by Sandy Kline
“Smells nice doesn’t it?” Asks Blade as he takes a seat next to me on the back porch.
“Yeah…I was thinking it’s nice to smell something that doesn’t smell-”
“Like blood.” He says with a smile.
“Yeah, like blood. Now if I can just get the pictures out of my head…”
“That might take a while longer.” He replies. “The things I see when I close my eyes at night…Yeah I wouldn’t mind unseeing a few things.”
He takes my hand and links his fingers in mine. I take another deep breath. It’ll be nice hanging out here for a while.
“How long are we going to be here?”
“About a week I think. Piper’s getting it all together. He’s going to secure us a truck and we’ll just drive there. It’ll be a hell of a long drive but you’ve done it before so…”
“A road trip huh? Yeah…I could use a nice trip. You’ll love Belize. I can’t think of a better place to be in the world.”
“Seems a little…boring?”
“Are you kidding me? It’ll be a vacation. You can learn to scuba, snorkel, anything you want. There are amazing jungles, caves to explore…it’s paradise Blade.”
“Anywhere…anyplace that has you in it is paradise for me Ms. Clarkson.”
“Don’t call me that. Officer Regan called me Ms. Clarkson.”
“Sorry Jen. One day we’ll go after her and Mark but for now we all need the rest. In fact we need a very long rest.”
I lean over and rest my head on my chest. “Yes…I do need the rest. Why not start right now?”
He flashes me a smile and gets up. I stand and he scoops me up in his powerful arms. I feel like a helpless kitten in his arms and it feels nice. He carries me into our designated room on the bottom floor and closes and locks the door.
“Don’t you have watch tonight?” I murmur.
He looks at his watch. “Not for three hours. What do you think we can do that takes three hours?”
“Not sex.” I reply with a wicked smile. “That only takes ten minutes for you.”
“Oh you’re bad…really bad.” He sets me down at the edge of the bed and smacks my ass. “I like bad.” He moves to smack me again but I catch his hand and turn to face him.
I give him a sly smile and slowly sink to my knees. I inhale his masculine scent on the way down. Strong hands grab my head as he pulls me into his crotch. I can feel his excitement pulsing beneath my lips. This is going to be a nice ten minutes I think to myself; a very nice ten minutes!
Epilogue
The warm blue-green water is lapping at my knees as another Black Tip Reef shark cruises by. The sound of laughter is carried across the placid water and it’s music to my ears. I open my eyes and about fifty yards in front of me at the edge of the reef three figures frolic in the surf. The smallest one pauses in the middle of his play and looks back at me. He does this every few minutes like he’s afraid I and this island paradise will disappear if he doesn’t keep tabs on it. Just to reassure him I wave for him to come in. He turns and says something to Blade and starts coming my way.
He walks up to me with a huge smile planted on his face. He looks like your typical happy eleven year old, but if you look closer, the picture in his eyes tells a much different story. Others don’t see it but I do. I see the pain that’s clearly there only barely masked by his ready smile. He takes a seat next to me and slips his hand in mine. The simple act of holding my hand does wonders for his pain. I can see it slowly dissipate as we sit together in silence.
About a year ago his parents, his big sister, and his grandmother and uncle were in the process of being hunted down and murdered. I understand his pain as much as one can without sharing the exact same experience and he senses that. I never wanted to be a mother yet I have been one for a year now. I’m sure Blade never pictured being a father and Piper an uncle but we all have our roles to play for the sake of Mikey.
With those ultimately responsible for Alex’s death still at large this seemed like the only safe place. Sometimes I think about returning to Whispering Pines to look for Mark. Part of me believes he actually did die but deep down I know it’s not true. And strangely, part of me is relieved he’s still alive and that part really confuses me. My life has been entwined with his for so long it feels more like a safety net and not some type of bondage. I know me and because I know me I know that one day I’ll have to return and settle the score in whatever form that might take. But for now I have Mikey, Piper, and Blade and that’s enough.
THE END