Halo | 18+

chapter sixty six

- AURELIA JONES -

The morning after, I was alone in our bedroom.

Reading the book Angel had loaned me, I was alerted to a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in." I said, dog-earring the page and closing it.

Rez's mop of hair peeked in as he closed the door behind him, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

He didn't say anything.

His shoulder were drooped and I could tell something was bothering him.

"Rez?" I asked softly, placing a hand on his knee.

He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry Aurelia." He said defeatedly, "I'm sorry for everything. I should have listened to you, I should have- been more open and curious then letting every decision I make depend on how I feel."

I was shocked at his suddenly epiphany but kept quiet, waiting for him to finish his spiel of apologies.

"I feel terrible for the way I've been treating you, Shoju too. The way I acted in the cellar is not something I'm proud of. I cant even begin to express how shitty that makes me feel."

I gave him a smile, "I accept your apology, but where is all this coming from?" I asked.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Shoju told me about Gwynn and how she tried to get him to leave you."

I frowned, "I didn't believe him until she tried to do the same to me."

I gasped, "She what?"

He nodded, "She's the same Gwynn. And I feel stupid for thinking that she'd changed." He grimaced.

"Hey- no don't ever feel stupid for seeing the best in people. I really wanted to believe she was different, but you can't change those who don't want to be changed."

He shrugged, falling onto his back. "I guess." His voice was quiet.

"Don't worry about me okay? We'll always be a team, even if takes a few hits to your head for you to see it." I winked.

He laughed and agreed, "Am I interrupting?" Someone said.

I looked to the doorway to see Shoju who was leaning against it smiling.

"No man, I was just leaving." Rez smiled, sending me a wink before leaving.

Shoju replaced his spot on the bed, planting a kiss on my lips before rolling onto his side of the bed.

"So what happens now?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" He replied.

I shrugged, "We haven't had an active threat in a few days. We've been completely safe."

"Don't jinx it."

"You know what I mean. Are we happy here?" I asked him, leaning against the wall.

"Are you happy here?"

I shrugged, "As happy as I can be."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. I'm happy as I can be in a world full of death and sickness.

"That's all that matters then." His hand squeezed my thigh and my chest warmed.

"I have something to show you." He said cautiously, taking my hand. "Come with me."

I followed him without saying a word, my bare feet on the cold ground as we made our way outside.

"Look."

The wildflowers had started to bud, a few white petals flowering off the stem. It was beautiful, and made me feel a thousand times better about our safety situation.

"I have a good feeling about this." Shoju smirked.

"Wow." I whispered, "That's amazing!"

I continued to stare at the flowers, Shoju's hand slipping from mine as he bent down to pluck a single flower.

"Do you think we could make a perfume out of this?" He asked, twirling the stem between his fingers.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

I averted my attention back to him, "I mean, do you think we could press them into a juice or something?"

I hadn't thought of that. "I'm not sure. Maybe? We don't really have the materials for that though."

He shrugged, throwing the flower back to the ground. "I'm sure we could figure it out."

There was a small flower patch blooming on the grass, and soon it would be a whole field of them.

Shoju took my hand and led me back inside, closing the bedroom door behind us as we collapsed on the bed.

"It's gonna work out, I promise." He said casually, "As long as you're with me, you'll be fine."

He kissed the top of me forehead, and for the first time in a long time I believed him.

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WC: 744