Page 37 of Diluted Truths

I practically jumped onto the couch and laid down, wrapping her in my arms in the process. She laid her head on my chest.

“You’re not wearing a shirt,” Jackie stated.

I laughed. I hadn’t even noticed. “Yeah, I forgot to put one on. After I heard you scream I ran out here as fast as I could.”

“I was screaming?” she asked.

“Yeah. It was terrifying,” I responded as I squeezed her closer. It felt nice having her in my arms.

I looked down to see her staring at my tattoos that lined my entire torso. Being a professor, I had to keep them hidden in my day-to-day life. They could all be covered by a simple long sleeve t-shirt. “I didn’t know you had these,” she said in a quiet voice. I was curious if she said that to herself more than to me.

“Most people don’t,” I responded.

She nodded again, her hair tickling my chest in the process. “I’m going to try and go back to sleep again.”

I smiled. She was so sweet when she was half asleep. “Sweet dreams, Jacqueline.”

This time she smiled and looked up to me, meeting my eyes. “Thank you, Will, for waking me up.”

She rested her head back down, and there we laid. As I held Jackie in my arms, I only had one thought. There was nowhere else I would rather be. This was the most at home I had felt… Well, ever. She was becoming my home.

It was insane.

I had known her for only a few weeks now, but she was already one of the most important people to me. Jackie was everything I wasn’t. She was bright, full of joy, full of love. I was dark with so much unresolved trauma I hid away and a blatant fear of love.

Jackie deserved so much better than me, so much more than I could offer. But I was feeling selfish enough to ignore that and keep her close to me. The more time I spent with her, the more I realized she was sunshine. I had spent my entire life trying to hide the darkness I held within my soul, but with her I didn’t have to try. She obliterated it.

Chapter 12Voices in the Water by. Lux Veritas

Jackie

“Auntie Jack, wake up.”

I rolled over, trying to get the voice to stop. I had slept like absolute shit for the first half of the night. I had tossed and turned trying to get the nightmare to stop. A nightmare I couldn't even remember. I think there were other people in it, but truthfully the details were completely lost.

When Will woke me up, I was incredibly disoriented. I wasn’t even sure who Will was for the first bit. I was so scared and freaked out when I woke up, I practically begged him to stay with me. I felt pathetic, but he felt so safe. When he had laid down next to me and wrapped me in his arms I had never felt so cared for by a person. It was a strange yet wonderful feeling.

Also his tattoos!

My god I had never expected them. They littered his entire torso and arms, and they all seemed to depict different stories from history. One looked to be the fall of Icarus, another the touching hands of Adam and God. There was also a quote on the left side of his chest,I am a man of fortune and I must seek my fortune.It was all so unexpected to find on the very studious man, yet made perfect sense.

Will had made what was an awful night better. I was still so exhausted, I just wanted another couple of hours of sleep. It wasn’t until Will hadwoken me up and laid with me that I was able to finally fall asleep soundly last night and get the rest I craved. His presence brought a sense of safety and security that I had never felt in the past. He didn’t just make me feel safe, he made me feel less alone.

I could still smell his woody cologne even now.

“Auntie Jack?”

Maybe if I burrowed deeper into my pillow I could convince Vi that I was still sleeping and she would leave me alone. I turned to hopefully hide in the pillow, but it shifted around me.

Wait.

My pillow shifted?

I bolted up to see that my shifting pillow was in fact Will.

Fast asleep.

Shirtless.