Runaways: A Romeo & Juliet Story

Chapter 16

"You'll see me in hindsight

Tangled up with you all night

Burnin' it down"

- Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift

JULIET

At every moment on that couch, on the floor, on the couch again, I forgot why I had been depriving myself of him. I know how I was feeling after those men put their hands on me but the lesson here is being close with Romeo actually helps me when my mind is rattled like it was. Maybe I was a little mad at him, subconsciously.

Being with him again was so...necessary. It felt like my body had missed him, like I'd forgotten to take my vitamins. Being together in this house, this clean house and not a dirty motel or the car is a game changer. The car was fun, I will admit, but nothing beats this fireplace crackling away warming our naked bodies.

We lie facing each other on the floor, a blanket over us. He pushes some hair out of my face.

"That was...I mean the wait was worth it. But can we never go that long again, please?" he begs.

"Deal." I say. He's right that was way too long. Every time we do it I like it more. I'm getting into a rhythm that feels really good for me.

I wish I had someone to talk to about this. Back in Verona it was always Nurse. But now that feels wrong. I wish I had friends my own age. I wish we were different people living different lives so that being together wasn't the subject of such great public debate that meant we had to hide away. Don't get me wrong I'm so grateful that we have this safe estate to live in while we figure things out but I feel like I've gone from one cage into another. Despite this cage including my very romantic husband, it's still nonetheless a cage.

"How are you feeling, you didn't exert yourself too much did you?" I ask, running my hand along his ribs.

"I can't feel a thing." He says smiling, his eyes closed.

"I bet." I say kissing him. "Thank you for this dinner and this celebration. For not giving up on this feeling we both have."

"Feeling?"

"That we have magic worth saving." I say.

"That is exactly how I feel." He kisses me. "I'm glad we both know what we have here."

"It's forever, right?"

"Longer than forever." he says with a wink.

"Everyone back home must think we're so intense. They'll say we can't talk like this." I say, full of sadness.

"They've never felt what we feel." he whispers, then kisses me again.

"I know it's not the same as what you would have experienced seeing me on the altar but seeing you fall through those stairs and seeing you pass out, that was enough to make me realize we just have to be really honest and clear with each other for the time we have together. It might be ten minutes. It might be ten years. But if it's bullshit none of it's matters." I say, "So here's the truth. I'm really scared about our plans. This interview sounds promising and like an answer to our prayers. But I have to admit I feel like we're trapped in here together. Like we haven't escaped Verona or our parents." I pause, realizing that might be a lot to reveal to him about my thoughts all at once.

"Go on."

"I'm sure about us. You make me feel safe. But I worry there are things you and I can't protect each other from."

"Like?"

"My dad."

"You think he's not really disowning you?"

"Disowning your only daughter after she already married your enemies' son, then fled in the middle of the night? That's not worth anything. He knows I've shamed him and the family by doing this and I just don't believe that he would let me live in peace after I insulted him so many times. He wants to look me in the eye and know that he's got control of me again."

"We'll be ready for whatever he throws at us."

"Well, he's a far more powerful man than you and I put together but we'll surely put up a good fight."

"You don't know Juliet, have faith in our ability to make miracles happen. We are surrounded by magic after all."

"You're right. I should be more optimistic about crushing my dad and his army."

"That's the spirit." He laughs. "But seriously. Whatever it takes. Don't underestimate what the two of us can achieve together."

My stomach rumbles.

"Wait here." He says, walking naked to the dinner table. He assembles the leftover dessert and some dinner rolls on a tray and brings it to me.

I kiss him before stuffing my face with a dinner roll. He laughs at the sight of me and it makes me laugh. It feels good to laugh. Am I being too serious by worrying about everything? I was so hopeful when we first left Verona. Maybe that was the right feeling. Maybe this is all we need. Each other and a couple dinner rolls?

"So, we should talk about this interview." I say, "What's off limits? What are we sharing?"

He rips off some bread for himself and thinks while he eats.

"What did you think of me when we first met?" He asks.

"I thought, this party suddenly got very interesting." I say sitting on the floor by the fire.

He makes his way to me and feeds me some fruit from his plate.

"And you?" I ask between bites, "What was going through your mind?"

"Me?" he teases, sitting with his back against the coffee table. I crawl toward him and sit up against him, both of us staring into the fireplace.

"Come on. Tell me."

"When I saw you, everything I knew before left my mind. I realized I'd never seen true beauty til that night. Every crush or infatuation I've had since I was a boy seemed childish and foolish in comparison to what I felt instantly when I saw you."

"Wow. True beauty." I blush.

"And now, you."

"I was distracted when I came down to greet the guests with my family. My mother had talked to me earlier that day about marrying Paris."

"Then my timing was fortuitous."

"A day later and who knows..."

"It was fate. The universe brought me to you just in time." He kisses my shoulder. "So you said you were distracted. When did you noticed me?"

"Well, I felt eyes on me. Then I turned and there you were. Even under that mask your eyes shone through."

"My eyes. My eyes aren't even my best asset."

"Oh really? And what's your best asset?"

He flips me around and kisses me. "My lips maybe?"

"Maybe."

"Oh, so you think it's something else?" He lays me down. He brings my hand to his heart.

"Your heart? That's a pretty good contender for number one."

He moves my hands down his chest and I feel his abs under my fingers.

"Your body? Your very chiseled abs, that remind me of an ancient statue I saw one day in a piazza."

He says nothing, smiles and moves my hand down to his–

"Now you must think quite highly of yourself if you think this is your best asset. I'm not convinced." I laugh and he lowers himself onto me.

"Let me convince you." He says. We lose ourselves and are moving so fast that the hair on the back of my head turns into a bird's nest. I can feel it bunching together but I don't want to stop. I don't want any of this to end.

Is everyone in the world feeling as good as this?