Safe

Rebirth

I advise that my previous readers to reread the entire story because I've re-edited a lot.

***

"He is more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same"

. - Emily Brontë

~ ♡ ~

"Did you really have to wake me up early? And for what?" You complained as you leered at the back of Jim's head, but you were too busy being exhausted to be angry.

Jim stopped, mid-step on the stairs and looked back at you with a secret smile. "It's a surprise. Trust me, you're going to like it. Oh, and try not to drag your feet." He continued tip-toing down the stairs, adjusting his knapsack over his shoulder.

You groaned and didn't care that you sounded like a moose."But it's, Monday! Your mom said it was busy on Mondays. I need my rest."

"And yelling," he added. You grumbled.

You only had less hours of sleep than your usual routine. You were determined to sleep more because of it, but Mechanic Boy decided to wake you before dawn. So you sluggishly got out of bed and slipped on your brown leather jacket over your night gown and slipped on camo pants under, because let's face it, you were dead tired and unable to remove any clothing -emphasis on the phrase because you literally fell asleep while trying to tie on your boots.

You felt your vision darken as you squinted to see better until you only saw black. You heard a few thumps and then felt arms grabbed you before you collapsed down the stairs and held you up. Your eyes opened and widened in alert. The shock from almost falling awoke you, but you felt slightly tired after a few moments.

"Woah. Okay, I have to admit I didn't think you were this tired," Jim said as you leaned into his chest, unembarrassed. "I promise that where we're going you can sleep if you still want to." He then wrapped an arm around your waist tightly so you wouldn't fall as he guided you down the stairs and let go.

The inn was cold and dark. You never noticed it before, but the air smelled faintly of spices and something sweet. As you walked to the front door, you smelt a sweet odor coming from the kitchen.

"What's that smell?" You asked and started for the door.

Jim suddenly jumped out and blocked the kitchen door. "Nothing! I was just turning off the stove. I made some hot chocolate earlier for when we get there."

You frowned at Jim as he quickly stepped away and opened the front door for you.

The first thing you saw was how dark the sky was; a nice midnight blue with light gray storm clouds parting slowly, revealing the few stars in the sky. Your boots landed softly on the wet sand. There was lots of cold wind and you shivered and hoped Jim brought warmer blankets than your jacket.

The door closed behind you and you saw Jim walk in another direction behind the inn where the shed was. You turned around and jogged after him.

You called after him in exasperation. "This better be worth the sleep I lost Jim! It's still supposed to rain today. What in Hell did you wake me up for?!"

In the dark, Jim almost looked like a shadow. As you caught up to him, you noticed he was opening the lock on the metal shed. When you reached Jim, he put a finger on his lips and shushed you.

You tried to place your hands on your hips, but then remembered the cold and crossed your arms over your chest and scowled at Jim.

"Who's going to hear us? Your mom is asleep and doesn't get up for another hour! She's going to see I've disappeared!"