Together

38. Shhhh...

Always looking out for me
Always seeing my best
You'd be proud of my story
Now I'm writing the rest
I remember the bedroom
At the end of the hall
I'll be walking beside you
Til the end of it all
-TALK

Kiara lays in her bed, waiting for her parents to go to sleep. They've been talking in their room for an hour, and she can still hear them come in and out as they get ready for bed. She was getting antsy, her nervous energy making her want to move.

Finally, she hears her parents settle down. She would still have to give it another fifteen minutes to make sure they were asleep. She would groan with frustration if she weren't afraid of drawing attention to her room.

The minutes tick by slowly and she's crawling out of her skin by the time she feels it's safe to leave. She goes to the window, sliding it up. Before she can put one foot on the siding she just about knocks heads with a blond mess of hair and falls backwards, covering her scream with her hand.

JJ quickly climbs through the window, sliding it shut after him.

"Oh my god," Kie breathes. "What the hell are you doing?" she asks, breathless as she holds a hand to her chest.

"Sorry," he whispers, crouching at her level. "Didn't mean to scare you. To be fair, I almost let go when you stuck your head out," he quietly laughs.

Kie takes stock of him. He's breathing hard, like her, and his hair is a mess as he runs his hand through it while he softly chuckles. He's wearing a black cut off and cargo shorts. He seems so relaxed right now, despite the jump scare. Doesn't seem like anything is wrong, but why would he be coming here when he knows she's going to him?

"What are you doing here?" she repeats, still sitting on the floor and leaning against the foot of her bed. "I was just about to head your way."

JJ's mood gets more serious as she notices his gaze move over her face. He shrugs innocently, as he crawls over and sits beside her. He looks at her from the side.

"About that," he starts. "You look tired," he points out, indicating with his index finger the small bags under her eyes.

Kie chuckles a little, "Okay?"

"Just thought I'd say goodnight in person," he says, kissing her temple.

Kie throws a confused look his way and JJ recognizes that she isn't going to acknowledge how much her being with him every night is exhausting her. He sighs.

"You don't have to stay with me every night, I'm okay," he says softly. "I know when you get there and when you leave, Kie."

Kie finds herself a little speechless. She wasn't expecting him to notice something so small. She's aware she was more tired lately but she didn't think it was something he caught on to. She feels slightly guilty that he's worried enough to mention it. She wasn't the one going through trauma hell, and he shouldn't be worried about her.

"I'm fine," she says.

"Kie, it's okay," he says. "I love you for it, but I mean it." He grabs her hand. "I'm okay."

He wasn't lying. Since opening up and processing his shit in therapy he's felt lighter, more hopeful, even happier. The dark cloud that he had gotten so used to he didn't know what it was like to see the sun had lifted. And man, he missed the sun. He wasn't done dealing with it, but he felt better. Enough that she didn't need to worry. He was gonna be okay, even he believed it and shit if that isn't progress.

He gives her those baby blues, sincere and appreciative. She feels her heart melt. She believed him. She was still going to check in with him, but she believed him. There was a change in his demeanor over the last few weeks. He just seemed less troubled. Like everything was going in a good direction. It was like having her JJ and all his best qualities being amplified.