I took off for the safety of the tree line, awkward from weeks of inactivity. Thirty feet, twenty feet. My breath came hard and fast but I fell into my stride. I had a chance. Ten feet to the tree line. He had closed the distance fast. I could hear his footsteps behind me, the crunching gravel getting louder, uncomfortably close. Half turning my head I saw the glint of metal directly behind me. At the tree line, I stopped suddenly and crouched. He didn’t have time to dodge me and stumbled, falling more gracefully than not, like he had meant to go down. He rolled right back onto his feet, knife still in his hand.
I attacked, hoping to catch him off guard. I grabbed the nearest, thickest fallen branch I could find, swinging it brutally at his head. His forearm blocked it easily. Using the momentum of his block, I swung my body in the opposite direction, and my foot connected with the other side of his head. Off balance, he caught himself before hitting the ground on a tree trunk, bracing himself with both hands. I swung the branch again, connecting with the back of his neck. The crack echoed through the forest. Half the branch flew off, shattered from the half I held. Not waiting to see the hit’s effect, I ran. After what seemed like a good ten minutes, my lungs felt on fire. Convincing myself I had lost him, I stopped, one hand clutching my protruding belly, the other went to the painful cramp in my side.
Slowly, I caught my breath, and was able to straighten again. I looked around, trying to regain my bearings. There was no one in sight, no landmark in sight, just endless trees. My stomach twisted. I knew Shawn. Shawn didn’t give up easily. The longer I looked for Micah and the others, the longer I gave Shawn time to look for me. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the sounds around me. Besides my slightly labored breathing and pulse, I heard nothing. Not even birds chirping. No twigs crackling under the weight of a human body. No wisp of leaves brushed by an arm. I tensed, sensing a body. Not ten or twenty feet away, but right in front of me.
I should’ve known he was able to do that. Even I had underestimated Shawn – I should have kept running. Sighing at another inevitable fight, I lashed out, hitting him in the nose before even opening my eyes. A small trickle of blood ran down his face. My other fist, even with open eyes, wasn’t so successful; he caught it in mid-punch, and twisted. I was forced to face away from him. He kept a tight grip on my wrist, locking my arm behind my back. I kicked my leg back, aiming for his stomach, a futile move so close to him.
Knocking my leg down, he pulled me close, wrapping his free arm around my body and holding the knife up to my face. The chill crept out of his body into mine. My marked shoulder stung, stronger now, as if it had been freshly cut. The only thing that kept me from shivering was his familiar body against mine. As much as I detested him, at least I knew him. I survived our last encounter. I could survive this. I closed my eyes and began to reach out for the energy of the forest. Shawn would be able to block it, but I might have a chance if I did it quickly.
“Let her go, Shawn.”
The booming voice interrupted my concentration. My eyes flew open.
Micah appeared from nowhere, just as Shawn did, several yards in front of us.
Shawn ignored Micah and put his lips to my ear. “Come with me.” The whisper was as much a demand as a plea. I winced. He gripped me tighter.
I closed my eyes tight and forced a quiet, “No.”
His breath turned hot with anger.
I felt a sharp pain below my left eye where the knife rested.
He tried again, more forceful this time, “Come with me. I don’t have to give you a choice.”
Warm blood trickled down my cheek.
Micah saw it too and took a few steps forward, body tense.
Shawn only held me tighter, forcing my back to arch. It was in that precarious moment, with my slightly bulging belly forced out even more, that the wind blew. It circled our bodies and tousled our clothes. After playing for a few seconds, mixing the scents of the forest together with our own, it dipped toward my feet then up again. My loose shirt was forced up, exposing a truth kept hidden until now.
Micah’s eyes traveled down. They went blank, staring for a moment, and then his mouth dropped open. I swallowed. Not necessarily a reaction you hoped for from a father. Then again, I wasn’t positive he was the father. Shawn curiously followed Micah’s gaze down my torso with his hand. He couldn’t see my rounded belly from his angle behind me, but he felt it. His hand was too cold on my exposed skin, and I had an immediate need to protect the life inside me. Keeping my movements slow and controlled, I placed my hand gently over Shawn’s and pried it loose. I stepped away from his grip and turned to face the both of them.
It didn’t take long for them to find their voices.
“You’re pregnant?!” they exclaimed in unison.
I didn’t answer. I’d have thought that fact was fairly obvious by now. Instead, I looked from one to the other, trying to read their faces. No joy from either, but then again, no despair. No fear, no panic. Just shock.
Let them stew in their shock.
I waved them off and turned away, whispering, “Better plans.”
I didn’t get very far before I felt Micah’s hand on my shoulder. “Wait. Is it…” He swallowed hard. “Is it mine?”
I turned to face him again. Shawn still hadn’t moved. I looked from one to another, trying to hold back tears that threatened to flood my eyes. “I don’t know.”
My lip quivered. I turned and walked as quickly as I could toward what I thought was the parking lot. My vision blurred by tears, I clawed at overgrown branches, walking blind. With an occasional sob managing to squeak past my lips and the hiccups that developed, I wasn’t evading anyone. Those sounds gave away my location better than a tracking device would have.
Soon enough a pair of footsteps caught up, and I felt sturdy, strong arms wrap themselves around me. I didn’t know whose they were, and for a moment I didn’t even venture to guess. I was just grateful for the close contact that had been missing from my life as of late. I stepped into the embrace and hesitantly took a deep breath. I breathed in Micah. Relief flooded through my body as rampant as the tears were now. I shook, shivered and sobbed, relying on him to keep me upright. He didn’t say anything, and neither did I.
He led me to the road, where the car, Susan and Vayu were waiting. Micah and I sat in the back seat, still holding each other tight, until I managed to gain control over myself. “Why didn’t you just finish it – finish him? What happened to your plan?”
Micah looked down at me, “Killing him wasn’t part of the plan. I’ll explain later.”
I conceded, and placed my head back in the dip of his shoulder. Watching the pair in front of me, I realized Vayu had created the wind. And Susan probably convinced him to do it. I considered confronting them, but I was too emotionally drained for any more drama. Besides, it had effectively deterred Shawn, and Susan had kept her promise by not necessarily telling Micah. I suppose I should have been more specific. I closed my eyes, comforted by Micah’s hold and let myself drift off to sleep while I was driven away into the approaching night.
Tonight
“Tonight.” Although it was just a whisper, Micah’s demand was loud and forceful in my ear. Dropping me off at my room at the Chakra, he left me gawking after him like an idiot as he walked down the hall and turned a corner, out of sight. During the two days we spent returning from Wyoming; hardly a word was spoken between us. Now that he did speak, it was the first and last thing I wanted to hear.
The rest of the afternoon dragged by, half of it spent cleaning myself up and the other half was spent debating when ‘night’ officially fell. I dared not leave the room. With my luck he’d choose those few moments to come by and get all the wrong signals. What did he consider ‘night’ anyway? Sunset? Twilight? Complete darkness? Could evening hours qualify as night? Would he really force me to wait until dark?
As the sun slowly disappeared from view, streaking the sky in pink and orange hues, I sat on the edge of my bed, sufficiently worn out from pacing. The doorknob turned and Micah entered the room without preamble, shutting the door purposefully behind him. I jumped up off the bed, startled.
Damn
, I rebuked myself.
I look too anxious. I should’ve thought this through better.
As if I hadn’t been thinking it through for the last five hours.
He didn’t look unsure of himself. No, he was quite sure of himself. Full of himself, almost.
Crap
, I thought again.
He wants answers. He wants dates, and he’s going to try to figure this whole thing out himself.
I tried a preemptive, “I don’t really feel like talking.”
“I’m not here to talk.” He took a few steps toward me.
Good and bad. My heart fluttered and I felt the need to go check myself in the mirror. I looked toward the bathroom.
Darn. Too obvious again
.
I put my hands over my ears to drown out all my craziness. Without thinking, I blurted out, “You are driving me insane!”
He laughed out loud. “Kaitlyn, I have been there and back several times since I’ve met you. Welcome to the club.” A few more steps and he closed the distance between us.
Suddenly, the moment I’d been wanting for months had come too soon. I placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “Wait.”
He shook his head, “I can’t.”
I tried again, “You don’t have my permission.”
“I don’t need it.”
“But you
want
it.” With those four words I reminded Micah of everything that separated him from Shawn.
He didn’t step back, but neither did he move forward. With the sun gone, the room had fallen into shadows. It was a good thing too. If I had been able to clearly see his eyes I wouldn’t have had a chance against him. It was difficult enough just seeing the dark outline of his silhouette and breathing in his musky scent. He’d spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning up too, if I had my guess.
Oh, what the hell. Can’t let his efforts go to waste.
I removed my hand from his chest and that was all the permission he needed. In an instant his lips found mine. A moment of stiff resistance passed, melting away into acceptance. My feet came off the ground. I don’t know if I was floating from pure pleasure, or if he was lifting me up that effortlessly, extra baby weight and all. The outfit I had so carefully picked out was practically ripped to shreds and dotted the room in bits of pink and white material. His clothes were off too, although I couldn’t remember exactly how it happened. We both floated back down onto the bed, his frame pressing into mine. I squeaked out a small ‘umphh’ and he immediately lifted himself off of me, “Does that hurt?”
“No,” I lied.
He didn’t buy it. “Come here.”
He pulled me so we both lay on our side, facing each other. He suppressed his urgency and instead took the time to caress me from head to toe. His strokes sent both shivers and bolts of electricity through my skin. When I tried to return the favor he stopped me. “I want to do this for you. I want to please you, protect you, have you always. No matter what.” His hands stopped and rested on my belly. “You should have known that.”
Tears started to form in my eyes. “It is more complicated than that, and you know it.”
“We’ll figure it out. From now on, only truth between us. I want you to tell me everything.”
“Now?”
“Later.” He rolled on top of me, this time more gently, giving me the space needed on certain parts of my body. My other parts melted into his so that I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. Distracted by his mouth on mine, sucking the very breath from me, I barely noticed his knee snaking up between my legs to give him access. When he entered me, it was sharp; painful almost. He was on the verge of ripping old wounds open.