Runaways: A Romeo & Juliet Story

Chapter 29

"You were meant for me

I believe you were sent to me

From a dream straight into my arms

Hold your body close to me

You mean the most to me

We will keep each other safe from harm."

- My Beloved One by Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals

ROMEO

We're both so exhausted that we fall asleep on the private jet the minute we get in the air. For the first time, no nightmares. Nothing. Just relief and peace.

Just before we land I wake up and Juliet is tucked right next to me, nuzzled into my chest. One of her hands is gripping my sweater tight. I kiss her forehead. I look at her sleeping face and wonder what's going to happen when we get home.

I'd already got word to Baltazar to pick us up from the Verona airport. His discreet car will go below the radar in the middle of the night as we drive across Verona to his part of town.

"Good to see you, sir." Baltazar says hugging me tight, as he greets us at the airport.

"Sir? Come on. Missed you, brother." I say, as Juliet smiles at our closeness.

I sit in the back with Juliet as Baltazar drives us across town. I have my arm around her as we both look at our beloved city. I'd missed it so much.

I think about all the places we told each other about and how somehow we'd avoided crossing paths. Maybe something our parents made sure of as they didn't want to cross paths themselves.

We drive by this church that sits on the heavily Capulet populated side of town.

"I think we used to go here when I was little." I say.

"Oh yeah, that's our church." she says, smiling at the beautiful building. "My mother still goes there."

Maybe we did cross paths when we were younger?

"How did you sleep on the plane? Any nightmares" she asks, resting her head against me.

"No nightmares" I say, kissing her head.

I look at Juliet.

"What?" she says, feeling my eyes on her without even looking up.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I wish we'd been able to pull off that fantasy of surviving out there alone."

"I know. Me too. But we did everything we could. And I don't want anything bad happening to you either." she says gently touching my bruises and busted face. "We'll hide out with good ol' Baltazar and figure it out together."

"Are you happy to be home?" I say looking out at the familiar sites of our hometown– strangely a place with very few memories together.

"Of course. Being here with you, that's heaven." she says.

I hold her tighter.

"Here," she says, pulling a notebook out of her bag. "Sometimes during my lessons I would get distracted thinking about songs we heard on the road and so I'd write lyrics down. Anyway, I love what these people have said, sung, I guess. It helps me realize so many people have felt what we're feeling and that's so special, right? Kind of like a miracle. We're lucky because not everyone gets this."