Moonlit

twenty-seven

trigger warning: depression, child abuse and suicide will be mentioned later in this chapter. please, only read if you're comfortable with that.

// Jake's POV //

I hadn't a clue as to where I was going—I just had to get out of there. I had to get away from that house and the chaos and my hopeless wants and the girl that had brought my past back to me so easily.

You're being irrational, a small corner of my mind reasoned, but soon left with the wind that whisked past my ears.

My jog slowed down to a brisk walk, my wide strides still able to take me far down the pavement. I passed several houses, wondering if anyone inside was going through the conflict I was battling with myself.

Sometimes, I wished that I had never followed Tahli after telling her to stay away from me. Then she would've never been her curious fucking self and tried delving into my past, which of course, she succeeded.

After a time that felt much too short, the light thudding of a person running approached from a fair distance behind me. “Jake!” The sound was too familiar, the sound of her pleading, breathless voice almost making me stumble over my own feet. However, I fixed myself up and kept proceeding away from her, not wanting to talk to anyone at that moment.

The road stretched alongside me, the lanes not being shone by the headlights of passing cars. Taking my chance to distance myself even further, I crossed the road without taking much more than a glance to the side before setting my feet upon the curb.

The rumbling of cars began at the same time Tahli once again shouted, “Please, Jake!”

I couldn't help myself. Sparing a glimpse back at the road, there was Tahli in my shirt with her flushed face, her eyes wide and set only on me. She was crossing heedlessly, and I could see her face more clearly when the bright lights of an advancing car glared down on her.

She's going to get hit.

Instinctively, I reached out for her, the front of her shirt luckily at an arm's-length. Wrenching her out of the way, she toppled on top of me as the growling of the vehicle rushed by without hesitation.

She was sprawled on top of me, the position not at all romantic or comfortable. Her elbow was digging into my side, and her breathing was ragged, but she still smelled the same and her hair still felt the same, so I gave up and slumped my head back against the cold pavement.

“Thank you,” she whispered eventually, which momentarily made me forget about whatever I was worried about. But then I remembered.

“Don't whisper,” I mumbled. Sounding beautiful is not an option when I feel like shit.

“Sorry,” she whispered. Then she looked up at me.

I placed my hand on the back of her neck, gently pushing her face back down into my shoulder. Looking beautiful is not an option, either.

After a moment, she mumbled an, “I'm cold.” A shiver rippled down her spine, and I instantly sat us both up so I could shrug off my leather jacket. I rested it around her shoulders, and she gave a small smile in thanks.

When I stopped staring at her like an idiot, I kept my eyes to the space between us.

The traffic had gotten quiet again.

And then she said something I didn't at all expect.

// Tahli's POV //

“Why did you draw me?” I didn't particularly plan on asking that right then, so I wasn't quite sure on why I brought it up, but I did want to keep the topic off his sister for the moment. If changing the subject meant he would be in a better mood, then I would have to let it go.