Overture (Jinxx)

chapter 23

Carolyn

I could hear footsteps coming closer to my hiding spot. Mao's blue eyes looked up at me and I motioned her to be quiet. The footsteps came closer and closer to the closet door. I shut my eyes as tight as possible, waiting for the worst to happen.

"Carolyn!" I felt someone shaking my shoulders.

My eyes snapped open to be met with Jeremy's. My arms immedietly wrapped around him. I cried into his shoulder as he comforted me.

"Its okay. I'm here. Calm down. Shh, shh." He rocked me back and fourth, holding me in his arms. "What happened? I came home and the kitchen window was broken, and you were nowhere to be found."

"S-someone broke in, I-I think. I-I'm not exactly sure w-who, but I-I think it was C-Carson." I said between small hiccups.

"How long have you been in here?"

"Since b-breakfast, I think-k."

"You've been in here almost all day! C'mon, lets go get you something to eat."

He picked me up bridal style and stood up from where we were sitting in the closet. He made his way to the kitchen and set me down in a chair at the table.

"Let me clean up this glass first, then I'll make us some dinner."

He went to grab a dustpan and a broom. I looked at the clock on the microwave. It read 6:27. I really have been in there almost all day. Jeremy came back and cleaned up the glass. He then made dinner and we ate in silence. After dinner, he helped me to bed. He pulled a blanket over us and pulled me close to him.

"Get some sleep, Care. You'll feel better in the morning." He said.

I closed my eyes and slowly fell into a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~

"Care, are you sure you're alright?" Jeremy asked.

I nodded my head and curled into his side more. Its been a week since the incident. I've been getting better, but still quiet around certain people. Mao jumped onto the couch and curled into me, rubbing her cheek against my hand.

"Care?" Jeremy said.

"Hmm?" I mumbled.

"Do you want me to get some dinner for us?"

"Or we can just go out. We haven't done that in a while."

"Alright. We can do that. Any place your in the mood for?"

I thought for a minute. "Asian, maybe?"

"Okay."

We both stood up, me carrying Mao, and went into our room to change into something more appropriate. Jeremy somehow managed to beat me to the bathroom.

"You better not use my eyeliner again!" I yelled through the door.

"Can't make any promises!" He yelled back.

I shook my head and set Mao on the bed. I threw on a pair of black shorts and a Mötley Crüe concert shirt. I slipped on my black Chuck Taylors and stood up. Jeremy finally came out of the bathroom, his hair straightned, and some eyeliner could be seen on his waterline and the corner of his eyes.

"You used my eyeliner!" I said.

"I couldn't help myself!" He put his hands up in surrender. "I like yours better than mine."

I just rolled my eyes and brushed past him. I quickly applied eyeliner to my upper and bottom eyelids and did a smoky eye look. I'm kind of starting to finally like makeup more, which I think is a good thing. I straightned my hair a little since it started to get a little wavy. I stepped out of the bathroom and saw Jeremy lying down on the bed playing with Mao.

"C'mon Mao. Please be a good princess for daddy. And don't bully your brother." She meowed at him. "Quit being a little sassy kitty. I want you to behave, alright?" She purred as Jeremy stroked the top of her head. "That's my girl."

He kissed the top of her head and stood up. He walked over to me and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"You ready to go?" He asked.

"Yea." I smiled.

He took my hand and lead me out of the apartment and to the car.

~~~~~~~

I don't know where we were going, all I knew was that we were driving farther out of town. Dinner was great. There was this new Vietnamese place that opened up about a month ago and it was really good. After dinner, Jeremy decided to take a drive somewhere.

"Where the hell are we going?" I asked him.

"Somewhere." He smiled.

"A little more specific please?"

"No can do."

I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. I didn't open them until he finally put the car in park.

"You ready?"

I nodded my head. He got out of the car and, like the gentleman he is, opened my door for me. We spent the next fifteen minutes walking farther away from the car until he finally came to a stop. It was nearly pitch black out here, so I don't know why the fuck we're out here. He laid out a blanket which I don't even know he was carying and pulled me down onto it.

"Did you plan this out?" I asked him.

"Maybe. Just not the dinner part. I was actually going to take you out to do this a little later in the week, but we were out. So, I thought, why not now?" He drapped an arm around me and pulled me closer to him.

"So, your plan was to drive like half an hour out of town, take a fifteen minute walk even farther away from everything, and then just sit here?"

"No. We're not here to just sit here." He laid us down on the blanket. "Look up."

I looked up and saw the sky filled with millions of stars. It looked so different compared to looking at the stars in the city.

"I used to come up here all the time to clear my head after I moved to LA. The last time I was here, I wrote Saviour."

"Wow." Was all I was able to say. "I've never seen so many stars at once. My whole life, I've lived in big cities, and I've never been able to see many stars because on all the city lights."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it."