Home > A Secret In Onyx(4)

A Secret In Onyx(4)
Author: Jessica Florence

“Places like this always give me the creeps,” I whispered as we walked through the dry overgrown grass and opened the metal gate to the stone house.

“Never gets easier,” he mumbled, as the door opened without hesitation. I guess we should be thankful it wasn’t locked, and my mind unfortunately wondered as to why it remained in that state. Maybe the person was out walking his pet when he died, leaving the door unlocked. Or maybe they survived the apocalypse and deserted it, not caring if their house was secure.

The dry, stale air in the house smelled like mold. Home sweet home.

“We need to clean that face of yours,” he announced, then looked around the house for anyone hiding who may attack us. He searched for medical supplies. The blood had long since dried on my face, making me crave a bath even more.

The sheer curtains of the dark living room were drawn and thankfully, I could see everything. Framed pictures of a happy family hung on the walls. Little knickknacks were strewn above a fireplace mantel that must have held value to the family who lived here. I hated being here, like we were intruding on this family. Or if I was being more honest with myself, their tomb.

“Sapphira!” Tor hollered and I quickly moved toward the direction of his voice. Tor stood in a small pink bathroom with a bottle of water in his hand and a fluffy pink towel in the other.

“They didn’t really have much that we could use, but at least we can clean the blood up. I might need to reset the nose, too.” He winced. He would hate to inflict additional pain on me. Once again, we had to do what we had to do.

“Just do it.” My fingers gripped the door jam, and I clenched my teeth. I wanted to be done with today, eat something, and sleep.

It hurt like hell as Tor moved my nose back into place, cleaned the blood, and toweled it dry. He didn’t try to soothe me or talk about what happened earlier. He left me alone in the bathroom before I could broach the subject. I looked at the woman in the old dusty mirror, hoping I’d see some badass, instead of the rundown, dirty, crazy-haired one.

“You killed a Dramen today, Sapphira. You can talk to him.” I gave myself a pep talk before finding Tor outside making a fire to cook the deer meat.

 

 

Chapter Five

 

“I think we need to talk about today.” I sat next to him. This house had what I bet was a nice backyard in its prime. The pool was an algae and bug-infested pond, with vines reaching the edge from the wall surrounding the premises. A perfect setting to keep our fire hidden and to cook the small amount of deer meat we had.

“I don’t think I can yet.”

“Then you can listen.”

“Besides a broken nose and a sore scalp, I am OK. I fell for a trap, one I should have seen. We made it out alive; we’re OK. Please don’t let this come between us. Don’t let this stop you from letting me do things on my own.” My stomach churned, waiting for his retort. We didn’t argue much since we met, and I didn’t know what I’d do without him if he decided to leave.

His head dropped, and his tan hands reached up to rub his face in frustration.

“I just—” I searched for the words to ease his worry, his broken voice interrupting my thoughts.

“I can’t lose you.”

I hated seeing this kind of sadness in him. My hand brushed back the hairs covering his face.

“You won’t lose me. It’s me and you, Tor.” Warmth blossomed in my belly as I looked at him in this moment. He loved me; I knew it. With him by my side, I felt cherished and safe.

“I love you, Tor.” My lips pressed against his shoulder, showing him my feelings with my gentle touch.

I met his tear-brimmed stare with my watered eyes. Our lips met in a fury of desperation and fear for this life we had. We couldn’t lose us in this moment . . . this love, this closeness between each other.

“I love you, Sapphira.”

I laid back against the hard ground and brought Tor’s body with me. He went with no hesitation this time. We kissed under the vibrant star-covered sky, living for the now in each other’s arms. Despite his warm body on top of mine, and the hot kisses against my skin and lips, the chilled air nipped at my bones.

“Let’s go inside and get some sleep.” Tor leaned back, kissing my cheeks before slowly crawling off of me. His hands stretched out for mine to take, and in one swift move, as if I weighed nothing, I stood on my feet.

We didn’t go any further than explorative touches and lips on exposed skin. There was something more between us since we’d uttered those sweet words of love. We’d make it to the safe haven and then there would be time to finally be with each other, without worries of starvation or the Dramens attacking us. We could date and court each other, and he wouldn’t have to worry about me.

We fell asleep in each other’s arms on someone else’s bed. I tried not to think about the pictures of a smiling woman and man staring at me from the nightstand.

Time was precious and I wasn’t going to waste any more of it thinking about the past. I had to think about the future, and what my role would be in it.

**

The clothes in the closet were old and had a stale-air scent clinging to them. They were cleaner and had no holes, which was better than the clothes I currently wore.

I decided on a pale green shirt and black yoga pants. I kept my boots and found a leather belt to work as my sword holster. Tor came back from the bathroom dressed in new clothes as well—loose-fitting denim jeans and a blue cotton shirt.

“Only half a day until we get to the red tree. That’s where the community is. Just past the large green sign that says Yosemite National Park.” Tor spoke aloud, mostly for himself than for me. I knew the way there; we’d looked at it on a map so many times I had the route memorized.

An electrical sensation buzzed in my veins from the excitement of freedom. No more on the run, no more Dramens, no more of this life I’d lived. I was ready for something new, something different.

“Let’s eat some deer and get out of here. I’m ready to get there and rest for days.” I grinned thinking about the lazing around without the threat of danger. My muscles and feet could use a little downtime. Since we’d traveled on foot across the continent, my poor body was tired down to the bones.

There was still time for a kiss before we left, so I tackled a newly dressed Tor to the bed and smothered his face with dramatic kisses, loud smooch sounds echoing around the room. It wasn’t often we got to laugh and smile in our environment. I wanted to steal a little bit of time for fun.

“When we get to where we’re going, you’re gonna be in for it.” He rolled me over on the bed, his body looming over mine. I prayed, wished, and hoped he meant what I wanted him to mean.

“You’re going to punish me for being so bad,” I teased, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth.

“We’ll just have to make it there and see.” He leaned down, his blue eyes on me as he pressed one kiss upon my grinning lips.

Then as quickly as it began, our moment was over. Reality clinched our thoughts and reminded us that we needed to eat and move out with haste. The longer we stayed here, the more likely someone would come scouting and we’d be found. We double-checked our inventory, water, food, and weapons. It would have to do in our final hours to the hopefully blessed destination.

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