An Abrupt Change of Direction

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"Where did you sneak off to?" Maddy asked, sleep still heavy in her voice, as Jake walked into her room. He walked over and sat in the extra chair without looking away from her.

"They decided on who was going on the mission," he told her.

"Oh?" She asked, instantly holding her breath. She cleared her throat and asked, "Who did they decide?"

Jake hesitated to tell Maddy. He knew she'd be worried, but she'd find out sooner or later. He reached over and gently grabbed her hand.

"Your dad is the new mission leader, Mads."

Maddy struggled to hide her gasp. She took a slow, calming breath. "Good," she whispered. "He's a great pilot. He'll get the mission accomplished and get you all home safe."

The tension in the room was heavy. Maddy didn't bother to hide her tears anymore as she looked up at him. She needed to know, but she was scared of how she'd feel if he answered it a certain way.

"And you?"

Jake's heart instantly sank when he saw the fear in her eyes. Without looking away from her eyes, he reached over and grabbed her hand.

"I'm just the spare," he whispered. "I won't go up unless they need an extra hand. An extra plane."

Jake watched as she let out a sigh of relief. When she saw that he had seen the relief flash across her face, she didn't hide her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know that this would've been a great experience for you, and it sucks that you're the spare. I know I shouldn't be relieved, but I am. I can't really explain why I'm. . ."

She may not have known why she was relieved, but Jake did.

He cut her off by grabbing her face and pressing his lips to hers. He kinda expected her to push him away from her. Instead, she grabbed the front of his flight suit and brought him closer to her. He took this as a good sign and started slowly moving his lips against hers. Jake slowly broke the kiss and looked deeply into her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Jake whispered when he gathered his courage. "I didn't mean. . . I know this is crazy, considering what I did to you, but I can't keep ignoring how I feel. I have to be honest with you, Maddy, and. . ."

Maddy grabbed his face and brought his lips back to hers. Through the smile on his face, Jake instantly started kissing her back.

This time, when they broke the kiss, Jake kept his forehead pressed to Maddy's, and Maddy kept her hands on his face.

"To be honest," she whispered, her voice slightly breaking, "that just scared me more."

Jake slowly leaned back and waited for her to lean back and look up at him. When he spoke up, his voice was soft and gentle.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered, reaching up and moving some hair out of her face.

"Then why did you kiss me after I found out your role in the mission?" She asked, her voice still soft but with a small smile on her face. Jake smiled as he reached up and gently cupped her face in his hand.

"Because that is something that I have wanted to do for weeks now," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her again. When he broke the kiss, he added, "Plus, I didn't want to hide my feelings anymore. I thought you deserved to know."

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice breaking.

In that moment, Jake realized that Phoenix was right. Maddy didn't think anyone would have feelings for her since she was in her chair.

"I am absolutely crazy about you, Maddy," he whispered. "I started to fall for you the last few weeks despite knowing I shouldn't."

"You shouldn't?" She asked.

"I ruined your life, Mads," he whispered. "How can I fall for the girl whose life I destroyed?"

Maddy cut him off by grabbing his face and bringing his lips to hers. He smiled as he kissed her back. Without breaking the kiss, Jake sat on the edge of her bed, letting her pull him closer.

She finally broke the kiss, ignoring the pain in her back as she looked up at him.

"Haven't we been through this before?" She asked with a playful smirk. "You did not ruin my life, Jake. And you definitely did not destroy my life." Her voice broke as she added, "In fact, you saved me, Jake Seresin."

Jake's heart jumped into his throat as tears filled his eyes. He sat next to her, instantly pulling her into his arms and leaning them against the headboard.

"No," he whispered. "You saved me, Maddlyn."