The Dead And The Risen

Chapter Twenty Seven: Wretched Heart

I quietly opened the door to the apartment, hoping that I hadn't taken as long as I thought. As I closed the door behind me, it made a loud click, and I heard Robert's voice come from the bathroom, along with the sound of running water.

"Clarissa? Is that you?"
"Yeah"
I called out as I headed into the bedroom, placing my stack of new clothes next to our bag.
"Where have you been? I thought you had run off again."
"I wouldn't do that again, you know that. I went to get some clothes."
"What do you- "
He broke off as he turned around from the sink where he had been washing his face.
I stood in the wide bathroom door-way, letting him survey my appearance.
As he looked me over, his eyes filled with passion.

"Clarissa.....how do you always manage to look so beautiful?"

"I don-"
I broke off as he surprised me and swept me up into a big, lift-you-right-off-the-ground hug.
"Oooft!"
He placed me back down and looked into my eyes.
"But what do you mean? I'm not that beautiful." I told him with a laugh.
His face contorted into something like a mix of sadness and ferocious passion. He cupped my face in his hand and whispered to me,
"Clarissa. Do not ever let anyone tell you that you are not beautiful. No matter how much anyone wants to hurt you, do not let them tell you that. And most importantly, Do Not. Ever. Tell Yourself. That You Aren't Beautiful."
With the last few words, he pressed his lips to mine, hard and fierce. His arms around my waist, he pulled me close.
When he parted our lips, I let my eyes flutter open to see his gorgeous face looking down at me.
"O-okay."
"But do you promise me?"
"Yes. I promise I won't let anyone tell me I'm not beautiful."
I looked down at my leather-clad feet feeling self-conscious and slightly embarrassed.
"Alright Luv, we should go pack up now. You're getting quiet."
"Alright." I mumbled half-heartedly.
He placed his arms around my waist - he was practically bending over- and guided me to the bed. I sat down, and started folding my clothes into the bag, wondering what the flight ahead held for us.

•••••••

I watched Clarissa as she quietly folded her clothes into the bag. I didn't like it when she did this.
She gets into one of those quite moods after someone talks about her, or compliments her. She just tries to fade away and acts like she should be embarrassed.
All I ever want to do when she's like this is just sweep her off her feet and hide her from the world.
The part that makes me even more sad is that I can't do that.
Dragging myself out of my petty thoughts, I went back into the bathroom to go put on a long-sleeve, gray thermal and collect some of my other clothes from there. Quickly placing them in the bag, I took stock of our food, seeing as Clarissa wasn't into that. We had 4 granola bars, a box of toaster-pastries,  3 and a half apples, 6 waters, and a bag and a half of bread. Seemed good enough.
If you were into breakfast that is- or just food in general. With the bag packed full of provisions, I turned to Clarissa. I took a finger under her chin and turned her towards me.
"Are you ready to fly Luv?"
"Yes."
Her voice was shaking and she wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Darling what is it? Tell me what's the matter."
"I-I don't trust myself to fly"
"Whatever do you mean by that darling?"
"I-I injured my wing when we fought in the bathroom- I didn't realize it until I tried to spread them out."
I watched as she slowly spread out her wings, keeping the left one slightly tucked in. I ran my fingers along the frame, stopping at the bottom when she winced.
"It looks broken, Clarissa."
"I was hoping it wasn't- Is there anything that we can do about it? Can I still fly?" She asked worriedly
"No and no." I told her honestly.
"What are we going to do then?"
I saw the tears building in her eyes. No. I wouldn't let this happen to Clarissa. My Clarissa.
I had to think of something. My voice shook as I spoke again.
"Oh that part is simple darling. I'm just going to carry you" I smiled at her, waiting for a response.
"You're- what? The whole way?"
"Yes Luv. Wait here." I motioned for her to stay put, and ran off into the living room. Grabbing the large, plush blanket off the sofa, I brought it back to the bedroom.
"Here- Let me take the backpack, and you wrap up in that."
"Okay."
She wrapped herself in the large blanket , able to pull it over her head and still have some pool on the ground at her feet.
"Okay now, we can do this, you just have to stay warm okay?"
"Okay." Her voice was firm, making me happy. I picked her up bridal style, back-pack on my back, and headed to the window. Sliding it open, I stepped out gracefully, gliding on my wings and gaining altitude by the second.

"Clarissa?" I called over the cold autumn winds.
"Yes?" She turned her face up towards me.
"Can you reach the compass in my pocket? It's the left one"
"Sure"
I heard her voice waver and saw her cheeks blush as she reached into my pocket and pulled out the compass.
"Do you want me to read it?"
"Yes please, Luv"
"Okay...what direction do we need to go in?"
"South-west" I shouted over the wind.
"Okay."
I veered to my left a bit, watching Clarissa as she held the compass in her hands, tucked away under her blanket-wrap, falling asleep in my arms.