Breathe

The Four Month Mark: Part 9

Safiya was deep in thought as she drove to Lyra's flat to pick her up. When she arrived, they exchanged the usual pleasantries before Lyra asked her what was going on. Safiya sighed and relayed last night's interaction with Logan.

She was nervous. Logan had messaged her saying that he needed to come and talk to her. She paced the room, waiting for him to arrive. At the knock on the door, she leapt up, inviting him in. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I've got some bad news." Logan frowned.

"What is it? What happened?" She asked anxiously.

"I... I'm being shipped out for deployment," he said hesitantly.

"What?! When?!"

Logan sat on the end of her bed, looking at her dejectedly. "In a week. On Monday."

Safiya sat next to him, stunned. "What- when- where-" she struggled to pick a question. "For how long?" was the one she chose.

"6 months."

She couldn't breathe. Six months without him. She knew they had only been going out for 4 months but she was crazy about him. "Where?" she managed to push out.

"One of the islands. I can't say anymore," Logan said apologetically.

"Can we still stay in contact?" Safiya asked.

"Yes, we can write to each other. Just address the envelope to me and give it to the army and I'll get it." He pulled her into his lap, holding her tight.

Lyra frowned. "Shit. And he couldn't tell you where he's going or what he's doing?"

Safiya shook her head. The rest of the night flashed in her head, the way he held her as he fucked her, the brutality but also intimacy of it, and a current ran through her body. She tried to push it out of her mind, she wasn't going to tell Lyra that! They drove the next few blocks in silence.

"So why aren't you with him now??"

Safiya glanced at her friend, brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"If he's leaving in a week, why aren't you spending all the time with him you can??" Lyra demanded.

Safiya chuckled. "I am. He's meeting us at the gym."

"Oh." There was a pause, "Oh fuck am I going to have to stand there while you guys are all handsy and gross?" Lyra frowned.

"No, don't worry, we won't be like that," Safiya assured her friend with a laugh. "That's what we'll do when we get back to my place," she added with a wink.

"Oh fucking hell," Lyra groaned, smiling slightly as her friend snickered, parking the car.

The two friends walked in together, Safiya greeting Logan with a smile and a quick kiss.

The couple shot together most of the night, Lyra occasionally taking a break from working with another girl to join them. Logan loosed his last arrow and it hit the centre of the target with a thud.

"Well, fuck you," Safiya frowned from her seat behind him on the stage.

He chuckled, putting the bow down, walking over to stand between her legs. "I love you, too," he said.

"Mhm," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Come on... you love me," he said with a grin.

"To the moon and back," she admitted, pushing his hips away so she could stand up.

"To the moon and back," he echoed, kissing her temple as the whistle blew three times.

Logan started pulling his arrows as Lyra and Safiya continued past him to the further target.

"I have to ask," Lyra started, "What's up with the while 'moon and back' thing?"

"It's from one of my favourite books as a kid. 'Guess how much I love you'. But also," Safiya continued, pulling her arrows, "Your heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood each day – which translates to 7571 Litres – which is equivalent to the amount of gas it would take you to drive from the earth to the moon and back. So when somebody tells you they love you to the moon and back, they're basically saying they love you every time their heart beats, which is constantly." She shrugged.

"Wow. That's not adorable at all," Lyra said dryly.

Safiya just grinned back at her friend as they walked back to the stage, "I know right."

The day that she had been dreading for a week had finally arrived. They had spent the weekend at her flat and now it was Sunday night. He pulled on his clothes as Safiya sat on her bed wearing nothing but his hoodie.

"And you really can't tell me where you're going?" She said with a pleading look.

He grabbed a fistful of hair, giving her a long passionate kiss. "You're mine Baby, understood? No matter what happens, you're mine. And," he added, "When I get back, I'll officially collar you. How's that?" She nodded and melted into his kiss.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Safiya breathed, trying to hold back the tears.

"I'm going to miss you too, baby." Logan wrapped his arms around her, blinking back tears of his own. "Write to me?"

She nodded, unable to stop herself from crying.

"You can look forward to the collaring. We'll make it a whole big thing. I'll take you out for dinner, movies, anything you want," he choked up. "I'll be back before you know it."

She sobbed at the hitch in his voice. "You better be."

They walked outside, stopping on the porch. Logan kissed her hard before wrapping his arms around her one more time.

"You're mine," he breathed onto the top of her head.

"I'm yours," she echoed.

"And you love me," he pulled back, looking into her eyes.

"To the moon and back," she whispered.