The Inner Circle | A Midnight Quartet

Chapter 23 | Miles Perry

 Miles rubs at his wrists absently, already feeling the ghosts of the handcuffs that were there for only a few hours. Being locked up or constrained wasn't a new feeling for him, unfortunately. There were many times when he and Livingston would get caught stealing by one of the sheriffs in town. They always found a way to get out of it, though, causing them to move to a different part of the village. He shakes those thoughts loose from his head, not wanting to dwell on his past.

There's only a sliver of the sun still showing on the horizon and he can't wait for this day to be over. Carmen and Darcy sit close by him on the edge of the boat, yet Miles has been making sure to give them plenty of space. As soon as they got on the boat, Aspen asked for a bit of time alone to process everything that was revealed during the confrontation of the King. Miles doesn't blame her, yet he can't help but want to be with her. He stands up from sitting on the floor, deciding that he needs to go check up on her before she does something irrational. He walks past some of the crew of the boat--all spies, according to Darcy--as they shout orders to each other to keep heading West to reach Aurelia.

"Excuse me," Miles asks one of the members closest to him. "Could you possibly tell me where the most claustrophobic place is on this boat?"

The man looks at him oddly. "And why would you need to know that?"

"I'm looking for a lovely woman who just happens to like small spaces. I was hoping you could point me towards her."

"You're Miles, right? And you're looking for the Cooper girl?" When Miles nods, the man laughs, slapping his knee. "I should've guessed that earlier. I'll help you find your lady-"

"That's quite alright." Miles interrupts, not liking how the man's eyes light up when he mentioned Aspen. His voice hardens, "Just tell me where she is."

"Woah, relax mister. You're as snappy as she is, yet she's at least cute when she's mad; you're just annoying." Miles glares at the man and he gives him a smug smile back. "I would say that that spot would be right underneath us, in the closet of the cramped cabin down there."

"Thank you, sir." Miles gives him a strained salute that feels utterly wrong as soon as he does it, especially when the rude man barks out a laugh at Miles' retreating figure.

He thankfully remembers the way to the ladder going below deck, not having to talk to more people. Despite the trip only being a few hours across the choppy ocean, they were still shown the cabin downstairs in case any of them needed a place to change or take a nap. Miles should've guessed that Aspen would retreat here at some point. He knocks on the door before immediately opening it and going inside. The small room is empty of people but jam-packed with two bunk beds along the walls.

"Aspen? Are you in here, my sapling?" Miles says, heading towards the small door inlaid in one of the walls.

He opens it and finds his girl curled up on the ground, a small smile on her face while tears still come out of her eyes. "Hi." Even her voice is sad.

"Hi." He lowers himself to the floor next to her, causing her to place her head on his lap. "I hope it's alright that I came down to check on you. I think we're getting kinda close to Aurelia and I couldn't stand to watch Darcy and Carmen being cute any longer." Miles shows her his hands, his fingernails jagged and rough. "I've been worried sick for you this entire time, my nails took the brunt of it."

Aspen's eyes become even more cloudy with tears and she scoots closer into Miles. "I'll schedule you a manicure as soon as we get to the palace."

He laughs a little bit, glad to see her laugh. Just as quickly, though, he returns to his serious state. His thumb comes up to wipe away her tears. "I'm here for you, Aspen." Miles gently lifts Aspen up to a sitting position, wanting to say the next words eye to eye. "And I know that when people are about to die that they admit irrational things, so I wanted to reiterate something. I love you beyond words. I'm so, so sorry that it took getting thrown in a jail cell to finally admit it to you. I don't deserve you and all I want is the best for you. I never want to leave your side and I will protect you at-"