Vigilance

Vigilance (Chapter 15)

Word count: 27.5k

Pairings: Jake x Reader, Sam x OC, Sam x Reader

Warnings: 18+ as always, drinking, smoking, language, fluff, angst, smut, talk of violence and abusive situations.

NOVEMBER 2021

JAKE POV

You sit on the edge of her queen size bed, watching her throw the final items into her suitcase as she tries to decide which coat to bring.

"Just pick one baby, they're basically the same." you say, leaning back onto your hands.

"They aren't the same, one is a peacoat and one is a puffer! Not even close to the same!" she says laughing.

"I don't think it's going to be that cold..." you reply.

"Jacob, twenty-five degrees is pretty damn cold..." she says.

You groan as you flop backwards onto her pillows. You turn your head into the soft fabric, inhaling the scent of her, suffocatingly strong on the pillowcase. You close your eyes as you rest your hands behind your head.

"Bring them both?" you offer.

"Ugh! I don't have room for both...We have to leave here in like, ten minutes. Are you ready?" she asks, shoving the puffer jacket into the suitcase.

"Yeah, when you're done I'll take your bag down to the car." you say, rolling to your side and sitting up.

She starts to roll her suitcase out of her room and down the small hallway. You hear her rummaging around through her kitchen drawers looking for something as you stand up and close the blinds in her bedroom, scanning the road out front first.

"Hey babe?" she calls through the apartment, her voice echoing through the tiny space.

"Mmmhm?" you answer.

"Can you look in my desk and see if you can find a brick thing for my phone charger?" she asks.

"Any particular drawer I should be looking in?" you ask, staring at the desk.

"Uh...check the one on the left side maybe?" she replies.

You slide the drawer out and move around a few papers and miscellaneous objects looking for the shiny white adapter. You pull the drawer out a little further but it catches in the back on a small black box. You stick your hand in to press it down so you can open the drawer further, revealing the item she requested. You move the box to the side and a flash of color catches your eye. A shock runs through you as you push the items around it out of the way to get a better look.

You bite your lips together and slowly nod your head. You send a quick look over your shoulder as you pluck the tiny piece of green plastic from the bottom of the drawer. She still has it. A flutter runs through your chest as you hold it in your fingers again. After all these years...

You think back to the day you taped the pick into the card, so nervous about giving it to her. Wondering if she would even remember it from that night in the garage. Wondering if she would even care. But of course she did. Your heart is pounding in your chest at the sight of it again, then wondering if she remembered it was even in the drawer. Grasping it tightly in your fist you closed the drawer, reaching into your back pocket and pulling your wallet out.

As you slide the pick back into the same little slot it once sat, the indentation of its outline still rubbed into the worn leather. You weren't sure why you decided to take it, but you couldn't just leave it. Left and forgotten like it meant nothing. You carried that pick with you for years. It almost hurt to give it to her even then, not knowing if you'd ever see it again. Not knowing if it meant as much to her as it did to you. It was crazy, the significance a tiny piece of plastic could hold. How something so small and common could still affect you years later. You slid your wallet back into your pocket just as she popped her head around the door frame.