A soft voice broke through my suffering, easing my pain like a
salve. Maurina! I could faintly hear her saying, "Please wake up."
Why? Why should I wake up? The world would be a better place
without me. If I just stay here, in the cold and the dark, she
would be safe. I wouldn't be able to hurt her. But I would hurt
her. If I died she would hurt more than she would from any wound I
could inflict. I had to come back. I had to WAKE UP! I jerked
awake, gasping for the breaths I had not been taking. My heart beat
a frantic rhythm, after having flatlined. I clutched at the grass
beneath me. Marina's face hovered above me, looking slightly
panicked at first. She was so beautiful and caring. How could I
have ever wanted to leave? I gave her a small smile as my chest
spasmed slightly. "Miss me?"
I was so relieved when he gasped in a breath. I let out a ragged
breath I didn't even know I was holding.
"You gave me a heart attack! I was so worried! I thought you'd
died!" I whispered, hugging him to me. He nearly died! But that
smile! God! It made my heart race! Warmth spread throughout my
body. Brutis came in and licked Jacob's face. "Bru! Let him
breath!"
I laughed, rubbing the sides of Brutis neck. "Were you worried
about me too?" Maurina held me in a tight embrace. It felt
heavenly. Warmth rushed through me, spreading outward from the
points where our bodies touched. I leaned back slightly, looking
into her warm hazel eyes. I had never felt more in love than at
that moment. Before I could stop myself, I pulled her into a kiss.
The warmth of her lips was more wonderful than I could have ever
imagined. Realizing what I had done, I quickly pulled back, though
not enough to break our contact. My face burned a bright red. I
stared into her eyes, hoping I hadn't just ruined my only
friendship.
The warmth of his body against mine was like nothing I'd ever felt!
When he looked at me with those warm brown eyes, I melted. He
was...amazing! And then it happened! He kissed me! I was in bliss!
I kissed him back, loving the feel of it. And then he pulled back.
I cried out, unable to stop myself. I looked at him, worried he
thought I was crazy. "I...I..."
I had no idea what to say! Did he do it on accident? There was that
girl he'd talked about. Did I do something wrong? I'd been told
guys got scared if you rushed them. Maybe I'd gone too fast?
I couldn't move, paralyzed with fear.
At first I was worried that her small cry was one of outrage at
what I had done, but one look at her longing eyes told me that this
was not the case. I smiled again, gently pulling her back towards
me. Our lips locked, and once again my mind was filled with
fireworks! Ecstasy filled my body as our kiss became slightly more
passionate. Brutis seemed to have removed himself from the area. I
held her tight in my arms, fairly emenating love for this girl.
He kissed me again and I clung to him, never wanting to let him go!
Everything faded and it was just Jacob and I. His lips explored
mine, causing me to moan and sigh. I didn't even know I could make
sounds like that! I pushed myself closer to him, twisting my
fingers in his dark hair. He made a low, deep sound in the back of
his throat. I liked that too. He was more different from Seth as
ice was from fire! I had to pull away to draw in a ragged breath.
When she pulled away to breath, I could feel a gnawing hunger in
the back of my mind. My primal self wanted more. I quickly shoved
those feelings aside. First of all I would rather have her initiate
that sort of thing. And honestly, if I thought about it I didn't
want it. Before all this I had always told myself that I would save
it for later, That it would be something wonderful between me and
my bride. And as much as I would like her to be, Maurina wasn't my
bride. At least not yet. 'What does it matter?' My mind screamed at
me. 'It's the apocalypse! Marriage isn't important any more!' No, I
told myself. If I were to have her now, whether in love or simply
to satiate my desires, then I would be no better than the pig who
held her captive for so long. I was trying to think of a way to
tell her, preferably without upsetting or offending her, when she
pulled us back together. Well, if she did try to do anything more I
would stop her. I would be content with her soft lips for now.
I kissed him long and passionately! He was gentle and sweet,
letting me pick the pace. I was happy to just do this for now.
Before Seth had forced himself on me, I had saved myself. I wanted
to be able to look my husband in the eyes the night of our wedding
and tell him I'd waited just for him. It was cheesy and silly. But
it was hopelessly romantic and sweet. I didn't know id Jacob had
ever been with someone, but he knew I had. I pulled back from
Jacob, upset at the thought. Embarrassment and shame washed over
me. I had been too weak and unable to stop Seth from taking my
virginity. I held my face in my hands, hiding my pain and sadness
from Jacob.
Brutis whined and nudged me.
Her sadness cut deep, slicing my soul. What had I done wrong? Had
she realized what she was doing and decided that she didn't want
me? Pulling her close, I held her tight. "I-I'm sorry. Whatever I
did I'm sorry. Please don't cry." I whispered to her. Brutis had
lain down beside us, doing his best to comfort Maurina.
"Oh! No!" I sobbed, terrified he might think I didn't love him.
"I...I...He..."
I couldn't stop crying. Everything from the past year that I'd
dammed up came crushing down at once. Every beating,, snide comment
and psychological torture I'd faced broke free of the walls I'd
built to save myself from it.
"You...not your...fault...He..." I tried to explain. When he pulled
me close, I clung on to him, clutching his jacket in my fists. I
buried my face in his chest.
I held her close, stroking the back of her head. "Shh, It's
alright. You're safe with me." I kissed the top of her head. "I
will never let anything bad happen to you again. You are precious
to me beyond measure, and I would never hurt you." I held her as
she cried. I heard my mothers voice in my mind. "You have a
wonderful voice. Use it." After a moments hesitation, I began to
hum softly.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when
sky's are grey.
You'll never know dear how much I love you. Please don't take my
sunshine away.
My mother had loved that song. She had sung it whenever I felt sad,
so maybe it would help Maurina too.
I clung to as he hummed. His chest vibrated as he did so. Slowly, I
calmed down enough to speak.
"It's not you that I'm worried about," I told him haltingly. In a
much softer voice, "It...It just all hit me...when I marry the love
of my life, I...I can't tell him I waited! And the worst part is I
didn't even get a say," I didn't even know if he could hear me. My
voice was so low, I don't think it even qualified as a whisper.
I could barely understand her whispers, but I got the gist of it. I
leaned my head down to her ear. I whispered to her, "I can never
really know how you feel, having gone through such horrible things.
But I do know is that what happened won't make him love you any
less. He will love you all the more for your strength in bearing
such a terrible burden. It will make him give up everything to
protect you from heartbreak. I can promise you that." I continued
humming my song.
"Thank you," I told him, playing with the end of his scarf. God how
I wanted him to be that guy. I hugged him harder, sniffles racking
my body. I curled up in his lap and let myself fall asleep.
Brutis looked at Jacob. He looked down at his mistress, Maurina,
and then back up at Jacob. He then nudged Jacobs shoulder and
curled up behind him, letting Jacob lean against him.
I leaned back into Brutis soft fur, Maurina sleeping peacefully
against my chest. I kept my arms wrapped around her, still humming
to myself. There was no way I was going back to sleep. Not after
those terrible nightmares. I would keep watch. Sunrise was only a
few hours away anyway. I thought about the events that had just
taken place. In retrospect I was glad I hadn't waited to confess my
love. That would have just caused unnecessary pain. Marina seemed
to feel the same as I did about each other, and I was glad she
wanted to wait till marriage. In my mind, she was still pure, even
after what had happened to her. She had gotten no say in that, so
why should she be considered unpure? I studied her sleeping face.
She looked so at peace, without any problems to worry her. I looked
back towards the horizon. I would do whatever it took for her to be
able to wear that face in her waking hours. No matter the cost.
My dreams were peaceful. Sunlight warmed my upturned face. Jacob
was next to me, playing with my hair. The dream was so nice and
felt so realistic, I didn't want to wake up. But I did. I woke up
slowly, my eyes adjusting to the light. Feeling someone beneath me,
I sat up with a start, terrified it had all been a dream and I was
still with Seth and he had just forced himself on me. I looked
around scared out of my wits for a second before I made out Jacobs
face.
Maurina sat up quickly, looking around like a startled deer. Her
eyes were filled with panic for a moment, until she turned to me.
Her face quickly calmed. At that moment Brutus jumped up with a
growl causing us to fall back suddenly, Maurina landing on top of
me. We stared surprised at each other for a moment, then I
chuckled, "Well, that was quite the wake up call now wasn't it?"
"I guess so!" I laughed, trying to get off of him so he could get
up. Brutis had other ideas. He danced around us, preventing me from
getting up. "Bru!"
"Hold on tight. This is going to feel weird." I said wrapping my
arms around her. I concentrated on a nearby tree, imagining us
climbing up and perching on one of the branches. I felt the tug and
we were there. I quickly put my arm around the trunk of the tree to
prevent us from toppling over, and out of the tree. My legs dangled
out over empty space as I sat on the thick branch. My other arm
remained around Maurina's waist, holding her steady, as she was
still curled up sitting on my lap.
"Whoa!" was all I could say as I clung to him. Teleporting was like
nothing I'd ever felt! It was as if I had been disassembled and
floated through the air to me reassembled in Jacobs lap in the
tree. "It feels like that every time you teleport? It's like
flying!"
Brutis glared up at Maurina and Jacob. His plan had been foiled! He
barked up at them, whining and running around the tree.