled it open. Going through the house simply wasn't an option. Between her squeaky door hinge and both her father's and Gideon's light sleeping, she could hardly make any move in the house without one of them finding out about it.
Slipping out onto the cool grass, Jade let out the breath she had been holding. Going the opposite direction to avoid passing Gideon's window, she walked carefully around the house, guided only by moonlight and memory until she was standing in front of the pond.
*~
Gideon's long powerful strides ate the distance between him and his destination with ease. Sounds of frogs droned low in the distance while the sad chirps of unmated mockingbirds soldiered on diligently through the darkness. Reaching the pond, his chest expanded as he sucked in a sharp, relieved breath and let it out through his nose. The green and white fiberglass boat drifted languidly on the placid water laying his fears to rest. Moments before, he had been lying in bed when his eyes snapped open. Maybe he heard something, maybe it was just his sixth sense when it came to Jade, or maybe it was his body acting on his subconscious desires, Gideon wasn't sure, but something told him to go to her. But when he found himself at her window staring into an empty room, a dark, twisting poisonous thought spread through his mind. What if she snuck out to be with that boy she went on a date with? Nightmarish imaginings filled his head of his Jade, sneaking down the road to meet a parked car. Smiles and laughter would drift quietly through the air as the boy drove her off into the night.
Squatting down, Gideon grabbed the metal corded cable and closed his eyes as he stood, pulling the cable partially out of the water. She was not gone, she was here, and all thoughts of tearing apart Stardust Cove until he found her vanished. Opening his eyes with a calm determination, Gideon began silently pulling the boat back towards the dock.
The feel of the boat lurching beneath her caused Jade to jump. Pushing herself up onto her elbows, she watched with wide-eyed shock as Gideon stood barefoot on the dock, muscling in the boat by hand. Hand over hand, she watched as his biceps bunched and knotted as he pulled the soggy cable towards him, silently bringing in the boat until the edge of the boat bumped against the dock. Standing like the Colossus of Rhodes, Gideon looked down at her with a hard unreadable face as he braced one foot then the next into the boat on either side of her legs. With perfect balance, he let go of the cable allowing the boat to drift slowly away from the dock as he came down on top of her.
Her heart skipped a beat as she felt him settle his weight on top of her briefly before shifting and lying down at her side. Without a word, she made room for his bulky frame in her boat until they were tightly pressed together. The waterproof mattress Sandra had made for her at the bottom of the boat comforted them from the hard bottom. Laying partially on his chest, tucked under his arm, Jade could feel her heart constrict with unknown pain as she let herself wilt into the heat of his body. She wanted to cry. She was so happy to see him while at the same time, it almost hurt to be this close to him. Why was that?
"Happy birthday," his voice rumbled through her body.
Turning deeper into his chest, she brought one hand up and laid it on his chest. "I thought…I wouldn't get to see you until tomorrow morning."
"Well, technically it is tomorrow morning," he said dryly as his fingers toyed with a strand of her curls. "But I tried, I really did."
Guilt washed over her in a tidal wave. All the anger and self-pity she felt earlier felt so stupid. It wasn't the end of the world that he was a few hours late, it wasn't his fault. Burying her face into his chest, she let the tears fall into the soft fabric of his t-shirt.
"I'm so childish," she whispered. "I went to bed after dinner when I could've waited…I was angry. I just wanted you with me." His arm that was partially wrapped around her tightened, bringing her closer until she was more of laying on his chest than next to it. "I'm worried, Gideon," she said after some time. Closing her eyes, she continued. "Dad's cough has gotten worse. I made him make an appointment, but…" she was scared she finished mentally, not having the courage to finish the sentence.
"I know," Gideon spoke, his tone grave.
Unspoken words floated between them, but neither one said anything. They knew. They both knew the other was afraid, and they both knew nothing they could say would help. Quietly, they laid there nestled at the bottom of the boat and stared up at the night sky. Hundreds of stars winked and glittered above them as they held each other and hoped for the best.
