Wearing the Red Hood

Chapter 15:

She didn't wait for a reply and quickly disappeared as fast as she'd come. I wondered how she could so easily walk away after having seen Jason like this. Thinking of Jason, I snapped my eyes back to his face, tear stains and sweat still evident there. But his green eyes were watching me with a sort of curiosity. "Why are you crying?" he asked softly, his voice husky and rough. I wasn't sure if it was due to his nightmare or if it was only because he woke up.

"I-I-," my voice came out more broken than his. It was almost as if I had also lived his nightmare. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Jason spoke softly, and surprisingly, he finally pried one hand away from my waist and wiped away my tears. I swallowed hard, thinking I was still in a dream. The sweet and gentle note in his voice was something I never thought he'd direct towards me.

Sniffling, I loosened my hands on his shirt, but didn't let go. I needed him as much as I needed the air I sucked into my lungs. After everything that happened in the recent days, I knew he was someone I could count on. And seeing him so vulnerable just a few minutes ago didn't change that. Because right now he was more concerned about me than himself.

Following his actions, I carefully placed one of my hands on his cheek and brushed the tear tracks left in the wake of his pain. He closed his eyes, looking content as he released a breath of what sounded like relief. When his lids once again fluttered open, the emotion burning behind them made my throat grow dry. His eyes alone were enough to cast a spell on me. "I thought I wasn't going to be able to wake you up," I admitted, the fear I'd felt still fresh in the back of my mind.

Jason didn't look away from my eyes, and I felt like he was seeing right to the very depths of my soul. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm not," I argued, surprising him. "I'm glad I was here to help you. I wasn't scared of you, Jason. I was scared for you."

He smiled then, looking absolutely lovely that it nearly broke my heart in two. I didn't deserve to look upon his breathtaking beauty. Not just because of his perfect looks, but also his sweet and caring nature, hidden behind what I was now learning to be a layer of sarcasm and anger. But there was also pain lingering there, and yet, it just added more to his beauty.

Jason wasn't perfect. He was the opposite of everything my parents ever wanted from me, and yet, he was what I could see myself with. I was aware that he hadn't taken my hand off his face, and I hoped it meant he was letting me be there for him, instead of pushing me away like the night before, when I'd tried to ice his bruises. "You always seem to surprise me," he told me, still speaking in a low whisper. "How do you do it?"

"I don't know," I replied back, a smile also forming on my face and my cheeks heating up like they usually did.

"Thank you," he said, confusing me. "For being there for me," he added to clarify.

I sighed in relief, glad that everything seemed to be okay now. "I was happy to be here," I admitted. "And happy you stayed."

The last part of my sentence made him furrow his eyebrows a little, and I was worried I said something wrong. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on your bed. I guess I was exhausted from yesterday, too."

"Its fine," I reassured him with a short laugh, glad that he wasn't mad. As much as I adored the complexity of Jason, I knew I had to tread carefully because of it. I never knew when his emotions would change. "Do you want to talk about... you know... what happened?"