by K. A Knight
It loads up to her smiling but stern face. Her hair is tied back, and she’s wearing a pair of jeans and a tucked-in blouse. By her knees is a full backpack, and she seems almost frantic as she takes in a deep breath as she kneels on the carpet.
“Hi, bug. Today is the day—the day I come back to you. I couldn’t sleep last night. Something in me knew you needed me, so I got up and packed, and I’m ready to go. Abel…he’s out gathering food. I couldn’t bear to tell him.” She looks down. “It’s selfish, I know. I love him, but I love you more. I left a note, and I hope one day, he will understand or that we may even get to be here together, and you can meet the man who saved my life.” She glances over her shoulder. “I don’t have much time, but I needed you to know I’m coming and I love you.”
Panic fills me as a sick feeling churns in my stomach. This was the day she died trying to get back to me. She could have had all this, yet she threw it away for me. But wouldn’t I do the same for my friends and family? For my loves?
Yes, without question.
Her eyes close for a moment, and I see the pain and indecision on her face. Clay takes my hand, and Evan grasps the other as we sit on the floor before the sofa. Jago’s hand comes down on my shoulder, and Archel’s on the other. Beast Jr. has his head on my lap, always at my side. They ground me as tears fill my eyes. That’s all I seem to be doing recently—crying.
“I hope you never have to see these. I hope I’ll get to hold you in my arms again soon and tell you everything I did in these tapes…but if not, if I don’t make it back to you…” Her eyes open, shining with tears as her lips curl up. “Know that I love you so very much, my daughter. You are so loved, and I am so proud of you. Be kind, be daring, but most of all, stay strong and be the person I know you are. The one so filled with questions, the need to explore, and the desire to save people…to save this world. I love you. Goodbye.” The video cuts off, and tears roll down my cheeks as I stare at her face.
“Goodbye, Mum,” I whisper.
Closing my eyes, I let my men comfort me as I say goodbye. I let her go. I let all the anger and pain at losing her, at thinking she didn’t want me, go. All that is left is the sparkling love and memories she provided me with. It will still hurt, loss doesn’t just go away because you will it, and I will always have my dark times when I feel like I can’t breathe because I miss her and my dad so much, but…watching these tapes and getting to say goodbye has helped.
No matter if they are gone or not, I will cherish the time I had with them, and even if it hurts, it just means that my love for them is still there. In that love and their memories, they will live on.
“She loved you so much, Pip,” Evvie murmurs.
“She would be so proud of the woman you have become,” Jago soothes.
“I know.” I do, and I’ll spend the rest of my life striving to ensure she’s proud and be the woman she died for, the woman she expected me to be. I won’t always get it right, since I’m not perfect, but no one is. Life is all about making mistakes and learning from them. Life is about taking chances, even if it might get you hurt.
And my men will be with me the entire way.
I find Abel on the bench on the cliff. I sit next to him and admire the sun cresting across the dark, deep ocean.
“You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?” he questions.
“As soon as Jago can travel. I need to get back to my job,” I reply honestly. I’ve been debating it all morning, but the others agree. “I want to come back though…if you’ll have me. Not just because I feel close to my mum here, but it feels right and I enjoy your company.”
He looks at me and smiles. “I’d like that. You are welcome here anytime.”
“Good.” I look back at the sunrise. “Depending how Jago is, we will aim to leave tomorrow. I’d like to have a celebration tonight, if that’s okay? For my mum, for you, for us. I feel like we need to.”
“That sounds like a great idea. I actually have some homemade spirits,” he teases, making me laugh.
“Oh God, maybe we should leave the day after then,” I retort as I smile at him. “Thank you for giving me the time and space I needed. Thank you for letting us invade your life, and thank you for loving her.”
“She was the one I should be thanking. She gave me a purpose, and now she brought you to me. She was an incredible woman, and she created an incredible daughter—one this world needs. I might never be the strongest, smartest, or bravest, but you make me believe in a world outside these walls again. You give me hope for the future of this world.”
“It’s bigger than me. One day, I hope you get to see it and all of the incredible people out there fighting for a future, trying to protect people, and restarting a new life. A better one.”
“One day.” He nods, and we become quiet again, looking at the water. “It will seem so empty here with you gone.”
“You won’t miss all the noise, trust me.” I laugh. “But we’ll be back. I’ve been told I’m like a bad rash, you can’t get rid of me, but now that I think about it, it doesn’t sound like the compliment I thought it was.”
“Life is meant to be noisy. I’ll make some food to last you through your journey and give Evan some of those herbs and seeds so you may grow some at The Ring, as he calls it.” He stands and smiles down at me. “I’m glad we met, Piper. I’m glad life led you back to your mum.” With those parting words, he leaves, and I watch him go before looking back at the water.
Peace fills me. I know my life is only just beginning. We have so much to do to settle The Wastes and make it a place to be proud of again. But with his trust in me, my mother’s trust in me, I know it’s worthwhile.
No matter what is to come, I cannot forget I am fighting so no other child has to grow up without a mum or a dad, so that they feel safe and their lives are filled with happiness and love.
The world may have ended, but that doesn’t mean we have to break with it.
Like Worth said, it’s time to start anew, fresh, like the flowers that grow here on the cliff with my mother’s memory.
The food may not be a feast like in Paradise, but it sure is for The Wastes. It covers the table. There are vegetables Abel grew, which were added to some fresh meat Clay managed to catch. I don’t ask what it is, I don’t care. We have home brewed spirits, water, and sweets. We laugh and talk and drink, our bellies full as we enjoy the night. The more booze we consume, the fuzzier my head gets and the lighter I feel.
“What about the time Clay tried to make a new bomb to impress Piper, but she distracted him with her boobs and he almost blew up the entire building?” Archel roars with laughter, I grin, and Clay howls, smacking the table and the empty plates.
“No, no, the time Piper chased Jago around singing Disney songs until he kept accidentally singing them after,” Evan offers, struggling to breathe through his laughter.
“No! I’ve got it!” I yell, spilling my glass as I gesture with it. “Oops.” I grin. “The time when they took drugs and made sand angels, oh my dicking God, it was so funny.” Archel starts to laugh, while Jago grins and rolls his eyes. Beast Jr. barks with us as if laughing, running around the table and playing with a toy Abel made for him.
Evan leans into me, his eyes bright with happiness and booze. His arm is draped around my shoulder, holding me to him. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or his proximity, but my pussy suddenly wakes up with ferocity, pulsing and demanding I lead one of them away to fuck them.
Definitely the alcohol.
When Abel gets up to grab more booze from outside, I make my move. I think I’m being stealthy, but they all hear as I lean in and try to whisper, “I want to ride your ding-a-ling.” I hiccup loudly and cover my mouth. “Oops, that wasn’t sexy. I mean let’s fuck.” I get to my feet, stumble, grab his hand, and drag him after me. With his arm over my shoulder, I giggle and weave upstairs, Evan following behind me.
Hoots and whistles trail after us, but I ignore them as I rush to the bathroom, throw him insid
e, and shut the door, my hands going to my pants. “Trousers off, Evvie.”
“Jeez, Pip.” He grins but reaches down, managing to undo his trousers before pushing them down. I kick mine off and pounce on him. I smash my lips to his as I circle his hardening cock and squeeze. He groans into my mouth as we fall back with a laugh—right into the bath. He groans from the impact but quickly returns to kissing me before breaking away. “You’re drunk—”
“You are too. Shut up and fuck me,” I mumble into his lips, squeezing his cock harder as his hips jerk.
He moans into my mouth before untangling himself from my arms and climbing from the tub without falling. I kneel, my lips sore and eyes wide.
“What—” I start before he grabs me, yanks me from the tub, and bends me over it.
“I’m shutting up,” he snaps, “like you said.” He pulls my panties aside and slides his fingers along my wet pussy before stopping at my clit and rubbing. I push back into him, needing more, needing his cock. Like he can hear me, his fingers glide down and push into me with none of his usual teasing.
He pulls a gasp from my mouth as his talented fingers curl inside of me, rubbing my walls before pulling out and pushing back in. He moves in a slow rhythm at first before he speeds up. With his other hand, he circles my clit, over and over. It quickly sends me over the edge, and I come all over his fingers with a groan. Evan moans, pulling free of my fluttering channel and replacing his digits with the head of his cock.
In one smooth thrust, he fills me, fighting through my aftershocks to bury himself inside of me. We still for a moment as I shiver in pleasure from being stretched around his cock. His breath blows across my sweaty neck, and my breasts heave as he keeps me there, impaled. He grasps my hips and then starts to move, working his dick deep inside of me with each punishing thrust. When my brain finally kicks into gear, I push back, moving with him.
“Fuck, I love your pussy.” He nips at my neck before pushing me down farther until I’m bent all the way over, and he’s just smashing into me. Each slide of his cock drags along the nerves in my channel, making me whimper and cry out. I grip the porcelain bath hard to stay on my feet. “Love you so fucking much. Love the way you feel, the way you taste, the way you come for me.” The words are almost snarled out, and his tone is filled with his desire, which only spurs me on. I purposely clench around him, and with a yell, he loses all restraint.
His tattooed hand reaches out, grips my neck, and pulls me up until my back meets his chest. I wear his hand like a necklace as he powers into me. The sound of our heavy breathing mixes together over the slap of our skin. Everyone downstairs knows exactly what’s happening, and for some reason, that only spurs me on. My pussy drips so much, I feel it on my thighs as he snarls, his hips snapping forward over and over as he fucks me relentlessly.
“So” —thrust— “fucking” —thrust— “good,” he snarls, squeezing my throat harder than he normally would. Using me, fucking me. The small, dim room only adds to our pleasure, our voices echoing slightly as I cry out his name. I try to hold back the surge of pleasure working its way through me, caused by his cock and hands.
He slips his free hand across my hip and pinches my clit between two fingers.
Hard.
I jerk as a scream leaves my throat, and I’m sent soaring over the precipice again. My orgasm smashes through me so hard, I fall. It doesn’t stop him, though, he fucks me hard and fast, chasing his own release. My tight cunt milks him as his hips stutter, and he comes with a groan and a squeeze of my throat, filling me with his release.
“Holy shit,” I mutter, still shivering, my body exhausted in the best way. “You were like some kind of dick god, pussy obsessed feral. I loved it,” I tease, and he chuckles, stroking my throat before kissing away the sting of his hand.
We lean into each other and the bath as we catch our breath before he pulls free of me. Turning on the tap, he cleans me before I can move.
“Hey, hurry up, you two. Archel made a bet he can swim in the ocean without dying!” someone calls.
Shit. I move past Evan and grab my clothes and start to dress.
“Sorry to hump and run,” I tell him as I pull up my trousers. “But I want to see Archel swim!”
My head is pounding. I blame the alcohol and Archel, who threw me into the Dead Sea. We swam for hours before stumbling to bed and promptly passing out. Now the sun is up and shining onto my face, demanding I wake. We are leaving today, so I need to pack and get ready, but my mouth is thick and cottony, my head is pounding, and my muscles ache so badly, I don’t even want to move.
“Oh God, I’m dying, Pascha,” Clay calls from the floor, where he fell from the bed last night, with Beast Jr. sleeping on him like a blanket.
Evan flops over and covers his pale face. “No more booze, ever,” he mumbles.
Jago grins, sitting near the window as he puts on his boots. Unlike us, he didn’t drink too much, worried about medication interactions. “Feeling rough?” he calls.
I lift my head and glare at him before dropping down and turning to Archel, who is naked and lying across the bed diagonally. “I blame you.”
“I blame myself too.” He groans. “Princess, make the room stop spinning.”
“Only if you make my head stop pounding,” I mutter.
“I’ll pound something else. I’m too hungover for this.”
“Really? I feel fine. Even my head doesn’t hurt that bad anymore,” Jago comments as he stands and stretches. Despite my hangover, I still check him out because come on, that man is fine with capital F. If F was for fuck me like you hate me, deep, dirty sex like the type we had—
“I’m going to be sick if you carry on,” Evan warns.
“Oops,” I chirp as Jago comes over and kisses me.
“I appreciate it. Let me get some food cooked and see if Abel has any more of that tea that might help you guys,” he offers like the hero he is, which the hero always gets the girl, and honestly, even with my hangover, he could still have me—
“Nope, I’m out.” Evan groans and tries to climb off the bed, but he falls onto Clay, who grunts and punches him. They start to fight, which, of course, a naked Archel has to get in on. I leave them to it with a roll of my eyes. After washing off the grime that always coats my body after drinking, I head down to Jago and Abel, but I freeze near the bottom step when I hear them speaking. My eyes flicker to Beast Jr. as he happily trots out of the back door after Jago fed him. I don’t worry about him, since I know he will be back and won’t venture too far. Instead, I focus on the conversation.
“You really love her, don’t you?” Abel asks.
There’s a pause where I don’t think Jago will answer, and Abel clearly doesn’t think he will either, because he continues, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to speak so bluntly. It’s just that I love—loved her mother so much, and she worried for Piper. To see her so happy is comforting. I wish I could tell her mother. They are so easy to love, aren’t they?”
“Yes, I love her, more than anything in this world. Before her, I never loved anything or anyone. She gave me a purpose, a life, a family,” Jago murmurs, and my heart pounds. I duck so they won’t see me when I hear them bustling around the kitchen. Jago is hard to read. He tells me he loves me, and I see it in his actions, but he never bares his heart, especially to a stranger, so I find myself interested in their conversation.
“Good, she deserves it. She reminds me a lot of her mother—a deep soul with a kind heart. Too trusting, but always finding the joy in life.”
“With a laugh that can make anyone smile,” Jago adds. “You’re not wrong. She’s a lot more jaded than she used to be, but she still loves so deeply and tries to save everyone. She feels everything so intensely, it’s why she has us—to protect that fragile, strong heart.”
“Good, I’m glad,” Abel replies, and I cover my mouth, blinking back my tears.
“Might as well come out, Brawler. You are not sneaky,” Jago calls.
Fuck.
“Sure you didn’t.” He smiles but welcomes me with a kiss, not embarrassed or worried I was listening in on his soppy conversation.
Eventually, the others come down, and after drinking some of what I am dubbing as Abel’s miracle tea, our heads are clear enough to think and pack. Abel gives us some seeds, food, and water. He even had some gas, which Archel and Clay use to fuel the bikes. Evan checks Jago over once more and tells us that if we take plenty of breaks, we should be good to go.
While they take the bags to the bikes and Beast Jr. has one last exploration, I find Abel sitting on the cliff. He seems sad as I sit down, so I reach over and squeeze his hand. “We’ll be back.”
“I know. It’s just, with you here, I have finally realised how much I have missed company. Missed noise and laughter. But that’s my problem, not yours.” He seems to shake himself out of it and then turns to me with a little velvet box. “Here, this is for you. It was your mother’s. I want you to have it, and so would she.”
I gently take the soft box that fits in the palm of my hand before cracking it open. I exhale sharply once I see what is nestled in the blue silk material inside. It’s a locket. The smooth oval sides are a shiny silver, and the front is the same but with intricate designs inlaid with blue. Reaching out carefully, I pull it free of the box and softly put it down on the bench beside me as I turn the locket around, the long silver chain dangling over my hand.
“Open it,” he encourages softly.
I spare him a quick glance before turning the locket and gently prying open the clasp with my nail. The two halves fall open, and for the second time since I sat down, my breath is stolen and all of my words with it. Inside is a picture of me, my mum, and my dad. His arm is wrapped around me as he grins down at me. She’s smiling at me, her hands tickling my sides as I laugh. I remember when this was taken, it was the happiest day of my life. I never thought I’d see my dad again, nor my mum, and now I have a locket with their picture to keep forever.