Healing Takes Time

Chapter 33

Chapter 33 

Mom got Connie out of the river, and we left right after that. She said it was because she forgot sunscreen and didn't want us all to get burned, but we all knew it was really because she didn't want to have to fish Connie out again. I didn't blame her. I got exhausted just watching her. Not surprisingly, he fell asleep on the way home along with Eren and Mikasa.

I sat in one of the middle seats with my elbow on the seat rest and my chin in my palm. The trees flew by the window, and I had to stop focusing on them, so I wouldn't get carsick. For the better part of forty-five minutes everything was a blur of brown and green in various tints and shades.

It was quiet in the car except for the sound of soft breaths, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Mom was scrolling through Facebook on her phone and paused every once in awhile to tell Dad about something she saw or read. He kept his eyes on the road most of the time but would glance over when she wanted to show him a picture or two.

I was close to nodding off myself when the landscape started to look familiar, and the lake was visible through the trees. I sat up more and stretched, shoulders and back stiff from being hunched over. Mom looked up and put her phone away--because she lost reception, not because she realized that we were here already--and turned around to look at us. She smiled when she saw the three terrors asleep. When her gaze fell to me, she winked and turned back around.

Dad pulled up beside the cabin, and I reached back and picked Connie up. He was out like a light. He didn't even twitch when I hit my head climbing out of the car even with me muttering curse words a sailor would be proud of.

"Thank you," Mom said gratefully.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's not a big deal," I replied, taking Connie inside. I kicked a pillow off the couch and set him down before covering him with a blanket. "You're a lot of trouble, you know that?" I murmured. Unsurprisingly, he didn't answer.

I straightened and turned around to see Dad standing there looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I blushed a little. Wow, Jean. Way to look nuts. I ducked my head and brushed past him to go out the door. He chuckled but didn't stop me. I waved to Mom before I crossed the street and headed to the lodge, hoping to find somebody--okay, not somebody, just Marco--to do something with.

He wasn't in the lodge to my disappointment, so I ordered ice cream in a dish and went outside. I took my time as I walked down the dock. More poofy clouds covered up the sun just enough, so I didn't have to squint. It was perfect, actually.

I settled on the bench and leaned back. Solitary time was nice, and I didn't realize just how much I missed it. This whole being around the family for, like, five days straight was totally foreign to me. I didn't hate it necessarily, but I still did like being alone. It gave me time to think about everything and nothing.

I let my head fall back, and I closed my eyes. I could totally go for a nap, but the shaking of the dock as random people walked on it was bound to make me sick. I lifted my head again and started on my ice cream. I watched people swim and paddle by in various stages of concentration, laughter, and conversation. I guess I wasn't quite as alone as I thought.

I closed my eyes again and was just starting to fall asleep when something suddenly jabbed me in the back. I must've jumped ten feet in the air. I heard laughing behind me, I whipped around to see what it was. Down in the water was Marco, grinning up at me, obviously amused.

"Jesus, Marco."

He laughed. "What?"

"Don't scare me like that." I ran a hand through my hair. "God dammit."

He planted his hands on the dock and pulled himself up. "Did I scare you?"

"Pfft. What? No. You didn't scare me. That's impossible. You didn't..." I trailed off as he raised an eyebrow. He wasn't taking my load of bullshit. I blushed and looked back at the water. "Okay, yeah, you did. Fine."

He laughed again and turned around, leaning back on the warm wood and cushioning his head on his arms. I thanked whatever deity was watching us right now. Marco's whole torso was wet, and the sun chose that moment to come out from behind the clouds. Sunlight caressed all the muscles in his chest and abdomen. And holy shit was it glorious. I couldn't stop my eyes from tracing every single line. Even the light trail of hair below his navel.

"Hey, Jean?"

My eyes trailed over his collarbones. "Yeah?"

"My eyes are up here."

My gaze flicked up to his, and I knew I was blushing furiously. He was blushing too, but he was grinning. He knew he'd caught me. God, I was such a fucking tool.

"I-I know that! Jesus, you think I'm checking you out or something?" I looked out on the water and squinted at the glare of the sun off the waves. I could hear him laughing softly. "Pfft. Never." I'm not imagining running my hands up and down your chest. Nope. Nor am I thinking of how your hipbones would feel against my thumbs. Uh uh. Not me...

He giggled--fucking giggled--as if he knew what I was thinking. I looked back down at him. "Jean...," he said, dragging my name out, and he playfully smacked my ankle. "You aren't very subtle. You were almost drooling."

"Was not!"

"Yeah, huh!"

I held my ice cream bowl over his chest and started to tip it as if I were going to drip it on him. I almost did too until he laughed, "No, no! You weren't checking me out at all." He smiled innocently with amusement.

"Damn straight," I mumbled as I drank what was left of my ice cream. "And don't you forget it."

He bit his lip around a smile. "Oh, I won't forget." I squinted at him. "'Specially 'cause I won't let you."

I sighed. Why, self. Why have you forsaken me?

"And since I know you'll do it again."

I looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you think so?" I asked, amusement in my tone.

"Y-yeah." He was blushing. "Cause you made it obvious that you liked looking, y'know? And um..." He sat up and pulled his knees to his chest, now very flustered. "And I-I wouldn't mind it necessarily. J-just not in public 'cause people will wonder why you're drooling." He laughed nervously and pulled his knees up more, smiling sheepishly at me.

I just laughed. "So what you're saying is when we're alone I can look all I want?"

He hid his blushing face in his knees. "Maybe." I could still see his red ears, and they weren't like that from the sun, that's for sure.

I reached down and ruffled his hair. "Will do, Freckles. Will do."

He swatted my hand away. "Heeeyyyy... You're messing up my hair," he whined. His fingers worked to try to put it back to the way it was, but nothing was working. Mostly since it was wet.

I snorted ungracefully. "As if. It was the lake." I raised my eyebrows and grinned down at him. "I could always mess it up more. Much more."

Somehow he blushed more. "Jean, noooo."

"Jean, yes."

"You're a dork." He smacked my leg again. I kicked him back lightly. "A... a horse-faced dork." He tilted his head up, and smiled shyly, but there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

Both my eyebrows shot up. "Did you just...?"

He tilted his chin up more. "Yes."

"Oh, no you didn't!" I laughed, standing up. He scrambled to his feet, and ran away, laughing like a maniac while I chased him down the dock. I didn't catch him, obviously, even when he slowed down to let me catch up. Our little game of cat and mouse ended when I was doubled over in the middle of the baseball field, gasping for air. I tackled him when he got close enough to me and covered his face with kisses, one for each freckle despite my heaving lungs. The sound of his giggles and squeals made it worth the near-death experience.