Nyx (Complete✅)

Chapter 52

  
   Beth stared at the place that had only just been an open wound but was now perfectly healed skin. Not even a faint white scar showed where the gash had just been. She couldn't believe her eyes, yet she knew that what Liam had said had to be true. She could now add healing to her short list of side effects to the strange substance flowing through her. She took a deep breath. It was all so strange, even after everything she had gone through.

   "Are you okay?" Liam's familiar voice broke into her thoughts.

   She nodded. "Just surprised." She murmured, breaking her gaze away from his finger to look at him with a smile.

   "Okay, good." He smiled back.

   "Now your blood ruined all the berries." She glanced over at the strawberries with a short laugh, trying to recover herself from the shock.

   "I guess so." Liam chuckled, wiping off the remains of the blood.

   "Are you okay? Does it still hurt?" she asked after a second, biting her lip.

   "It feels normal. Like I never got hurt at all." He finished cleaning himself up and then he stared hard at the place where the cut had been as if doing that would somehow call it back into existence.

   "I'm glad." She stepped forward to wrap her arms around him. She didn't want him to get hurt.

   He hugged her back, his arms comforting even though there wasn't much to comfort. She was glad Liam loved her and that she loved him. She wasn't sure anyone else would have stayed by her side all this time, especially after learning she couldn't have children. She smiled softly, feeling almost like she was surrounded by a force field of his love for her.

   "I love you, Liam." She closed her eyes and hugged him a bit tighter.

   "I love you too." The words were the exact ones that she had been expecting to hear, but they still brought a smile to her face. Kids or no kids, she still loved Liam and she could hear the ring of truth in his words that he returned that love. She would be happy to live the rest of her life with him. Even if there was no one else around, she would be happy.

   "Now we should really eat something before you starve to death." She said with a smirk when Liam's stomach growled again.

   "Okay." He laughed and released her from the hug, and the two of them quickly went about finishing their fruit salad, minus the strawberries for obvious reasons. And because the day was so nice, they took their food outside to eat after they had cleaned up the cook station, and Beth felt happier than she had ever remembered feeling. She was with Liam, and she had finally confessed something that had been haunting her secretly for years on end, and now that it was gone, a shadow had lifted.

   That same shadow had been cast over her happiness from days past, and now that happiness seemed dim in comparison to how joyful she was today. She let out a happy sigh as she chewed a chunk of apple. She didn't know how it could get any better.

_____

   Ruth let the chill breeze flow over her bare arms. Even though it was a warm day, there was always a pleasantly cool wind blowing in from the lake, and today was the perfect day to take advantage of that. But for some reason, she found herself restless.

   For a long while, she had been content to do nothing but sit by the lake with Jacob, living the life they had never been able to, but now she felt as if she should be doing something. She felt like her hands were just sitting idly, and needed to be used. But the only thing she knew how to do was in the past. She was never going back to that life. Aaron could try and try again all he wanted to, but Ruth was done, and she knew that Jacob was too.

   But still, she felt like she had to be doing something; like she couldn't sit still any longer or she would implode.

   She didn't hear anyone walk up, but then Jacob was sitting beside her in front of the wide expanse of bright water. She turned to look at him and wondered if he felt the same way. He returned her gaze.

   "Is something wrong?" a frown creased his brow. He always seemed to know if there was something troubling her. She didn't exactly keep things hidden very well, and it wasn't very hard to know what she was feeling, but this time she knew for certain that she wasn't showing any outward signs of her restlessness, but he still knew something was amiss.

   Perhaps he was feeling the same way, and just guessing? Or he just knew her that well. Either way, she was done keeping secrets.

   "I feel like I should be doing something. You know, we've had this goal our whole lives. Something to work for. Always going up and up and getting a new objective almost as soon as the last one was complete, but now we don't. It almost feels wrong to just do nothing."

   Jacob's frown deepened. "Are you talking about going back with Aaron?"

   She shook her head quickly, only just realizing that she should have guessed he'd assume that. She should have made it clearer. "No, never. But I just feel like I should be doing something."

   He nodded, the crease in his brow smoothing out into a soft smile. "I understand. Sometimes I feel the same way."

   "But what is there to do? I've spent so much time on the mission at hand that I never took the time to learn how to do anything else." She sighed. It seemed like she was only just starting her life, with no skills to use as she went into the world to search for a career.

   "There has to be something that you can do with the skills you already have." Jacob turned to look out over the lake as if thinking.

   She did the same, recalling the past few years and what she had done. Beth was the first thing that came to mind. For a while, Beth had been the sole purpose of her life, so to speak. Looking after her to make sure she didn't die after the serum was administered, watching her to see what happened and what effects manifested, and testing her blood, again and again, to see how the serum would react to other people.

   Then it hit her. She had all the skills of a doctor, though she originally focused on chemicals and formulas. She had learned everything she needed to know to at least start a career in medicine. Of course, she didn't know absolutely everything that a practiced doctor knew, but she could quickly learn. The more she thought about it, the better of an idea it seemed.

   So far, there wasn't much in the way of illness or injury among the villagers, but that didn't mean there never would be, and in the meantime, she could do other, smaller things, like doctoring small cuts and scrapes that the children got when playing around. There were already people doing that, but those people were young and experienced in other fields as well. So she could take over the small jobs and allow the others to go work on things that were needed more.

   "A doctor." She said, almost to herself as she looked out towards the far shore.

   "That would work," Jacob said after a second. "I'm sure you could work something out."

   "Yes, it sounds perfect." She nodded. She wanted to go into the village immediately to sort things out, but it would surely take time, and the day was already half over, so she decided she could wait just a little while longer.

   She would go at dawn and try to work something out. If there was nothing she could do, she would try to find some sort of hobby to satisfy herself. But even as she thought that she knew she wouldn't be happy with much of anything other than a real job she would work at. And finally helping people no less, without any of the lies and trickery that she had become so used to. She really did feel like she was starting a brand new life.

   She smiled and scooted herself closer to Jacob, leaning her head on his shoulder. She was glad that he understood. She never intended to say that she was bored with him, or what they were doing, but she just felt like she could do more. He knew that, and for that she was glad.