by DD Cooper
After all that was done, and the workers had drawn an outline of where the borders should be, I went back inside to check on Jack. The door was almost done, which was a relief as I tightened my jacket around myself. I found Jack back in his bedroom lying on the bed. I closed the door behind me and joined him. I huddled close to him and put my head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.
“If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I would have done,” I said, tears forming in my eyes.
“Shh,” Jack whispered and kissed the top of my head lightly. I turned my head up and kissed him lightly on the lips. It felt good to be sharing the same body heat, the same air as him. “I’ll be up and about in no time,” he said. “And then we can leave this blasted place behind.”
“Which reminds me,” I said. “Rory will stop by later today after the workers are gone.”
Jack sighed deeply. “I hope he doesn’t cause any trouble for us.”
“He seems like a decent fellow,” I said. “He wants to get off this island as much as we do.”
“As much as Lucy did?”
I was surprised he would bring that up. He was the one who killed her after all. “Mmm-hmm,” I softly murmured, “But Rory’s different. He doesn’t seem to have a mean bone in his body. Lucy was a different story.”
“You seem to be awfully infatuated with this Rory guy. Should I be worried?”
I immediately got up and away from Jack. “Are you serious?”
“Come back to bed, Sophie, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just thinking out loud, that’s all.”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked down on him angrily. “You shouldn’t even be thinking such thoughts. I love you, Jack, and only you. There’s no one out there that will change that.”
“I know,” he said softly. “Believe me I know. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find other guys attractive. That’s all I was saying.”
“What? Like you find other girls attractive? Like you found Lucy attractive? So attractive in fact that you fucked her in this very house?” Jack started it, but I was going to finish it.
“We weren’t together then. That’s different.”
“That’s right. And I forgave you for that, so I’m not sure what you’re trying to say right now.”
“Come here,” Jack held out his hands, and though he did look pretty pitiful with the dark circles under his eyes and the bandages on his head, I stood my ground. “I was just being jealous. I guess I just can’t imagine sharing you with anyone else. I’m just being a stupid guy right now, please forgive me.”
I couldn’t stay mad at him for long, not when I was partially responsible for him looking so out of it. Instead, I decided to take his mind off his petty jealousies by straddling him and sitting down on his crotch. Even through my jeans I could feel him harden under me.
Jack moaned loudly as he put both his hands on either of my hips. “Oh, Sophie, I want you so bad right now.”
“I want you, too, Jack,” I said as I felt my nipples harden in anticipation as his big manly hands slid under my shirt and up up up, until they reached my boobs. He squeezed them hard and I was the one who moaned now. One of his hands decided to move back down until he’d reached the top of my jeans. “Fuck, Jack,” I moaned, “you’re in no condition.”
“Let me worry about that,” he sighed as he attempted to unbutton my jeans. I took my hands from his hard chest and helped him out. I quickly slid out of my jeans and underwear. I helped him get his boxers off, letting his erect cock free. I held it in my hands and felt the warm throbbing of his pulse. I put the head of it in my mouth and he moaned. His fingers reached my head and back. I knew he wanted to go further down, but right now I was focused on giving him some pleasure, which in turn made me desire him that much more.
Pretty soon, I was on top of Jack, his hard cock sliding slowly into me. It felt strange at first to be the one in control. Jack wanted to flip me over but I held him down. We both still only had our shirts on, and that was it. I rode him slowly at first, getting used to the sensation and the position, but once I really got into it, I kind of enjoyed being the one in control. By the moans escaping Jack’s lips, and the way he held me with his hands, it was obvious that he was enjoying the experience as well. The workers outside still worked, and I hoped the sound of their work would muffle any moans that escaped our lips. It felt slightly dangerous to be having sex with people working right outside, especially since I’d only closed the door and not locked it.
Pretty soon we were done and I joined Jack under the covers.
“Fuck, Sophie, that was amazing,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said. “Feeling a bit better now?”
“Much better,” he said and grinned. “Much better.”
We stayed in each other’s arms for awhile, breathing hard from all the hard work we’d just done.
After the moment had passed I put my clothes back on and threw his boxers at him.
“I’ll go make us something to eat. You wait right here and I’ll be back with a plate.” He pulled me in for a deep kiss and I forgot to breathe for a second, butterflies flying in my stomach. It felt so surreal, yet so right, me being here with Jack, so intimate, without any thoughts of anything but just the two of us. No past events replying in my head. No Crow. No world outside interfering. It was as if the world stopped when we made love, and even when we didn’t. I told myself it was dangerous to lose oneself so deeply in another person. When I read those classic novels I always groaned at how the heroine and hero got together and knew it was true love. But now that I tasted true love myself, it didn’t seem so farfetched at all. It seemed all wounds, all old hurts could just melt away when you found the right person and they put their arms around you. I know it sounds cheesy, but that’s really the way it felt between me and Jack.
Hours later, stomachs full and the workers gone, and a front door that worked, I found myself sitting on the couch in the living room, Jack by my side. We huddled together as if in front of a fire on a midwinter eve, even though it was pretty warm in the house already. I guess metaphorically speaking we were in the middle of winter, and the only warmth we could find was each other. And the only fire that we could light was the one that was lit by our love for each other.
The sun set in the horizon and I heard the sound of an approaching car. Rory was here. I waited for him to come around and when I saw him by the door I immediately got up to let him in. He still had his uniform on, and he looked pretty cute in it. He greeted me with a smile when I opened the door and I returned the gesture.
He saw Jack barely awake on the couch.
“You guys don’t waste time. This place looks like nothing except a little construction has happened since I was last here.”
Jack nodded. “Money buys time, I guess you could say. Speaking of money, it seems we have some things to go over with.”
Rory smiled. “I guess we do,” he said as he took off his jacket. I took it and hung it on a coat rack in the corner.
I went into the little kitchenette while they discussed business. Soon I came back with a plate of cookies and a cup of tea for each of us. I sat across them and didn’t interrupt them since they seemed to be in a deep discussion about how the money would get into Rory’s account and what amount was appropriate.
Truthfully, I wish I could tell you all the details of that conversation, but I kind of got lost in my own thoughts. I sipped my tea and caught a word here and there, but all I kept thinking about as I looked upon Jack and Rory was how fortuitous it was that a man like Rory had come to our doorstep, and not one of the other cops or deputies or whatever they were called here, on the island. Jack and Rory seemed like old friends to me and that seemed like a good sign.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of yours, you know?” Rory was saying to Jack and that got my attention. If I wasn’t mistaken, it looked like Jack was blushing a little. I guess the whole reason he left the limelight was so he wouldn’t
be running into fans of his work. But here was Rory, doing that exact same thing, even though Rory too seemed reluctant to share such a view.
“That’s awfully nice of you,” Jack said. “I don’t know if acting is something I want to continue doing, though.”
“That’s too bad,” Rory said. “I always await your new work with great anticipation. What about you, Sophie,” he turned towards me. “Are you a fan of Jack’s work?”
Now it was my turn to blush. “I’ve seen some, but I was never much into anything current, so I can’t say I’m a good judge of current pop culture. The only pop culture I’ve ever been exposed to is the ones Lucy shared with me.” I thought it would be harder to say her name, but it came out pretty easily, with no hint of what had actually happened to her at all.
“That’s kind of interesting. I didn’t know there were people like you still out there.”
“You make it sound like I’m some rare breed of, I don’t even know what. I don’t know whether to take it as compliment or not!” I laughed nervously.
Rory grinned wide, his smile infectious. “It’s definitely a good thing,” he turned to Jack. “No offense to you or anything, but it’s rare to find someone these days who wasn’t raised on Hollywood, isn’t it?”
Jack nodded. “No offense taken. Believe me, I know the dark side of Hollywood better than anyone.”
And that’s how we spent the rest of our afternoon and evening, just talking with Rory about various subjects.
With each minute, each hour spent in his presence, I felt a little closer to and more comfortable in Rory’s company. He reminded me a bit of Jack, except for the fame and fortune, but there was something familiar about him.
It pained me to see him go after I walked him out.
“He isn’t such a bad guy after all,” Jack said, sounding surprised. “I’m glad it was he who answered that call the other day.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said. “It was as if some sort of fate was on our side.” It felt weird to talk to Jack about Rory in such a manner, but now that he warmed up to him, maybe it wasn’t that weird after all. I took my seat back next to Jack and played with his hair, the part that wasn’t damaged. “How are you feeling?” I asked him softly.
“Better. Much better,” he smiled. “Especially now that I know Rory can be trusted. Or at least I hope he can.”
I looked upon the view outside and couldn’t see much of anything. I remembered how Rory had helped me with Crow’s body. I would be grateful to him no matter what happened later on just for that. “He helped get rid of Crow’s body and he hasn’t said anything to anyone. I think he can be trusted. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he seems to be a fan of yours, does it?”
“No,” Jack agreed. “It doesn’t.”
Chapter Nineteen
After a couple of hours more of awake-fullness it was safe for Jack to go to sleep so I let him rest as I looked upon him laying in bed next to me. His warmth, his smell. I didn’t know how to exist without it now that it was mine. I felt tired as well, but not sleepy. A thousand and one thoughts raced through my mind. Pretty soon, as soon as the cement hardened and Jack felt better we were going to leave this island, and I couldn’t help but think that that was just a dream we had, that we would never actually be able to leave this place. Maybe physically we would, but mentally? I wasn’t so sure. Even now, as I lay awake in the the middle of the night, I can’t forget the things that happened on this island. I can’t forget the terrible things I was forced to do.
The only good thing that seemed to come out of the whole mess was my relationship with Jack. And maybe, just maybe, a new friendship that seemed to be forming with Rory, as well.
The days passed like clouds through the sky, and with each day Jack felt better and the cement around our terrible secrets hardened.
I huddled next to Jack on the bed, keeping his naked body as close to me as possible. We breathed the same air, shared the same space, and that’s how it should have been. I tried to drown out the voices in my head working against me, and most of the time, as long as Jack was there, it worked.
“I can’t believe the day has finally come,” I said.
“Me either,” Jack sighed. “A lot has happened since I first came here, that’s for sure. And I’m not just talking about the new deck out there.”
I hit him in the arm, harder than I intended.
“Ouch!” he said and laughed.
I had to laugh as well. And then I got up and got dressed quickly. I could see the disappointment on Jack’s face. “There’s stuff to be packed,” I said. “You should join me.” And with that I left him in bed by himself. Now he was pretty much back to his old self. His scar, which seemed to be healing fast was hidden by his hair, so it didn’t really effect his looks much.
I went back to “my” room and took an inventory of all the stuff there and didn’t really feel like taking anything with me. This reminded me of another piece of luggage that we needed to get rid of: Lucy’s. It felt cruel to throw it all into a bonfire, but something needed to be done. Rory, for his part, didn’t seem to suspect anything.
I went outside, one last walk around the property, by the bitterly cold ocean as I made my way down to the beach. There was no one in this town that could hurt me now, and that made me walk a little lighter. I lost myself in the walk, in the breeze, in the waves.
I ran into Rory about ten minutes after my walk. He didn’t have his uniform on, just jeans and a warm jacket. He looked a little less intimidating now.
“I was just coming to see you,” he said, taking his hands out of his pockets. “It’s cold, isn’t it? I can’t say I’ll miss that about this place.”
He fell in step beside me, away from Jack’s place. “Is there anything you’ll miss?”
“My uniform. As crappy as it was, the girls loved it,” he said and laughed.
I joined him. It was true, the uniform brought something more in him. In regular clothes you could say he was cute and charming. But in the uniform, he became handsome and attractive. I didn’t know what it was. Perhaps the sense of power that comes from a cop’s uniform, even in a small town such as this one.
“Where you headed?” He finally asked, after minutes of silence. To the the truth, I didn’t mind the silence at all. I had no need for words at the moment.
“Nowhere particular. Just out for a walk,” I said and left it at that.
But guys like Rory couldn’t stay quiet for long. It didn’t seem to be in his genes. He seemed like the kind of guy who would always say a joke at a party or wherever he found himself, and try to make everyone else laugh. That made me like him a little more as well. He was the opposite of me and Jack. We were reserved, laid back, and when we went out into the world we usually wore a mask of one kind or another. Rory didn’t seem like that. He seemed like he genuinely enjoyed being alive, which was a foreign concept to me until I met Jack, and knew there was something worth living for.
“Are you guys getting off this island soon? I just checked my bank account, and it seems I have more money than I know what to do with.”
“Today, actually, if all goes as planned. We’re taking the ferry to London and then from there we’re taking a plane to some island I can’t even pronounce. To be honest, even after Jack explained it to me, I still have no idea where it actually is.”
He smiled good naturedly. “I wasn’t much of a geography student, either,” he said.
Which reminded me of all the years I missed of public school, having been homeschooled by the cult since my mother moved us to Crow’s place. I shook those memories away. I wondered how many lies they had instilled in my brain that I wasn’t aware were even lies, because they were repeated to me so many times.
“What’s he planning on doing with that fancy house, especially now that he’s made those improvements?” Improvements that were only made to cover up the murder of three people, but he didn’t have to know that. Well, he knew about one of them.
&nb
sp; “Probably sell it,” I lied. “Not really sure. You should ask him. Who knows, he might keep it as a vacation home, though I can’t really see us coming back her any time soon.”
I turned around and headed back toward the house. Rory still walked beside me, so I assumed he wanted to talk to Jack as well. I didn’t mind. I felt comfortable around Rory for some reason. Not the same way I felt comfortable with Jack, but it was still something.
After awhile we finally reached the hill. The thought of having to climb it a thorn in my side. It seemed I’d walked a little too much, and now I was too tired to contemplate walking up that hill just yet. So I sat in a dry patch of sand and rested.
“Want me to stay with you?”
“No, you go on ahead. I’ll just rest here a bit.”
“I don’t mind,” he said.
“I know. I just need some time to myself.”
I waved him away and watched as he climbed the hill, faster than I ever had. I wondered what he wanted to talk to Jack about but pretty soon let that thought go as I laid back in the soft sand. It felt good to just let go, to rest. I floated away in a sea of calm and felt myself drifting further and further away from everything.
My limbs were weak, my thoughts clouded, and it felt like hot tears were going to pour any second. I turned to my side and used my hands as a pillow and closed my eyes, enjoying the cold air. I didn’t know if I ever wanted to go up that hill again. Back to that house of death. Now that I was really away from it, I realized how wrong it really was.
But eventually, I forced myself to get up and slowly walked up. I heard voices so I instinctively made myself as quiet as possible as I made my way to the house.
“I’m open to anything,” Jack was saying. “But I’m not sure how Sophie would feel about that.” Then Jack looked up and saw me at the doorway. He took his hand away from Rory’s shoulder, and they both blushed as I entered the room. “Hey,” Jack said, pretending like he didn’t see me before. “How was your walk?”