Escaped the Night (44 page)

Jayce sat down beside me. He
r
eached over and took my hand. He
twined his fingers through mine. A tingl
ing sensation r
an
through
my entire body.

“I can’t put you in harm
’
s way,
” I said
,
pulling my hand
out of his grasp. It was breaking my heart
to push him away, but
it
felt like I
was doing the right thing. I was trying my best to keep him and the others safe.

“
Everyone knows
you mean more
to me
than anything
else. They understand because t
hey
feel it. They love you dearly
,
as well
. The elements know
they cannot fight for you, but I can and I will.” He pulled my hand back towards him and held it firmly on his lap.

“Jayce.
” I star
t
ed to tear up. “
Don’t get me wrong.
I want to be with you more than anything, but this just won’t work r
ight now. Daray is in hiding;
no one knows where he is.
This means he could show up
any ti
me and
I couldn’t live with myself if
some
thing happened to you.”

“Shanntal
,
I’ve ne
ver felt the way I do for you,
ever in my entire life. I can’t bear
be
ing
away from you. When you’
re gone
,
it feels like half
of me
is missi
ng. I know you feel the same
. P
lease say
you’ll have me
,
because I
’m not going anywhere unless you
say you
do
n’t want me. Can you do that?”
He looked sternly at me with his big deep brown eyes.

“You know
I
c
ould
n’t
say
those words to you
. You know
I want you to stay
,
but
Jayce
,
it’s just too dangerous.
I
can
’t
live with
the
fear of
something
happen
ing
to you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“
Especially, if
it
happens
because of me
. Don’t you understand that I’
m trying to prot
ect you?” I
felt
frustrated and
needed him to understand my reasons. “I have to get
things settled with Daray. He’
s a
big
pi
ece of this puzzle and
I know he’
ll be able to set things right
for everyone
.”

“Daray?
So, w
e’re back to this again?” Jayce
pulled away and
got
up from
the couch.

“Jayce, please understand.”

“I don’t
get it
and
I don’t think I ever will.”

I felt completely torn. I needed Jayce so badly
, but
wanted him to be s
afe. If he stayed with me I’d
be happy because
he was
close,
but
on the other hand,
he’d be in
too much
danger. If
he left, without a doubt I’d
be
miserable
, but he’
d
remain
protected. Why did this have to be
so difficult?

Kaleb walked over and stood in the middle of us. “Sorry to intervene, but Shanntal, what are you doing?
”

“Kaleb?”
I stood up, placing a hand on my hip, warning him.

“I
’m sorry, but I think you’
re wrong here.
T
he nightwalkers
win if you
continue living
your life in fear.
Put Daray
in the past and leave him there
. Doing this
will
ena
ble you to pursue the
future
with each other
.” He
said
,
pushing
Jayce and me
closer together.

“Geez, Kaleb!
Way to gang up
.”

He smiled briefly, but then
his
face became serious
. “I feel your pain and
how much you hurt when Jayce isn’t around. I know
how much you love
him.”

I nodded
and looked down
. I couldn’t handle
Jayce
staring at me so intensely.

Kaleb continu
ed,
“Jayce is a big boy. He’
s well aware of the dangers.
Keep in mind, he’s
also free to make his own choices and if I’m
not mistaken
…
I think he’s chosen you.”

I slowly lifted my head
and
look
ed
at Jayce.
T
he moment
our eyes met,
I knew we were meant to be together. I
also
knew
I didn’
t want him to leave me again because
I
needed him with me
.
I was
at
my best
when he was by my side.
Confused, I broke eye contact and looked away.

Jayce took another step
forward
,
closing
the gap between us. He gently placed his hand under my c
hin and lifted my hea
d upright
,
holding it in place
.
My eyes drifted back to his.

“I was a fo
ol before. I shouldn’t have
let you go. We
are
meant for each other, I see it
. Don’t you?” H
is head
tilted to the side
and he looked
deeper
into my eyes.

I felt the need to look away, even pull away
,
but I couldn’t move. He was everything
to me and i
f I didn’t cho
ose my words carefully, he might
give up on me
,
and I wasn’t sure I could ever live with that
outcome
.
I went to speak
, but he cut me off
by placing
a
fiery hot kiss on my lips. I didn’t have the strength to fight him off
nor did I want to. I gave in and
handed
my heart back to the man who meant the world to me. I wrapped my arms around him and got lost in our kiss.

Kaleb
,
who
was
still standing beside us
, shouted out
,
“Now that’s what I’m
talking about! Do y
ou see th
is love here?” He looked over to the others. “This is
the kind
worth fighting for.”

“Hear, hear
,
” Kael said back.

Jayce
and I broke out of our embrace
.
I looked over at my aunt and uncle who
stood
side by side with their a
rms around each other. They both smiled and I
saw
how pleased they were.

Kal
eb nudged Jayce. “Good to see you
again
,
man.”

“L
ikewise
, Kaleb,”
Jayce said
.

“Uncle Dane, Aunt
ie
Steph? I know this
place is
n’t the biggest
,
but would you mind if we all stayed here for a few nights
, just
until we can get some place else arranged?”

“You can stay as long as you like. All
of you!” Auntie Steph said
. “Do
n’t forget about the basement, i
t’s
quite
spacious down there. We can
easily
set up some beds. There will be plent
y of room for everyone
.” She looked
at my uncle for approval.

“For sure,” h
e
agreed
.

“See! I
t’s all set
.” She grinned
happily
.

Auntie Steph and Uncle Dane were
satisfied
with the outcome. We were all staying and
I
was delighted to be
back
home. Back in
the place where I c
o
uld sleep safely in my own bed,
take
a nice warm shower and
change into
fresh clean clothes. I was looking forwar
d to the sweet satisfaction of
all
the small thi
ngs home was going to provide
.

Everyone came
out of the kitchen to
join us in the living room.
Jayce sat
by my side
and held my hand the entire
afternoon
. I wasn’t sure he
’d ever let it go
again. I fel
t safe and secure
, but most of all, I was happy.

I sat in a state of awe surrounded by the love of my life, my family and
my
closest friends. There wasn’t any place I’d rather have been in this
particular
moment. It amazed me the sheer joy
I felt just
being sur
rounded by the people I loved
,
a
nd
I wou
ldn’t have had it any other way
.

Dinnertime came around
and
I was starving. I took notice as Auntie Steph got up and headed into the kitchen. I followed her lead.

“Do you need any help?” I asked.

“Oh sweetie, I’l
l always accept your help.”
She
turned and
gave me a quick hug
.

“I love you
, Auntie Steph,
” I
said
,
as we broke out of our embrace.

“Look at us two,” s
he said
,
quickly wiping her
eyes, which
had started
to tear up.
“W
e’
re supposed to be preparing dinner
,
not standing in the kitche
n crying. I’m just so happy to have you
back home.”

“
Me too.
I missed you guys
a lot
.”

“
I’m glad to hear
that. Well now,
before I start crying again,
l
et’s get dinner ready for all thes
e men.” Auntie Steph said, smoothing her brown shoulder length hair and straightening
out
the sweater on her tall thin frame. A few seconds
later
she was back to her happy self.

“Spaghetti is filling and
pretty
easy
to make
. Think we should do that?”