The basic premise of the group is to be a place where writers can send their writings and then other writers can give them feedback on it so we can all improve. If you're interested, go HERE.
And now without further ado...
*****
Heaven
Breathe. She told herself. Breathing is good for you. It keeps your blood oxygenated so your heart isn’t pumping useless liquid around. Thinking about her heart made her wonder, what was it doing in her throat? That wasn’t where a heart belonged, right? At least, that’s not what she’d learned in Biology. Unfortunately, her teachers had forgotten to inform her heart of this fact. It kept on beating right there in her throat. She felt like a loudspeaker. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, forcing her eyes away from the ground that had become so intriguing and back at the lone figure which stood at the edge of the long balcony.
He stood at the edge of the world, it seemed. His arms rested easily on the ornately carved banister that enclosed the balcony, his hand absently laid on the head of a fierce-looking lion. His face uplifted to the night sky, the moonlight kissing his features gently, he seemed completely oblivious to the party raring in the old mansion behind them. She was almost loath to disturb him. It would have been enough, she thought, to simply stay here in this moment; watching him for eternity. But they’d waited for this night for so long. She wasn’t going to disappoint him.
Her father, the man who was never around, whose sole contribution to her life was the bottomless well of money he supplied. She could let him down without a second thought. Her mother, the woman who’d given her birth then left her in the care of people who didn’t want her, didn’t care for her at all. She could let her down. The grandparents she’d never met, but who she knew didn’t care for her a whit, simply because of the sins of her parents. Was it her fault they hadn’t married? She’d never asked to be born.
But him, this man - this boy, really - she couldn’t let him down. Never. He turned to her, his eyes instantly finding hers. Her gaze broke and lowered again. She couldn’t take the way he looked at her. Those dark, black eyes of his, it was as if he knew everything about her already. She shuffled, feeling the material of her dress move fluidly around her frame, the dress that had seemed to pretty in her room, but seemed so plain now before him, before his eyes.
He smiled and the moonlight seemed to pulse around him as he offered her his hand. They touched, and he was warm. She thought her heart was going to jump out of her mouth. He spoke and his voice was like silk, pushing her worrisome thoughts far from her mind.
“Are you ready?” His words were quiet; she felt goose bumps rise on her flesh.
“I’ve been ready forever.” He laughed, and pulled her close. Her eyes fell shut and she breathed deep. She loved this feeling. He smelled like the earth, old and strong, but alive, fiery. Passionate. With him who needed heaven?
“Shall we?” His voice remained quiet and she simply nodded.
The embrace ended, and in that moment, she would have given anything to simply wrap her arms around him. To make him promise to stay forever. To promise she’d never leave. To tell him that with him, she’d found her heaven. For now, for always. But the words wouldn’t come. He heart clogged her throat too well. She looked up at the night sky, the stars seeming to wink conspiratorially to her. With a half smile she cast an eye back to the party. Through the doors, she could see her father’s friends dancing, her schoolmates too. The people who didn’t want her, who had never made any effort to include the bastard-child of the old millionaire.
Her parents twirled past the glass of the tall windows. Each with a different partner. She’d seen enough. Turning, she ran to him, taking his hand with both of hers and holding tight.
“Let’s do it.” Her voice sounded hoarse, choked, and he glanced down at her, concerned. The lights from the party now danced across his features. She reached up to brush her fingers across his cheek. Even after the accident, he was perfect. He’d always be perfect to her.
Together, they turned their back on the party. On a world which would never accept them because of circumstances far beyond their control. The old car stood ready, packed to the brim; it seemed that bags or boxes were ready to burst from the windows. He held the door open for her and she slid, unhesitating into the seat. The door closed and a moment later he was beside her, the car started and he turned to face her again, the headlights playing over the old burns that marred his flawless features.
“Are you sure about this?” Those dark eyes reflected a worry and tiredness that belied his age. She leaned in, her lips whispering over the destroyed tissue of his face.
“More than ever.”
“Sinners don’t go to Heaven.”
“Then we’ll make our own.”
He chuckled, throwing the car in gear and moving out of the long drive. Her breath came easily, her heart stayed in her chest. The road stretched before them into the night. She didn’t know what waited at the end of it. Neither did he, but they were together now, and that was all that mattered. This was the way it was supposed to be. This was the way it would be.
Always.
*****
You can feedback here too if you prefer. Either way. :D
That's all.
Do I need a penname? Maybe I'll come up with one some other time. For now it's just me.
Jared
