What Lies Beneath The Clearing

14.2

Jay headed to Evergreen without hesitation, equipped with spare clothes and a blanket for Lennox. In the open field, Lennox was trying to situate herself so that she could try and find her way to the main road. Trying to calm down was more difficult than she needed it to be with her head in a state of tangled thoughts. Ten minutes passed before she finally had the courage to make the half mile walk to the edge of the field, but when she reached the dense forest the fear of disorientation set in again; the sun was only just rising, meaning it wasn't yet high enough to penetrate to the forest floor. The walk from one edge of the forest to the other would be one Lennox made in the dark. Jay wouldn't be able to find her unless he ventured beyond the initial border that he hadn't passed through before, so even in her vulnerable state, Lennox wanted to get as close to the main road as possible to make it easier for him to find her. Another fifteen minutes passed before Lennox recognised the charger pulling up by the main trail gate, stopping abruptly before Jay stepped out and looked around. Seeing him caused a sudden wave of consciousness and warmth to wash over Lennox, as though nothing could happen to her now that he was there with her. Even without her making the journey back to the roads, Jay had no problem with going further into the forest than he'd ever been before - it was what he'd anticipated having to do. The only problem was figuring out how to find her in a forest so dense with no idea where the manor was. It seemed lucky, then, that as Jay looked around, he caught a glimpse of a pale figure standing about 50 metres from him behind a tree trunk. He was careful to move closer, but in doing so became more sure that the figure was Lennox by the birthmark she had on her left arm. 

"Lennox? It's me, you can come out." He said calmly. 

Slowly, Lennox peeked out from behind the trunk, confirming it was Jay before stepping out into full view. Jay slowed, taking in Lennox's bare form. As scared as she looked, he couldn't help but notice the painfully obvious - that Lennox was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Girl. He reminded himself quickly. She was still 16. He stopped himself, pulling his thoughts out of the rabbit hole they would go down otherwise. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, walking over to her and unfolding the blanket as she nodded. 

Before he could wrap her in the fabric she embraced him tightly, taking him by surprise. 

"Lennox," He had one arm loose around her, but before saying anything else he felt his heart take over as she spoke. 

"I don't know what happened," 

"It's okay, I'm here." 

"I want to go home." 

"Okay." 

"Please take me home." She held him tighter than he thought possible, and as hard as he tried to ignore his emotions, they were determined to bubble to the surface. 

The result was a sensation he'd never quite felt before running through his veins; his survival instincts had almost dissipated and had been replaced with a certain protective energy towards Lennox. The feeling allowed him to wrap both arms around her as tightly as she was holding him in an attempt to absorb the feeling of her naked body pressed against his.